Watching Your Back (Part 4)

Previously ...

Faith has returned to Sunnydale, apparently intent on reconciliation with Buffy and her friends. Torn between suspicion of the other girl and her reluctance to kill a someone who resolutely refused to fight back, Buffy has at last grown to trust Faith again, though there are still questions between the two slayers.

Meanwhile, Spike is seeking the Gem of Fey'R. If recovered, this item would prompt a flood of demons to come to Sunnydale. Aware only that the vampire has some plan afoot, the gang is attempting to discover what it is. So far, they have made little progress …

Chapter Ten

"Wesley realised it was me on the phone."

"Huh?" Buffy started, nearly dropping the bag of Twinkies she had been trying to sneak into the shopping cart.

Faith took the Twinkies from the other slayer and put them back on the shelf.

"When I called Angel from prison and Wesley answered." She explained, "He realised it was me."

"Faith," Buffy obviously remembered how upset she had become when they discussed this matter earlier, "you don't have to do this."

"It's okay." Faith shrugged. The crazy thing is, I do feel okay. "You backed me up with your mom today, B. Way more than I thought you would. You're putting a lot of trust in me. I guess it's time I put a lot in you."

Buffy actually blushed.

"Thanks," she acknowledged in a small voice, "but are you sure you want to do it here? It seems very … public." she waved vaguely at the store.

"Why not?" Faith shrugged, "You and Red used to wander the halls of Sunnydale High discussing vampires. Nobody said anything then." And I want to do this while I still have the nerve.

Buffy didn't answer at first, then grinned,

"Yeah. I guess we weren't as discrete as we could have been. But I do have one condition."

Faith frowned,

"What?" it came out sounding more surly than she had intended.

Buffy grabbed the packet of Twinkies and pouted,

"Please?"

Faith sighed, and shrugged ruefully, then returned to her story as the now beaming blonde slayer stowed the Twinkies in the cart.

"After about the fourth or fifth time Wesley said 'hello', I finally managed to say something: 'sorry'. Nothing else. I hung up right after. I was pretty much a mess." She pushed the cart along the aisle, regretting ever leading Buffy into the minefield of sweet snack foods. "Wesley must've recognised my voice, because he came to the prison the next day to see me. I don't know why. I don't think he did either. But I was glad he came."

"Why didn't Angel come?" Buffy interrupted, "I would have thought … well, he was the first one who trusted you…"

"Wesley said Angel had his hands full with another emergency. I never got the full story what that was." Faith admitted, "They didn't like to talk about it, much. But I got the picture that someone from Angel's past had turned up. Someone he thought was dead."

"Someone he loved." It wasn't a question. Buffy's voice was toneless and flat.

"B," Faith shifted uncomfortably, "There's never been anyone for him like you."

"Yeah? He's got a funny way of showing it."

For a moment, Faith considered pressing the point. Let it go. B has to deal with it herself.

"So I told Wesley what was going on at the prison. Gave him everything I could on the guard and what I knew of the demon inside her. To be honest, I didn't think he would be able to do anything. But I figured at least he could let Angel know."

Faith paused to load a five pound bag of oranges into the cart. Buffy wrinkled her nose,

"Do we really need that many?"

"They cost less than your Twinkies." Faith smirked, "And they make much better snack food."

"I didn't realise I came shopping with my mom." Buffy mock-scowled. "So Wes told Angel?"

"No." Faith answered, "He worked out what kind of demon it was from what I'd told him. Turned out to be a real charmer; feeding off pain. Physical pain, I mean."

"Nice." Buffy snagged a box of tea bags from the shelf, "Earl Grey?"

Faith shook her head,

"Prince of Wales."

"'kay." Buffy swapped boxes with a shrug. "So did Wes know how to slay this thing?"

"No special requirements." Faith clenched and unclenched her fists slowly, "Wes said it wasn't even much stronger or faster than a normal human."

"Sounds pretty low on the ol' demon threatometer."

Faith grimaced,

"That was the problem, B. Here was this … crappy little demon … that either of us could have slain in a heartbeat if we met it on patrol. But in jail, I couldn't do anything about it. That was when I began to realise that I couldn't do any good in there."

"So what did you do? I mean, if you couldn't slay it."

"At first, Wesley was going to go to Angel once he knew what we were dealing with. But Angel was still wrapped up in this other problem. So he called Kate, instead."

"Kate?"

"She's a cop. She knows about Angel."

"I've met her." Buffy's tone suggested that her memories of the encounter were not pleasant. "She didn't seem like she would be the sort to help you."

"Yeah." Faith agreed, not wanting to dwell on the night she gave her confession. "Katie and Angel have a pretty complicated relationship. She knows she needs his help to deal with some of the stuff that's out there, but when she looks at him she sees Angellus. It's gotta be hard for her to need him and hate him all at once."

Buffy didn't reply, and Faith mentally kicked herself. Jesus girl, remember who you're talking to.

"So, anyway," she continued, eager to fill the silence, "Kate didn't like Angel, but she liked the idea of a demon as a prison guard even less. She and Wesley dealt with the problem. They wouldn't tell me how. Probably afraid that it might send me into psycho-slayer mode again." She grinned, trying to make a joke of it, but it sounded flat in her ears.

"You like her, don't you?"

"Huh?" Faith paused in the middle of the aisle, then shuffled across sheepishly when a woman behind them squawked at the delay.

"You like her." Buffy said quietly, "You called her 'Katie'."

"Yeah, I guess I do." Faith was puzzled, "She doesn't take any crap from anyone and she's tough as they come. She reminds me a lot of you."

Buffy seemed unimpressed by the comparison,

"She threatened to kill Angel."

"I did much more than that." Faith reminded her, "And for less reason. Katie was just trying to do her job. Once the cops got involved, Angel shouldn't have tried to protect me."

"How can you say that about someone who tried to help you?" Buffy seemed horrified.

"B," Faith sighed, "I know how much I owe Angel. But that doesn't mean that anyone who disagrees with him is wrong. You thought he was wrong that night, as well."

The blonde slayer opened her mouth as if to object, then frowned and remained silent.

"Geez, B." Faith managed a grin, "I thought you were supposed to be the forgiving one."

Buffy returned the smile, wanly.

"I guess you're right." She didn't sound convinced, "I just don't like people threatening my friends."

So I've learned.

"Anyway, that's how Wesley and I started to patch things up." Faith shrugged, "He said it was seeing how badly I wanted to do something about the demon, and how hard I'd had to work to keep my temper, that persuaded him I'd changed. From then on, he came to see me almost as often as Angel. Even Kate started to come most weeks, though that was mainly to talk shop."

"Shop?"

"She wanted to know more about what was out there, and she couldn't bring herself to go to Angel." Faith shrugged, "I don't know why she felt she could trust me to tell her, when she couldn't trust him. But she did." And it meant a lot to me.

Buffy nodded without answering.

"We should get out of here." Faith changed the subject, "We'll be late for that meeting this afternoon if we don't motor-vate."

"Yeah." Buffy agreed shortly, eyeing the half-full shopping cart, "You're sure this is cheaper than ordering out?"

"It will be if I can stop you buying candy and soda."

"So basically, no."

Faith grinned despite herself.

"We patrolling tonight?"

Buffy nodded,

"Yeah. I want to get the sweep done as early as possible, though. I'd like to go see Riley afterward, if I can."

"Oh. Okay."

The blonde pushed a strand of hair back and folded her arms, looking carefully into Faith's eyes. The brunette fought an urge to fidget.

"You don't like him much, do you?" Buffy observed, quietly.

Faith shrugged uncomfortably,

"Hardly matters, B. He's your guy, not mine."

