The Benders

AN – Parts of this chapter inspired by the Supernatural episode 'The Benders'

The Benders

The reason she couldn't see Buffy and Dean behind the kissing couple was because they were the kissing couple.

Faith's fists clenched as she saw red. Everything was about to change.

Perhaps luckily for everybody who happened to be within a five meter radius of Faith at that moment, her cellphone began to chime loudly. She snatched it out of her pocket and flipped it open. "What?" she snapped.

"Faith? Is that you? It's Giles, here."

"Yeah? What do you want?"

"Well, I see somebody woke up on the wrong side of the bed this morning."

Yeah, Faith really wasn't in the mood. "Bye, Giles."

"No, wait! Don't put the phone down. I have something important to ask of you."

She heaved an impatient sigh. "Well?"

"You know, I did try to contact Buffy first, but she doesn't seem to be answering her phone."

"Yeah well, she's a little busy right now sticking her tongue down Dean's throat."

"I beg your pardon?"

She rolled her eyes. "Nothing. Was there an actual reason for calling, Giles, or was it just to check up on the whereabouts of Little Miss Angel-face?"

"Actually, I have a job for you."

"Woohoo. What is it?"

"A retired watcher of ours – and a good friend, actually – has vanished into thin air. Alvin Jenkins of the Minnesota area."

"And you think it's something demonic?"

"Yes, I do. I-"

"Fine, we'll check it out. Text me the details."

"Thank you. Oh, and-"

She'd snapped her phone shut before he had time to finish his sentence. Forgetting all about her full bladder, she turned away from the ride and the sick site of her best friend betraying her, and stormed back over to where Sam was waiting for her. She could practically feel the black storm clouds gathering over her head.

"Hey, you!" he called, his face brightening when he saw her approach. "I thought you'd be longer than that. Wasn't there a line?"

"We've got a new job," she informed him curtly. "So we're leaving. Now." She twirled around and started towards the car park.

"Wait!" Sam called after her. "Where are you going? We need to get Dean and Buffy and the ride they went on is the other way."

"Ha!" She snorted and stopped to turn and face him. "And why the hell would we need a pair of two faced bastards like them for?"

"What?" He looked very confused at her reasoning. "Faith, what's going on?"

"God, nothing! Jeez!"

"It doesn't seem like nothing to me. Just a couple of minutes ago you were smiling and having fun and now you look just about ready to stick an axe in someone. And what were you talking about when you said that thing about Buffy an Dean-"

She stepped forwards, a dangerous glint in her eyes. "Fine! You want them so much, you can go and get them yourself!"

"But-"

Faith shoved him with both hands, causing him to stumble backwards. "Go!" she screamed loudly, uncaring of the people around them staring. "Go!"

Sam backed away with his arms up defensively, secretly a little afraid that if he didn't do as she asked, she would use her full strength to make him do it. So with a heavy heart, he turned away from her to find Dean and Buffy.

"Excuse me...Sorry...Excuse me..." Sam grunted as he got an elbow to the stomach as he tried to push his way through the line to find Buffy and Dean.

"Hey!" a harassed looking woman called shrilly. "Get to the back of the line, ass-wipe! No pushing!"

Sighing with frustration, Sam took out the fake police badge he kept in his pocket and held it up. "Don't make me arrest you for holding up and verbally abusing an officer of the law, miss. Just get out of my way."

Looking embarrassed, she shuffled aside, and Sam continued on ahead, using his badge to get through the crowd faster. He cursed Buffy and Dean for ignoring their cell phones.

Finally, he caught a glimpse of the top of Dean's head, and he called out to him, but Dean didn't hear him over the noise and chatter of the people between them. He pushed a little closer, and then stopped when he finally realized exactly what it was that had caused Faith to get so mad.

If he was being completely honest with himself, he had to admit that a tiny little part of him had kind of expected it.

Dean stood behind Buffy, and his arms were wrapped around her waist. One of his hands rested just underneath her shirt, and Sam could see his thumb stroking an idle pattern against her visible skin. His chin rested on top of her head, and as Sam watched, he placed an absent minded kiss on her hair. It seemed such a normal gesture, and all Sam could do was stand and stare.

