Willow had spent all night listening to Faith and trying to figure out why she had been returned to them. Even more puzzling to the redhead was how Faith was alive again. Xander said she had been killed. In fact, he didn't say that much about her or the time they had spent together in Middle Earth.
He'd probably slept with her again, she thought to herself. Not that it would have surprised her. She knew how attracted to Faith Xander had been. Even though it hurt her to think of it, she also knew he had slept with her before they left. Why was Xander always attracted to the girls who never wanted him?
Sleep was steadily invading her thoughts, but she managed to keep up with Faith's story. It was almost too crazy to believe, but lately Willow had found herself believing all sorts of weird things. If someone told her Santa Claus was real, she'd believe them. Stifling a yawn, she made her mind focus on what Faith was saying instead of letting it screen the porno starring Faith and Xander that she had been scripting in her overactive imagination.
"...and then I woke up here," Faith finished saying.
"So let me get this straight," Willow said. "You went back with Xander thinking you were the one who was to save the World and all that, but instead, you found out that your parents were from there and that your mother had sent you off through time to save you from your father who was the big bad of those days, only just as you found out about her, you were killed and then spent time in a dark place surrounded by roses?"
Willow didn't mean to sound so harsh and skeptical, but she couldn't help it. Something wasn't right and she couldn't figure out what it was. She knew what was going on even if no-one was going to believe her. Now Faith's reappearance was going to throw a major spanner in the works. Now she was definately sure that no-one would even listen to her, let alone believe anything she had to say.
"That's all I know," Faith yawned.
Willow looked at the small clock on her bedside table. "I guess we should sleep now and catch up with everyone else in the morning."
But she was speaking to herself. Faith had curled up on her bed and was fast asleep already.
"Nice for some," Willow said to herself as she wrapped herself up in a blanket and made her way over to a chair. She sat there watching Faith sleep, lost in her thoughts until sleep finally overtook her.
~*~
Buffy lay on her side, her head resting on her hand. She couldn't take her eyes off him as he slept. She had never seen anyone as beautiful as him. It seemed odd to her to think of a man as being beautiful, but in Legolas' case, he was. Sleep made him even more beautiful.
Gently she reaches out her hand and let her fingertips trace along his cheekbone. She drew them back as he stirred. She wasn't ready for him to wake up yet. For now, Buffy was content to watch him sleep and stay lost in her thoughts. The logical side of her mind was telling her this would like it had been with Angel. Impossible and painful. Like Angel, Legolas was not human and therefore, there was no possibility of a future with him. The other side of her mind was telling her that this was nothing like it had been with Angel. Legolas wasn't a 'monster' and there was no way he'd lose his soul. But deep down she knew that he didn't belong here and it was tearing her apart inside. She had thought she loved Angel, but what she was feeling for Legolas made that all pale in comparison.
Unable to stop herself, she reached out and brushed his hair back from his face. This time she didn't pull back when he stirred.
"Good morning," she whispered softly as he opened his eyes.
Legolas rolled over and cupped her face in his hands. "Good morning," he replied, leaning in to kiss her.
She pulled back. "Ugh, morning breath," she giggled.
Legolas didn't understand what she meant, but he understood enough to realise she didn't want a kiss. Instead, he gently kissed her forehead.
Buffy felt herself melt. How was she ever going to be able to let him go?
~*~
"This is bullshit," Xander yelled as he threw the book down on the table. "We've been looking for days now and we're still no closer to figuring this out."
Giles sighed. He understood Xander's frustration. He was feeling it too, but he dealt with it in different ways. Sometimes he just wanted to give it all up and run away somewhere where there were no Vampires, Demons and magic Rings that could destroy the world. But the part of his mind that made the most sense told him that there was nowhere safe he could run to that would be safe. He knew too much now. Like the others, he knew what goes bump in the night and many other things besides. Only complete and permanent amnesia would be able to help him live a normal life now.
"There has to be something," Giles said. "I just had the strangest feeling of deja vu. I guess we've had this discussion before."
Xander looked over at the Watcher and smiled. "I guess we have been doing this routine a lot of the past few days."
"We certainly have," Giles replied. "But we have to be missing something. The answer is here somewhere I can feel it. Just trying to sort through all this material is taking more time than I thought it would."
"Well I hate to throw another complication into the mix then."
They had been so busy talking that neither man had heard Willow enter.
"Complication?" Giles asked.
"That's all we need," added Xander.
