***We finally get to the truth of the matter. The origin of Seth and Gabriel are explained as well as the Prophecy concerning Faith…
CHAPTER 21
It took the better part of two hours before Faith had calmed down enough to talk. Somehow, between her gut-wrenching sobs and childlike whimpers, Willow and Tara had ushered the young woman to the couch where she rested between them, alternating between leaning against Tara's shoulder and on Willow's lap.
The past fifteen minutes had been filled with Faith's last gasps of tears. Though her sobs had dissipated, she was still too upset to do any talking. So she remained quiet while Tara softly stroked her hair and Willow held her hands. Faith was glad to have these two women here with her. They were always there for her when she needed to get away when Buffy and Spike engaged in particularly heated arguments. It always scared her that they would hurt each other or break up, leaving her alone….
"They're gonna leave me," the seven year old cried into the blonde's comforting arms.
"Faith, baby, they're not gonna leave," Tara comforted. She looked up at Willow who entered the room carrying a tray with three mugs of cocoa perfectly balanced on top. Willow set the trays down and joined her lover in consoling the distraught girl.
"Buffy and Spike love each other, sweetie," Willow cooed, scrunching Faith between her and Tara in a soothing embrace. Though Spike and Buffy often bickered, they rarely fought. But when they did it was with the same fervor they imbued as mortal enemies, neither giving nor asking for quarter. And though physical confrontations were a thing of the distant past, their words often cut far deeper.
"But last time they fought, Mommy left for a long time…" she argued.
"Sweetie," Tara said, running her hand against the girl's wet cheek, "that wasn't why your mommy left. She had to go on a quest, to find something. And she was only gone a week."
"They are…they…a..are yelling at each…other," she managed between heaves.
Willow bent down and turned Faith towards her. The little girl's hair was tied in a loose ponytail, several of her bangs strewn across her tear-stained face. The redhead affectionately brushed a thick strand of strawberry blond hair out of the girl's eye, tucking it behind her ear.
"Faith," she began, her small hands holding the smaller hands of her god-daughter/pseudo niece between them, "everybody fights. Your mommy and daddy both love each but sometimes people have disagreements." She paused, glancing lovingly at Tara who smiled back. "I mean, even Tara and I have our little Wicca quarrels here and there."
The little girl lowered her eyes and spoke, her voice filled with sadness, "But you guys don't yell like they do." The two older women smiled ruefully at each other. In their longstanding friendship with the vampire and his slayer, they had been privy to lovers' quarrels of epic proportions. The two lovers were hurricane and tsunami; their mutual stubbornness only prolonged the sometime all-nighters. Their fights, like most couples, were started over the most trivial things. But that didn't matter. They were both always right and even when facts determined otherwise, they held on to their opinion with the iron grip of a drowning man reaching for a buoy.
"I know, sweetie," Tara chimed in, mirroring her lover by kneeling in front of the little girl. "But me and Auntie Willow are a lot more…"
"Sane?" the girl muttered under her breath and both witches had to stifle a giggle.
"No, honey. I was about to say easy going. As Wiccas, we…we…" the blond fumbled for the right words.
"We have to make sure we are in control of our feelings and emotions more than most people," Willow made the save.
Tara smiled at her briefly before continuing where her lover of more than three decades left off, "Because magic is so tied into emotions, you have to stay in control all the time. Your mommy and daddy are more…emotional. And sometimes they may act on their feelings before they think about it."
"Why?" the girl asked, looking up for the first time. She wiped her eyes roughly with her palm and both Wiccas stared at the bright beautiful eyes of the littlest Summers. They were an eclectic swirl of blue and green, filled with wonder, and at the moment, a look only the pain of two parents fighting could imbue.
"Well, you know how they have to fight the bad monsters so you can go to sleep every night?" Faith nodded. "Well, they have to be more vigilant…"
"Vigilant?" she asked.
"Alert, sweetie." Tara interceded.
"Oh…" Faith said. "So that means they have to be more ready to fight. And they fight with their emotions?" The two witches nodded their assent. "So…are they gonna be like that all the time? I mean with the loud fighting?"
" 'Fraid so, kiddo," Willow replied, resting her hand gently against Faith's cheek.
"Bloody hell," she muttered and slapped her hands over her mouth the instant she realized she said it out loud. Her eyes were almost as wide as the two pair gazing back at her. In her horror, Faith did not spot the twinkles of humor in their eyes.