"That's not an answer." Buffy was quiet, but determined, "I want to know."

"To be honest, B, I barely know the guy." Faith sighed, "I guess I just figured you and –"

She broke off. No, don't go there.

But Buffy wasn't about to let the matter rest,

"You just figured what?"

Faith sighed, admitting defeat,

"Well, that you Angel were forever, y'know? After everything you went through, you still loved him. When I woke up and found you with someone else, I figured at first that Angel..."

"… was dead?"

"Yeah." Faith kept her eyes on the floor, "I thought the boss-" she swallowed, "the mayor's poison had killed him. I thought I'd killed him."

Buffy didn't look much more comfortable than Faith herself felt.

"Angel walked away, not me." She said, defensively. "But I guess he was right to do it. We couldn't ever have had something, Faith. I know you owe him a lot, and that he still misses me, but it can't work out between us."

"Yeah, I know." Faith said, but her tone belied her words.

"Okay, that's it." Buffy stepped closer to her, forcing the brunette to look her in the eyes, "You know something, don't you? Something about Angel?"

"B…" Faith protested, weakly. "Please don't ask. Don't make me choose between you and Angel. I don't want to hurt him."

Buffy blinked,

"You'd choose me?" she whispered, "But Angel…"

"Was the one who stood by me when no-one else would?" Faith mumbled, "Yeah, I know. But I can't choose him over you. I chose someone else over you once before, and look where that got me. I won't do it again."

Buffy did not answer for a moment, appearing overwhelmed by the other slayer's admission. Finally, she cleared her throat and spoke,

"I … I want to know, Faith." She sounded regretful, but determined, "I can see it's hard for you, but I need to know."

Faith rubbed her eyes. I'm sorry. She wasn't sure if she were apologising to Angel, to Buffy, or to herself.

"Wesley discovered a prophecy," she whispered, "when Angel completes his destiny, his humanity will be restored."

"He'll … be human, again?" Buffy's words were barely audible.

"Yeah." Faith could hear the raggedness of her own voice.

"Oh god…"

"Yes, but how long will it take?" Spike snapped, his limited patience exhausted. "You're supposed to be my mystical know-it-all, Aleister, but you've been ducking that question for the last half hour. Now, I want an answer in the next thirty seconds, or I'll stake you where you stand."

Aleister, a tall but rather scrawny vampire with a ragged goatee, grinned weakly,

"Well…" he began evasively, then choked in terror as Spike's expression darkened, "two weeks."

"Two weeks?" Spike snarled, the ridges of his vampiric face forming, "You told me that once we had the eyes of the Taladar you'd be ready to begin."

"I, uh, misinterpreted the –"

"You mean you screwed up?"

"Not quite." Aleister protested weakly, then blanched when Spike grabbed him by the neck, "But close enough to it not to argue. Yes, screwed up. That I did."

Spike sighed and released the whining vampire. Much as I'd like to, I can't afford to kill him. Yet.

"So what's the delay?" he demanded, "What did you 'misinterpret'?"

"The eyes have to be steeped in an effusion of vital fluids for twelve days."

"In English, mate?"

"We have to soak them in a big vat of blood."

"Yeah." Spike shrugged, "Shouldn't be much of a problem. This is Sunnydale, after all. Any particular sort of blood?"

"Human. Fresh, preferably."

Spike scowled. A waste of good food. Not just that, but it was the sort of thing that would attract the attention of the slayer. Both of them. His scowl deepened at the thought of there being two slayers in town.

Abruptly, he realised that Aleister was watching him nervously, apparently petrified that Spike's bad mood was directed at him.

"Get out of my sight." He growled, "I'll make sure you get your blood. You just make sure there are no more unexpected delays."

Aleister fled immediately, offering Spike the only satisfaction he had drawn from the conversation. Got the bastards running scared.

He lit a cigarette and drew the smoke in slowly. There were still several hours until dark, and Hansard should be back well before then. He would decide his next move after the spy reported what else he had learned.

At least there were some people he could rely on to get the job done.

"That was Willow." The neurotic blonde with the ridiculous name announced to the assembled group. "She and Tara are running a little late, but they should be here soon."

Hansard suppressed an urge to sigh. These humans were not only tiresome, but numerous. Already, six of them were crowded into the apartment's small living room, and the prospect of two more was decidedly unwelcome.

He was not concerned that the increasing numbers would lead to his detection, of course, but they would complicate his job by multiplying the number of voices, faces and auras he had to keep track of. These matters were complicated enough already, with the six current occupants of the room.

"Then it might be best for us to wait for them to arrive, to save repeating ourselves." Giles suggested, earning Hansard's silent appreciation.

"As long as it won't take too long," the demoness sitting on the couch grumbled, "Xander and I were trying to fit in some sex before four."

Hansard smiled thinly at the uncomfortable silence which followed this announcement. The human propensity for embarrassment about procreation remained one of their most foolish traits. He found the demoness' lack of complexity quite welcome.

The one named Faith raised her eyebrows and stage-whispered to the blonde,

"Not the shy type, is she?"

"Look who's talking." The blonde climbed into a chair with the young sandy-haired male and kissed him thoroughly. Expressionless, the brunette looked away and fell silent. Hansard watched the colours of her aura slowly darken and bruise, reflecting emotions that the young woman was otherwise quite adept at concealing.

As the kiss deepened, most people joined Faith in looking away. The demoness had no such compunction. Neither did Hansard, though his attention was focussed on the blonde's aura. It was definitely slightly different than it had been in the morning.

"Well," the one named Giles cleared his throat, "perhaps we ought to start after all. What have we learned so far, Buffy?"

"Huh?" the blonde broke the kiss, but remained seated in the young man's lap, her arm around his shoulders, "uh, yeah. Well not much, really. Willow was doing the research thing. Faith and I were going to patrol tonight, though. To see if we could turn up any of Spike's lackeys."

At the mention of Faith's name, both young men in the room favoured her with suspicious glances. Hansard noted their hostility toward the brunette. It might be useful information for his employer.

"Do you want us to come along?" the one named Xander asked, "Make sure nothing goes wrong?"

"No need." Faith folded her arms across her chest, "Anyone tries to mess with us and we'll kick their ass from here to Boston." She stared at the dark-haired boy, seemingly daring him to take issue with her statement, and he subsided.

At that moment, Hansard sensed someone approaching the apartment. Moments later, there was a gentle knock on the door. Giles answered it, then said in a relieved tone of voice,

"Ah, Willow. Come in. Now we can really get started."

"Hey, Red." Faith drawled from her chair, "Where's your squeeze?"

The redhead named Willow frowned. Hansard could sense the odour of human magic around her.

"Tara's outside." She said shortly, then turned to Buffy, "Did you bust Giles' door again?"

"No, Will. Why?" the blonde looked confused. It was becoming a familiar expression.

"The spell wires have all activated. That should only happen if someone comes in without Giles' permission." Willow explained, "Tara's resetting them now."

Hansard frowned. Is it possible they detected me? He discounted the thought. A human sorcerer would not even know what to look for.

And then the blonde girl walked in.

Later, Hansard would allow himself to feel a moment of satisfaction that he did not betray himself immediately. It took all his self-control to quell the outrage that rushed through him.

One of his own people. And she was covered in the stench of human magic.

He thrust down the emotion, which was so strong and unfamiliar as to feel almost like a physical sickness, then refocussed his will, shoring up the magical wards which kept him concealed. Although more than sufficient to fool humans, they would not last long against the heightened perceptions of one of his own kind.

Gingerly, he edged toward the still-open door, glad at first that the blonde's attention was on the redhead who had preceded her inside. If he could exit whilst her attention was diverted, he might not be discovered.

