The Quickening

Previously:

"I'm in your dreams, Faith. I can be anything I want here. The reality of dreams is far different than the reality of your world," the voice said. "Remember this place, Faith. You'll see it again."

Chapter Forty-One:

Faith quietly closed the door to Giles's apartment, hoping to sneak back in without awaking her legal guardian. "Good morning," Giles's voice rang out through the apartment. Faith cringed, resting her head against the door as it closed.

"Morning, G-man," she replied, sighing. Moving away from the door, she walked into the kitchen. Giles was sitting at the kitchen table, with a mug of tea in front of him.

"There's more on the stove if you want it," Giles said, motioning to the teakettle.

"I'm good," Faith replied, taking a seat. Giles nodded and lifted his teacup, taking a sip. Silence fell between them and finally Faith spoke. "What're you waiting for?" She asked.

"What do you mean?" Giles responded, setting his teacup back down on the table.

"Well, you obviously know that I was out all night, right?" Faith asked, realizing that she could have just inadvertently revealed herself. Giles nodded, watching as Faith visibly relaxed. "So aren't you gonna punish me or something?"

"Where did you go?" Giles asked, delaying his response to her question.

"Xander's," Faith replied. "I couldn't sleep. Thought a change of location might help."

Giles looked up at her, studying her face intently. He knew that she had been having trouble sleeping. He could hear her at night, tossing and turning in her bed, plagued by nightmares. He wondered if they were simply a product of her childhood, pieces of bad memories invading her consciousness at night, or if the nightmares were something more than that. Slayers often received prophetic dreams in the form of horrifying nightmares. "Why couldn't you sleep?" Giles asked casually. He could see Faith debating with herself over whether to tell him the truth. Finally, she sighed and ran a hand through her long, dark hair.

"I've been having these dreams," Faith responded shakily, almost as if she was unsure of herself.

"What kinds of dreams?" Giles asked calmly, trying to balance the concern he felt for her as her legal guardian with the professional interest he felt as her Watcher.

"They're strange," Faith answered, her eyes fixated on some distant point. "I can only really remember two. They feel like nightmares, but nothing really happens in them. In the first one, I was standing on this balcony. Someone was standing in front of me, holding a knife. I thought I recognized it, but I don't ever remember having seen one that looked like it. The person said a lot of things. Something about darkness mostly. It seemed like there was something below the balcony, something important. But this figure, it said that I wasn't ready to see it yet."

"What about the second dream?" Giles asked, not particularly liking Faith's description.

"In the second dream," Faith continued, "I was in an alley. It looked like something that could have been in Sunnydale, but really, all alleys look the same. There was this total darkness in front of me and, for some reason, I felt drawn to it – like I needed to be in it. The figure was there again. I saw it's face this time."

"Who was it?" Giles interrupted.

"Buffy," Faith replied, much to Giles's surprise. "Well, not really Buffy. It was the First Evil."

"The First Evil was in your dreams?" Giles asked, dread seeping into his heart. Quickly removing his glasses, he began to clean them on the front of his shirt. He had suspected from the moment Faith came to Sunnydale that having two slayers in a single generation was not simply an accident. Though he pleaded with the Council to research any prophecies that regarded multiple slayers, the Council refused, stating that the idea of two slayers at one time had never been entertained. As he got to know Faith better, he recognized a certain darkness in her, the same darkness he had possessed when he was a younger man. Buffy and Faith were like polar opposites, light and dark. Giles was certain, hearing Faith's description of her dreams, that something extraordinary, either good or bad, was going to happen in Sunnydale. It would happen between Buffy and Faith and Giles had the sinking feeling that only one of them would survive it.

"Yeah," Faith answered, noting his reaction. "That not a good thing?"

"I don't think so," Giles answered truthfully. Faith nodded thoughtfully and looked down at the table. "Please, continue."

"It kept talking about hate – how I had all this hate," Faith said.

"Hate directed towards whom?" Giles asked.

"I don't know," Faith said, shrugging. "I think it just meant in general. It brought up my mom," Faith said, looking down at the table. She could feel tears sting her eyes and she closed them, pulling herself together. Giles looked away. He hated to see her in pain. Though he knew how to comfort most people, Faith was not like most people. She was an enigma that he had just started to unravel. "Anyway, it told me to remember the alley, but I don't know why. So what do you think?"

"They're not just arbitrary dreams. They're most definitely slayer dreams. However, that being said, I'm not entirely sure what they mean. If I had more resources, I might be able to figure it out faster," Giles muttered to himself.