Buffy was beginning to regret her insistence on going on this particular ride. The were still in line, her feet were sore, and they weren't even half way there yet. Although, she was enjoying the quality time spendage with Dean. It was rare that they ever got a couple of minutes to themselves – although hopefully things would go well when they came clean to Faith and Sam, and then they'd get to spend more than a few stolen moments together here and there. The more she thought about it, the more she realized that Faith would react a whole lot better to the situation when she was told face to face about it.

Leaning back into Dean's arms, she smiled dreamily.

It was only seconds later that she felt that creeping sensation crawling up the back of her neck – the one that usually meant that someone, or something, was watching her. She turned, and her heart skipped an uncomfortable beat when she saw Sam, watching them with a strange look upon his face. She opened her mouth to say something, and then closed it again when she realized that she was unable to form words.

Feeling her stiffen against him, Dean looked over his shoulder to see what she was staring at.

Oh crap!

For once, Dean found himself as equally speechless as Buffy was, but his hold on her tightened, as if he was afraid that she would bolt.

Eventually, they saw Sam shake his head in what could only be described as disgust. "We have to go," he explained, loud enough for them to hear. "We have a case to get to." And then he was gone, pushing his way back out of the line as fast as he could, desperate to get away from two of the people he trusted more than anyone in the whole world...desperate to get away from the two people who had been lying to him for he could only imagine how long.

Buffy and Dean shared an agonized look, before releasing one another to chase after him.

"Sam!" Dean called, rudely shoving people out of his way as he tried to catch up. "Sam, wait up! We need to talk! Come on, man, don't be like this!"

Sam was quickly going from pissed to furious. What the hell had they been thinking? Lying, cheating! Putting them all at rick with their utter, complete selfishness! He stopped, suddenly, and turned to face his brother. "Why? Are you going to tell me that it wasn't what it looked like?" Man, how could Dean have lied to him like this? When Sam had asked him, time and time again, whether or not there was something going on between him and Buffy. And Dean had just lied to him, right to his face. Because it was blatantly obvious from the intimate way they had been standing that the whole romance thing wasn't new. How could he have been so stupid? He'd suspected it so often, but had chosen to ignore it in favour of an easier life.

"No," Dean admitted boldly. He took Buffy's hand in his own, comforted somewhat when she squeezed it tightly. "It's exactly what it looks like."

Sam breathed out a puff of air. "Wow. You know, you really are something else. Absolutely unbelievable. This is just so typical of you, Dean! Screw around with one girl, and then move on to her best friend when you get bored. But I really thought you had enough respect for Faith and Buffy to hold off just this one time. What was I thinking, huh?"

Fury pumped right through Dean at his words, and it was only due to the fact that Buffy was still holding tightly on to his hand that he didn't beat the holy frikkin' crap out of his brother. "It's not like that!" he protested. "It was never like that. What me and Faith had was nothing. What me and Buffy have...it'severything!"

Sam peered at Dean through narrowed eyes, his mind spinning at what sounded suspiciously like sincerity in his voice.

"Does Faith know?" Buffy asked quietly, speaking up for the first time.

"Well, my suspicions were raised just a tiny bit when I saw you trying to lick the faces off of each other."

All three turned towards the bitter voice. Faith stood behind them, her arms crossed and her foot tapping impatiently. It was clearly visible that she was only just containing her anger.

Buffy dropped Dean's hand and stepped towards her. "Faith, I-"

Faith held up a halting hand. "Yeah, I really don't care."

"But-"

"I don't want to hear it!" she roared. "Luckily for all of us, Giles has a job for us in Minnesota. So let's just cut the chat and go."

"I think you owe it to her to do as she says," Sam said, before following after her.

The car journey to Minnesota was understandably one of the most uncomfortable that Buffy had ever endured. Faith and Sam had refused to speak, and Buffy and Dean had just been afraid to.

As usual, the first thing they did when they arrived in town was to find a motel. And as soon as they had parked up, Faith had grabbed her bag, slammed out of the car and stalked into the motel reception. The other three followed her inside just in time to hear her ask for a single room.

"Faith, please, we really should talk..." Buffy tried.

Faith simply collected her key and walked right past Buffy without so much as a word.