"Faith, honey…where did you hear that from?" Tara asked, trying her best to keep the mirth from her voice and failing miserably.
"Daddy," Faith said, unaware of her aunts' dual amusement.
"You know you shouldn't say things like that, sweetie," Willow informed her. Faith nodded her head sullenly.
"I know. It's just that he says it all the time. 'Bloody' this and 'Bloody hell' that. Mommy always gets mad at him when he says it in front of me. I know he tries to be good about it but…" she paused, another look of horror plastered to her face. "Please don't tell Mommy I said that," she begged. "She'll get sooooo mad at him and then they'll start to argue again…" little tears started to gather at the bottom of her eyelids. The Wiccas were helpless against it and they knew it.
"We won't tell her, baby." Tara cooed, brushing another bang out of the little girl's face.
"Nope, we won't. Our lips are sealed," Willow said, closing an imaginary zipper across her lips. "Ms. Pottie mouth's secret is safe with us."
"Hey!" Faith exclaimed, putting her hands on her hips indignantly. So Buffy-esque. .
"Hey yourself," Willow returned and shot her fingers out in search of the little girl's most ticklish spots. Soon, all three were lost in a tangle of fits and giggles on the floor.
After a few minutes of stomach-cramping laughter, the trio settled down enough to speak.
"Baby, I think it's time we got you back home before your parents start to worry," Faith began to speak but Willow shot her a warning glare, "and don't tell me that they know you came down here, either. You know they'll get upset."
Argument shot down before it reached the hanger. Willow was right. Although they lived only a few blocks away, she knew she'd be in trouble for leaving, even if it were the middle of the day. Dejected, Faith resorted to the truth. "But I don't wanna go back yet. I don't wanna hear them argue anymore…"
"Oh, sweetie, you want us to go over there with you? Well, I guess we'd be taking you back anyway," She smiled.
The frown on Faith disappeared as an idea came into her head.
"You could teach me…" she said excitedly.
"Teach you what?" Willow asked though she had a feeling where this was headed.
"Teach me to do magic." The two Wiccas glanced at each other, torn between their excitement at a potential pupil and facing the wrath of a slayer and her un-dead companion.
Seeing their reservations, Faith tried a little tact. "It can be our secret," she said, almost sinisterly. "It can be something only the three of us can share…" 'Now, initiate doe eyes,' she thought, releasing her secret weapon.
It didn't take long before the two women conceded.
"Well," Tara said reluctantly, "maybe just one spell…"
"His name is Seth," Faith said, finally breaking the silence with something other than earth shattering sobs. "He…he is Gabriel's second in command. He's been that since he was turned ten years ago. Ten years my time."
"So…so he's not that old," Tara said. "That's good, right?"
Faith laughed humorlessly. "Ordinarily, I'd agree with you. But considering that he's kicked my ass on more than one occasion…and I'm a lot stronger than Buffy is…"
"What?" Willow asked, disbelief etched in her voice. "Stronger than Buffy?"
Faith smiled, only this time with a touch of humor. " And Spike too. He hated having two women stronger than him. We always teased him about who ran the pants in the house," Faith smiled wistfully before continuing. "By the time I was seventeen, I was not too far away from being able to take them both on. I mean, they'd always beat me but it was always because their technique was like decades ahead of mine-and I mean that literally. But as far as speed and strength, I pretty much hold those titles. Guess it's my mixture of slayer and master vampire DNA. I also heal faster, too. Usually," she whispered.
"He…Seth did this to you?" Tara asked pointing to the scar down the side of her face. She nodded her assent and the blond Wicca reaffirmed her earlier unspoken pledge to see to it that Seth paid.
"What is it about him that's so special?" Willow asked.
Faith cringed noticeably at the thought of having to visualize the monster's face. A face that was uncomfortably familiar to someone she loved as much as anyone…
The two blondes had finally reached Revello Drive; their fingers laced together the whole way. Though they had refrained from speaking since Buffy's surprising confession, they traded affectionate glances the entire trip.
Spike couldn't have been happier. Unless she told me she loved me, he thought wistfully. The vampire walked with one hand entangled with the slayer's while the other was buried deep inside the pocket of his duster. He knew he had to keep his cool, something his maniacal smile told him he wasn't succeeding in doing.
