Author's Notes: Got about ten more chapters of this one guys! Hope you all are still enjoying it :)


Chapter Fifty-Three

Thanks to Willow doing her nifty little locator spell she promised Tara she wouldn't do-something about using their power to interfere with mine and Faith's relationship was part of it-I now know that Faith has been staying in a motel on the other side of town. Thankfully it's not the Motor Inn, but as I sit in Xander's car with Willow and look at the place, it's not that much better than the Motor Inn from the looks of things.

Willow sips on her mocha we stopped on the way for and turns to look at me, frowning. I don't know what she's thinking right now, but I'm pretty sure she is thinking that she should've come up with a better idea than for us to sit and wait to see which room Faith comes out of.

Her plan? Not so much a plan yet. I have nothing either.

"How long have we been sitting here for?" I ask her and she checks her watch.

"Two hours and ten minutes, eleven seconds. My mocha is cold now."

"And you're sure she's in there?"

"It showed her there on the map before we left so unless she bolted before we got here-which is a huge possibility-she's in there."

It's dark and if I know Faith as well as I like to think I do, she probably did leave before we got here and is out there somewhere on patrol. I sigh as I shift in my seat and try to get comfortable. For the most part the motel looks fairly empty. The rooms are dark except for the one on the far end that has a few Harley's parked out in the spot in front of the door. A light flickers on a few rooms down from that one and I sit up a little, watching as I see a figure moving behind the closed drapes.

"What are we even doing here?" I ask her and she shrugs. "I mean, we need some kind of a plan and sitting here, stalking her like this isn't a plan."

"But at least we'll know where she's been staying. That's something, right? Better than not knowing at all."

"This is true," I nod in agreement and turn my attention back to the room the lights just turned on in.

I keep thinking about how she kissed me in that basement, how rough it was, how great it felt to finally have her lips on mine again. My lips tingle just a little thinking about it and I sigh softly, slouching down in the front seat and pick at the small tear in my jeans just above my right knee.

It's not long after the lights in the room have turned on that they're off again and the door opens. My heart is hammering in my chest as I watch Faith stroll out, closing and locking the door behind her before swiftly lighting a cigarette. She's just standing there and even though we're parked across the road, I know she can't see us from where she is. I want to get out and walk over to her, but I know that's not a good idea right now.

A few minutes pass before a beat-up truck pulls into the motel parking lot and stops in front of Faith's room. I can see her smile as she walks over to the passenger side and hops in. The old truck speeds out of the parking lot, headed towards the outskirts of town and I turn to Willow as she starts the car.

"Follow them?" She asks as she puts the car in drive.

"Follow them," I reply and she tries to catch up to the old truck and when it's in sight, she keeps back a little ways so we don't tip Faith and whoever it is behind the wheel off that we're following them.

The truck comes to a stop in front of an old cemetery, one I've never patrolled since there's never been any activity here in the entire time I've lived in Sunnydale. Faith gets out of the truck first and reaches into the back and pulls out an axe. The driver gets out and Willow and I just look at each other in surprise.

Neither of us recognize the guy. He looks a bit older than us, muscular and from what I can see, his arms are covered in tattoos. He's pretty buff too and when the moonlight hits him in the right light, I can see how ruggedly handsome he is. He and Faith grab a few weapons out of the back of the truck and they head into the cemetery without a word. I shake my head, already feeling that jealous feeling sinking in, setting up house deep inside my heart.

"Who is that guy?" Willow asks and I shrug.

"I've never seen him before."

"Me neither. You don't think-"

"Demon or vampire? No, didn't get any vibes. Just vibes of the jealous kind."

"Oh. Oh!" Willow looks surprised and a deep frown settles into place. "I'm sure it's nothing, Buffy. Maybe he's just some kind of demon hunter guy and Faith is helping him out?"

"I don't know, but I'm going to find out."

"Buffy-"

"Are you coming or are you staying, Will?"

"I'm staying," she says with a little wave of her hand as I get out of the car.

I head towards the rusty iron gates that lead into the old cemetery. I slip through the opening and nearly trip over a fallen tree across the overgrown gravel path. Taking a few deep breaths to steady myself, I start down the path, just barely able to see Faith and her companion up ahead. They're moving quickly, almost running as they both effortlessly jump over fallen trees and broken tombstones. I pick up the pace but make sure to stay far back enough that Faith doesn't know I'm following her.