Feeling uncomfortable and unsure about what to do, Sam saw no other option but to step forwards and ask for their usual adjoining rooms, silently hoping that Faith would calm down over the next couple of days that they were in town. After collecting their keys he turned and paused, his eyes widening and his head tilting to one side at what he saw.

On the other side of the room, Buffy was tucked into Dean's chest. His arms were around her, swaying her gently and stroking her hair as he comforted her.

For the very first time, it occurred to Sam that maybe, just maybe, this was actually the real thing for Dean. Maybe he wasn't just messing Buffy around. Maybe he wasn't just using her for sex. Maybe he did have actual real feelings for her.

An image of Jess flashed through his mind, and he thought about how he'd do just about anything to have her back, even just for a minute.

But she was gone, along with their chance at living a happy life together. Dean and Buffy's wasn't, and he sure as hell wasn't going to be selfish and ruin that for them.

"Come on," he said gently. "Let's go put our bags down." As he passed by them, he clapped a hand briefly on Dean's shoulder.

"So...what do we do now?" Buffy asked, once she and Sam and Dean had settled into their rooms. They had tried knocking on Faith's door, but unsurprisingly, there had been no answer.

Sam glanced up at her. "About Faith or..."

"About the job," she answered quickly.

"I guess we should wait until morning – it's too late to start questioning people now. We'll get some sleep and then visit the witness tomorrow. And maybe Faith will have cooled down by then."

Buffy and Dean nodded in agreement, and the room fell into uncomfortable silence.

It occurred to Sam that Buffy and Dean probably wanted to be alone, and he stood up awkwardly. "Uh...so I'm gonna go get some sleep. In the other room. Call me if you need me."

"Yeah. Wait, Sam," Dean called after him. "Thanks, man."

Sam nodded in response and then disappeared into the next room.

Finally alone, Dean settled down into a chair and pulled Buffy down on top of him. He circled his arms around her and she leaned her head on his shoulder.

"It'll be okay," he soothed, stroking her neck with the tips of his fingers.

"You were right," she acknowledged. "We should have just told Faith right from the start, before she had to find out like that."

"Maybe," he replied. "But it's done now. And she'll come around, she will. Right now she's just pissed because she feels like she's been left out of the loop."

Buffy nodded. "Yeah, she'll come around." But she didn't sound convinced.

"How are you feeling now?" Dean asked, after they had sat in silence for a while longer.

"Horrible, two-faced, ashamed...relieved."

"Relieved?"

"Yuh huh. I mean, it's not the way I wanted Faith and Sam to find out about us, but at least it's in the open now. Although it will be totally weird being able to touch you and kiss you in public whenever I want. Good weird."

Dean felt a waterfall of his own relief shower down upon him. "So...you're still with me?"

She pulled back and glanced down at him, confused. She waved a hand between them, indicating the intimate way they were seated. "Unless this is how you sit with everyone – and if it is then we seriously need to have a little talk, mister – then the answer to that should be obvious."

"I know." He shook his head at his own idiocy. "I'm just being paranoid and stupid. It's just...I wanted you for so long, and now I have you and I just...I don't wanna lose you."

"Why on earth would you think you'd lose me, dummy?"

He shrugged. "I dunno. Maybe you don't think I'm worth the hassle. I mean, Faith knows about us now and she's clearly pissed as hell about it..."

"Can you blame her? Faith and I are practically sisters, and I just stole her guy. That's wrong on so many levels."

"I was never Faith's guy."

"You know what I mean. Just...imagine if you and I broke up and then I started dating Sam in secret. Wouldn't you be mad if you found out?" She winced, as his grip around her tightened. "Ow...Dean, stop squeezing me, it's not actually going to happen. It was just an example."

He released her and blew out a long puff of air. "Yeah, I guess to do see what you mean." But a part of him still needed reassuring. "You're not gonna leave me though, right?"

She rested her forehead against his, her heart aching for the secret vulnerabilities he hid so well beneath his tough surface. "I told you before – that will never happen. I'll never leave you. Ever."

Dean kissed her. "Say it again."

"I'll never leave you."

He stood up suddenly, pulling her up with him and carrying her in his arms over to one of the beds. He laid her down and climbed over her."