Giles closed the door.

Hansard suppressed a discomforting sense of irritation and tried to calmly consider his options. As he did so, he flicked his eyes back to the blonde.

And saw her beside the redhead. The human redhead. Their hands were clasped like lovers'.

His self-control shattered.

He tried to salvage the wards, but it was too late: they had all but collapsed. For a moment, even a human might have sensed him. There was no chance that one of his own would not.

The blonde span toward him, a look of horror on her face. As well there might be, from one who had broken the most scared laws of their people.

Then she screamed.

He ran for the door, pushing Giles roughly aside. The human male tumbled off his feet, no doubt unprepared for the impact. A quick twist of the handle and Hansard pulled the door open, plunging through it and way from the blasphemy he had just witnessed.

Tara suddenly span around, a look of utter terror on her face.

Moments later, she screamed.

Buffy tumbled from Riley's lap, falling into a crouch as she scanned the room for threats. Nothing.

Giles suddenly reeled backwards, then fell. As he did so, the door flew open. For a moment, the slayer thought she saw someone standing there, and then the impression was gone.

Slowly, Buffy stood. Tara had stopped screaming, and Willow was now holding the blonde tightly, stroking her hair and talking to her soothingly.

"You see anything?" Faith asked, moving to stand beside her.

"For a moment," she quietly replied, "in the doorway."

The brunette nodded,

"Me too. What do you think it was?"

"Not sure." Buffy said, moving to the door and staring out of it as Faith offered Giles a hand to help him up. She frowned, realising that she had walked right past her Watcher without checking if he was alright. Damn, I'm distracted today.

"Are you okay?" she asked him quietly, closing the door and turning back toward the room.

"I seem to be in one piece." Giles nodded to the brunette who had assisted him, "Thank you, Faith."

"No problem." Faith shrugged, then glanced at the others. "Any of you guys see anything?"

Riley and Xander shook their heads immediately, Anya a few moments later.

"Red?"

"Something in the doorway. Not a clear look." Willow's voice was muffled from the comforting hug she was giving Tara.

"Any ideas what it was?" Riley was on his feet now, staring out the window.

"New prey." Buffy shrugged, then frowned. Where did that come from? A moment later, she realised everyone was looking at her and grinned weakly, "That is, a new monster."

"It wasn't a monster." Tara straightened and half-turned in Willow's arms.

"Then what was it?" Xander asked from the couch, "because it sure looked like a monster to me. Not that I actually saw anything. But that's my point."

Tara swallowed,

"It was a person. A person without a soul." She turned back to Willow, resting her head on the other girl's shoulder, "I don't feel well. Can we go home?"

"Yeah, of course." Willow kissed her on the forehead.

"Uh, Willow?" Buffy surprised herself by interrupting, "Not wanting to get all goals-focussed on you, but what about the research?"

The redhead gave her a hurt look, which Buffy met evenly. Spike's still out there.

"We tried to get into the LAPD case file," the witch said at last, "but the current files are pretty well protected. They could take weeks to break into. Normally I can use magic to circumvent that sort of thing, but my spells didn't seem to work. It's like someone has put magical wards on the data."

Damn. Buffy grimaced. All this waiting was getting on her nerves. It's well past time to slay.

"Maybe Angel has heard something." Willow said in a cool tone, steering Tara gently toward the door, "You should phone him."

Angel. She remembered the bomb Faith had dropped on her that morning. The bomb she had demanded to hear. He will be human again one day. How can I be with anyone else, knowing that?

She turned to look at Riley, and felt a surge of desire. How can I give him up? She wanted to taste his lips again, as desperately as she had a few minutes ago. To feel his hands on her body.

Buffy looked down at her own hands, which were trembling slightly. Dimly, she could hear the others saying their goodbyes. She muttered her responses automatically, her mind on the hunt to come. She imagined Spike running from her through the cemetery, dodging and weaving, desperate to escape. She imagined the sound of his shoulder-joint snapping, and the look on his face as he collapsed into dust. Her lips stretched slowly into a smile.

"-fy?"

"Huh?" she glanced up to find Riley looking at her with a worried expression, "Sorry, I was miles away."

"I asked if you wanted me to come on patrol with you, tonight?"

Her smile broadened, cat-like. She wanted him. She wanted him now.

"No. Faith and I have got it. Besides, you won't be in any condition to patrol." She snaked her arm around him and turned to look at the others, blinking in surprise when she realised that only Faith and Giles were still there. She gave the brunette a thumbs-up, "I'll meet you at the dorm room at seven, okay?"

"Sure." Faith didn't look too happy with the plan, but she didn't object, which was all Buffy cared about, "Seven."

"Don't start without me." The blonde giggled and dragged Riley toward the door, "See ya, Faith. Bye, Giles!"

Giles closed the door slowly behind Buffy and then turned to face Faith. To his surprise, he felt more comfortable with the brunette slayer than he had with the blonde.

"Was it just me, or was B way whacked?" Faith rubbed the side of her neck.

"She did seem, uh, exuberant." Giles admitted. He didn't say how much Buffy's behaviour reminded him of Faith's past demeanour. Faith was already worried enough about the link that seemed to have formed between the two slayers.

"I mean, that's the sort of way I would have acted, when I first came here."

Giles didn't reply for a moment. He had got so used to thinking of Faith as the 'crazy' slayer that it was hard to remember how perceptive she could be.

"Perhaps." He hedged his reply, "I suppose that I should call Angel and see if he has any news, given that Willow and Tara were unable to help us."

"Actually, do you mind if I make the call to LA?" Faith thrust her hands in her pockets, "I got some catchin' up to do, and it'll help kill some time. I'm not exactly knee deep in friends in this town."

"Oh. Yes." Giles flushed, though he wasn't sure why he should feel responsible for Faith's loneliness, "That seems like a fine idea. And you would be welcome to stay here for the afternoon, if you like."

He didn't really expect her to accept the offer. It had sounded embarrassed even to him. To his surprise, however, the brunette offered him a shy smile,

"Yeah. I'd like that. Maybe you could help me train?"

Giles blinked, trying to remember if Buffy had ever asked to train with him.

"Yes, why not?" he paused, "I'll go and get the equipment whilst you make the phone call, alright?"

"Five by five, G-man."

He paused in walking toward the stairs,

"I'd rather you called me Giles."

"Whatever you say." Faith shrugged, "you're the Watcher … G-man."

He sighed and turned away, but a slight smile was on his lips. You're the Watcher. It was nice to hear it again.

Chapter Eleven

The door flew open and Angel looked up just in time to be lifted bodily out of his chair and slammed against the wall.

"Hello, Kate." He said mildly, the rapid beating of her heart loud in his ears.

"She's alive." The detective was furious, "Is the law some sort of game to you, Angel? That you'd help a murderer go free?"

"She's my friend." He replied quietly, "I couldn't let her kill herself."

"That's a long way from breaking her out of jail."

"She would have tried again if I hadn't got her out." Angel met her anger with calm.

"My, Angellus." The voice from his left was sensual, but mocking. "Who is this exquisite creature?"

"Don't call me that." He grated. Kate released him and turned toward the newcomer, her face still flushed with anger. For a silent moment, the two blondes faced one another. Human and vampire.

"Aren't you going to introduce us, my love?" the mockery was gone now, but the sensuality was stronger; a woman claiming her territory.

"Kate, this is Darla. Darla, Kate." He pushed off from the wall and adjusted his jacket.

Darla smiled condescendingly,

"We're old friends." She confided.

"I'm sure." Kate didn't look away from the female vampire, "Given up on the soul-boy thing, Angel? I thought you didn't run with her kind any more."