Willow stepped aside and the two men could see the small figure that had been hiding behind her.
"No," cried Xander. "It can't be..."
Giles was puzzled. "Can't be...?" He looked closer. "Oh my goodness, Faith."
"What kind of sick joke is this?" Xander demanded. "You're dead. I..."
"Killed me," Faith said softly.
Willow's mouth fell open. Xander had killed Faith? But he said simply that she had died back there in Middle Earth. He certainly never alluded to his role in her death.
"Xander?" she said.
"I'm sorry Wills. I couldn't tell you. I have lived with the guilt of what I did for so long, I couldn't take your guilt trip too. Besides, I never know what to pack."
"Thats not funny Xander," Willow said, her voice full with hurt. "You just didn't trust me."
"Willow you know thats not true," he replied.
"Is it? You all discuss things without me. You have meetings without me. You might as well have left me with Angel."
"How...? Why...? When...?" Giles muttered, still in shock.
"I don't know," Faith replied.
"What do you know?" Xander snapped, his attention moving from Willow to Faith.
"I know this will get us nowhere," Willow cut in. "We were up most of the night talking and she doesn't know much. Faith has no idea what happened, how she got back here, or why."
"When you said another complication, you weren't kidding," Giles sighed. "What, if anything, do you remember Faith."
Faith closed her eyes and thought back. "Roses," she said. "I remember roses."
"The Daughter of Fire will come from the Mountain of Roses," Giles said softly.
Xander looked at Faith in a new way now. His guilt was disappearing and a new feeling of hope settled over him. Finally a complication that was going to help them.
"Is she?" he asked Giles.
"I can't think of any other reason for Faith returning unless she is the one we have been looking for."
"No, you have it wrong," Willow said suddenly. "She's not the one. I don't know why she's back, but she's not the one."
But Giles and Xander were too busy to listen to her. Their noses were buried back in the books, ignoring the presence of both young women now.
"Notice how they ignore you yet again?" Faith whispered in Willow's ear. "You aren't important and you know it. They've never needed you. You just get in the way and cause more problems than you think you solve. Why are you even here Willow?"
"I know who you are," Willow snarled back. "And I know why you're here. You won't succeed, no matter how much you try."
"But I already have," Faith purred. "It took you a while, but I know now you can see right through me. Such a shame that they do and in the end, I always win."
He'd probably slept with her again, she thought to herself. Not that it would have surprised her. She knew how attracted to Faith Xander had been. Even though it hurt her to think of it, she also knew he had slept with her before they left. Why was Xander always attracted to the girls who never wanted him?
Sleep was steadily invading her thoughts, but she managed to keep up with Faith's story. It was almost too crazy to believe, but lately Willow had found herself believing all sorts of weird things. If someone told her Santa Claus was real, she'd believe them. Stifling a yawn, she made her mind focus on what Faith was saying instead of letting it screen the porno starring Faith and Xander that she had been scripting in her overactive imagination.
"...and then I woke up here," Faith finished saying.
"So let me get this straight," Willow said. "You went back with Xander thinking you were the one who was to save the World and all that, but instead, you found out that your parents were from there and that your mother had sent you off through time to save you from your father who was the big bad of those days, only just as you found out about her, you were killed and then spent time in a dark place surrounded by roses?"
Willow didn't mean to sound so harsh and skeptical, but she couldn't help it. Something wasn't right and she couldn't figure out what it was. She knew what was going on even if no-one was going to believe her. Now Faith's reappearance was going to throw a major spanner in the works. Now she was definately sure that no-one would even listen to her, let alone believe anything she had to say.
"That's all I know," Faith yawned.
Willow looked at the small clock on her bedside table. "I guess we should sleep now and catch up with everyone else in the morning."
But she was speaking to herself. Faith had curled up on her bed and was fast asleep already.
"Nice for some," Willow said to herself as she wrapped herself up in a blanket and made her way over to a chair. She sat there watching Faith sleep, lost in her thoughts until sleep finally overtook her.
~*~
Buffy lay on her side, her head resting on her hand. She couldn't take her eyes off him as he slept. She had never seen anyone as beautiful as him. It seemed odd to her to think of a man as being beautiful, but in Legolas' case, he was. Sleep made him even more beautiful.
