Night Falls

Previously:

"Death is my gift?" Hailey repeated. Suddenly, she understood. She had understood for a very long time. Death was not her gift to give to others. It was the gift that the Powers that Be rewarded every Slayer when her time had been spent. It was the gift of rest and peace. "I understand now," Hailey said, looking over at the blonde woman.

Chapter Twenty-Nine:

Hailey lay in bed staring up at the perfectly white ceiling. On the nightstand beside her, she could hear the alarm clock ticking away the seconds. The movement of the mechanical arm sounded like the beat of a drum in her ears. She wondered how Buffy and Faith had gotten used to the sudden change. It was like the world had exploded into color over night. Willow had been up for hours. Hailey had pretended to be asleep while the red head snuck quietly from the room to take a shower. Even though the bathroom was down the hallway, Hailey could smell the tangy citrus scent of her girlfriend's shampoo wafting in the air.

She knew that she would have to get up soon. The sun was steadily crawling across the sky, light cascading in through the window onto the dark comforter. The light was creeping up her body. She watched it with fascination. Millions of tiny dust particles lingered in the air, revealed for an instant before the light moved on and they were cast back in shadow. The house was starting to fill with the sounds of girls waking up and preparing for the day's training. She could hear them whispering. She could practically read their thoughts. Except for Maria's, she thought wryly, they're all still in Spanish.

She could feel the slow burn of Kennedy as she sat down at the breakfast table. She could picture the younger girl avoiding the inquiring gazes of her peers; all of whom had believed that she would be called. They would be whispering about her too – whispers of disbelief and wonder. Hailey did not understand it herself. Why had she been called? The Powers always chose younger girls to carry on the tradition because they lasted longer. She was by no means old, but prior to her calling, she could feel the passage of time weighing on her. Now she felt as though every cell in her body was humming and crashing into the next. It was almost unbearable.

"You ever going to get up?" Willow asked, suddenly popping back into the room. Hailey nearly jumped in surprise, but simply smiled.

"Wasn't planning to," she responded.

"You're going to have to lead the training today," Willow replied seriously. "I have a feeling Buffy isn't going to leave Faith's side until she wakes up."

"How is she?" Hailey asked in concern.

"Still unconscious," Willow said, "If you mean Faith. I really don't know how Buffy's doing. It's been a while since she's really let me in."

"How am I supposed to lead them?" Hailey wondered idly. "I was one of them yesterday. Why should they listen to me?"

"You're a Slayer now," Willow replied.

"So that's just the answer to everything? All of the sudden I'm a Slayer and everyone is supposed to follow me? I don't know where to lead them," Hailey said softly.

Willow smiled and sat down on the edge of the bed beside her girlfriend. Reaching over, she absently brushed her hand through Hailey's dark, tangled locks. "It's all going to be strange and new at first. But you'll get the hang of it," she said reassuringly. "And you'll have Buffy and Faith to back you up."

"How exactly does one lead the training anyway?" Hailey asked as Willow guided her off the bed and gave her a gentle push into the hallway.

"I have absolutely no idea," she replied laughingly. "Like I said, you'll figure it out."

……………………………..

"Three Slayers," Caleb muttered. "You do realize that the symbolic significance of three Slayers is overwhelming don't you?" He asked, turning to the manifestation of the First.

"How so?" It asked. Once again, it appeared to him with the face of Buffy Summers.

"The Trinity is composed of three facets of one God. You could almost look to them as a sort of righteous trinity in themselves," Caleb postulated. "Three girls all representative of the same power. It's exciting."

"And dangerous," the First warned.

"Of course we weren't anticipating this," Caleb continued. "Seeing the new girl was quite a shock and I am heartily embarrassed at my behavior. I should have been able to dispose of her."

"Yes," the First said, then smiled. "But we all make mistakes. I know that you'll correct yours."

"Absolutely," Caleb replied with conviction. "That is my utmost of intentions. She simply took me by surprise is all. She's not any stronger or faster than the other Slayers."

"Sounds like you're making excuses," the First pointed out with a raised eyebrow. Caleb chuckled and nodded.

"Perhaps I am," he admitted. "But I'll only have to make them once. I believe that it's time to start assembling our army. It will take time…getting all of our soldiers ready…but it will be beautiful," Caleb said grinning.

"What will you need?" The First asked.