He drew some satisfaction from seeing a moment of surprise in Darla's expression, but she recovered as quickly as always,

"She knows what you are? My goodness, you have been indiscreet, Angellus."

"Don't call me that." He moved to stand beside Kate. Since Wolfram & Hart had brought Darla back, the ancient bond between them was stronger than it had ever been. Blood calls to blood. There were times when he could not control himself with her. But he was not a thrall, to be treated so condescendingly.

"My heartfelt apologies to you both." Darla inclined her head gracefully, loading the words with four hundred years of polite contempt. "I shall be downstairs, 'Angel'. Come to me when you are done here."

Kate watched the female vampire go without speaking, then turned on him as soon as Darla was out of sight. The interruption had done nothing to cool her temper.

"I don't want to know about it." She snapped, "So don't try to explain."

"How did you find out about Faith?" He had no intention of trying to explain Darla to her. I doubt I could explain it to myself.

"She phoned me." Kate's voice shook with anger and disbelief, "came through the switchboard as cool as can be. 'Hiya, Katie. Don't freak. I'm not calling you from beyond the grave'."

Angel kept his face impassive, though within he was not sure what he was feeling.

"Why did she phone you?" he really didn't know if Kate would answer, but it was something he had to ask. Faith has put us all at risk by doing this.

"She wanted information." Kate folded her arms and glared at him, "Said you'd told her some vampire had passed through LA. One who was really bad news."

"Spike."

Kate nodded,

"That was the name she gave me."

"Did you tell her?" Angel moved to sit on the edge of his desk.

"Of course not." The detective snapped, "that's confidential police information."

He nodded slowly. I wonder why Willow didn't hack in to the LAPD system.

"So what are you going to do?" he asked quietly, staring past her at the dark sky.

"I'm going to find her." The detective replied, her voice cold. "She has to pay for what she did."

"She is paying."

Kate stared at him for a moment, her hands sliding to rest on her hips.

"Where is she?"

He thought about lying, but the look in Kate's eyes told him that things could get much more difficult if he tried.

"Sunnydale."

"Don't tell her I'm going. If she runs, I'll come after you."

"She won't run." He met her eyes, "She needs to be there."

For a moment, Kate lowered her gaze, but then she shook her head firmly,

"She murdered people, Angel. Maybe you think she's reformed. But it's not your call."

"I know. It's yours."

She didn't answer, but turned away from him. Then she paused,

"She won't run?"

"No." he had never been more certain of anything. "She's done running."

Kate sighed, and her shoulders slumped slightly,

"Is this 'Spike' as bad she says?"

"Worse."

She glanced back at him over her shoulder, then said grudgingly,

"There was a murder at a motel on the east side. Suspect matches your guy's description. And there was a killing later that night that may have been him, too. A fistfight turned nasty. One of the other suspects on that one was a small time crook known as Paolo Wurth. Of course, Wurth's got half a dozen witnesses who say he was miles away at the time. But maybe it will be some help to her."

Paolo Wurth. The name seemed familiar, though he couldn't quite place it.

"Thank you."

"Don't mention it. I never said anything." Kate paused, "She's got three days, Angel. That's when I'm next off-duty. Tell her to spend the time wisely."

Spike studied the bottle of whisky in front of him with a sour look on his face.

"How am I supposed to find a couple of warm, juicy victims without getting the slayers on my back?" he muttered under his breath. The bottle didn't answer, so he took another deep swig of the contents as a way of punishing it.

"My people have always found it easiest to hide in plain sight."

Spike yelped and fell off his chair, then glowered at his spy from the floor.

"How many times do I have to tell you not to do that, mate?" he levered himself off the ground and took a guilty look around to make sure his surprise had not been observed.

"We are alone." Hansard assured him calmly.

"You're back earlier than expected." Spike responded sourly, "what went wrong?"

"Your slayer has a renegade with her." For the first time Spike caught a trace of emotion in Hansard's flat, dead voice. Disgust.

"A renegade?" he put the bottle down, focussing on the grey man in front of him, having to fight the urge to look away.

Hansard nodded,

"One of my people who has abandoned our laws and polluted herself with human magic and emotion." He explained, somehow appearing reluctant despite his lack of hesitation, "One who is corrupted with the desires of flesh and soul."

"There's something to be said for desires of the flesh." Spike drawled, "But I've never been much of one for the soul."

Hansard shook his head,

"Even vampires and demons have a soul of sorts, however base it might be. My people do not. We are consciousness, nothing more. She seeks to be that which she is not."

"She's a very naughty girl." Spike agreed sourly, "But the bottom line is that she busted you, isn't it?"

"Regrettably, yes." Hansard replied, with no visible display of regret. "I will return your payment, as I have failed in my task."

Spike belched,

"Did you learn anything before she spotted you?"

"There is antagonism and mistrust between the slayer named Faith and the others in the group. Only this 'Buffy' seems to trust her. However, it may be that the blonde's judgement is impaired. There is a strong spiritual struggle occurring within her."

Spike frowned,

"Distrust can't hurt. And anything that messes with that little slayer bitch's head is good with me. Anything else?"

"They are aware that you are planning something, but do not know what." Hansard replied, "I suggest you give them what they are looking for."

For a moment, Spike's whisky-fogged brain struggled to piece together the grey man's suggestion. Then he smiled slowly. It was not a pleasant smile.

"You can keep the money, mate." He said contentedly, "You just gave me an idea that is worth every cent."

Xander stepped left and hit the boxing bag again, shutting out the dull ache in his arms. His dark hair was plastered to his forehead as he grunted, slamming his fist into the yielding vinyl. He did this two hours a day, six days a week. And I still can't offer anything to the team.

"Your right's pretty good, but your left's so slow you may as well send invitations."

He stopped, sucking in a deep breath, then turned.

Faith was about twenty feet away, leaning against the wall of the gym, a smug smile on her lips.

"What are you doing here?" he didn't bother to conceal his distrust.

"Looking for you." The brunette slayer pushed off the wall with her shoulder and took a few steps toward him. He could feel his heart begin to beat faster, but held his ground. I'm not going to let her intimidate me.

"Well, you found me." He said sourly, "Now it's your turn to go hide."

"B said you'd been acting odd for the last couple of weeks," Faith continued, ignoring his jibe, "though she didn't know what was causing it. For a smart girl, she can be pretty dense. But I know what it is you want."

"There's no way you know what I want."

"You want to be part of the team."

He stared at her in surprise,

"Okay. Maybe there is a way."

Faith shrugged,

"I know what it's like to be outside the club."

Ouch. Despite himself, Xander felt a moment's sympathy. Get a grip. This is the psycho-slayer you're talking to, remember?

"You'll forgive me if I'm less than thrilled at being compared to you." As always, he covered his confusion with sarcasm.

To his surprise, there was no answering retort. Faith simply looked tired,

"I really didn't come here to fight, Xander." She began, then stopped. "Well, actually I did. But not this way."

"Yeah. Knives and strangling are more your scene, right?"

"Not any more."

He sighed,

"Y'know, I liked you better when you were just scary and mean. At least I knew how to deal with you, then."

"By screaming for help?" There was a brief flash of the old Faith in her smokey eyes.

"Pretty much." He grinned, a little nervously. "So what's the deal, Faith? You come to gloat because you actually get to be part of the team, despite that whole 'turn to the dark side' episode of yours?"

She shook her head,

"When you hit me yesterday, you surprised the hell out of me." She touched her lip gently, as if remembering the blow, "Before that, I hadn't noticed how much you'd been working out. B hasn't seen it either, has she?"