"What do you mean, if you had more resources?" Faith asked. "Can't you just contact the Council?"

"I'm afraid not," Giles answered. "Apparently, they discovered our plan to help Buffy. They relieved me of my duties as Watcher last night."

"Shit, are you serious?" Faith asked. Giles nodded solemnly.

"I imagine they'll be sending out a new Watcher for you and Buffy rather soon," he replied, then added when he saw the distressed look on Faith's face, "but don't worry, I'm not going anywhere."

Faith nodded. "Good. I'd hate to have to move back into that shitty motel," she replied jokingly, though Giles could see through her nonchalant attitude.

"Of course, this does mean that you and Buffy are going to have to cooperate with whomever they send out here," he added, smiling at the belligerent look that crossed her face.

"Do we have to?" Faith grumbled.

"With any luck, they won't send anyone too terribly dull," Giles commented, sipping his tea.

"Yeah, like you're just a ball of fun," Faith jokingly replied. Giles shot her a look.

"I could be worse," he replied. "I've lightened up considerably since I first got here."

"So I've heard," Faith answered.

"That being said, I actually have to go to work now," Giles responded, standing. "And you have to train."

"No more Council salary, huh?" Faith replied, grabbing her coat and following after Giles as he grabbed his bag, heading toward the front door.

"Unfortunately, no," Giles replied. "To be honest, I'm not actually sure what they pay me at the library," Giles said, laughing to himself.

"It's not really like you do anything there anyway," Faith said.

"I suppose I might have to start," Giles replied, jokingly aghast.

Faith smiled and said, "What's the world coming to."

…………………………….

"You better watch out for your boy," Cordelia said, sauntering into the library. Faith was sitting at one of the library tables, reading over the Slayer handbook, which Giles had finally decided to show her. He had intended to work with her on the crossbow, but found that when he arrived at the library, there were actual students that required his assistance, much to his surprise.

"Why's that?" Faith asked, closing the book and tossing it onto the table. She looked up at Cordelia as the cheerleader walked over at sat down across from her.

"He almost got his face beaten in a couple of minutes ago by Jack O'Toole," Cordelia replied.

"And I'm sure you really tried to bolster his confidence afterwards," Faith said, chuckling as Cordelia shook her head.

"Of course not," Cordy replied. "Look, I may be hanging out with these people again, but that doesn't mean I'm gonna start being nice to them when I have a perfectly good opportunity to tear them down."

"You're such a good friend, C," Faith responded.

"I know," Cordy replied matter-of-factly.

The library doors opened and Faith and Cordelia looked up to see Xander grumpily entering. "Hey, X-man," Faith said. "How's it going?"

"Am I cool?" Xander asked, joining the two girls at the library table.

"No," Cordelia replied instantaneously.

Faith shot her a look. "Not helping, C," she muttered under her breath to the other girl. Cordy shrugged.

"I'm not am I?" Xander stated. "See, I knew it."

"Who cares?" Faith replied. "You shouldn't let other people's opinions of you affect you. Screw everyone else."

"That theory work for you?" Cordy replied jokingly.

"Can we focus on me for just a minute here?" Xander interrupted, exasperated.

"Xan," Faith said, turning to him. "Do you really think I'd be going out with you if I thought you were the scum of the earth?" Faith asked. Then quickly added, looking at Cordelia, "Don't respond to that."

"I guess not," Xander replied looking down at the table. Cordy sighed.

"You know, Jack O'Toole's had to repeat the twelfth grade like three times. Seriously, I wouldn't worry about what he thinks," Cordy said. Xander nodded.

"How stupid do you have to be to fail the same grade three times?" Faith said, mostly to herself.

"Pretty damn stupid," Xander replied, laughing a little. Reaching under the table, he took Faith's hand, smiling over at her. "Thanks," he whispered. Faith nodded. "And thanks to you too," Xander said looking up at Cordelia. "You kinda made me feel not quite so bad."

"I'm here twenty-four seven," Cordy replied. "What's with him?" Cordy asked, motioning to Giles as he walked out of his office looking rather troubled.

"Is Buffy here yet?" Giles asked, just as Buffy walked in the door.

"I am now," Buffy replied, joining the others. Willow and Oz walked in shortly after her.

"So what's up, Giles?" Buffy asked. "You look a little flustered."

Giles sighed and sat a book down on the table. "How about the end of the world?"