"So if no one minds terribly, might I ask just what it is you people are doing here?"
Giles, Dawn decided, seemed extremely put out after the fight at dinner. He had called the new arrivals – Spike, Faith, Dobby, Xander, the Weasley twins, Anya, Buffy, and Dawn – into the staff room with Tara, and Professors McGonagall, Snape, and Flitwick. Willow and Jess were with Grey in the infirmary. He was still unconscious, and everyone thought it would be better to separate those two from Buffy for a little while. They had reacted badly to Buffy's attack.
Fortunately, no one had been hurt.
"Didn't mean to start such a fracas, Watcher," Spike said, leaning against the fireplace. "Big things're goin' down in Sunnyhell. We figured a conference call just wouldn't do it."
"I had no idea Grey was here," Faith added. "If I'd known, we would've called first or something."
"So you thought he might attack you?" Snape snarled. "Why might that be, I wonder?"
"Hey, I didn't KNOW it, you Bergman refugee, but I coulda guessed," she snapped.
"Ooh, good one," Xander said under his breath. "Does he play chess?"
"Can we get back on track?" Giles broke in. He removed his glasses to rub the bridge of his nose. "She is on our side, Severus, and I'm certain it was not her intention to ruin our meal with a bout of fisticuffs. Buffy, what on earth is going on?"
"It's kind of a long story, Giles."
"Somebody's attacking me, first with a tiger-horn-thingy, then with some shoppers and vampires and tonight with some freaky cult dudes," Dawn explained. "It's the same guy who did the thrall on Buffy this summer."
"Apparently not that long," Buffy said. "They keep coming after the Key. We have to get Dawn out of there until we can figure out who it is. Especially," she said in a bitter voice, "because I seem to be no help against this guy."
Giles looked at them intently, but didn't comment. Telling Buffy what he knew would only make matters worse. Why would this man, this angel, be after Dawn? he wondered silently. That would require a good deal of thought, and he pushed it aside. First he had to see to Dawn's safety, and that most likely meant bringing her to Hogwarts, assuming he could get the others to agree to it; Snape seemed to be in a most disagreeable mood.
"She would be safe here," Flitwick squeaked, saving Giles from suggesting it. The diminutive professor smiled kindly at Dawn. She liked him instantly.
"I agree," McGonagall said. "There would be very few uses for the Key that we could tolerate. If Albus were here, I'm certain he would offer her shelter."
"That could be dangerous, couldn't it? For the other students, those not subject to random attacks by dark forces?" Snape said.
"I think, Severus, that the girl's safety and her importance as a potential weapon mitigate what risks it might pose," McGonagall said harshly. "Albus would agree with me, and he will, once he returns. As you well know."
Snape glared but said nothing.
"Freaky cult dudes," Giles repeated, puzzled by having found no reference to the Cadre Caelestis having followers. "Elaborate please."
"Never seen them before," Anya answered. "Looked like pretty low-rent cultists to me, dirty white robes and all. Major players like to look crisp, at least the ones I've met."
"Ah, and your cult experience is diverse?" Snape asked skeptically.
"Is it your job to be negative and difficult, Mister Greasy Man? You meet a few cultists when you spend a thousand years as a vengeance demon. My knowledge is quite diverse, thank you very much."
The Hogwarts professors gasped; Snape purpled with anger and glared.
"They were strong, fast, and well-trained," Buffy continued, "despite their poor outerwear. Fortunately, so are we," she added, with a glance at Faith. Then she pulled the ring from her pocket and tossed it to Giles. "One of them wore this, too. Could mean something."
Giles nodded, peering at the unfamiliar design.
"They're workin' for this guy for something other than money." Spike flicked open his lighter and lit a cigarette, ignoring the angry looks from the rest of the room. "They aren't ambitious enough to hit two Slayers at once just for cash. The town knew by now that Faith was around, an' that she's good."
"Thanks, blondie."
"If they're all expecting it, and he can do the thrall on Buffy, he's probly a player." Spike looked directly at Giles as he said it; Angel had filled him in on the Watcher's visit, and he wanted to make it clear who he thought was responsible.
Giles gave him a barely detectable nod.
"Agreed. The attacks seem to be increasing in severity, as well. Under the circumstances, I would definitely like to bring Dawn here. Perhaps we can camouflage her as a student, even though she has no magic of her own?"
"I believe we could arrange something. Perhaps simply say she's a guest of Willow's," McGonagall suggested.
"I want her to have extra cover," Buffy said. She turned to her best friend. "Xand, could you stay? I know it's a hassle, but …" she spread her hands, "it's Dawn."
"Of course, Buff," he said without hesitation. Dawn and Buffy were both touched.