"Of course not." He wiped back his hair, feeling the sweat bead on his palm, "Buffy just sees Xander, the lovable but ultimately useless buffoon."

"But you think you've changed."

He paused,

"I see where you're going with this, Faith. But we aren't the same. I can train to fight. You can't train to be a better person."

For a moment, he could see he'd wounded her, but she covered it quickly with a nonchalant shrug,

"Neither of us will ever train successfully without a teacher." She didn't look at him, instead peering off to his right, "You want to be part of the team, Xander? So do I. If you'll give me the chance, I'll give you the training you need."

"And what do you get out of it?" There has to be a catch.

"Your trust." She looked at him at last, and he was surprised to see that there was no trace of mockery in her face.

"The last time I trusted you, you nearly killed me." He reminded her, but he could feel the confusion building within him. The offer was tempting. When he thought of her hands at his throat it was also frightening. But the temptation remained. You're an idiot, Harris.

Faith nodded,

"That's why trusting me now is such a big deal."

He groaned and covered his eyes. I can't believe I'm going to do this.

"You promise you won't try to kill me?"

Tara sat on the edge of the bed, watching Willow stare at her computer screen. The redhead had Miss Kitty in her lap, and was absently stroking the cat's ears, eliciting a slow, deep purr from the contented pet. She hadn't touched the keyboard in nearly ten minutes.

The blonde looked down at her hands. They felt cold and numb, whilst her face felt hot and flushed. She knew the signs. Fear. She hadn't been this afraid since she'd thought Willow would go back to her old boyfriend.

"You know, d-don't you?" she asked quietly.

It hurt that Willow didn't look at her to reply.

"I know you're upset. I don't know why." The redhead spoke quietly, her voice as miserable as Tara herself felt.

"I'm s-sorry." She whispered. "I never meant for this to happen. If you want me to l-leave…"

"Leave?" now Willow did turn to face her, and there was a tightness around her mouth. Tara could see the anger in her, "I thought you loved me."

"I do." Tara fought back tears. But you won't. Not after this.

"Tara," Willow softened her tone and gently placed Miss Kitty on the floor, "you can trust me."

The blonde swallowed, the mantras of her people echoing in her mind.

# The human is a creature of emotion. #

# The human fears that which is different. #

# The human destroys what it fears. #

# You are different. #

# The human will fear you. #

# The human will destroy you. #

"If I lost you, I w-would die." She whispered.

Willow's hands gently clasped her own, providing them with much needed warmth.

"You won't lose me, Tara."

"I w-will." the blonde shook her head, "He … He'll come for me. I have broken every law of our people. He will come and take me to be p-punished. It is the way."

"Your people?" Willow sounded hurt and confused.

Tara looked up, meeting the redhead's eyes for the first time. Goddess, she is so beautiful. Even now she had been discovered, the blonde did not regret her crimes. How could she, when the most grievous of them was to love this woman?

"The soulless." She said at last, "I'm one of them."

"What?" Willow shook her head in disbelief, "Tara, you're human, just like me."

"No." for the first time in years, she reached into her childhood training. "I am not." Her voice was flat and dead, empty of warmth or hesitation. She saw Willow's eyes lose their focus, drifting away from her face. In minutes, the memory of her would be gone from the redhead's mind. It could be done, though the cost to her strength would be great. But Willow had to be protected.

The redhead squeezed Tara's hands suddenly, her nails cutting into Tara's skin.

The blonde's concentration unravelled, and she blinked, finding Willow's eyes once more focused on her.

"What was that?" Willow asked, her voice shaking, "you … vanished."

Tara nodded,

"Spells of concealment are our speciality." Her voice, at least, was still flat and cold. "You should not have been able to detect me at all, as you were unable to detect him. I am out of practice."

"Tara, don't." Willow squeezed her hands again, "I want to speak to you. The real you."

"W-why?" she asked, even as she did as the redhead asked, "I lied to you."

Willow slowly canted her head to one side, keeping her eyes locked on Tara's,

"Was it a lie when you said you loved me?"

"No! Of course not…"

"Then tell me, Tara. Tell me what you are. I want to know. I want us to be together."

She sighed. But perhaps it would be best to tell Willow. Then she might understand why she must forget me.

"My people believe that everything in this world was created by the Goddess," she began slowly, "except us. We are mockeries … frauds. We exist in secret, never showing ourselves to humans. A few of us … those whose self-control is strongest … are permitted to interact with demons and vampires. They use their skills as spies and informants."

"I don't understand." Willow murmured, "Why must you hide?"

"We are … unclean … in the eyes of the Goddess. And to all she created. Humans fear and hate us. If we did not hide, we would be destroyed."

"But you …"

"I broke every law of our people." Tara whispered, tears beginning to well in her eyes, "I used magic to conceal my nature and walked among you. I learned to use human magic. Magic that calls on the Goddess. In the eyes of my people, there is only one sin greater than this. To love a human."

"But that's ridiculous!" Willow protested, "We're not so different."

"Really?" Tara reached out and touched the redhead's cheek. Share.

Willow's eyes widened suddenly, as the blonde showed her the world as one of her kind saw it: the incandescent blue fire that was Willow's soul; the tiny green spark that was Miss Kitty; and the gossamer spell weave that veiled the emptiness of Tara's own form.

Gently, she removed her hand, waiting for the rejection that was sure to come.

Instead of scorn, however, Willow's eyes were filled with tears,

"That … that's the way you see me?"

Tara nodded, silently.

"But I was so beautiful."

"You are beautiful."

Willow leaned forward and kissed her on the lips,

"So are you, Tara. Soul or not." She paused. "I won't let him take you."

"You won't even see him." Tara explained, "You caught a glimpse today only because he was so upset when he saw me. He won't come for me until he is sure he can control himself."

"But you can see him, right?"

"Yes, but he is much more skilled at sorcery than me. I cannot stop him."

Willow shook her head,

"One thing I've learned from living on the Hellmouth is that anything is possible." She said firmly, "And I will find a way for us to stop him, Tara."

"But –"

"But nothing. I love you, and I won't ever let you go."

It was twenty past seven before Buffy finally arrived at the dorm room, red faced and breathing hard from running across campus. At least, Faith found herself hoping that was the reason. Not that I care where B gets her itches scratched. But the other explanation was far too much like something she herself would have done. Giles had been hitting the books pretty hard when she left his apartment earlier in the afternoon. It didn't take much to see that he was getting worried about Buffy's behaviour as well.

"Hey, you waited!" Buffy grinned, "ready to bust some demon heads?"

"If we can find any." Faith shrugged, "they seem to be laying pretty low at the moment."

"Yeah." Buffy pulled a leather jacket out of the wardrobe, then dug in her bag for some stakes. "It's starting to get on my nerves. I hate sitting around like this."

"When did you get the jacket?" Faith blurted. It was meant to distract her from thinking about the way the other slayer was acting, but as she asked the question she remembered when she had last seen Buffy wear it. Jesus. The night she came for my blood.

"This? Had it for years. Used to wear it a lot when I first came here." Buffy slipped into the jacket and briskly adjusted the fit, "Thought it might be time to give it another run."

"Right." Faith leaned against the door, ignoring the unsettled feeling in her gut. She'd been ready to patrol for more than half an hour. "You feelin' okay, B?"

"Never better. Why?" Buffy glanced up from lacing her boots.

"Just asking. You seem pretty hyped, lately."

"What's not to be hyped about?" Buffy straightened and slipped the stakes into hiding places amongst her clothes, "Things are great with Riley. You and I are back to being buds. Angel's going to be human again. On the hellmouth, this is as good as life gets."

