Night Falls

Previously:

"This is the Slayer," Hailey said. "Her name's Faith."

"I thought you said the Slayer was in Sunnydale?" Colleen asked in confusion.

"A Slayer is in Sunnydale," Hailey clarified. "The Slayer is sitting right in front of you."

Chapter Six:

"You know, when I said that it looked like you hit a shit storm, I was putting it lightly. What happened to you anyway?" Faith asked. The high beams of an oncoming car lit up her face and she squinted at the sudden change from dark to light. The car passed and night fell back over her face. The two potentials in the backseat had fallen asleep shortly after they escaped from Los Angeles. Though Faith knew that the police would be searching for all of them, she was more worried about what was lying ahead than what lay behind.

"I was in the vault of the Watcher's Council headquarters in London when it exploded. It was made of reinforced steel, which is the only reason I survived," Hailey said wearily, her accent strengthening as she grew tired. "It's been a long couple of days and, to be honest, I can't wait to get to Sunnydale. Maybe then I can finally rest a bit."

"Something tells me that you won't be resting much in good 'ol Sunnyhell," Faith joked. "Not with the First Evil around."

"I think you might be right," Hailey agreed. Out of the corner of her eye, she saw Faith pick up the discarded bottle of painkillers that had fallen onto the passenger's seat floor.

"What're these?" Faith asked curiously.

"Painkillers," Hailey replied. "The doctors prescribed them for me."

"In a lot of pain?" Faith asked, looking over at the older girl.

"Quite a bit actually," Hailey acknowledged.

"You haven't taken very many of these," Faith pointed out, shaking the bottle to emphasize her point. The rattling of the pills in the plastic bottle shot through Hailey's brain and reminded her of the not so distant past.

"Here, try this," Tanya said, handing Hailey a shot glass.

"What's in it?" Hailey asked, noticing the small, white capsule lying on the bottom of the glass. Tanya smiled and grabbed the back of Hailey's head, pulling her into a scorching kiss. Hailey felt her knees weaken when her girlfriend's tongue slid into her mouth, heat and silk sliding through her. Then Tanya moved away, leaving Hailey gasping for breath and another taste.

"Who cares," she whispered into Hailey's ear, her breath tickling the girl's sensitive skin. Hailey smiled and downed the shot with a quick flick of her wrist. "Come on," Tanya said, grabbing her hand and leading her out onto the dance floor of the club. "I want to dance."

"Hello," Faith said, waving her hand in front of Hailey's face. "You in there somewhere?"

"What?" Hailey asked, looking over at the Slayer, blinking rapidly as reality came back to her.

"I asked you a question," Faith said, her voice on the verge of laughter. "But you spaced out on me."

"Sorry, what did you want to know?" Hailey asked, shaking away the feel of Tanya's breath against the side of her neck. She shuddered and closed her eyes, taking a deep breath. When she opened them again, the black road snaked out in front of her for miles, the yellow line to her left flashing as the headlights struck the reflectors hugging it.

"You haven't taken many of these things," Faith repeated.

"I used to have a drug problem," Hailey said.

"Used to?" Faith asked.

"Yeah," Hailey replied.

"So then you wouldn't mind if I just threw them out the window?" Faith asked, moving her hand to roll down the window of the rental car. Hailey shot her a glare. "What?" Faith asked innocently. Based on her experience was drug addicts, she knew that Hailey would rather throw herself out of the car than see the pills destroyed, even if she was twelve stepping her way to freedom.

"I haven't tried to throw any of your belongings out of the car," Hailey noted irritably. She knew that Faith was testing her. She also knew that she would fail.

"I don't have any belongings to throw out," Faith shot back. "None that I could get addicted to anyway," she added in a mumble.

"I'm not going to take them," Hailey repeated.

"So then why keep them around?" Faith asked, honestly wanting to know.

"Maybe I just like to know that they're there," Hailey replied after a long pause. Faith could hear sadness in her voice, as well as defeat.

"Guess you never really get over some things, huh?" Faith said. Hailey smiled a little and nodded.

"Guess not."

"You know," the former rogue Slayer said, changing the subject, "night really isn't the best time to be rolling into Sunnydale. Especially when you're marked for death."

"We couldn't exactly wait for morning. We're all wanted in Los Angeles now, remember? We'll be safer once we reach Buffy's house," Hailey said. She knew that Faith was right. They should have pulled over at a motel and waited the night out, continuing on in the morning. But Hailey felt an urgency to reach Sunnydale that she could not explain. At the same time, however, she also felt a lingering dread crawling up the base of her spine. The First Evil was much the same as an ancient, deadly shark and they were bleeding all over the water.

"Why's that?" Faith asked bitterly. "Big bad B gonna keep the evil away?"

Hailey laughed, her laughter coming even harder when she saw the angry look on Faith's face. "No," Hailey finally said when she regained control of herself, her voice still trembling a bit. "Buffy's house really isn't any safer than anywhere else. But all the rest of the potentials are there."