Maybe this is a bad idea? Maybe it's better if I just turn around and leave? Obviously she's doing her own thing here and working with some random guy who looks more her type than I do. I try not to let the jealousy take over, but how can I not jump to all sorts of conclusions here?

And why are they in a cemetery that, from the looks of things, nobody has set foot in in forever?

"Yo, Josh!" I hear Faith call out and I move to hide myself from view once I get a little bit closer. They're standing in front of a very old stone church, right in the middle of the cemetery. "Ya wanna come give me a hand?"

"Thought you slayer types didn't need a hand with the heavy stuff?" The man replies and he laughs as he follows her to the front door and together they lift the wood beam that's blocking the door from being opened.

"Your cousin better not be fucking around," Faith says as they toss the beam to the side.

"Andrew doesn't fuck around."

"Whatever. Let's just get in there and get that book he's been on your ass about getting. Remind me again why the hell I let you talk me into doing this?"

"Because we're paying you?"

"Right. Let's motor then, baby," Faith laughs before the two of them disappear inside the old church that looks like it's barely going to stand much longer.

Now I'm really curious as to what is going on here. From what I just picked up, this guy is paying Faith, likely for protection while he gets some kind of book. I move to one of the side window's of the church and peer inside. It's dark and they have flashlights, but I can barely see much of anything.

I move quickly out of sight, the only hiding spot behind some bushes at the side of the church. Faith and the guy she's with come walking out of the church, the guy carrying a very thick and heavy looking book in his arms.

"Don't know why ya needed me when-"

Faith is suddenly charged at by a very large, hideous looking demon that comes running out of the church after her. She elbows the demon in the gut and spins around to face it, a fierce looking smile dancing over her lips as she twirls the axe around she has in her hands.

"Make a run for it, Josh. Got this handled!"

"You sure?"

"See you in five minutes," she says as she blows him a quick kiss. "Come on, let's dance, ugly ass," she says to the demon as he growls and swipes a huge hand with claws at her.

I see the guy-Josh-make a run back in the direction of the cemetery entrance and I turn my attention back to Faith as she takes a hard swing at the demon with her axe. She struggles to keep the upper hand, ducking his punches and kicks almost effortlessly. I want nothing more than to jump into the fight with her and take this demon down.

Faith cries out in pain as the demon swipes her shoulder, ripping her jacket as she rolls and ducks out of the way. She's on her feet in a matter of seconds and I can see the rage in her eyes, even from where I'm hiding out of sight. She grips her shoulder and winces and I can't stay here hiding any longer. I stroll out from behind the bushes and spot an old shovel lying on the ground.

"B? What are you-"

"Talk later," I say quickly as the demon advances towards us. "Kick his ass first."

She grins a little, but I can tell she's not happy that I'm here right now. I don't have time to worry about what she thinks. I flank her left and we move towards the demon together. I kick it in it's stomach and it barely flinches as Faith takes a weak swing at its head with the axe.

I don't know how she thought she could fight this monster of a demon on her own, but I'm pretty sure she was putting up a front for that guy Josh for whatever reason. I try to distract the demon away from her since it's pretty obvious she's in too much pain to fight right now with her shoulder being nearly ripped to shreds.

"Hey!" I yell at the demon who is clearly not paying any attention to me.

The demon growls, suddenly turning to me, its red eyes almost glowing as it charges towards me. I take a swing at it with the shovel, gasping as it grabs it and easily wretches it from my hands.

"B!" Faith yells out and I just barely catch the axe as she tosses it to me.

I take a swing at the demon, just barely making a scratch on it's leathery chest. Faith gets behind him and leaps on his back. With a loud growl, the demon grabs her and throws her to the ground. Now I'm pissed off. I take another swing, this time I don't miss when I aim for it's head, the blade of the axe sinking deep in its thick skull.

"Can't kill it like that, B!" Faith calls out hoarsely from where she's still crumpled on the ground. "Gotta decapitate it!"

"Shit," I groan and I grab the axe, yanking it out of the demon's skull. I take another swing, but he's pissed off now. Really, really pissed.