"Xander!" Anya tugged at his arm and started whispering animatedly. Everyone but Snape looked away. "What about me? And your job? You're going to be an area foreman soon, which means more money, and … we were just starting to have good sex again."
"Just starting?" He looked appalled. Spike, listening in with vampire ears, held in a snicker.
"I mean, it was good, but now it was good plus the extra good that comes from being in love. You know what I mean."
"Oh," he said, reddening, "yeah, I do. But An … it's Dawn. I can't let anything happen to her. What she really needs is someone here to look out for her, and not just in the bodily harm sense. That's what I do best."
Anya nodded. That was Xander's best talent, and one of the reasons she loved him.
"We'll just tell the guys at work I have an illness in the family and I need a leave or something. They'll let me go. We can see each other on weekends and stuff, with the floo and everything."
She pouted, nodding even as she felt on the verge of tears.
"Thank you, Xander," Dawn said. She gave him a tight hug.
"We'll stay as well, nibblet," Spike said, gesturing to Faith and Dobby.
"We will?"
"Yeah. Research was goin' nowhere in Sunnyhell, an' I think the answer might be here." A brief flicker of hurt crossed Buffy's face; Spike ignored it. He'd be doing more to save her by finding an answer to his question than by staying in Sunnydale. "Need to talk ta Dumbledore about it as it is. You got a problem with that?"
Faith shook her head. "Not at all. Place this big has to have more to do than Sunnydale. We should probly check in on Grey, though, make sure he's cool with me staying." No way he will be, Faith thought to herself. A wave of guilt passed through her. Despite what she knew was the truth of it, she felt guilty about his aunt. Lucy had been a piece of work, and the first to person to ever really give Faith a chance.
"I'll go," Buffy offered, wanting to get away from Spike for a little while. "I need to chill Will out, too." She rubbed the spot on her stomach where Willow had blasted her away from Grey. "She's pretty pissed."
The silence was deafening.
Grey remembered vaguely how eerie it had been the first time, but somehow the memory seemed less harsh than the reality. The city of Boston should not have been silent. He had the mad urge to scream, shout, and dance a jig just to shatter the stillness.
"Please don't. You're singing's bloody awful."
That voice … he whirled around, and there she was, standing in the middle of the street. She looked tall, aristocratic, and alive.
"Looks can be deceiving."
"Au-aunt Lucy?"
"Hello, David."
"This is a dream, right? It must be. Because Faith's back, and Buffy knocked me out."
"Good guess, but … wrong."
"Only seventy-five more to go?"
"Something like that." She glanced at his hip. "I like the lightsaber. Very unique."
"Thanks."
"You could have carved her up in seconds. Why didn't you?"
He recognized that face. He had seen it often enough. Disapproval.
"I wanted her to hurt."
"I thought that's what it might be. You're still so angry."
"No," he said grimly, shaking his head. "I'm past that."
"Oh really? So someone else threatened to carve off Snape's ears if he hurt Jessica last year?"
"That was … a special circumstance," he said guardedly. His aunt's shade had the same irritating way of burrowing into him that the live version had once possessed.
"Was it? Tell that to Faith."
"Faith deserves that pain and more."
Lucy shook her head. "You're still the stupidest smart man I ever met. Do you honestly believe Faith had a hand in what happened to me?"
"She could have stopped it. She should have."
"We both know that's not true. She's a Slayer, not a god. It took both Slayers to kill that bastard. Together. And you think it was harsh to be the one to find my body? They made Faith watch."
He blanched. "How can you be so …"
"Dispassionate about it? Death gives you perspective." She walked up to him, peering down into his eyes from her six-foot height. "She is not to blame for my death. Neither are you, and putting your guilt on her will help no one."
"But she …"
"NO! She blames herself. You blame yourself. The true person to blame is five years dead. And drafting that poor girl to cover your back? She could very well go to Azkaban for that."
Grey's face twisted with fury, just as it had in the dining hall.
"Never happen."
She shook her head in disgust. "You are so very much like my father. It disgusts me sometimes. You're such a mess, runnin' around like all is well when you're all knotted inside. Thinkin' the cure is to act like everythin' is fine."
Now Grey was genuinely perplexed. "What are you talking about?"
"If you don't already know, I can't tell you."
"That lead-in bit is no less obnoxious than it was when you were alive."
"Sorry. It's beyond my message from the Powers. Can't say anythin' more."
"What's the message, then?"
"You're quite daft sometimes, aren't you? This must end. Now. Tonight. You need Faith, and Faith needs you. It's important enough that they sent me directly."
His vision began to darken and blur as wooziness overtook him.
"But why?" He managed to mumble.
Her answer echoed in his head as he fell back to blackness.
"Because he doesn't know her."
