Night Falls

Notes: Thanks for the reviews. Keep them coming.

Previously:

"I lost someone too. Not so recently though," Hailey replied, smiling sadly. "We all lose people. There isn't a person here that can't tell you some kind of story of loss and pain and sadness. It's what you do with that pain that really matters."

"Picking up the pieces?" Willow asked.

Chapter Nine:

Hailey's eyes shot open. Biting her lip, she quickly shut her eyes again, squeezing them tightly against the pain that shot through her skull. Shakily rising to her feet, she picked her way through the mess of people sleeping on the living room floor. The moon shone through the windows and the house was filled with a complete silence that was entirely overwhelming. A buzzing sound echoed in her ears and her vision blurred over for a moment. Clamping a hand over her mouth, she ran to the downstairs bathroom, barely shutting the door and kneeling in front of the toilet before the contents of her stomach came spilling out of her mouth. Coughs racked her body and she could barely breath as she leaned back against the wall, her stomach quieted for the moment.

"Fuck," she muttered, raising shaky hands to her temple. She tried to rub away the pain in her head, but the scraping feel of her fingers against the hot skin of her face did little to comfort her. The world seemed to be spinning in an endless circle that only further nauseated her. Someone suddenly knocked on the bathroom door. The sound pounded through her mind and she grimaced.

"What?" She asked hoarsely.

"Are you okay in there?" A voice asked softly. Hailey did not instantly recognize it.

"I'm fine," she muttered. The voice did not respond. Hailey breathed a sigh of relief, assuming that the person had gone away. However, the door suddenly opened and Willow slipped inside.

"You don't sound fine," Willow protested. "And yeah, I'm saying definitely, not," she said after spotting the contents of the toilet. "What's wrong?"

"Thought that was kinda obvious," Hailey grumbled. Willow smiled patiently and knelt in front of the sick potential.

"You're burning up," she said worriedly. "Are you taking anything?"

"No," Hailey replied.

"Well, we need to get your fever down," Willow said, rising to her feet and walking over to the medicine cabinet. Rummaging through it, she pulled out a bottle of aspirin. "This should help," she said. "With the fever and the pain. Though I imagine you have pain medicine right? Why aren't you taking it?"

"Long story," Hailey replied, leaning her head back against the wall and closing her eyes. Willow studied her for a moment before nodding.

"Okay. Where does Buffy have you sleeping?" She asked.

"Living room floor," Hailey replied.

"You're sleeping on the floor?" Willow asked in surprise. "With your injuries?"

"Wasn't really anywhere else," Hailey muttered. Willow sighed.

"We'll get you somewhere more comfortable to sleep tomorrow," she said. "For now, take these." She shook several pills out of the bottle and handed them to Hailey. Hailey dry swallowed them and smiled appreciatively.

"Thanks," she said softly.

"Sure," Willow replied, standing hesitantly before her. "Need anything else?" She asked.

"I think I'll be okay," Hailey replied.

"Are you sure? Because I could stay here with you if you wanted, you know, to keep you company," Willow rushed.

Hailey was about to shake her head, but stopped, realizing that Willow was not offering to stay because she thought Hailey needed her, but because she wanted to stay. "I guess I could use the company," she replied after a pause. Willow smiled and sat down on the cold tile floor next to the dark haired girl.

"What was it like?" Willow asked after a stretch of silence. "The explosion, I mean."

"Loud," Hailey replied thoughtfully. "There was a lot of fire. I don't really remember much about it. Just that it was really loud."

Willow nodded. "Remember how I told you I lost someone?" She asked suddenly.

"Yeah," Hailey replied.

"Her name was Tara," the red haired witch said shakily. She smiled sadly and said, "She was so beautiful."

"How did she die?" Hailey asked, looking over at Willow with soft eyes.

"She was shot," Willow replied, sniffling as tears threatened to spill down her cheeks. Her eyes were shining wet and her bottom lip was quivering slightly.

"It's okay," Hailey said, reaching over and gripping her hand tightly. "You don't have to say anything else if you don't want."

"No," Willow said breathlessly, shaking her head. "I want to," she said. "I want to talk about her. It's just hard."

"What was she like?" Hailey asked interestedly.

Willow smiled slightly, recalling some fond memory. "Very understanding – very wise. She was so powerful, but she never realized it. Patient, too. It was like she would look at you and she could see everything in your soul. She knew exactly what to say to make everything better for me."

"Sounds like she was a good person," Hailey said.

"She was," Willow replied, allowing the tears to flow freely down her cheeks. "It's so hard without her."

"She's not really gone, Willow," Hailey said. "She'll always be with you. Always be watching over you."

"You think so?" Willow asked hopefully, looking over at the other girl.

"I know so," Hailey replied confidently. Silence fell between them again. Hailey leaned her head back against the wall and closed her eyes, letting her mind slowly drift off to sleep. Just before sleep took her, she felt a soft pressure on her shoulder. Opening her eyes, she looked down to see Willow resting against her, fast asleep, her red hair spilling in front of her face. Smiling, Hailey closed her eyes again and the darkness take her.

…………………………

"That was a cozy little scene with you and Willow this morning," Kennedy said conversationally over her cereal bowl to Hailey. They were the only two people in the kitchen at the moment, the rest of the potentials already out on the back lawn, being instructed by Faith. Buffy had left for work, Willow was in the dining room, Dawn was at school, and Giles was in the living room, pouring over the Watcher's diaries. Anya was milling about the house aimlessly, Xander had left for work, and Spike was asleep in the basement.