I can't seem to move fast enough as the demon grabs me, its thick meaty hands wrapping around my neck as it lifts me off my feet. I grip at its arms, struggling to break free, gasping as the demon tries to choke the life out of me. I don't panic even though I'm on my own here. I swing my legs up around the demons neck and twist myself free from its iron-clad grip.

Suddenly, there's a harsh blue light that hits the demon, literally paralyzing it. I look over and see Willow standing about twenty feet away and crackles of the same blue light escape from her fingertips. I pick up the axe and take a hard swing at the demon's neck. It's hard and it takes some strength, but I get the axe clean through, decapitating its head. I drop the axe as the demon's head falls to the ground, its body falling a second later.

"Nice move, Red!" Faith chuckles bitterly as she struggles to get up from the ground.

"I kind of had a feeling you two were in trouble."

"Faith?" I say as I kneel on the ground next to her. She's bleeding pretty badly from the wound on her shoulder and she looks like she's in a lot of pain from being thrown to the ground hard. "Are you okay?"

"Does it look like I'm fucking okay, Buffy?"

"Come on," I say and try to help her to her feet and she shrugs me off. "Faith, let me help. You're hurt."

"I'll manage."

I shake my head and help her to her feet despite her trying to push me away. She's weak and hurt and there's no way I'm going to just leave her here to fend for herself.

"What were you doing out here?" I ask her, trying to stay as calm as I can right now.

"None of your business," she spits weakly. "Got hired to do a job. You followed me and stole my thunder."

"I didn't-"

"Doesn't matter now," Faith laughs bitterly. "Demon is dead and we're alive."

"Barely."

Faith shakes her head as I help her walk through the run-down cemetery with Willow following close behind us. The guy she came with is long gone and she doesn't seem to surprised to see it either. She pushes at me and I let her go and she sits down on the ground, breathing heavily as she places a hand over her injured shoulder.

"Damn," she mutters as she pulls the ripped fabric of her jacket and shirt away from her wound.

"Let me," I say softly as I kneel beside her. "It's deep," I say from what I can see of the three deep scratches. "You need to go to the hospital. You need stitches, Faith."

"Fuck that. I ain't going to no hospital."

"Then come back to the house and let me-"

"Not gonna happen, B."

"Why are you being so difficult?" I ask her, my voice raising as she just stares blankly at me.

"Why you following me?"

"Buffy?" Willow says as she stands near us. "Why don't we just give Faith a ride back to her motel room and let her...do whatever it is she needs to do?"

"That sounds like a plan, Red."

"Faith, you're hurt bad right now. Really bad. This isn't just some scratch you can shrug off and have it heal overnight. That demon did some serious damage. I'm starting to think you hit your head hard enough too to cause some brain damage. Let me help you."

"Whatever," she groans as she struggles to get to her feet.

Willow opens the back door to the car and I help Faith inside. I slide in the backseat with her, ignoring the grumbling she lets out as I shut the door behind me. It's a long drive back to the motel and Faith isn't talking to me or looking at me. Even when I try to touch her-innocently-she jerks away.

By the time we get to her motel, she's starting to feel a little bit better and gets out of the car before Willow can even put it in park. I scramble out of the back seat and follow her to her door. She turns to me, sighing heavily as she shakes her head.

"Go home, Buffy. I can deal with this," she says as she motions to her shredded shoulder. "Got a first aid kit in the room and some alcohol to numb the pain. Just go home."

"Faith, just let me help you stitch it up?" I ask her softly, trying not to plead with her. She digs into her pocket and pulls out a key. "I know things aren't exactly okay between us right now and that you don't want me here, but just let me help you out okay?"

"If that'll give ya a peace of mind or whatever and you leave me alone after you're done stitching me up, then by all means," she mutters as she opens the door and steps inside.

The room is pretty bare and other than a double bed and a worn looking dresser, there's no other furniture. She flips on a few of the lamps as she hobbles towards the small bathroom. I turn to look at Willow as she sits in the car and motion for her to go home. It's a long walk for me, sure, but I'm not leaving until Faith and I have talked whether she likes it or not.