Faith watched the other slayer silently. This was the moment when she needed to reach out. To break through to Buffy. To know exactly the right words to say. Yeah, like I ever knew that. So she retreated, afraid of driving the other girl away.

"Okay, B. Just wanted to check we were still five by five."

"Sure are." Buffy was finally ready to go, "But let's make this a fast sweep, huh? I want to hit the Bronze tonight and get some dancing in."

"Sounds good." Faith nodded slowly. The suggestion surprised her, but she had to admit that the idea had some appeal. It was likely that the patrol would not turn up any action, and showing Xander how to fight had left her on edge, but frustrated, the way sparring always did.

"You want the room to yourself tonight?" Buffy asked as she opened the door, "I can stay at Riley's. Give you a chance to bring someone back."

"Uh, no." ridiculously, Faith felt herself blush, "I'm actually trying to give up on the whole 'get some and get gone' kinda thing, B."

"Really?" the blonde was practically dragging her down the hallway, "I thought it was part of your life philosophy. You know, like 'Want. Take. Have.'?"

"It was." The brunette affirmed, "And it landed me in jail. I can either change, or I can end up back there." And I have no intention of going back.

"Fair call." Buffy raced down the stairs, two at a time. "C'mon, let's motor-vate!"

"What did you say?" Faith plunged down the stairs after the blonde, who was already at the front doors of the dormitory.

"Motor-vate!" Buffy called over her shoulder as she pushed through the door, "You don't have it trademarked, do you?"

No. But you've never used it before.

"Hey, wait up!" the dark-haired girl ducked through the still-swinging door to find the other slayer was fifty feet away and striding purposefully.

Buffy turned back to face her, continuing to walk backwards as she did so,

"Come on, slow-poke." She called, "We gotta get moving."

"B!" Faith yelled.

"What?"

"There's a bench behind -" Faith broke off as the blonde, still not looking where she was going, tumbled over a bench and landed flat on the ground.

For a moment Faith felt concern about the other slayer, but then Buffy sat up with a perplexed expression on her face, and the brunette burst into laughter instead. At least it gives me a chance to catch up to her.

"You okay, B?" she drawled, reaching out a hand to help the other slayer to her feet.

"Sure. Thanks so much for your sympathy." Buffy quipped, dusting herself off from the fall. "Your horrified peals of laughter really showed how much you care for me."

"Hey! I do care for you." Faith protested, then grinned, "It was just really, really funny to see you fall on your ass."

"Could we not mention this again?"

"Sure. Not more than once or twice, anyway." Faith smirked, "Honest."

Buffy sighed.

"Come on. Let's get this patrol over with."

They set out, Buffy still keeping the pace up, moving quickly through the most likely sites of vampire activity. As expected, everything was quiet.

"Well, tonight was better." Faith said at last, as they headed toward the Bronze.

"Better how?" Buffy asked distractedly, "There still isn't a vamp in sight."

"Yeah, but at least we weren't tripping one another up the whole time." The brunette remarked, "Remember a couple of nights ago? It felt like we spent most of the patrol walking into one another. Tonight you just had that incident with the bench."

"I thought we agreed not to talk about that." Buffy gave her a false scowl.

"No problem." Faith grinned as they entered the Bronze, "I'll never mention it again. You want to get a drink, or head straight into dancing?"

"Dancing sounds good."

"Wicked. Oh, and B?"

"Yeah?"

"Try not to trip over anything while we're out there, 'kay?"

Laughing at Buffy's answering growl, Faith dived into the milling dancers, carving out a space for the two of them by a combination of her physical presence and judicious shoving. The blonde slayer wasn't far behind her, and within moments the two of them were lost in the pounding of the music, letting the loud, heavy rhythms drive them.

As usual, young men gravitated toward the two girls as they danced face to face. Neither slayer paid them any attention, focussing instead on matching one another's frenzied dance moves. No normal human could match their heightened strength, stamina and agility, and each was determined to push themselves to the limit, working off the frustration that had built over the day.

To Faith, the world had come down to a tiny circle. Just the two of them, embraced and driven on by the music. And as she looked at Buffy, she could see the feeling reflected in the other slayer's eyes.

And they danced on. Each lost in the primal, primitive grip of the rhythm.

Chapter Twelve

Buffy leaned back into Riley's arms as she surveyed the banner strung across the front door of the college administration building.

"A dance? Tonight?" she said, delighted, "How come you didn't mention this to me before, handsome?"

Riley smiled and hugged her tighter,

"I thought you knew. They always have a big dance a couple of days before classes start. Didn't you go last year?"

"I was pretty overwhelmed, this time last year." Buffy admitted.

"The change from high school to college can be intense."

"Yeah. Plus I had a gang of vampires out to kill me."

"I can see that complicating matters."

Buffy twisted in his arms, laughing as she did,

"Riley Finn! Was that a joke?"

"Maybe." He kissed her slowly, "So are we going?"

"You bet." Buffy grinned excitedly, "I'm in the mood to dance. It's a costume thing, right?"

"Yes. Last year was a beach party. This year's theme is 'The Old West'."

"I can find something for that." Buffy glanced back at the banner, "Is it for students only?"

"It's supposed to be." Riley whispered, "But I won't tell anyone if you invite Xander and Anya."

Buffy gave him a sly smile,

"Not even if they torture you?" she hissed in mock menace, "Like this?"

Riley yelped as Buffy's fingers tickled his sides, instantly finding the spots that she knew were most sensitive. Snaring her hands, he pulled her close to him,

"Even then. I have a secret counter-tactic."

"Oh?" the blonde raised an eyebrow, "And what might that be?"

"This." He leaned in and kissed her firmly, releasing her hands as he did so. Slowly, her arms slipped around his neck and the kiss deepened.

Reluctantly, they parted lips, though Buffy remained close to him, a pleased smile on her face,

"That is a remarkable counter-tactic you have there, mister." She murmured, "I think I may have to ask you to demonstrate it again."

"Well, why don't we go back to my room." He suggested, "And you can call the others about the dance. And then I can demonstrate … at length."

Buffy smiled,

"I like the way you think."

Xander hung up the phone.

"Who was it?" Anya asked from the bed.

"I wish you'd pull the covers up properly." He gestured vaguely, "My mom could walk in."

"I locked the door." Anya shrugged, "Besides, your mom has breasts of her own. Why would seeing mine worry her?"

"I am so not going there." Xander shook his head.

"So who was on the phone?"

"It was Buffy."

Anya sighed and flopped back,

"I suppose the world needs saving again." She complained, "If it isn't one thing interrupting us, then it's another."

"What?" Xander frowned, "Oh. No, it wasn't anything like that. She just wanted to invite us to a dance at the college tonight."

"Well that's okay, then." Anya beamed, "Now come back to bed."

"Actually," Xander glanced at his aging alarm clock, "I wanted to head out to the gym a little early, today. Faith said she would show me some new moves."

"Faith?" Anya sat up sharply, "Faith, the girl you slept with?"

"That was a long time ago." Xander said, a little more sharply than he had intended.

"I don't like you spending all that time with her." Anya insisted, "Willow told me that fighting inflames Faith's sexual appetite!"

"Inflames her what?" Xander blinked. "Oh. Hungry and horny. Right."

"Exactly." Anya nodded, "I don't like you getting all sweaty with her. Who knows what could happen?"

"Anya," Xander sighed as he grabbed his sweatshirt from the floor, "I find it hard enough to trust Faith with this training. There is no way I intend to climb into bed with her."

"I know men." Anya pouted, "You say all these rational things, then you go and do your thinking with something else."