Snap out of it, you git. You know how fickle the slayer can be, he admonished. And wasn't that the truth! One minute she would be in the throes of passion with him, whispering words in his ear that he was stunned she even knew existed. The next minute she'd curse him as a vile and disgusting creature. Though his smirk was plastered on to irritate her after one of her shame-felt tirades, her words burned more than he wished to admit. It wasn't that he thought she loved him, he knew better. He'd decided that after that first night that he'd relegate himself to taking any crumb he could get. He couldn't deny, however, that a part of him was ever the optimist and that the more she shared her body with him, the more she'd feel for him. He didn't know whether or not that was the reason for her admissions earlier, but he was damn sure not about to give up now.
Buffy had to admit to herself that she hadn't felt this giddy since…well, since she had come back. The last six months had been a constant struggle. With her friends, with demons and with life in general. It didn't help that the arrival of Mr. Song & Dance and Spike's heartfelt confession. If it wasn't for that, she wondered if she would have ever kissed him.
It was only a matter of time, she thought to herself and was surprised at her own self-candor. Spike had been the only one who had even an inkling of what she was going through. And the things that he didn't understand, he didn't try to, letting her be. They had spent countless nights together, in amiable silence, watching television or each other. The latter didn't happen often though but when it did, she felt no anxiety about those blue eyes piercing her, asking questions she didn't want to answer. In those moments, Spike never uttered a syllable, content to watch her and she was grateful for that. But the kiss had changed everything.
She sighed at the damage it had done to their relationship. Though she was loath to admit it at the time, they were friends. If she had only had more time to sort her feelings out, things might have been so much different. The hurdles of pain they still had to get past may never have been raised and they could have had a healthy relationship from the start.
As healthy as a vampire and a slayer could have, she added. Buffy understood now that the past was just that, the past and if she ever wanted to have even the slightly semblance of a good (though decidedly not normal) life, she had to start living for today and tomorrow. If she thought of the past too much, or even too far into the future for that matter, well…she didn't know if she could deal. Even with Spike at her side.
She stole a peak out the corner of her eye, feeling the vampire's leaden yet warm gaze upon her. How was it that he was still here? With all the things she had said and done, he refused to quit. Don't think about the past Buffy, she reminded herself. If she did think about all those terrible words and fists she hurled at him in the past few months…she had a feeling she knew a little more how Angel felt than she needed.
She stifled a chill at the thought of her former vampire lover. I'm gonna have a baby by Angel? She thought unbelievingly. I'm gonna have Angel's baby and Spike still ends up the one by my side? The whole dynamic of the situation was mind bending. What was to happen between her and Spike that she ended up with her first love, even if it was for a night? And how was he able to forgive her for it? Or did he even know that it was Angel's?
Buffy's thoughts were cut off as her arm was jerked back. She stumbled back to Spike's side. She was on the verge of announcing her displeasure when he silenced her with the raise of his hand. He stayed unnaturally still for several moments before speaking.
"Something's wrong," he said. Buffy rolled her eyes at him about to lash out about his jumpiness when she felt it…
"What…is…that?" She was taken aback by it. It was like nothing she had ever felt before. Whatever had left its…presence, was gone, yet its aura lingered.
"Feels like a vampire," he said, reluctantly dropping her hand and creeping up the remaining hundred yards to her house. Buffy shook her head before following. They had stopped about a hundred feet away and from there they could see the front door closed…yet…
"Some baddie busted it down," he said, his voice tight. For whatever reason, his first thoughts had gone immediately to Dawn. It wasn't just her youth and inexperience he was worried about. It was like he knew…
"Dawn," Buffy said, voicing his own fearful thoughts.
"Okay, this is how we're gonna do this, luv. I'll sidle through the back and you make your way up through the front. Either by the door or that window you so love climbing through." Despite the situation, she punched him in the shoulder. He returned it with a smirk and as he moved to make his way to the back Buffy found herself grabbing him by the lapels of his coat and crushing her mouth to his. Her tongue danced along his, tracing his blunt teeth as his lips moistened hers, their hands tracing the familiar curves of one another's body. Even in times of crisis, they always found solace in one another. At first it had been the mere presence of the other before a battle, whether it was in the beginning when they were mortal enemies, or later as comrades-in-arms. Since their relationship had been altered, however, the comfort of each other's arms was what they longed for. And in her mind, Buffy knew it was right.