"He's gonna be fine," Jess said, resting a comforting hand on Willow's shoulder. "No one has a harder head. Trust me."
Willow looked up and smiled tentatively. She had Grey's hand in her own. "I know. Except maybe Xander. He gets hit on the head a lot and he's really stubborn, too."
"He seemed kinda goofy downstairs, before they went into their big meeting."
She slid into a chair next to Willow. They were alone with Grey in the infirmary.
"He's the king of goof. He isn't embarrassing himself too badly, I hope?"
"Nah. He's tryin' to lighten the mood is all."
Willow nodded, a soft smile on her face. "Probably not an easy thing with Faith here."
"Was she really as bad as all that? Grey hated her because he thought she let his aunt die, but before that he only had nice stuff to say."
"She lasted a few months as a good guy, but I don't know … I never liked her. Okay, yeah, that might have more to do with her suddenly playing the best friend role of Willow in Buffy's life, and I can't really fault her for that. Afterwards, though, when she signed on as the mayor's Luca Brasi and tried to steal Angel from Buffy and made with the knife-in-face when she had me hostage? That part was less fun."
"Wow. That is bad."
"It didn't get better when she stopped being all in-a-coma and had the sex with Buffy's boyfriend and attacked Angel before heading off for a stint in the pokey."
Jess frowned. "An' the reason we didn't let Grey tear out her spine was?"
"Don't know. Haven't talked with Buffy yet. Supposedly she's good again, and I know she's working with Spike. As for why they're here…"
"It's complicated," Buffy said quietly, slipping through the infirmary door. She moved to hug Willow, but the redhead pushed her away and stood up. "What's wrong Wills?"
"What's wrong? You put my boyfriend in the hospital! Didn't my energy bolt after dinner tell you anything?"
"Willow, shhh!" Jess said, pointing at Grey.
"Oh, sorry. But geez, Buffy, you expect me to be all 'hi, how ya doing, give me a hug' after that?"
Buffy looked sheepish. "Sorry. There just didn't seem like any other way." She winced. "Is he badly hurt?"
"No, thank goodness. We could have stopped him ourselves, though, without resorting to cave-slayer tactics."
Buffy sucked her lower lip into her mouth. Nobody could make her feel terrible like Willow could. "I'm so sorry, Wills. Really, I am."
"You're jus' lucky he wasn't hurt badly, Slayer," Jess said.
"I guess we should have owled ahead, huh?"
"Probably better that you didn't," Grey said weakly from the bed. "I might have used a poisoned crossbow."
"Grey!" Willow and Jess shouted together. He was suddenly on the receiving end of several hugs, though he couldn't sort out whose arms belonged to who. He had a vague memory of dreaming about his aunt, and his anger at Faith had dissipated. Lucy's death hadn't been any more her fault than it had been his.
"How do you feel?" Buffy asked when the other two had resumed their stations next to him.
"Like a Slayer slammed me headfirst into the dining hall floor. Imagine that."
Buffy blushed. "Sorry."
"It's okay. I needed it. I was being an ass." He looked at Willow. "Was anyone hurt?"
"Other than you and Faith? Uh uh. She'll be smarting in the morning, but nothing terrible."
"I think I probably owe Xander and Dawn an apology, huh?"
"More than one," Willow agreed. "What happened to you? I've never seen you like that."
He turned away from her, meeting Jess's intense gaze on the other side of the bed.
"Jess? Buffy? Could you guys send Faith up here in a few?"
"I could stay," Jess offered.
"No. I need to talk to Willow for a bit first."
She nodded. "Okay."
"Sorry again," Buffy said as they were leaving.
Grey nodded. The door swung closed and he and Willow were alone.
"So now are you gonna tell me?"
He looked away again, ashamed.
"It's not like it's some big disfiguring mark or something, is it?"
"No, Will, not that. You'd have found that by now, don't you think?"
Her face reddened. "Oh. Yeah."
"So I guess you know that Faith's watcher and my aunt were the one and the same."
"Giles figured it out. I never realized it 'til tonight, but you guys fight eerily the same. Mirror-like."
"We do. My aunt was a great teacher." He looked back at her, surprising her with eyes full of tears. "I'm sorry I never told you about Boston. It's really hard for me."
She took his hand and brushed her lips across his knuckles. "You don't have to, if you don't wanna. I don't need to know so badly."
"Yeah, you do. I love you. I want you to know all about me, because I know how much you want to. I didn't intend to keep this from you."
She dropped his hand and leaned in. The kiss lingered, full of solace and comfort paired with the tiniest hint of passion. He wrapped his arms around her and pulled her onto the bed.
"You know when Faith was called, right?"
"Yup," she said, snuggling up next to him. "In a weird way, I was there."
