Title: No Sense In Running
Disclaimer: Purely for entertainment. No infringement intended.
Pairings: Possible Faith/Jess, possible Faith/Buffy.
Rating: R for language, themes.


CHAPTER 5

You are pulled from the wreckage
Of your silent reverie…Arms of the Angel, Sarah McLachlan

So it turns out this whole war deal is much more than I expected it would be. The source of all evil's hit our backyard and the potentials are here to help fight the supposed battle. Turns out even neighbours are leaving town.

She says his name is Caleb. Some sort of woman-hatin' Preacher ready to bring on the battle against us with his truck's lighter. Apparently he's all with the fist and the physical damage and really strong. B wants to take 'em all down to the vineyard where he's hidin' out with all his blind bringers. I say it's too dangerous. She says they're strong enough. So you can see the conflicting images here. She's about ready to bring it…with other people's lives. I'm NOT.

So there she goes, storming out of the lounge where everybody's talking (or rather she's talking) about what we're gonna do. She heads into the kitchen, making a fuss under her breath as she goes, and I up from my chair and follow her. Jess wanted to follow, but I told her to stay back. Honestly? It could get ugly; the way she's been hitting it off so far. I know I buried my past, but I'd dig it all up just to see B squeamin' in her non-stylish and very cheap boots.

'Faith, what are you doing?' she asks all "I'm the Head Slayer," in control, the way she always wanted to be.

'B, what are you doin'? Can you not see what you're doin'?'

'How can you come in here and question my methods after you started tossin' off people's lives like they were candy wrappers? What do you know?'

'What do I know! I know that these girls are not ready-'

'You've never seen them fight-'

'Yeah, and the way Giles put it, it seems neither have you.'

'They need to do this, Faith. To realise how hard the fight is gonna be.'

'I thought this IS the fight…'

She scoffs at me and I'm gettin' way offended. 'Oh man, just as I thought,' she mumbled beneath her breath, and I took a step towards her, the sound of my boots scuffing the ground. 'Can't say I expected you to, never did-'

'Ex-CUSE me!'

'What, you break outta jail and all of a sudden you know "best?" Faith don't kid yourself.'

'Oh, use that attitude to buy yourself a clue,' I spat, deciding to leave, though happening to be stopped by Buffy's curiosity.

'Why exactly is it that you hate me so much? Is it because I know what I'm talkin' about and you don't? What, are you afraid same thing's gonna happen before; I'm gonna surpass you?'

'Oh my…' I shook my head in disbelief. Seems the ninety-nine percent of substance in her head really is just air. Or ego, not sure yet. 'Alright, B, I'm gonna tell it how it IS. Arite, I come in here, and straight away, I see you telling every single person what to do, as if you have all the answers, just like that. I see, p-ses throwin' pillows around, chewin' popcorn and paintin' fingernails and then you telling them they gotta go fight a guy even though they might not have a clue how to do so. I see, Giles removin' his glasses from his face every two seconds which OBVIOUSLY means the decision isn't unanimous even though he doesn't get a word in edgeways. I see despair, anxiety and then I see You. I see you, Buffy. And it seems you don't, no…you won't take into consideration ANYbody else's opinion because only yours counts. You draw up the map; they do, they DIE. Then you try to tell me what I'm doin' even though you know you can't tell me what I'm doin' for the simple fact that YOU KNOW I'm NOT one of them. I'm one of YOU. As is Giles, Xander, Anya, Willow –whatever. But you're trying to form an army but you don't have the first clue. Sandy in there, curly blonde hair, about one hundred and twenty-five pounds, green eyes? She's never even held a stake, or hit a guy. Lauren, okay she's like sixteen, five-six, brown hair down to like her butt – she's never put up a block stance, and she's NEVER seen a vamp. About ninety percent of these girls haven't and I BET you're wondering how I know this?' I took a breath and licked over my lips, thinking she would say something, but instead she just looked at me blankly. 'You should see Sandy's hands, clear as ice- any person holding a stake knows they're gonna get splinters, bust 'em up a little.

'They don't know the SLIGHTEST thing about a fight. And you're about to lead them into a battle that they're all shit-scared of cos they know they're gonna fail.'

Just when I thought all my talking was gonna pay off, she's raisin' an eyebrow at me, as if "what the hell, I'm tough shit, I don't gotta listen."

'Alright, we don't have time for this, are you coming or not?'