"Sacrifices," Caleb replied thoughtfully. "The blood of sacrifices."

…………………………..

"The most important thing of all is maintaining control," Spike advised. "They're going to want to test their limits…your limits. Especially Kennedy now that you're the new Slayer and she's not. But you have to remember that you're much stronger than the rest of them."

"I could hurt them easily," Hailey acknowledged.

"Exactly," Spike agreed. "So don't spar with them yourself."

Hailey heaved a heavy sigh and glanced out of the kitchen windows. "It's too bad you can't be out there with me," she said.

"I know," Spike replied, grinning. "I'd do a much better job than you," he said jokingly. Hailey rolled her eyes. Spike lingered in the shadows of the kitchen, just out of the reach of the sun.

"Here goes nothing," Hailey said, stepping forward and opening the back door. All of the girls silenced and turned to look at her. She could feel their eyes boring holes into her and she had the sudden, overwhelming urge to run.

"Really makes you want to take a hit, doesn't it?" A voice to her left said. Hailey looked over and saw Tanya standing in the sun. Looking back at the girls, she was astonished that none of them appeared to notice the First's presence. "Don't worry, they can't see me. Or hear me. Just you, baby."

"Let's get started," Hailey said gruffly, trying to ignore her dead girlfriend's presence. "We'll start with some stretching just to loosen up. Then we'll move on to sparring."

"I like this side of you," Tanya said suggestively. "Leadership looks good on you." Hailey cleared her throat and watched as the girls worked through a series of stretches. Kennedy was staring daggers at her. "Either she wants to kill you or fuck you," Tanya said, walking closely to her – close enough that if she were real, her lips would have brushed against Hailey's ear.

"Everything okay?" Willow asked, walking out of the house with a strange look on her face. Hailey turned, relief evident on her face.

"Yeah," she replied.

"Who was that?" Willow whispered as she stopped in front of Hailey.

"You saw her?" Hailey asked in surprise, noticing that Tanya had disappeared. "I didn't think anyone else had."

"I saw her," Willow replied. "Who was she?"

"An old girlfriend," Hailey whispered back, aware that everyone was watching the lovers talk out of the corners of their eyes.

"She's dead?" Willow asked.

"Yeah, she overdosed," Hailey replied, smiling sadly. "I guess you could say that she was my Tara."

Willow nodded. "How come only we could see her?"

"I don't know," Hailey admitted. "She wanted me to see her."

"Then why could I see her?" Willow wondered.

"Because you're powerful," Hailey said.

"What should we do now, fearless leader?" Kennedy asked rather sarcastically. Hailey repressed the urge to shoot her a look.

"Does she appear to you often?" Willow asked.

"All the time," Hailey said sighing. "Alright…Kennedy and Colleen. You're up."

……………………………………….

Faith's eyelids fluttered and then opened. A stream of light hit her and she involuntarily flinched, moving into the shadows on the bed. Then the light disappeared. She tried to speak, but her voice came out a croak. "Here's some water," a distinctly British voice said. Faith opened her eyes and looked up into Wesley's face.

"Thanks," Faith managed to say. Her voice was gravelly and rough.

"How're you feeling?" Wesley asked, sitting on the edge of her bed. Faith grimaced and pulled herself into a sitting position.

"What happened?"

"You don't remember?" Wes inquired.

"No," Faith said, shaking her head. Reaching up, she felt the bandage on her forehead. "Another head injury?"

Wesley smiled. "There was an explosion."

"Did anyone…?"

"Yes, several girls died," Wes replied.

"Willow?" Faith asked.

"She's fine. You've been unconscious for about two days."

"Where's Buffy?" Faith asked, looking around the room. She could smell the lingering vanilla scent of her counterpart, but she could not feel her.

"In the basement, I believe," Wes answered. "She's been with you ever since the explosion, but I suggested she get some air." Faith nodded. "So how do you feel?"

"My ears are humming," Faith replied. "Kinda fuzzy in the head."

"That's normal," Wesley said. "I know you want to get up and get back to everything, but you need to rest."

"Rest?" Faith asked.

"Yeah," Wesley replied.

"I don't actually think I'm going to complain," Faith said, leaning back against the headboards and closing her eyes. "I'm kinda tired."

"Would you like me to get Buffy for you?" Wes asked, rising to his feet.

"Yeah," Faith said, smiling slightly. "Thanks."