Gently she reaches out her hand and let her fingertips trace along his cheekbone. She drew them back as he stirred. She wasn't ready for him to wake up yet. For now, Buffy was content to watch him sleep and stay lost in her thoughts. The logical side of her mind was telling her this would like it had been with Angel. Impossible and painful. Like Angel, Legolas was not human and therefore, there was no possibility of a future with him. The other side of her mind was telling her that this was nothing like it had been with Angel. Legolas wasn't a 'monster' and there was no way he'd lose his soul. But deep down she knew that he didn't belong here and it was tearing her apart inside. She had thought she loved Angel, but what she was feeling for Legolas made that all pale in comparison.
Unable to stop herself, she reached out and brushed his hair back from his face. This time she didn't pull back when he stirred.
"Good morning," she whispered softly as he opened his eyes.
Legolas rolled over and cupped her face in his hands. "Good morning," he replied, leaning in to kiss her.
She pulled back. "Ugh, morning breath," she giggled.
Legolas didn't understand what she meant, but he understood enough to realise she didn't want a kiss. Instead, he gently kissed her forehead.
Buffy felt herself melt. How was she ever going to be able to let him go?
~*~
"This is bullshit," Xander yelled as he threw the book down on the table. "We've been looking for days now and we're still no closer to figuring this out."
Giles sighed. He understood Xander's frustration. He was feeling it too, but he dealt with it in different ways. Sometimes he just wanted to give it all up and run away somewhere where there were no Vampires, Demons and magic Rings that could destroy the world. But the part of his mind that made the most sense told him that there was nowhere safe he could run to that would be safe. He knew too much now. Like the others, he knew what goes bump in the night and many other things besides. Only complete and permanent amnesia would be able to help him live a normal life now.
"There has to be something," Giles said. "I just had the strangest feeling of deja vu. I guess we've had this discussion before."
Xander looked over at the Watcher and smiled. "I guess we have been doing this routine a lot of the past few days."
"We certainly have," Giles replied. "But we have to be missing something. The answer is here somewhere I can feel it. Just trying to sort through all this material is taking more time than I thought it would."
"Well I hate to throw another complication into the mix then."
They had been so busy talking that neither man had heard Willow enter.
"Complication?" Giles asked.
"That's all we need," added Xander.
Willow stepped aside and the two men could see the small figure that had been hiding behind her.
"No," cried Xander. "It can't be..."
Giles was puzzled. "Can't be...?" He looked closer. "Oh my goodness, Faith."
"What kind of sick joke is this?" Xander demanded. "You're dead. I..."
"Killed me," Faith said softly.
Willow's mouth fell open. Xander had killed Faith? But he said simply that she had died back there in Middle Earth. He certainly never alluded to his role in her death.
"Xander?" she said.
"I'm sorry Wills. I couldn't tell you. I have lived with the guilt of what I did for so long, I couldn't take your guilt trip too. Besides, I never know what to pack."
"Thats not funny Xander," Willow said, her voice full with hurt. "You just didn't trust me."
"Willow you know thats not true," he replied.
"Is it? You all discuss things without me. You have meetings without me. You might as well have left me with Angel."
"How...? Why...? When...?" Giles muttered, still in shock.
"I don't know," Faith replied.
"What do you know?" Xander snapped, his attention moving from Willow to Faith.
"I know this will get us nowhere," Willow cut in. "We were up most of the night talking and she doesn't know much. Faith has no idea what happened, how she got back here, or why."
"When you said another complication, you weren't kidding," Giles sighed. "What, if anything, do you remember Faith."
Faith closed her eyes and thought back. "Roses," she said. "I remember roses."
"The Daughter of Fire will come from the Mountain of Roses," Giles said softly.
Xander looked at Faith in a new way now. His guilt was disappearing and a new feeling of hope settled over him. Finally a complication that was going to help them.
"Is she?" he asked Giles.
"I can't think of any other reason for Faith returning unless she is the one we have been looking for."
"No, you have it wrong," Willow said suddenly. "She's not the one. I don't know why she's back, but she's not the one."
But Giles and Xander were too busy to listen to her. Their noses were buried back in the books, ignoring the presence of both young women now.
"Notice how they ignore you yet again?" Faith whispered in Willow's ear. "You aren't important and you know it. They've never needed you. You just get in the way and cause more problems than you think you solve. Why are you even here Willow?"
"I know who you are," Willow snarled back. "And I know why you're here. You won't succeed, no matter how much you try."
"But I already have," Faith purred. "It took you a while, but I know now you can see right through me. Such a shame that they do and in the end, I always win."