"Promise me," she expressed, looking up at me. "Promise me it'll all be okay."

He wished more than anything that he'd ever wished for that he could make it come true for he. God, he wished it. And he couldn't lie to her, and give her empty promises. He loved her too much. "I'll try," he settled for in the end. "I'll try so hard."

She opened her legs to allow him to settle between them. "That's more than enough for me."

They made a soft and hazy kind of love.

His hands as he pushed away her clothes were warm, gentle.

The skin she pressed up into him was silky.

His movements inside of her were loving, caring.

And even after everything that had happened that day, their hearts were filled with complete contentment as they fell asleep in one another's arms.

The next morning, Dean and Buffy were abruptly awoken by a pounding sound on the motel room door.

"What the hell is that?" Dean groaned sleepily, sliding his head underneath his pillow.

Sam stumbled into the room, rubbing sleep out of his eyes. "Who's banging on the- whoa!" His eyes widened when he realized that both Buffy and Dean were naked, and that the sheet was barely covering them. Coming to his senses, he twirled away and covered his eyes. "Oh God! I am so sorry! I didn't even think to knock. I should have known you'd be...Oh God."

Buffy yanked the sheet around herself and scrambled up out of bed, her entire body flushing in embarrassment. "Don't worry about it, Sam. I guess we all need to get used to the new situation."

Dean chuckled heartily, and had a t-shirt thrown in his face for his efforts.

"Okay, we're both decent now," Buffy told Sam a few moments later.

"Uh...okay." He turned back around, still blushing.

The banging on the door continued, and Sam hurried over to answer it. "Faith! Hey! How are you this morning?"

Faith ignored Sam and pushed past him to get into the room. "Finally. I thought I was gonna have to break the door down."

Buffy smiled uncertainly at her. "Faith, I'm really glad you're here. I thought maybe you and I could go grab some breakfast and talk."

Faith glanced from one bed – neat and unused – to the other – well ruffled – and her expression darkened. "Yeah, no thanks. The only reason I'm here is because we have business to do. Once we find this Jenkins guy we go our separate ways, okay?"

Buffy wanted to protest to this, but a look from Dean told her to save it until later. Perhaps working together would get Faith to warm up again, and then they'd be able to talk to her.

"Uh...so how do we go about the case then?" Dean asked. "I was thinking-"

"I don't care what you were thinking," Faith interrupted coldly. "You and Sam are going to go and steal some cop outfits to go question that kid who saw Jenkins get taken. I'm gonna go check out the area."

"What about me?" Buffy questioned.

"Do whatever you want. You usually do." And then she walked right out of the room.

"I'm gonna go with her," Buffy told Sam and Dean. "Maybe if I just keep on talking to her she'll eventually talk back."

They nodded, and she slipped on her shoes and headed towards the door.

"Wait." Dean grasped her arm and swung her around, planting a quick kiss on her lips. It was far from the most fiery or passionate kiss they had shared, but it was sweet and in front of his brother and when he pulled back, there was something a lot like happiness shining from Dean's eyes.

She smiled up at him, and then left to follow Faith.

When Dean turned back around, he found Sam staring right at him. "Don't," he ordered.

"Don't what?"

"Don't start lecturing me."

Sam held his hands up. "I wasn't going to."

"No?"

"No. I was just thinking that I guess I can see how much you and Buffy really care about each other. I mean, you both went about this whole thing totally the wrong way, but if you really are serious about her, then it's a good thing, I think."

"Trust me, bro, I'm serious."

"I'm glad. She's good for you."

Dean rolled his eyes and punched Sam in the arm. "Whatever, Mary Kate. Girl moment officially over. Let's go talk to the kid."

"Yeah, she may be good for you but you're still a big jerk."

"And you're still a little bitch. So we're even."

No matter how much she chattered, or what she said, Faith continued to remain cool and unresponsive towards Buffy as they searched the area where Jenkins had been taken. But together they found a set of tire marks, which although Faith declared probably had nothing to do with the hunt, they made sure to tell Dean and Sam of them when the four met up later on.

"And the little boy actually saw Mr Jenkins get dragged under the car?" Buffy asked.

"Yeah," Sam replied. "Poor kid."

"He must have been scared out of his mind."

