Night Falls

Notes: Thanks for the reviews and keep them coming.

Previously:

"Checkmate," he whispered and silently closed the door again. He had found what appeared to be an entry into the basement that was not being guarded by Bringers. Quickly exiting the cafeteria, he crept back down the hallway until he found the classroom from which he had entered the school. He could feel the Hellmouth tugging at the back of his mind and causing his fingers to tingle. It had always done so. Even though he possessed a soul, the demon in him still lingered buried in the depths of his mind. The Hellmouth was calling to it, but he would ignore it. He had chosen his side.

Chapter Forty-Eight:

"You're leaving? Now?" Faith asked incredulously as Buffy slipped on her jacket.

"Someone has to patrol," Buffy stated, shrugging her shoulders.

"They've been in there all day," Faith whispered conspiratorially. "What are they even doing?"

"I don't know," the blonde Slayer replied, glancing at the closed living room door uneasily. "I've never understood magic."

"I know," Faith agreed. "It kinda creeps me out."

"I'm only going to be gone for a little while," Buffy said, smiling crookedly. "I just want to take a quick sweep of the cemeteries."

"You're going alone?" Faith questioned.

"I'll be careful," Buffy promised.

"Take Hailey with you," the dark haired Slayer suggested.

"She doesn't want to leave," Buffy said, shaking her head. "She wants to be here when the Coven is done with Willow."

"I get that," Faith nodded. "Just be careful. We don't know what the First has out there. And if you see one of those badass vampires out there, just let it be."

"We're Slayers, Faith," Buffy said, rolling her eyes. "We're not supposed to run from the evil. We're supposed to fight the evil."

"No one ever said you had to fight it whole heartedly," Faith argued. "Anyway, just be careful and come home soon."

"I will," Buffy said, leaning in and giving Faith a quick kiss on the lips. She disappeared out of the front door. Faith watched her vanish into the night and sighed, closing the door behind her. Spike was due back from the high school with information about the First's plans on the Hellmouth. Faith glanced over at the living room doors, suppressing the urge to press her ear against the wood, and listen to whatever the Coven was saying to Willow.

The Coven had arrived that afternoon, cloaked in black. They had not spoken to anyone but Giles, Willow, and Hailey. The Mistress of the Coven, Amelia, had exchanged a few words with Hailey that seemed to cause great anxiety in the new Slayer. Hailey had been on edge ever since. Giles, unhappy with the spell anyway, had been rather short and curt with the Coven members. However, they had not appeared to take offense. They had ushered Willow into the room, closed the door, and had not emerged since. Faith wondered about what they were talking. Though she did not know much about magic, she knew that the spell they were going to perform was complicated and dangerous.

"Where'd Buffy go?" Hailey asked somberly, emerging from the kitchen.

"Patrol," Faith said simply.

"They're still in there?" Hailey asked, nodding towards the door.

"Haven't taken a break," Faith confirmed. "What did they say to you anyway?"

"They think that the spell is dangerous," Hailey said lowly.

"To Willow?" Faith asked.

"Yes," Hailey nodded. "They think that someone should be there with her…for a number of reasons."

"Like?" Faith inquired.

"She's gonna be vulnerable when she's doing the spell," Hailey explained. "Vulnerable enough to leave her open to attack should any vampires get out of the Hellmouth."

"So they want someone there to protect her?" Faith asked.

"There's another reason too," Hailey continued, ignoring Faith's question.

"What?"

"They're afraid she might lose control," Hailey answered. Faith laughed humorlessly.

"They want someone to take her down if she does," Faith said angrily.

"Yeah," Hailey nodded.

"So who do they want this person to be?" Faith questioned. "Buffy would never do it. I don't think I could either."

"They want me to do it," Hailey answered, watching the living room door intently.

"Did you say yes?" Faith asked.

"I did," Hailey answered. "If anyone's gonna do it, I want it to be me."

"I can't believe that they would ask you to do that," Faith shook her head.

"It's just a precaution," Hailey said, smiling over at Faith. "I believe in her."

"So you won't be fighting with us then?" Faith asked.

"No," Hailey said disappointedly. "I was rather looking forward to that as well." Faith was about to respond when the front door opened and Spike swaggered in with a smile covering his face.

"Guess who got your information?" He said smugly.

"You found a backdoor in?" Faith asked hopefully.

"That I bloody well did. In the kitchen, there's a door that leads down to the basement. No one was guarding it," Spike answered.

"It's all coming together," Hailey said, with some dread mixed in her voice.

"So when is it all going down, anyway?" Spike asked.

"We don't know for sure," Faith answered. "Buffy will decide."

"You think the girls are all ready?" The blonde vampire questioned.

"Doesn't matter if they are," Hailey replied. "They're gonna have to fight either way."

"I don't know if I'm ready," Faith muttered.

Hailey smiled sympathetically. "I don't think any of us has a choice."

The sweep of the cemeteries had proven fruitless. The normal vampires had all but disappeared from Sunnydale. Though Buffy was confident in her abilities as a Slayer, with every little noise, she found her heart pumping wildly with fear that a Turok-Han was lurking behind her. She was walking back to the house, her mind racing with thoughts of the upcoming battle, when she heard a twig snap behind her. Stopping suddenly, she gripped her stake. "Relax," a familiar voice said from behind her. "It's just me."