They only broke the kiss when Buffy gasped for air. No words were exchanged but the look that passed between them accurately transferred their thoughts of 'Be careful' to one another. And with that, the blond vampire disappeared into the shadows.
She counted to three before she streaked across the lawn, staying close to the ground. Reaching the steps, Buffy peered through the windows as best she could, her slayer senses reaching out for anything out of the ordinary. Though they picked up nothing unusual, she knew that something had happened here.
And what is the likelihood that Dawn is involved? She asked. She knew the question to that right away.
This so must be a Tuesday, she said, shaking her head as she wrapped her small hand around the door handle…
Faith ran a shaking hand through her short hair. Her heart felt as if it was halfway up her throat and she had broken out into a cold sweat. If it wasn't for the support of Willow and Tara, the young slayer would have definitely succumb to the tears threatening to fall. As it was, she sat between the two women that, in another lifetime, were always there for her.
Some things never change…thankfully, she thought to herself. She had given them the heads up on Seth and his master, Gabriel. Though she had outlined the prophecy of Gabriel and its relation to Spike and Buffy, she still kept the Master vampire's identity a secret. That and one other minute detail…
"Oh my God," Willow said, her voice weak and thick with tears. Neither her nor Tara had been able to keep their eyes dry as Faith laid it all on the table. How Seth was physically the most powerful demon in her world, despite being a vampire and only a decade out of the box, so to speak. Gabriel had imbued Seth with the gift. It was deemed the Gift because for whatever reason, Gabriel could sire only one vampire. And his child received the powers that the half-vampire (by birth) had accumulated through the years he had been trapped in some unknown hell dimension. A hell dimension that, for some reason, he was able to escape at Faith's conception. Thus, slayer and vampire/warlock (that was what Gabriel had now become) were inexorably linked, the prophecy declaring that it was Faith and Faith alone that had the power to defeat Gabriel. There was a minor problem with that, however. Though the prophecy stated that she was the only one that held the power to bring Gabriel down, two tasks that had to be completed first. For reasons that the young girl neglected to elaborate to the Wiccas, both Buffy and Spike had to die at the hands of one that loved them more than life and was bound to them by blood. It had been the reason Buffy had killed Spike, to weaken Gabriel's hold on the world. Buffy had then gone to Faith to finish the job. The younger slayer had struck her mother down but did not kill her. She had left Buffy, refusing to take her mother's life despite the hate she felt when she saw Buffy plunge the stake into Spike's heart.
The second roadblock was that even if the slayer and vampire part of the prophecy was satisfied, there was still Seth to contend with. As mentioned before, he was peerless on the physical level. Not only was he faster and stronger than all demons, but he also was protected by a magic ward impenetrable by even the strongest of magics. That particular nuance was not confirmed though the second part of the prophecy did affirm that no one would be able to defeat the 'childe of Apocalypse's Harbinger.'
Willow rolled what parts of the prophecy Faith had been able to quote concerning Seth over in her mind…
The Harbinger's childe, cold and cruel
Invincible yet beaten.
Remade yet destroyed.
The jewel within his heart
The key to his salvation
He seeks yet unaware.
His longing for his jewel
He as the tool of destruction
Burden bears….
Faith couldn't quite recall the rest of it, though she had relayed that the gist of the other part was that the only person that could destroy him was the power that created him. And it wasn't as if Gabriel would destroy the one thing that held him in power.
The redhead sighed. She glanced over to Faith. Her head rested against Tara's shoulder, the Wicca's arm firmly around her shoulders while her hand absently stroked the woman's strawberry blond hair. She could see the fatigue around the girl's eyes. It had been a long day for Faith and her confrontation with Seth and subsequent confession to them had taken a vast toll on her.
Willow shivered at the mere thought of what Faith had to endure during her nine months of captivity. She had been tortured almost daily and violated in so many other ways though Seth was the only one allowed to touch her. Willow didn't have to be told the things he did to her. The scars, both physical and emotional, were easy enough to see. How the girl was resilient enough to push it all aside was beyond her. Guess she got the strength of Buffy and Ang…
Willow stopped in mid-thought. Something didn't add up. Faith had said she was Buffy and Angel's child but…it just didn't feel like it. Though Willow hadn't practiced magic in over two months, she could still sense auras on people. And Faith's felt nothing like what she remembered of Angel.
Paranoid much? A voice in her head sounded off. You haven't seen him in what, eight months. And before that, how long? The voice was right. Maybe the lack of 'Angel aura' emanating from the girl was because she had forgotten what his felt like.
