Chapter Thirty-One

"Bloody hell." Spike said as he pushed through the door. "Thought I'd never get out of there. Bleedin' First had me cornered. I'd half a mind to show that demon a round or two. There won't be a Spike for it to kick around again." Spike finally stopped his ranting and noticed the eyes focused on him. "What?" He snapped.

Spike stood silently in the living room watching Buffy sleep. He walked to the corner and looked down at his old grand-sire. Angel's eyes remained closed, he hadn't moved in hours.

"His breathing is shallow." Giles said by way of explanation. "I don't know when he'll wake up. Any of them."

Spike nodded. "Big plan didn't work." He partly growled. "Now what? We leave the task up to the kiddies?"

"I don't know." Giles said.

"What's a matter watcher, brain going in your old age?" Spike scoffed.

Giles looked at Spike with contempt. If looks could kill, he thought. Giles shook his head and walked away.

-

Dawn sat on the front porch clutching her knees to her chest. She rocked back and forth, dabbing the tears from her eyes.

"Hey." Oz said, joining Dawn on the porch. His eyes and face were puffy and bruised.

"Hey." Dawn nodded. "How do you feel?"

"Tired." Oz said, sitting next to her. "Exhausted even."

"You need to rest." Dawn said.

"Look who's talking." Oz said.

Dawn shook her head. "I can't." She half cried. "I can't sleep until I know they're okay."

"They're okay." Oz said. "Buffy and Faith have super slayer healing power." He offered Dawn a smile. "And your sister would never let anything happen to Angel."

"I know." Dawn said. "I'm just, I don't know, terrified?"

"I know the feeling." Oz said. "But it's not the first time we've been forced back, I can't say it'll be the last. But we always win."

Dawn shook her head and pulled her knees in tighter. "We always win." She repeated.

-

Buffy's eyes fluttered and flew open. "Wake up, Buffy." The voice called to her. Buffy sat up quickly. She looked to her right; Faith was getting up as well.

"B?" Faith said confused.

Buffy frowned and pulled herself off of the couch. "Where is everyone?"

"They're here." The voice said.

Buffy looked at the vision before them. "Mom?"

"Hi Honey." Joyce said, moving to hug Buffy. "Faith, how are you?"

Faith's mind flooded with her last meeting with Joyce, trying to kill this woman, this woman who had opened her home to her, fed her, invited her for the holidays. Faith inhaled sharply and uttered three words that hadn't been spoken by her in years. "Five by five." Faith said.

"Good." Joyce smiled, caressing Buffy's cheek. "You girls have a lot of work to do. You can't stay long."

"Mom? Where are we?" Buffy asked, looking around the living room. Everything was exactly as it was when Buffy was younger. Sun gleamed in through the front windows, the couch was clean and unoccupied, no blankets and sleeping bags cluttered the floor. The lamps and tables that had since been destroyed sat unharmed in the room. The dining room table stood perfectly in the middle of the next room, covered only with a linen cloth and a bouquet of flowers.

"We're home Buffy." Joyce said sweetly.

"Am I, are we dead?" Buffy said, looking to Faith.

"Not dead." Joyce said. "I haven't much time. You have to wake up Buffy. Both of you. You have to get up and fight."

"We tried." Buffy said.

"We lost." Faith said, her voice suddenly hard.

"You have to fight it." Joyce said. "There's no easy answer now. No magic spell. The answer is in you."

"The answer is in me?" Buffy asked.

"In you." Joyce said. "All of you."

-

Faith's eyes began to flutter rapidly. Wesley ran to her side. "Faith, Faith, can you hear me?" He called. He gently shook her arm. "Faith!"

"What is it?" Giles yelled as he ran into the room.

"Her pulse has skyrocketed." Wesley said, timing Faith's heartbeat with his watch. "Faith! Can you hear me?" He shouted again.

Giles ran into the kitchen and retrieved a glass of ice water. "Here." He shouted as he tossed the glass to Wesley.

Water sloshed over Wesley's shirt as he quickly poured the water on Faith's face. She began to convulse. Her body shook under the blankets as she began whimpering and crying out in her sleep. Wesley draped his knee over Faith's body and pinned her to the floor. "Giles, help me." He called.

Giles pushed Faith's shoulders back against the floor as the two men struggled to hold Faith down. She continued to shake.

A high-pitched scream pulsed through the house as Faith opened her mouth.

"Faith!" Wesley shouted. "Faith!"

"Buffy?" Giles asked suddenly tender.

Wesley looked up and saw Buffy staring down at them. Her face was haunted white, her eyes cloudy. She said nothing as she knelt down beside her friend. Buffy placed her hand on Faith's forehead, instantly calming her down. Buffy's eyes cleared up and color returned to her face.

"Buffy." Giles said softly, placing his arm around his charge. "Are you hurt?"

"I am." Buffy said sadly. "We all are." She leaned down and gently touched Faith's face.

"B?" Faith asked as her eyes opened.

"We have to go." Buffy said, monotone. "Now."

"Okay." Faith said. She pulled herself up from the floor and stretched.

The two girls left the house without saying another word.

"Buffy?" Dawn asked as the girls left the house.

"Go inside, Dawnie." Buffy said coldly. "Lock the doors."