Buffy spun around, searching the darkness for a face to connect to the voice. Angel stepped out of the shadows and smiled softly. "You should know better than to sneak up on a Slayer," Buffy admonished. "I might have staked you."

"I think I could take you," Angel joked. Buffy rolled her eyes.

"What're you doing here?" She asked.

"Not happy to see me?" Angel shot back.

"You know what I mean," Buffy replied. "It's been a while."

"I have something for you," Angel said, reaching into the pocket of his leather jacket. He pulled out an object wrapped in tissue paper.

"Gee, Angel, you shouldn't have," Buffy joked, accepting the tissue wrapped object as Angel extended it to her. She carefully unwrapped it, letting the tissue fall to the ground. Holding the object up to the light of the streetlamps, she watched the silver of the medallion sparkle. "What is this?"

"I don't know much about it, truthfully. My information isn't from the most reliable of sources," Angel explained. "But I do know that it's incredibly powerful and dangerous. It's supposed to be worn by a champion, someone with a soul, but stronger than a human."

"Like me?" Buffy asked. "Or Faith, or Hailey," she muttered as an after thought.

"No," Angel said, shaking his head. "Like me."

"You?" Buffy asked in surprise. "I don't think so."

"What?" Angel questioned incredulously.

"You belong in Los Angeles," Buffy explained. "Not here. This is my fight."

"This is bigger than either of us," Angel retorted.

"I have all of the help I need," Buffy said, turning, and continuing walking. Angel followed after her.

"That medallion is supposed to be worn by a champion," Angel argued.

"And I have someone in mind," Buffy replied matter-of-factly.

"Who?" Angel questioned.

"Spike," Buffy replied, to Angel's surprise.

"Spike? He doesn't have a soul," Angel said emphatically. "It has to be worn by someone with a soul."

"Spike does have a soul," Buffy replied.

"Wait a minute," Angel said, stopping. Buffy stopped, heaving a heavy sigh, and looked back at him.

"What?" She asked.

"Are you with him?" Angel asked angrily.

"No!" Buffy replied emphatically. "I'm not with him."

"But you're with someone," Angel argued.

"It's not any of your business," Buffy said, walking on. Angel found himself following her again.

"I think it is," Angel argued.

"Do you?" Buffy said, laughing. "Fine, if you really want to know, I'm with Faith."

"Faith?" Angel asked in surprise.

"Yes," Buffy replied. "And whatever dismissive or derisive thing you have to say, just forget it."

Angel sighed. "You think I would talk bad to you about Faith?" He asked. "She's my friend too, remember?"

"So you're okay with it?" Buffy asked hesitatingly.

"Faith is a difficult person to be with," Angel said. "She doesn't open up easily. I just hope you're up for the challenge. But what's more, I hope that you can be there for her when she needs you. Sometimes it's hard to tell."

"We understand each other," Buffy said softly.

"Because you're Slayers?" Angel asked.

"Maybe," Buffy agreed. "But it's more than that. We've always been connected, ever since she first came here. I just didn't want to acknowledge it."

"So you don't want me here?" Angel asked again.

"No," Buffy said. "I don't."

"I can stay if you want," Angel offered. "Just as back up in case things go down wrong."

"You have people that need you back in Los Angeles. I've got everyone that I need here," Buffy explained. "Thanks for the medallion."

"You're sure about Spike?" Angel asked warily.

"He's changed," Buffy said. "I think you would be impressed."

"I don't know about that," Angel said, rolling his eyes.

Buffy smiled. "Thanks for coming."

"You know that I'm always here if you need me," Angel said, leaning forward and planting a chaste kiss on Buffy's cheek. Buffy nodded.

"I know," she said. Angel nodded and turned, walking in the other direction. Buffy watched him disappear into the shadows. Her heart always felt heavier when Angel was around her. She would always love him, but she knew that she could never be with him again. Even if the curse would be lifted and he could live as he wanted, Buffy would still reject him. Her life was taking her in a different direction now. She knew that she could not go backwards. She continued walking until she reached her house. The lights in the living room were still blazing. Opening the front door, she stepped into the foyer, and walked into the dining room.

"Is Spike around?" She asked Dawn, who was leaning over Andrew's shoulder, watching the video feed on the laptop from the cameras that Andrew had placed strategically around Sunnydale.

"He's in the basement," Dawn said distractedly. Buffy nodded. Opening the basement door, she walked down the stairs.

"I got your info," Spike said, recognizing the fall of Buffy's feet on the stairs.

"What did you find out?" Buffy asked, moving over to where he stood by the punching bag. It was swinging slightly. Spike placed his hand on it to stop its movement.

"There's a door in the kitchen. Leads right down into the basement. No one's watching it," Spike answered proudly. Buffy smiled.

"Good," she replied. "I have something for you. Angel brought it for you."

"Angel?" Spike questioned. "He brought me something?"

"Well," Buffy acknowledged, "not for you specifically. He \thought it was for him. But I didn't think so." Reaching into her jacket pocket, she pulled out the medallion.

"That's a pretty thing," Spike said, taking the medallion as Buffy handed it to him.

"Angel said that it's supposed to be worn by a champion," Buffy explained. "He didn't know what it does. But he said that it's powerful."

"A champion, huh?" Spike said, holding up the medallion. "You think I'm a champion?"

"I do," Buffy said, nodding. "Prove me right."