"With Kendra?" She nodded. "Yeah, well, when Faith was called, she had already been living with us for a month. You knew her – she was really difficult and closed off, but I think she and my aunt were genuinely starting to like each other when I left."
"When was that?"
"Maybe two months after she was called. Fighting with a vampire slayer was an interesting training tool."
"He was wicked good then, Red," Faith said softly from the doorway. She had been waiting outside, but stepped in when she heard her name. "Not strong and hella fast like tonight, but I don't think I've ever fought a guy as well-trained as your man there, besides maybe Angel. Except he was a boy." She looked him over. "You ditched the hair?"
"More like the hair ditched me," Grey answered.
He hadn't leapt from the bed and attacked her again, and she wondered what was going on. "I like it. Mean-looking, y'know?"
Willow slid off the bed, stepping between them.
"I'm not here for a scrum, Willow. I swear. Buffy sent me up."
"She seems to not hate you right now, which, as Xander might say, I personally don't know anything about," Willow responded coolly.
"We've got a deal. I continue to prove I'm diggin' on the good and she lets me continue to prove it."
"Are you here to stay?"
"For a little bit, yeah. Spike's got some stuff he needs to do, and Dawn needs some bodyguard action."
"You're running with Spike?" Grey said, more than a little amused. "That's worth money to see."
Willow ignored their exchange. "Let's get something clear, Miss California-Penal-Institution. Buffy's not here. I am. If you mess with Grey or any of my students, which by the way is all of them, or any of the other professors, you'll go from vampire slayer to something gooey and messy in a heartbeat. There will be no knife-in-face, no junk about giving you other chances. Just splat. Got it?"
Faith nodded. The words were Willow but the eyes … the eyes pulsed with something much darker.
"Good. Continue," she said to Grey, who was watching her with elevated eyebrows.
"That's my girlfriend," he said to Faith. "She's kind of protective."
"You and Red?" She nodded, a small smile on her lips. "I can see that."
"Anyway," Grey continued, "I left for my auror training the summer Faith was called. As you pretty much know, awhile later Kaquistos showed up and butchered my aunt."
His voice cracked at the end of the sentence. Willow rubbed his arm lightly. Faith stared off into the middle distance, remembering, until Grey's voice jolted her back.
"Jess and I went back. We found her body. It was obvious what they'd done."
"She doesn't need to know that part," Faith said, still not looking at either of them.
"I know." To Willow, he said, "it was obviously vampires. Badass ones. Faith was nowhere to be found, and I blamed her. My father and I went to the Watcher's Council, but you, I'm sure, know them, and they wouldn't say a word about where she was. We tried to hunt her down with locating spells and things like that, but it didn't work."
"The Hellmouth," Willow said. "It can obscure that kind of thing."
"Yeah, that sounds right," Faith said. She looked back at Grey. "I wanted to tell you, but … I couldn't. It was hard. Then things sorta changed on me."
"Meaning you turned into exactly what I thought you were," Grey said.
"Yeah." She turned her head away, the shadows of the darkened room emphasizing the lines and creases that the painful years had given her. He could feel the desperation coming off of her in waves, and something inside him gave way.
He climbed out of bed, letting go of Willow, and stood beside Faith. They stared out the infirmary windows onto the moonlit Hogwarts grounds, enduring several minutes of uninterrupted, blatantly uncomfortable silence as they both thought about his aunt.
"She was happy for you. So happy. You shoulda seen it, Grey. When your owls showed up, she'd get all fired up and start reading parts of 'em out loud."
"She did that a lot with letters. Used to annoy the hell out of me."
"Me too. It was funny, though."
"I'm sorry I didn't give you the benefit of the doubt. I was a little insane about it for awhile, and it festered."
"Don't be sorry. You were right."
"No," he stepped in front of her and looked her in the eye, "I wasn't. Whatever happened later, happened later. The girl I knew wouldn't have done the things I thought she did. I'm sorry I thought that about you."
Faith's face cracked and she looked as if she might start to cry.
"I'm the sorry one, Grey. I couldn't do anything for her. Nothing. They caught us when we were sleeping. One of 'em posed as a fuckin' pizza guy on a rainy night and got invited in. They drugged us, and when I woke up…"
Grey wrapped his arms around her as they both broke down sobbing. Willow stood still and watched, tears running down her face, as they finally mourned Grey's aunt together. She had never seen Faith cry like that.
"Sorry again," Grey said when they had calmed down, "I know you don't hug."
"No, I don't," she said, "but this one time I'll let it slide."
"So you're back now? Atoning?"
She shrugged. "You can't, really, not for what I've done. But I'm trying."
"This is the right place for that, believe me. Too bad you weren't into the dark magic."
"Why?"
"We could've looked into starting an evil Quidditch team."