Xander grunted and tugged the sweatshirt over his head,

"If I was thinking with that," he pointed out in a somewhat muffled voice, "I wouldn't be leaving at all. You're much better in bed than Faith was." That should quiet her down.

"Really?" Anya sounded smug, "What do I better?"

Jesus.

"Everything." Xander said, lamely. "The thing with Faith was really skanky and bad. I swear."

"I knew it." Anya smirked, apparently satisfied by the answer. At least for the short term.

"So we doing the dance thing?" Xander asked, combing his hair back with his fingers, "Buffy said it started at about eight tonight, and it had a 'western' theme."

Anya shrugged,

"Sure. I still have that sheriff's outfit. You want to be the prisoner, again?"

Xander winced. Sometimes even being alone with Anya could be embarrassing.

"I have a Clint Eastwood outfit I can use." He headed toward the door, "I'll meet you there, okay?"

Anya called out a response, but the closing door muffled the words. Xander shrugged and let himself out of the house. He still felt a little stiff from the sparring the day before, but it didn't trouble him too much. And training with Faith is actually helping.

"Hey, Harris." The brunette slayer uncoiled herself from where she had been leaning next to the front door as Xander felt his heart leap into his throat.

"Geez, Faith." He choked, "You scared the hell outta me."

She shrugged and smirked,

"Must be part of that bad, skanky thing I got goin' on."

Xander swallowed, trying to work the large lump out of his throat,

"You heard that?" he squeaked at last.

"Enough." Faith slung an arm around his shoulders. Despite himself, he felt an urge to cringe. "Slayer hearing is a wonderful thing. But don't worry 'bout it. I can tell you only said it because you're whipped."

"I am not whipped." Xander protested, weakly.

"Of course you aren't," To his relief, Faith dropped her arm from his shoulders and allowed a little space to open between them, "I mean, you barely whined at all in there."

"You know," Xander gamely tried to hold his own, "You are enjoying this far too much. It's got to be bad for your karma."

"I'm reformed, not dead."

Xander stopped and looked at the brunette for a long moment. The scrutiny seemed to make Faith uncomfortable, because she folded her arms across her chest,

"What?" she demanded, defensively.

For a second, he wasn't sure how to answer. Ah, hell. Let's try honesty.

"I was just trying to work out if it's a good or bad thing that you can joke about being reformed."

To Xander's surprise, Faith actually laughed. He raised his eyebrows,

"You care to share the joke?"

Faith grinned at him,

"I just think it's funny that your little missy in there has you jumpin' through hoops, but you somehow have the balls to tell me exactly what you think."

"Yeah, well there's more to Anya that meets the eye." Xander said uncomfortably, "She has a lot of experience in getting even with men."

"My kind of gal." Faith said, as they reached the bottom of the steps leading into the gym, "So what were you saying to her about a dance?"

"There's this western-themed thing on at the college tonight. Buffy and Riley are going, and Anya and me." Xander held the gym door open for Faith, which earned him an amused smirk.

"What about Red and her squeeze?"

"Buffy said Willow couldn't make it. She and Tara are deep in the spells. Something to do with that weird invisible guy, I think."

"Pity." Faith said, in a neutral tone, "You could have had the whole gang there."

"Are you going to come?" Xander struggled to pull a crash-mat into place, then stood aside as Faith took over, easily pulling two of the mats into place.

"Me? I'd be a fifth wheel." Faith shook her head, "Literally. Besides, your girl might not care for me getting my invite from you."

Xander shrugged,

"Buffy said she was going to ask you when she saw you, so it's not really my invite."

"Warning you I'd be there, huh?" Faith smirked, unzipping her denim jacket.

"More like warning me to be on my best behaviour." Xander grimaced, "It seems my apology after I hit you was not enough to get me out of the bad books."

"We're five by five as far as I'm concerned." The brunette shrugged, "After all, I'm gonna be kickin' your ass all around this gym for the next three hours."

"Really? Y'know, I think I hear my mother calling…"

The dance was in full swing by the time Buffy arrived. Riley saw her enter and smiled in relief; he had been close to going to her dorm room to check that she was alright.

"You look swell, little missy." He hitched his thumbs in his belt and gave her his best western drawl. Buffy laughed, her eyes dancing, and leaned in to kiss him. She was wearing a denim skirt, white blouse and bright red neckerchief. Every time I see her she looks more beautiful.

Looking over the blonde's shoulder, he felt his smile falter.

"Hello, Faith. Nice costume."

The brunette pushed back the broad-brimmed black hat she was wearing,

"Riley." She answered shortly, her hands at her hips.

"Doc Holliday, right?" he ventured. I'll try to be pleasant, for Buffy's sake. "From that movie –"

"Tombstone."

He nodded. The brunette's costume really was impressive. She'd even managed to find a black string tie from somewhere. Probably stole it. He squelched the thought with a mental wince. Try as he might, he couldn't help but think the worst of Faith.

"The others here, yet?" she asked, glancing around the hall.

"Willow and Tara couldn't come." Buffy slipped her arms around Riley and leaned into him, "have you seen Xander yet, Riley?"

"He and Anya got here about half an hour ago." Riley nodded, "He said you'd remember his costume. Something about an Inca Mummy?"

Buffy nodded,

"Long story." Was her only response to his unasked question, "Where are they?"

"Xander made straight for the buffet -"

The lights went out.

For a moment, there was silence. Then the doors flew open and over a dozen figures burst in.

"Right, lads!" a half-remembered British voice yelled over the rising sounds of confusion, "kill and move on. No feeding! We're here for carnage, not hors d'oeuvres."

"Spike!" Buffy hissed and released Riley's waist. "At last!"

The blonde turned to Faith, who was already in the process of breaking a nearby chair for stakes.

"You up for this?" she asked.

"I'm your huckleberry." Faith drawled, tossing one of the stakes to Buffy.

The two slayers plunged toward the vampires as the screaming started.

Riley grabbed one of the remaining chair legs and snapped it off. More vampires were pouring into the hall: it seemed Spike had assembled a small army now that he was finally making his move.

"Where's Buffy?" Xander yelled, pushing through the panicked crowd.

"In the thick of it!" Riley shouted back, "I'm going to help her!"

"We'll get the lights!" Xander had Anya by the hand.

"Good plan." Riley nodded. "Things will be messy in the dark." And it gets you out of harm's way.

Without waiting for Xander's response, he pushed his way through the crowd toward the melee.

Progress was difficult, as people tried to push back against him, or fell in a panic, or grabbed his arm and asked what was happening, but Riley used his size and strength to force a path. He heard a scream, but couldn't be sure of the source. Damn it, Xander, we need those lights.

One last push, and he was through the panicking mass and into the fight. Dimly, he could see Buffy and Faith back-to-back in the midst of it, each contending with four or five of Spike's minions.

Someone screamed to his left, and he turned in time to see a vampire sink its teeth into a woman's neck. Two quick steps and a quick thrust with the stake dusted the distracted creature. If they are all this stupid, we might have a chance.

Pain exploded as a heavy boot caught Riley in the back of the neck, knocking him back into crowd.

"Damn slayer groupies!" he heard Spike's taunting voice through a haze of pain. By the time Riley struggled to his feet, the British vampire was gone. Shaking his head to clear it, he headed toward the centre of the fight.

By now, Faith was fighting alone, hard-pressed by six vampires, who were coming at her from all sides. The brunette lunged and staked one, but as it exploded into dust one of the others leapt for the distracted slayer's back.

Riley crash-tackled it, the impact still jarring even after years of football training. They rolled as they hit the ground, and he ended up on top. One quick thrust and the vampire was dust.

As the lights suddenly flickered back on, a strong hand hauled him to his feet. He tensed to fight, but found himself looking at Faith.

