"Ah, man I'm beat," I sigh as I slump into a chair. Dude, this flat is da bomb! But I'm tired as hell; jet lag's a bitch.
"I told you not to watch all the in-flight movies," Giles scolds.
Yeah, he did; but it was worth it! Die Another Day was awesome, though that last scene isn't a great one for first time fliers. I thought that B would have to get out the tranq gun to get me to calm down. Halle Berry's hot! And that fencing looked wicked cool, I must ask Giles about training with swords sometime.
"Faith? Faith, were you listening to me?"
"Huh? Oh, sorry. I'm kinda outta it," I mumble, coming back to the real world. "What were you saying?"
"We were discussing room arrangements. Now, as I was saying: this is a two bedroom flat. Willow and Buffy can take the room with the two twins; Faith, you take the double; and I'll take the couch. Unless anyone objects, I think that'll work." He looks around and we just nod; we're all too tired to care much. "I don't see why we couldn't just use my house."
"Yeah, it's bigger, but it's in the middle of nowhere," Willow whines. "And we do want to do stuff while in England."
"Yeah, you know, like clubbing and going to pubs and drinking til we're shit-faced," I decide to join the conversation and add my two cents.
"I was thinking more along the lines of theatre and museums and cultural stuff," Willow squeaks.
"Willow, you really shouldn't lie," I yawn. Damn, I'm really out of it. "One, you really suck at it. Two, it really doesn't work with the whole pure, good girl look you're always going for."
"Hey! Are we forgetting the whole tried to destroy the world last year thing?"
"N-n-no Will, course not. How could we forget?" B says, trying to stifle a yawn, but another one hits her harder. Dude! You can see her tonsils. I think the whole thing about yawning being contagious is true. "But I'm thinking bed, now."
"I second that notion." I raise my hand as I yawn yet again.
"Notion passed," B says as she and Red raise their hands and Giles rolls his eyes. I'll bet almost anything he just said 'Americans' in that disgusted British tone under his breath.
Buffy's POV
I'm running fast through a graveyard, I can hear Faith starting to breathe heavily a few steps behind me. I see a crypt in front of us, about thirty yards. I turn my head to the side to see Faith right next to me, she smiles at me that teasing way she loves to do. Then she speeds in front of me and kicks in the crypt door. I look over my shoulder as I get to the door, whatever we were running from is out of sight. What were we running from? I can't remember exactly, but it must have been something bad, from the state we're in, we'd been running long and hard.
As I close the door, Faith grabs my arm and pushes me against the wall a few feet over. She has her hands on my shoulders and she's looking intently into my eyes. She brushes a piece of stray hair off my face and leans into me slightly. The sensation of her touch sends a shiver up my body. If I thought we'd been breathing heavily before, it was nothing compared to now. I inhale deeply as her face gets closer to mine, and then the door gets kicked open again.
Ten vamps rush through the door, and Faith turns her head to look at them, her arms still on my shoulders and her body still pressed against mine. "Damn! I thought we had lost them. Well, whadja say B, another round?" She looks back at me with the most confident smirk on her face.
She leaves me and starts fighting the first vamp before I can even say anything, so I don't and just join the fight. She dusts hers easily and moves to the next one, catching him off guard with a hit right to the nose. I shouldn't have been paying so much attention to Faith, as my vamp sweeps my feet out from under me and I land on the floor. I go for my stake which I had dropped right beside me, but the vamp knocks it out of my hand, sending it across the crypt. Suddenly he stops attacking me. He's just holding me down, I try to get out of his grip but it's as if all the strength has left my body.
"Faith! Faith, help!" I scream, but she's busy with six, no, five vamps all to her self.
"Faith, behind you," I try to shout as I see the fifth vamp come up from behind her, but nothing comes out. An instant later, the vamp grabs her from behind and holds her hands behind her back. She struggles for a bit, but her strength has seemed to have left her as well. But the vamps don't attack her like they normally would, they're just standing there, like they're waiting for something. Ok, this is getting really freakish now, and why can't I use my voice?
She's looking at me with desperation in her eyes, like if she looks at me long enough, I will suddenly be able to get up and come to her rescue. Then her eyes move up, and it seems that she's looking at something behind me. I don't think I've ever seen so much fear in her eyes since Kakistos. She moves her lips like she's trying to say something, but she seems to have lost her voice as well. Goddamn you, vamp, get up; what's going on?
She starts thrashing back and forth, franticly trying to get out of the vamp's grasp, but she can't. Then I see it; I thought I got rid of them almost four years ago. But I'll never forget that face, that smile; there's no way it could be anything else. And it's headed straight for Faith, scalpel raised. Oh God, that smile, it makes me sick. God! It's gonna kill Faith.
"No!" I scream inside, even though I know no one can hear me. "No, don't kill her. God, no. Please, Faith, don't kill Faith!"
"Buffy! Buffy, wake up!" I feel someone shaking me and my eyes shoot open. I swing my fist towards the voice defensively, and realize just in time that it was Willow. "Buffy, it's ok, it was just a dream."
"Oh God, Faith," I say as I jump out of my bed, but Will tries to stop me.
"It's ok Buffy, just a dream remember, I'm sure Faith's fine."
"No, no she isn't." I shake my head and shove Willow's hand off my shoulder. I rush out of our room and into Faith's. She's lying on the bed, thrashing violently, just like she was before Willow woke me up. "Faith! Faith, wake up. C'mon, it's just a dream."
I sit on the bed and hold her to me so she doesn't hurt herself. "It's ok Faith, I'm here," I whisper in her ear. "I'll protect you, wake up."