"Just gonna have a shower," Faith says as she closes the bathroom door but not before tossing the first aid kit onto the bed. "Make yourself at home. There's a vending machine in the office if you're thirsty. Grab me a Coke while you're at it, yeah?"

I stand in the doorway, sighing as I hear the water in the shower turn on. I watch as Willow pulls out of the parking lot and take a deep breath, checking to see if I have any change in my pockets before I head down to the small office and find the vending machine along the wall by the door.


"Hold still," I say as I sit on the bed next to Faith with the needle and thread in my hand. "I can't do this if you keep moving, Faith."

"Well, it fucking hurts!"

"I only have one stitched up, now suck it up. There's two more to do."

She's been in a mood since she got out of the shower. Agitated and in a lot of pain, more than she's letting on. I could see it as soon as she walked out of the shower with only a towel wrapped around her body. The way she moved, even the way she breathed told me just how much pain she's feeling after that fight with the demon. I don't even want to think that if I hadn't followed her and stepped in that the demon might've killed her.

Faith takes a chug from the bottle of Jack Daniel's she has in her hand and groans as I start to stitch up the second deep gash on her shoulder, trying to do it quickly yet as gently as I can. Seven stitches later and Faith has the bottle nearly half empty now. I dip the washcloth in the bowl, gently dabbing at the blood that trickles from the last gash I have yet to stitch up.

"Wait," she sighs and screws the cap back on the bottle. "Give me a little break here, B. Feeling kind of woozy."

"Might be the alcohol."

"Whatever," she sighs and looks at her shoulder. "Nice stitching job."

"I've had a lot of practice on myself," I reply under my breath and take the bowl of warm, bloody water into the bathroom to rinse it out and fill it with clean water. I set the bowl on the side of the sink and wash her blood from my hands.

I head back into the room and she's sitting there staring blankly at the bottle in her hands. I take a deep breath as I sit back down beside her and rethread the needle with more of the sterilized string.

"What were you doing out there anyway, Faith?"

"Got paid to be a bodyguard. Told ya this already."

"Who was that guy anyway?"

"Buddy of mine."

She's being infuriating right now and I have to bite my tongue not to say anything right now that'll push her over the cliff she's dangling off of right now.

"Look," she sighs as she looks at me, really looks at me for the first time tonight. "I'm trying to do the right thing out here, you know? Overheard Josh and his cousin talking at Willy's the other night, talking about some book of prophecies and spells and what not. This kid, Andrew, he's into the magicks and knows a ton about demon languages and the like. In a nutshell," she says, pausing to take a deep breath and reaches for her Coke on the nightstand and takes a swig. "He's been hearing things about the First and thought this book would keep him safe. They offered me cash when I told them I could help, that I was a slayer and if anything was there protecting this book, I'd be able to kill it."

"And these guys? Are they on the side of good or are they evil?"

"They're good guys far as I can tell, B. But you know, when Andrew told me about what was in this book, thought I'd be able to get my hands on it and get it over to you guys, figured you guys would have better use for it than Andrew would. Turns out that not everything goes according to plan when I'm the one behind the wheel, so to speak."

"Why didn't you come to me about this before you went to that cemetery alone?"

"Well, I told ya before. I'm a big girl, B. I can handle myself. Besides," she says, licking over her lips a little as she idly scratches at her arm just below her wounded shoulder. "I needed some cash. The price they offered for my services was right, so I took the job. Sure beats robbing vamps before I dust 'em."

"You've been robbing vamps before you dust them?" I ask her, fighting the urge not to laugh since it's really not that funny. She shrugs and winces a little. "Why, Faith?"

"Need the cash. Why else?"

I want to tell her just to come home so she doesn't have to do any of this and make stupid decisions that almost get her maimed to death just because she needs money to keep living the way she's been since she left over a month ago.

But I can't. Everything is different between us now.

"Let me finish up here," I say and she braces herself as I stitch up the last gash.

"Should've just knocked me out and took me to the hospital, B."

"Maybe I should've," I reply, chuckling a little. She groans and holds her breath as I slide the needle into her skin and tie off the last stitch. "All done."

Faith lets out a shaky breath as I use the wet washcloth to wipe the blood away from around her stitched up wounds. Knowing from experience, she'll be fully healed in two or three days with minimal scarring, if any at all. Giles taught me how to stitch in a way that wouldn't leave a scar and so far of all the times I've had to stitch myself up, I haven't had any problems on the scarring end.