I shook my head slow, watching her standing, hands folded, eyebrow raised. Still. 'This is what I mean, this is- you think you are so much better than us, Buffy – always has been that way. Slayer's fight, so you have to be right, no questions, no disagreements.'

'Might as well get out, then.'

My eyes widened and I spread my arms. 'Why the hell, Buffy?'

'Why the hell what, Faith?' she said all nonchalant, thinkin' I couldn't see all that fear in her eyes.

'Why do you always do this?'

'What?'

'Listen to what anybody has to say then dismiss it like WE don't have the first clue what we're talkin' about?'

She shrugged and I swear to God I wanted to swing one good and hard her way. 'Cos you have to fall in line. What I say goes. You wanna try to come in my house and tell me what to do? No. You wanna come here and try to act like you can lead these girls? No. Okay? Just, no. They're my girls, I train them, I'm responsible for them. I'm the only Slayer here, and what I say goes. Alright? I go first, I say the NO or I say the YES. There isn't time for um's and ah's and "I can't make decisions" – I say what happens. You don't like it…then go the hell back to the big house.'

Had to clench my fists and jaw to stop myself from punching her. And as she started to walk back through the dining room, I followed. Unfinished and all.

'You just can't take it, can you?' I told her, her back to mine. She paused in her steps and turned to face me, crossing her arms over her chest and flicking her hair back.

'Excuse me…'

'The fact that I could actually lead them. Cos I reformed, and you don't like it. You know I'm the only match for you, I'm as strong as you and if I wanted, I could run the show.'

Seems everyone wanted to know what the hype was, and good thing they did too. Perhaps they should know all about her barefaced fucking falsehoods. She might try to sell me out as the bad girl. But I know where to draw the line. Her rage comes out…there is no line.

'You might be my match, Faith…but you'll never be running this show. This is MY war.'

'Like you're the only one in conflict.'

'Fuck you, Faith.'

'Look, we're all on the same team here-'

'Yeah…you're right. But there's no we in you and I. So get out.'

'I thought you needed me,' I said, for the love of god trying to keep my temper in front of everyone, because I swear to God I'd have lost it by now if it was just us two.

Giles emerged from the crowd of faces and put his glasses on, then gently, slid his hands into his pockets. 'We-' he started, looking at Buffy. '…We do need you, Faith. Buffy, you're being irrational. And I think Faith's right.'

Buffy lookin' all defeated and surprised, let her jaw drop. 'WHAT!'

'These girls, are barely if not AT ALL experienced in fighting and you're signing their lives away by taking them to Caleb. If we go, it should be us. Not them.'

'No, wait.' I took a couple of steps forward past Giles and into the lounge. 'If I understand correctly, some of you girls have done this before. So if you think you can do it, get it together and tag along. If not…stay behind.'

'I don't think…' B started.

'That sounds like an idea to me…' Kennedy piped up. Some of the girls got up and headed up to their rooms, Buffy watching them all as they went. Ha. Shut her up.

'I count, what, fifteen of us. At least now, we might stand a chance rather than having to watch out for the potentials,' I told Giles and B, hoping she'd at least nod or something. Will, Xander and Anya had come into the foyer where we'd been standing.

'Buffy?' There was a silence as Giles looked towards her. 'Any objections?' he said solemnly waiting her answer.

She looked at us all, one by one. 'No.' she looked at me, and stepped forward. 'And what about Jess?'

'She'll be with me – Jess, you comin'?'

She stood up from the couch arm and nodded. 'Sure. Nothin' I can't handle.'

Buffy looked her up and down, and I could tell she was wondering whether or not she could actually handle a fight.

'Ey,' I said, alerting her to me. 'I only had one p.s. to train. She knows her game.'

Buffy scoffed and headed through to the lounge to get weapons.

I looked to Giles, searching approval, and he nodded calmly. 'I think we've needed someone to do that for quite some time, now.'

'What, put her in her place?' I asked.

Willow nodded. 'One more round of her lecture's and I would be growing black roots. As much as she has all of our lives at interest, she's not getting a hold of it. She's not letting herself open to us. She may pretend she doesn't need you, Faith. But she really does. You're the only one who knows how to get through to her.'

Giles nodded. 'Hmm, and I think you just did.'

I nodded also, narrowing my eyes slightly. 'No doubt, first thing I noticed when I got here. We'll uh, address that situation a little later. But for now she's definitely right about one thing; we need weapons.'

They all agreed and we headed back into the lounge to help her grab some things.