"So once we get there, you won't have to worry about being responsible for those two anymore," Faith realized, nodding to the sleeping girls in the back seat.

"I may be good at a lot of things, but I'm not a Slayer. I don't have the strength that you or Buffy have. I can fight, but I can defeat everything. I can't protect them forever," Hailey replied slowly.

"You said you were a sheriff, right? A sheriff who hunted vampires?" Faith asked, her curiosity leading her questions. Faith did not trust many people, but somehow she knew that she could trust Hailey. Much like herself, Hailey was damaged, but she was also a warrior. Faith could see the same pain lingering in Hailey's deep blue eyes that lingered in her own dark ones.

"That's right," Hailey answered.

"So then how did you kill the vampires?" Faith asked.

Hailey smiled excitedly. "In the backseat, between the two girls, there's a brown duffel bag in top of the black one."

Faith reached back, pulling the bag into the front seat. "Okay," she said.

"Open it up and pull the gun out," Hailey replied. Faith looked over at her for a moment before zipping the bag open. A dusty, black cowboy hat was lying on top. Faith pulled it out and smiled, chuckling to herself.

"What's this, sheriff?" She asked. Hailey frowned and grabbed the hat from the dark haired girl.

"Never mess with the hat," she warned half seriously.

"Fair enough," Faith replied, throwing her hands up defensively. Rooting around in the bag, she finally pulled out Hailey's gun. "What's so special about this thing?"

"The gun?" Hailey asked. "Absolutely nothing. What's so special is inside."

Faith removed the clip and pulled out one of the bullets. "This isn't a normal bullet is it?"

"It's a UV bullet," Hailey confirmed. "It kills vampires on contact."

"Seriously?" Faith asked, looking over at her counterpart in surprise.

"Yeah," Hailey replied, grinning when she saw the look on Faith's face. "Pretty cool, huh?"
"Wicked," Faith replied. "How can I get me one of these?"

"I have a friend on London. He makes the bullets. I need him to ship me some more. They're hard to make, so he can only send small quantities at a time," Hailey answered. "He could have been making a lot more if my father would have approved funding for him."

"Your father was Quentin Travers?" Faith asked, though she already knew the answer.

"Yeah. He died in the explosion," Hailey replied, her voice tainted with remorse.

"Sorry," Faith said awkwardly. "Can't really say I liked the guy."

"Can't really say I did either," Hailey replied. "For years I tried to get him to modernize the Council, approve funding for UV bullets, things like that. But he wouldn't listen. What I wanted would have given the Slayer more control and he was all about the power."

"Looks like we're here," Faith said suddenly. A sign flashed by them that read 'Welcome to Sunnydale.' "Anyone else have a bad feeling about this?" Faith asked softly.

"For a different reason, I think," Hailey replied.

"Does she even know that I'm coming?" Faith asked. She hated the way that Buffy made her feel. One part of her wanted nothing more than to see the blonde Slayer again. But the other part knew that if she did, only bad would come of it. She loved and hated the other girl at the same time. A constant struggle waged in her heart, pulling her in too many directions. Whenever she was around Buffy, she felt like something was yanking her apart, scattering her to the wolves.

"No," Hailey replied. "It's better that way."

"Why's that?" Faith asked, her voice small and soft. Hailey could hear the vulnerable girl that resided somewhere in Faith's heart struggling to break free.

"She won't have any time to think about it," she replied. "When she does, she'll realize that having you around is better anyway."

"Two Slayers are better than one," Faith said bitterly.

"That's true," Hailey said. "But she knows how you fight. She's fought beside you before. I imagine it's been quite difficult for her patrolling with a bunch of people she's never fought with. There isn't any understanding there, or trust."

"Something tells me that she doesn't really trust me," Faith replied sarcastically.

"No, but the Slayer in her trusts the Slayer in you," Hailey said.

"Do you know how to get there?" Faith asked. They pulled out onto Main Street and Hailey shook her head.

"Not a clue," she replied.

"Cut a left here," Faith said. Hailey turned and found herself on Miatta Drive. The streets became darker as they entered a community. "Buffy's street is two blocks up on the left."

"Revello Drive, right?" Hailey asked, vaguely remembering the address from Buffy's file with the Council.

"Yeah," Faith replied. "But I think we're gonna have to walk it."

"Why's that?" Hailey asked, looking over at her. Faith pointed at the windshield.

"Take a look," she said. Hailey followed Faith's finger and slammed on the brakes. A wall of Bringers stood blocking the road. Their knives flashed in the headlights of the car. One of the Bringers licked his lips.

"Shit," Hailey muttered.

"What's going on?" Colleen asked sleepily, waking up at the sudden stop. Maria leaned forward and gasped.

"It's okay," Hailey said, looking back at the girls.

"How is this okay?" Faith whispered harshly.

"You're the Slayer, you tell me," Hailey replied. The Bringers advanced, moving from a steady walk into a run.

"I got an idea," Faith said finally. "Haul ass and run."