But wouldn't that make it easier to detect? She asked herself. It would. And it's not like I don't feel anything, either. What I feel is totally familiar… I know Tara is better at this than I am but…Willow closed her eyes and concentrated. She let flow the natural magic within her, one that didn't require supplies or incantations, one that wouldn't endanger her from falling into the darkness.
The redhead willed the tiny probes that represented her own self to touch and prod lightly against that of Faith's. The energy bled off of her and though Faith was too out of it to notice, Tara picked up on the vibes immediately.
"What are you doing?" She asked tersely, snapping Willow out of her probe. The non-practicing Wicca peered at the face of her once lover. The glare Tara gave her would have been enough to make Willow cringe at any other time but not this time.
"Oh my God," she whispered, putting her hand to her mouth. Faith raised her head and glanced from Tara to Willow.
"What's going on?" she asked tiredly.
"What is going on, Willow?" Tara demanded, anger rising in her voice.
Willow stared in disbelief at the huddled form of Faith next to her. Things started to add up. The way Faith avoided Spike's gaze when talking about her father. The fact that she didn't actually say that Angel was her father, they had assumed. And Willow had dismissed the guilty look that haunted the girl's eyes during the pow-wow earlier. And then there were her eyes…an unusual mix of green and blue, the purest forms of each. Angel didn't have blue eyes…
"Angel…he's not your father, is he?" It was more of a statement than question. Willow leveled her eyes at the blue/green swirls of the Summers woman who sat up in alarm, her eyes widening.
"W-what are you talking about, Willow?" Tara asked breathlessly after several more moments of silence.
"She's not Buffy and Angel's child."
"T-that…ca-can't be. She looks just like Buffy. She…f-feels like her," Tara stammered as she pushed Faith away, trying to get a better look at her.
"Oh, I didn't say she wasn't Buffy's daughter. She is," Willow continued. The confidence she felt was almost alien to her. She hadn't felt this sure of herself since before the whole Tabula Rasa spell had gone awry. And it wasn't because of her sucking the brain from a hell-god or speaking into the minds of her friends that was giving her this particular high. It was the knowledge that she had something in her powerful, yet good. It was just a matter of listening to that part of her and not overdoing everything…but that had to wait. There was a much more pressing matter that she had to get through.
The mortified reaction of Faith only assured Willow even more that her hunch was true. She mentally cursed herself for not picking it up earlier. Faith had lied for whatever reason, and it was time that the truth came out.
"Faith is Buffy's daughter. I can feel it on her. But I don't feel any part of Angel."
"Bu-but the whole vampire thing. She said she…" Tara started but Willow interrupted.
"Oh, she's part vampire all right. Just not Angel's…"
"Then who…?" Tara asked before her widened eyes alerted Willow of that she, too, understood.
"Yep, I can't believe I didn't feel it earlier."
"Feel what?" Faith croaked out.
"Your father on you."
"Wha...what do you mean, my father? I already told you…" she managed weakly.
"No, you never told us. We only assumed that Angel was your father. You didn't actually say it. But it doesn't matter. What does matter is why you didn't tell us the truth?"
"I did…" she tailed off.
"C'mon, Faith. Spike is your father and you know it." The room was silent for a moment before a loud clang turned their three women's attention to the foyer. All three gasped at the shell-shocked form of Buffy, wavering back and forth, as if she would fall over any second. Her eyes were wide in disbelief and her lips were parted as if to speak though no words came. But the women on the couch didn't need words to know what she was thinking.
Buffy had heard every word.
***Uh Oh…business is about to pick up. The next two chapters will follow Buffy's reaction to this and Dawn's kidnapping in Laying Blame…Also Jennifer will reveal part of her plan to Seth. I'm not sure which one will come next. Well, if I get enough reviews and you tell me what you wanna see first, I might do that…
***Of course, I have to get reviews though…I love your support and excitement. I makes me want to hurry and finish the story. We still have a ways to go…hold on for the wild ride to come.
***Well, no wedding this weekend so I should be able to post a chapter both Saturday and Sunday night, but don't hold me to that. Saturday, should be a definite, even if I have to stay up til 4 in the morning to finish it (I ve done that more than once on a weekend)
***Oh, and let me know how you liked baby Faith…I really like her and am thinking about doing a few more flashbacks with her.