"He also said he heard some kind of a screeching sound. Know any demons like that?"

"Only about a gazillion."

"Then I guess we start researching then, narrow it down."

"Joy."

"But," Sam started, glancing between Faith and Buffy. "we could grab a bite to eat first. Maybe get a beer or something."

Buffy smiled gratefully at his attempts to get them all to spend some time together, but Faith merely stood and flicked off a speck of dust from her pants. "No thanks. I'm going back to my room."

After she had left, Buffy sighed sadly. "Thanks, Sam. It was worth a try."

"I'm just sorry it didn't work out. We could still go though."

"I'm kind of tired. I think I'll just head on back and get some sleep."

"I'll come with you," Dean spoke up immediately.

Buffy rolled her eyes playfully and nudged his arm. "Don't be a dolt. I'm just tired, not sick. Go get a beer, chill out, have some fun."

He grinned at her and squeezed an arm around her shoulders. "You're the best girlfriend ever."

"I know. And don't you forget it."

"So the local police think that this is just a kidnapping case," Sam told Dean, as they played a round of pool in the bar.

"Yeah, I guess it could be. Although you heard what that kid said about that screeching noise."

"I did. I also heard what his mom said. The kid was watching horror movies in the middle of the night. It could just be a case of a big imagination."

"Hmm. You're saying this might not be our kind of gig?"

"Maybe, maybe not. We probably shouldn't leave it to chance. That cop we talked to did say that this county has had more missing persons per capita than any other in the state."

"Right. We'll hang around a couple more days, do a bit more digging, ask a few more questions. It's cool."

"Sounds like a plan."

"Here's your drinks guys."

Sam watched out of the corner of his eye as the busty waitress leaned over Dean to place down his drink, flaunting her shapely figure. She winked down at him and smiled.

Dean barely even glanced her way.

"Wow," Sam expressed, once the waitress had left. "You really have changed."

Buffy wasn't sure what time it was exactly when she was awoken by a rough pair of hands shaking her, but it was still dark out so she knew it couldn't be morning just yet.

"Buffy, wake up!" came Dean's frantic voice."Wake up! He's gone! You have to wake up!"

"Wuh? Who's gone?" She slowly sat up, blinking the sleep out of her eyes.

"Sam! We were leaving the bar and I went to go take a wizz and he was gonna wait for me in the car and when I got there he was gone. I looked everywhere for him, Buffy. He's just gone!"

At his words, she hurried out of bed and stood before him, gripping his shoulders. "Okay, I know it's hard but you have to calm down. Listen to me, we are going to find him."

"I can't believe I let this happen." He pulled away from her and began to pace. "The one most important job my dad ever gave me was to make sure Sam was safe. Always make sure Sam was safe."

"Dean, stop! That kind of thinking won't help. Now sit down, and I'll run and get Faith and then we can make a plan. We'll find him, okay?"

He did as he was told, and Buffy threw a jacket on over her pyjamas and ran down the hall to Faith's room. "Faith, open up!" she yelled, banging on the door until it was answered by a pissed off looking Faith.

"What do you want?"

"Sam's missing."

Instantly, Faith's whole demeanour changed. She locked her motel room door and followed Buffy down the hall. "Tell me everything."

"Finally!" Dean cheered, as he spotted the motel in the distance. They had been walking back from the Bender household for hours. "My feet are on fire!"

"Better your feet than your eyeballs," Sam joked, referring to torture Dean had almost suffered.

Buffy shook her head. "You guys are sick. I feel so dirty. I don't think I'll ever be able to wash that place away. From my body or my brain."

"Yeah," Faith added. "That was one sick household."

They'd worked well together to find Sam, and Buffy grinned over at Faith, sure her friend was on her way to forgiving her. "That was some nice work you did back there," she complimented.

Faith stared at her with a frown on her face. "What are you doing?"

"What do you mean?"

"I mean why are you acting like you haven't just stabbed me in the back."

Buffy faltered. "Faith, I-"

"Look, blondie, I put aside our little situation these past twenty four hours for Sam. To help Sam. Not because I want to be best friends again, okay? Because we're not."

"Please, Faith. I just want things to go back to way before. You have to know how sorry I am for lying to you. I hated it."