I bandage her shoulder with gauze despite her grunts of protest. I clean up and put the first aid kit in the bathroom under the sink since that's where I'm sure I saw her grab it from. I turn out the light and Faith is laying on the bed, her eyes closed and her breathing soft and slow. She's still wrapped in the towel from when she had a shower earlier.

This was not how the second plan to bring Faith back home was supposed to go. Sure, I didn't exactly have a plan when Willow and I started to stake-out her motel, waiting for her to appear from one of the rooms. Tonight could've been so much different if she wasn't so stubborn!

At least she let me stitch her up even after trying to convince me not to and then whining and moaning like a baby while I did. I sit back down on the bed after I turn out all the lights but the lamp that's on the shoddy nightstand near her.

"You can go now," she murmurs as she turns to lay on her good side. "Be five by five by the morning. Just need some sleep."

"Can I stay?"

"Even if I say no, you're still gonna, aren't you?" She asks as she opens her eyes to look over at me. I shrug with a slight smile and she chuckles softly. "Figured. Always knew you were just as stubborn as me."

"I just want to make sure you're okay."

"Plus there's the fact ya got a whole mess of teenage girls in your house, right?"

"That's also a factor."

I stand up and strip out of my clothes, leaving on my bra and panties and I slip under the covers, helping her pull them over her tired and sore body. My breath hitches in my chest as she pulls the towel she had wrapped around her and tosses it to the floor. The double bed doesn't allow us to put too much space between us and she's already on the edge with her back to me. I reach over her and flip off the light, lingering for a moment and just relishing the feel of being so close to her right now.

God, I miss her so much.

I move to lay on the other side of the bed and I stare up at the ceiling in the darkness of the room. I can hear her breathing and she moves to lay on her back, wincing in pain a little bit as she does. She lets out a frustrated sigh and tries to get comfortable. This goes on for a good ten minutes before I turn to look at her.

"Do you have anything to take for pain?"

"Besides Jack? No."

"Oh."

"If I'm bugging ya, could always just leave and get your beauty sleep in your own bed."

I move to lay on my side so I can look at her better. Even in the darkness of the room I can see her perfectly and it's killing me that I can't just kiss her and touch her the way I need to right now. I move a little closer to her, expecting her to move away, but she doesn't and she keeps her eyes locked with mine.

"I miss you," I whisper, reaching out to touch her face.

"Yeah?"

"I do," I murmur and she leans into my palm as I cup her cheek. "So much."

"Buffy, I can't do this," she sighs loudly. "I'm not-my head ain't in the right place, you know?" She takes my hand away from her and lets go. "You don't deserve someone like me. Not with the way I am right now. You get that, right? Don't want you waiting around for me either. Ya deserve so much more than that. Ya deserve to have someone that loves you and won't fuck up the way I did."

"It was just a spell-"

"You don't get it," she says, the anger in her voice getting clearer with every word that passes her lips. "It wasn't just a spell to me. You don't know what it did to me, how it made me feel-how it still makes me feel. I can't just bounce back from that like it never fucking happened. So no, Buffy, it was not just a spell like you keep thinking it was."

I don't even bother to say goodnight. I turn my back to her and try not to let the tears fall. I don't know how I can prove anything to her or how I can prove to her that she is worth it to me. Even as I fall asleep, I get this sinking feeling that injured or not, she won't be here when I wake up in the morning.

I should've asked her more about that guy Andrew and his cousin and what else she knew about the book they retrieved from that old church inside the cemetery. I turn to her, fighting sleep, ready to ask her about it, but she's completely passed right now, snoring softly as she lays on her back. I groan and turn back on my side, trying to clear my head. The slayer inside of me wants more answers as to what that book is all about and why some nobody named Andrew would want it.

And the woman inside of me just wants the one I love so deeply to be back in my life. My heart feels like it's breaking all over again.

I can't help but wonder if this was the real reason for that spell, if the fall-out between Faith and I is exactly what Roman and the First wanted to have happen, to distract both of us from the bigger picture just long enough to get a few more steps ahead of us.

Things just can't get any worse, can they?