"What's your point?" Hailey asked tiredly. She had not gotten much sleep the night before.

"No point," Kennedy replied vaguely.

"You want to know if I'm moving in on your territory," Hailey stated. Kennedy dropped her spoon and looked up at the older girl.

"Are you?" She asked defensively.

"I don't think she's your territory yet," Hailey smirked.

"I'm the one sleeping in her bed, not you," Kennedy noted.

"And yet, she's not sleeping in it with you," Hailey replied, smiling as Kennedy glared at her. "She can make up her own mind."

"Whatever," Kennedy responded, pushing back in her chair and stalking over to the kitchen door. Pulling it open, she joined the others. Hailey sighed and left the kitchen, out into the hallway.

"Trouble with the whelp?" Spike asked, lingering in the shadows of the basement door.

Hailey started, but instantly relaxed. "Something like that," she said. She did not know whether to trust the vampire. She knew that there was something different about him; she could sense it. Buffy trusted him to train the potentials and to live in her basement, but he was still dangerous. Hailey could see that in his eyes. There was some history between the Slayer and he that neither seemed willing to discuss.

"Something on your mind?" Spike asked.

"What's your deal? Why does she trust you?" Hailey asked.

"She doesn't," Spike replied, smirking. "But I've got a soul so I guess that means I'm alright."

Hailey nodded. Spike pulled out a pack of cigarettes, taking one for himself before handing one to Hailey. Hailey took it and allowed Spike to light it for her. "You got cursed?" Hailey asked, taking a long drag from the cigarette, blowing the smoke back out through her nose.

"No," Spike replied, doing the same. "I got it on my own."

"What did you go and do that for?" Hailey asked in surprise.

Spike chuckled a little. "Guess I just wanted to be a part of the gang," he said bitterly.

"Not working out for you?" Hailey asked.

"How's it going with the witch?" Spike asked, changing the topic.

Hailey smiled a little. "I don't know you that well, Spike," she said, leaning over and rubbing the cigarette out on the top of one of her boots. Flicking it down into the basement, she left Spike lingering in the shadows.

"I think she was mocking you," Buffy said from behind him on the basement stairs. Spike looked back at her, squinting his eyes for a moment as he tried to work something out in his head. Something did not seem right to him. "She needs to learn to respect you."

"What are you doing here?" Spike asked. "Aren't you supposed to be somewhere else?"

"I'm right where I belong," Buffy replied, walking up the stairs towards him. "Early one morning, just as the sun was shining, I heard a maiden singing in the valley below," Buffy whispered in a singsong voice. Spike looked back at her, something in his eyes shifting. "Hungry, Spike?" She asked. "How about you do something about that tonight?"

……………………………

Faith grabbed a glass from one of the cabinets and filled it with water. Lifting the glass to her lips, she turned, freezing. The glass slid from her hand and shattered on the kitchen floor. Closing her eyes, she blinked them rapidly, allowing them to slide open again. "You died," she said, moving away from the figure standing by the back door.

"Now, Faith, is that any way to greet your Watcher?" Kate asked, stepping forward.

"Stay away from me," Faith warned. "I'm going crazy," she muttered to herself. "That's it. I'm officially nuts. Lock me up."

"You're not crazy, Faith. I'm right here," Kate said, smiling kindly. "It's been a long time."

"Stop that," Faith said angrily. "Stop talking. You shouldn't be talking. In fact, you shouldn't be there at all."

"Little Faith. You've come a long way since Boston, haven't you? I'm sorry I wasn't there to help you when you really needed it. You strayed from the path, but it looks like you've come around again," Kate said, her British accent thick in her words. Faith found it as soothing at that moment as she had back when she and Kate were slaying vampires in Boston. She found herself being lulled into a false comfort that seemed wrong in some way. Faith opened her mouth to call out to Willow, who was sitting in the other room, but Kate motioned for her to stop. "Don't do that."

"Why not?" Faith asked.

"She doesn't need to know that I'm here," Kate replied. "Do you really think that she can trust you again?"

"Willow?" Faith asked in confusion.

"No," Kate said, shaking her head. "Buffy. Do you ever think that she could really love you?"

"How did you…?" Faith asked, trailing off. "What are you?" She demanded, sensing that there was something wrong about the woman standing in front of her.

"She'll never love you, Faith. She'll just use you and toss you away, like everyone else. But you know that can stop," Kate said lowly.

"How?" Faith asked, despite herself.

Kate smiled and stepped closer, whispering conspiratorially, "Just kill her, Faith, and everything will be over. All of the pain will stop. Everything will go away. Just like that," Kate said, snapping her fingers.

"Willow!" Faith yelled, watching in amazement as the apparition blinked out of existence as Willow entered the room.

"What?" Willow asked, looking around the room confusedly. "What's going on? Were you talking to someone?" She asked, noticing how pale Faith looked.

"Yeah," Faith replied, running a hand over her face. "My dead Watcher."

"But that's not possible, Faith. Unless…" Willow said as a light bulb went off in her mind. "The First."

"That was the First Evil?" Faith asked.

"It must have been. It appeared to Angel the same way, as someone from his past," Willow replied. "Goddess, I guess it's really begun, hasn't it?"

"It's been happening for a long time already, Red," Faith replied sardonically.

"Are you okay?" Willow asked, eyeing the other girl suspiciously.

"Five by five," Faith replied. But the words that the First Evil had spoken were running through her mind in a constant loop. Kill her.