"Yeah, you hated lying to me so much you just went ahead and did it anyway. You know, after everything we've been through together, after everything we share, the fact that you could just throw it all away fro a guy..." She held her hands up, as if trying to shield herself from any further hurt. "You know what, I think I'm gonna go find a cemetery and beat the crap outta some vamps. I really don't even wanna be around you."

Buffy bit her lip as Faith walked away, determined not to cry in front of Sam and Dean, who were standing somewhat awkwardly a few feet ahead.

"Hey now," Sam soothed eventually, stepping closer and squeezing her arm. "She didn't mean it."

"Yes, she did. And she was right about every word."

"I know I've been saying this a lot, but she'll come around. I promise."

She nodded, grateful that he could be so kind, even after she had lied to him, too.

"I'm gonna go in and take a shower," he informed them. "If I don't wash the stink of those ass-holes off of me soon I'm gonna go insane."

As he looked back from the motel doors, it was to see Dean holding tightly onto Buffy, and her gripping him back just as hard.

It felt good to be wrapped securely in Dean's arms. Held tightly by him, Buffy could almost believe that everything was going to be okay.

After a long couple of minutes, he pulled back and rested his forehead against hers. "I love you."

The entire world fell silent.

Cars ceased to growl, trees stopped rustling, the wind forgot how to whistle, and Buffy felt as if her heart might just explode at any moment.

"You do?"

"Yeah." He nodded his head and smiled, looking a little baffled at his own words. "I'm in love with you big. And I should have told you right after the very first time we kissed."

She giggled. "We were a little busy after the first time we kissed." He chuckled, and she reached up to stroke his stubbly cheek with her fingers. "I love you too."

"Yeah?"

"Yuh huh. So, so much. God, so much that sometimes just thinking about you makes my heart go kind of dizzy."

He breathed out a huff of air, and looked down at her in awe. And then his lips were on hers and he was kissing her madly, before pulling her into a tight hug.

Buffy smiled ruefully as she let go a few moments later. "I think I might take a walk. I just...need to be alone for a while, you know? Clear my head." He looked worried, and she hastened to reassure him. "I'll be an hour, tops. I just need to think about things. Faith, mainly."

"But you're coming back, right?"

"I'm coming back," she promised.

"Because as much as I absolutely hate the idea and want to shoot it in the face, I could possibly understand why you'd want to go home-"

"Dean," she stopped him. "You are my home. Wherever you are, that's where I want to be."

He nodded and sighed with relief, but he didn't look too happy as he released her. "Okay. But...call me if you need me. And...I love you."

Buffy wasn't sure how far she walked, or even how she managed to get her feet to keep on moving when her brain was so damned fried. Out in one of the vague corners of her mind she remembered passing through a cemetery and staking a vampire who had the misfortune to choose her to jump out at, but the rest was a blur. Her mind was too consumed by thoughts of Faith and Sam and Dean to take in anything else.

She hated how much she'd hurt her friend. Hated it so much. But she knew that there was no way she could give up Dean now. She was too in love with him, and for once in her life she was going to be selfish and hang on to her love as hard as she could.

Her feet led her to a road, and the road led her to a bar. She stopped. One drink wouldn't hurt her, and then she'd get back to the motel.

No sooner had she sat down on a stool next to the bar did she feel the air shift as somebody sat down next to her.

"You look as rough as I feel," said a husky female voice. "And there's only one thing that can cause a look like that...man troubles. Am I right?"

Buffy glanced over at the woman. She was pretty, in a Marilyn Monroe kind of way. Blonde and busty with a big, red lipped smile. "Sort of," Buffy answered with a shrug.

"Men. Can't live with 'em, can't live without 'em, huh? Trust me, I know that feeling. Say, why don'tcha let me get you a drink? From one wronged woman to another."

"I'm hardly the woman who's been wronged, but I'd love a drink right about now."

"Great!" The woman held out her hand for Buffy to shake. "I'm Olivia."

"Buffy."

"Ooh! Cute name, buttercup. Very chic." She signalled the bartender, who dropped his cloth and came straight over. "Hey, Pete. Get me and my new friend here a drink, would ya? On me, 'kay?"