She gives one last jump and her eyes shoot open. "Buffy! What was that… thing?" I can feel her pulse start to slow slightly, but it's still extremely quick, and she's sweating horribly. What happened after I left? "It-it was cutting into my chest and I couldn't do anything to stop it. Oh God, it was horrible."
She's holding onto me like she still fears for her life, she seems so child like right now, I've never seen her like this before. "It was one of the Gentlemen. They came to Sunnydale while you were, um, still in a coma. They stole all our voices and cut people's hearts out. I had hoped that I'd never see them again," I say quietly, gently caressing her forehead, trying to calm her some more. She's still shaking slightly when Willow enters the room with Giles.
"Are you two ok?" Giles questions softly, I nod slowly and look down at Faith, who doesn't really do anything. She's still in shock from what had happened; it might have been a dream, but it seemed so real. "Was it prophetic?"
"I-I don't think so," I shake my head. "I mean, I've had it before, well part of it anyways. Every night since we left Sunnydale. But this is the first time it's gone this far."
Faith shudders again as she finally sits up, I let go of her, but she rests her head on my shoulder. "Well, what happened?" Giles questions.
"Well, we're running through a cemetery, I think its Restfeild, trying to get away from something. Then we hide in a crypt, but a minute later a bunch of vamps come in after us. Until tonight, that's as far as it's gone. It's like we lose all of our strength, I haven't felt so helpless since my eighteenth birthday." Giles looks away when I say this, but I just keep going. "They're holding us down and then our voices go, and one of the Gentlemen show up. He went after Faith, it was like he didn't even notice I was there."
Faith moves so that she's now leaning against the wall behind her bed. "I don't think it was prophetic, I mean, all the cemeteries are gone with the rest of Sunnydale, and I killed all of the Gentlemen."
"I think I might know what it is," Willow cuts in quietly. "Faith, have you been having this dream too, as much as Buffy has?"
Faith just nods.
"Yeah, I know what it is, it's not prophetic."
"Then what is it Willow?" Giles asks, seemingly very concerned.
"It's the spell."
"Wh-what spell?" Faith asks, sitting up straight again.
"The Slayer spell, the one I did at the final battle with the First," Willow goes on slowly, perhaps afraid that Faith might jump her or something. "There was a possibility that something like this might happen. I spoke to Buffy about it the night before, but she said that the spell was too important to worry about it."
"Worry about what exactly?" Apparently Faith got her voice back. She's about to stand up, but I put out my hand.
"Our connection," I start slowly. She sits back down, but her face shows a look of confusion and anger, and I don't blame her, we should have told her, but we didn't think about it then. "Since we were both already Slayers, there was a possibility that the spell would make our connection stronger."
"How?"
"There was a possibility that over time you would start being able to feel each other's emotions, and maybe be able to hear what each other think," Willow explains, and Giles begins to look rather intrigued. "And now that it seems you've been sharing dreams since the spell took place, the possibility's rather good that the rest will happen."
Ah, crap, this could be a very bad thing. If Faith can read my thoughts, then she'll realize that I… But after those dreams. Did she have exactly the same dreams, even that part?
"Will, could you make us some hot chocolate, I'm sure it will make Faith feel better," I ask and look over at Faith. Several emotions were playing across her face at once, I really wish I knew what was going through her head right now. Did she hate me for not telling her? "That dream, well, you remember what it was like to have the Gentlemen come after you. And I kinda need to talk to Faith, alone."
Giles just nods with understanding and leaves the room. "I'll come get you when they're ready," Willow says as she leaves.
"I'm-"
"Why didn't you tell me?" Faith cuts me off. She has every right to be mad, I just wished she wasn't.
"I'm sorry, I know I should've." I put my head down in defeat, then slowly raise it and look at her pleadingly. "I was stupid."
"Yeah, you're good at that," she shoots back. That hurt, but I guess I kinda deserve it.
"God, I'm so sorry Faith. I know I've done a lot of shitty things to your life, but I just- I just need to know something." God, I'm begging, don't beg to Faith, you should know by now that it doesn't work. I look at her again and she's giving me one of those 'well, get on with it' looks. "Did you have the same dream, I mean, exactly the same?"
"I dunno, B, but if we're sharing dreams, it's safe to assume they were exactly the same." Yeah, she's definitely mad at me; damn it, why do I always screw up when it comes to her? "What part are you talking about, B?"
"That part after we enter the crypt, before that vamps attack. When we…" I trail off.
"Yeah, Buffy, I had that part too."
"Oh, ok."
Fuck Buffy, what was that? 'Oh, ok', you're such an idiot.
I think Faith realized I was having an internal WWE smack down, because she starts to giggle. I don't think I've ever actually seen Faith giggle before.
"Hey you guys, hot chocolate's ready," Willow announces as she knocks on the door. "Em, Faith, marshmallows or whipped cream?"
"Um," she says loudly then turns to me. "What you getting?"
"Marshmallows," I mouth.
"I'll have whipped cream, Red," she calls back and I punch her in the arm. "Hey, what was that for?"
"You always have to be my opposite, huh?"
"Yeah, of course," she just smiles wickedly at me. "It not as fun any other way."
She gets up and walks to the door. After she leaves I turn and start hitting my head on the wall behind her bed. Damn you, Buffy, damn your stupidity.
"Hey, B?" She comes back into the room. "Stop beatin' yourself up and come get some hot chocolate. We'll discuss this later. K?"
I just shrug. She offers a hand to pull me off the bed, and I take it. I make to let go of it after I get up, but she doesn't let go. Wow, I'm suddenly all giddy. This is odd, but in a nice sorta way. She smiles at me and laughs slightly. I'd think that she could read my mind already, but my emotions are so obvious right now, that you'd be blind if you didn't see them. Ah, hot chocolate.