If Buffy had been paying more attention to the interaction, instead on thinking glumly of Faith, she might have noticed the significant glance that Olivia and Pete shared.

"Your usual?" Pete asked.

"Sure thing, cherub."

"Coming right up, Livvy."

In no time at all, two small glasses of dark purple liquid had been served to them.

"What is it?" Buffy asked dubiously.

"Little bit of this, little bit of that." Olivia grinned cheekily. "It's strong stuff, but it'll do the trick."

Buffy took a sip and winced. "That is strong."

"You have to drink it all in one, girl! Then it's just an after-taste."

Buffy took a deep breath and did as she was told, coughing as the liquid burned her throat on its way down. "Oh." She gripped the edge of the bar as a wave of dizziness washed over her. It was gone with a second, and Buffy took it as a sign that she and alcohol were never going to mix. "That was weird."

Olivia chuckled. "I'm gonna go ahead and take a wild guess that you aren't a big drinker?"

"Not really."

"That's okay, we can change that. Want another?"

Buffy glanced down at her watch and shook her head. "I really should be getting back. My guy...he worries a lot. But thank you for the drink, Olivia. You cheered me up. For a little while, anyway."

"Any time, cupcake, any time at all. You be careful on your way home, okay?"

Buffy nodded, and with a final smile, she left the bar.

Olivia watched her go, toying with her still full glass. "And don't be thanking me for that drink just yet."

Buffy stumbled as she walked down the road, spreading her hands out in front of her to steady herself – that drink must have been even stronger than she'd originally thought!

After a few more moments she stopped, moving over to lean against a tree. Her vision was blurry and her head was spinning, and she had no idea where she was. There were no houses nearby, no lights, and she hadn't seen a car pass by in a long time. She was all alone.

"Is he here yet?" Olivia asked Pete as she joined him outside, at the back of the bar near the bins. She accepted his light as she pulled a cigarette out of its pack.

"Why, he most certainly is," a low voice replied before Pete had the chance. "My mother always taught me to arrive on time. It's only good manners, after all."

Olivia and Pete turned to the man, wondering how he had gotten so close to them without their noticing. "We did what you wanted," Pete told him. "We gave that blonde chick that stuff. Put it in her drink like you said."

"Well isn't that just divine."

"What was in that crap, anyway?" Olivia wanted to know. "It looked weird as hell."

He grinned and lifted up one shoulder. "Oh, you know. A little bit of this, a little bit of that." The blood of a slayer, the shards of a very special pendant...that kind of thing.

Pete was looking more bored by the second. He took a drag of his own cigarette and flicked the ash onto the floor. "Whatever, man. We did the job. It's time to pay up."

"Certainly. I am a gentleman, after all." He raised his hand, and in less than a second, their necks had been snapped. He looked down at their lifeless bodies, pitilessly. "Smoking is a bad habit, you know?"

With a happy sigh, he smiled and looked up at the sky. In the light of the moon, his yellow eyes glowed.

Buffy slid down the tree trunk to her knees, unable to keep her legs holding her up as her body hummed and her head swam. Terrible thoughts were exploding in her mind. Terrible, terrible memories.

Her mother's wide, empty eyes staring up at the ceiling as she lay across the couch, dead.

That very first moment she caught sight of a vampire. The feel of it crumbling to dust beneath her as she shoved her stake through its heart.

The fear of there being no escape from Spike's hands as he clawed at her robe in the bathroom.

Dean laying in the hospital bed, so grey and close to death.

The dying monk gasping out his last breaths, his final words informing her that Dawn wasn't really her sister, wasn't even really real.

Sticking the sword through Angel's heart, and watching him vanish into hell.

The look of betrayal in Faith's eyes as she backed away.

As more and more of her worst memories filled up her mind, Buffy found that no matter how hard she tried, she couldn't claw her way out of the deep, dark, cold place she was stuck in.

And then there was pain. Burning, biting, searing pain. It attacked every inch of her body, and only got worse the harder she screamed.

And then everything stopped. The pain, the memories, everything.

Still on her knees, she looked up slowly, unsurprised to see the man with the yellow eyes standing in front of her. He held his hand out to her, and she took it, standing.

He smiled at her, and she returned the gesture.

Buffy blinked, and when her eyes opened...they were black.