"Thanks for the save, Finn." She nodded, "you're okay." Somehow, despite the fighting, she still had her hat. She seemed almost to be enjoying herself: there was a smile playing across her face.

"Don't mention it. Where's Buffy?" The last think he wanted was Faith's gratitude.

"Kickin' ass. Like we should be." Faith nodded toward the four vampires who were slowly approaching them. With the lights back on, they had evidently become much more cautious.

The return of the lights also revealed the extent of the carnage that had occurred. Several bodies lay nearby, and there was still a great deal of screaming, suggesting further casualties. Jesus, what a mess. At least people now seemed to be rushing to the exits.

Faith leapt at the vampires with a yell, knocking three of them from their feet. Riley charged the last one, earning a head-ringing knock to the temple but burying his stake in the creature's chest. It snarled and pushed him back. Damn, missed the heart. Staggering slightly, still a little confused by the blow to the head, he ducked under the vampire's first swing, but knew it was only a matter of time before his luck ran out.

Then his opponent shattered into dust, and he found himself looking once more at Faith.

"Owed you one." She said simply, then ran toward the sounds of other fighting.

Riley clumsily picked up his fallen stake. So now we're even again. All bets are off.

Suddenly the crowd opened for a moment, and he saw Buffy in the midst of the vampires, spinning and fighting with reckless abandon, holding eight of the creatures at bay. Now seven, as one exploded, staked through the heart. Now six, another one slain. Now five, and Buffy was shouting in excitement, but he couldn't hear her words through the pounding in his head.

As the vampires broke and ran from the blonde slayer, Riley sank to his knees and toppled forward into unconsciousness.

Spike put his feet up on the table and drank deeply from his latest bottle of whisky.

"A grand night's work." He announced, fumbling in his pocket for a cigarette. "Confusion and dismay to our enemies, eh Harm?"

Harmony, who was still sulking about being made to stay at the lair during the attack, did not answer. However, one of the other vampires, less cowed or less prudent than the rest, scowled at Spike,

"This was your 'plan'?" he demanded in a surly tone, "We've skulked and hidden for the last four months so that you could bust up a college dance? We lost over twenty of us, tonight, Spike. And for what? A handful of corpses? We didn't even get to feed."

Spike snarled and swung his feet down from the table,

"Listen, mate." He stabbed his finger at his critic, "If you have a complaint about the way I run things, you're welcome to try and replace me. But I don't think you have the balls. And until you do, you'll do as I say without arguments. Clear?"

For a moment, Harmony thought that the other vampire might actually take up Spike's challenge, and felt a surge of anticipation. But after a long moment of silence, the challenger backed down.

"I simply do not understand how tonight was a grand success." He clarified, "Perhaps you could explain?"

"It's need to know only, mate." Spike said smugly, "But I'll tell you this much: we needed the corpses we grabbed tonight for the real plan. Yeah, we lost some people, but it was necessary to persuade the slayer that this was what we'd been building for." His smile broadened into a cold, hard grin, "And when the plan is complete, it'll bring us so many reinforcements that tonight's losses will seem insignificant."

"Your leader speaks the truth." Hansard's voice was as flat and dead as always as he seemingly appeared from nowhere. The only vampire not to flinch was Spike, who merely gave a sardonic smile. Harmony, to her embarrassment, actually let out a squeal.

"Who the hell are you?" demanded the surly vampire.

"My name is unimportant." Hansard turned his flat, empty eyes on the troublemaker, who took an unconscious step backward, "Suffice it to say that within a month, this town will be completely within Spike's control. You would be best not to challenge him, if you wish to live to see it."

As the vampire visibly swallowed, Hansard once more disappeared from sight.

"Alright," Spike lit his cigarette, "Show's over. Get out, the lot of you."

Wordlessly, the vampires retreated. Harmony rose to follow them, but Spike grabbed her wrist,

"Not you, Harm." He smirked, "We got some celebratin' to do."

Harmony pouted,

"How can we celebrate when you won't tell me the plan?" she complained, "You didn't even let me go, tonight."

Spike pulled her into his lap,

"Don't pout, ducks." He squeezed her thigh, "It was just as well I left you behind tonight. The little blonde bitch was cuttin' through us like cordwood. I've never seen her so fired up."

"So it wasn't the big success you said it was?" she felt a measure of satisfaction at the idea.

"Oh, I got what I needed." Spike shrugged, "I just had to pay more than I expected." He twisted his head away from her and spoke to the apparently empty room, "Thanks for your little show."

"Your gratitude is unnecessary." Hansard replied from near the door of the room, "Now, I have some business of my own to attend to. May I consider our contract terminated?"

"No problem, mate." Spike smirked, and Harmony got the feeling that Hansard's personal business was somehow to the vampire's advantage. "You have to take your prodigal daughter in hand, I know."

Faith sat on a bench near the edge of campus, staring sightlessly at the road just beyond the college grounds. It was the second day of classes, but things were pretty subdued around the place. Four dead, two missing, twenty-eight injured. Spike's attack had left most of the students in a state of shock. In typical Sunnydale fashion, the incident had been blamed on 'gangs from out-of-town', but that hadn't lessened the impact of the deaths.

I should have done better. The brunette couldn't help but feel she had failed to pull her weight in the fight. B got twelve to my six. Hell, even Beefstick got two. Maybe if the lights had come on earlier, she would have done better. The dark didn't seem to slow B down at all.

It would be easy to blame Xander for the delay in the lights being restored, but she knew better. Xander hadn't said anything, but she could smell the vampire dust on him after the fight. Spike had left one of them guarding the fuse-box, and Xander had slain it. Alone. One-on-one. She smiled as she remembered how proud he had been after she finally dragged the truth out of him in training the day after the attack.

Suddenly, she sensed someone approaching. Recognising the person's tread and the crisp, clear scent they preferred, the slayer did not turn her head as the blonde detective took a seat next to her on the bench.

"Hi, Katie." She said quietly, feeling her heartbeat increase. Breathe, girl. You knew this would come.

"Faith." The detective sounded subdued.

"Sorry for putting you on the spot the way I did." Faith still couldn't look at the other woman, "But we had to know about Spike, and I figured the only one likely to protect LAPD files against witchcraft was you."

She felt, rather than saw, Kate's answering nod.

"You're a smart girl, Faith. How d'you let yourself get into this mess?"

"You already know that story."

"You know I have to take you in."

"Why?" at last, she found it in her to look at the blonde detective, "The system thinks I'm dead, Katie. It doesn't want to know it's wrong. A lot of people will get hurt if you tell it."

"People get hurt every day." Kate's voice was grim, "That's why we have a system."

"Kate…" Faith faltered, then pressed on, "I respect you. You know that. I like that you do what you think is right, and screw what the rest of the world says…"

"I play by the rules –"

"You play by your rules." Faith told the detective frankly, "They just happen to match the official rules, most of the time. But when you and Wesley dealt with that prison guard demon, you had to bend them a bit, didn't you?"

The detective's silence was all the answer Faith needed.

"You bent the rules once, Katie. I'm asking you to do it, again."

"That was different –"

"Yeah. There was a lot less at stake." Buffy's voice cut into their conversation.

Faith turned in surprise. I didn't have a clue she was there.

"Hey, B. You probably shouldn't get involved in this –"

"I already am." Buffy interrupted, "If your friend here drags you back to jail then they are going to start asking questions about who helped you escape. Maybe we'll get to share a cell. The vampires of the world can have a party: both slayers locked away … must be a dream come true for them."

Kate frowned,

"You're that friend of Angel's, aren't you?" she said suddenly, "Buffy, right?"

"That's me." The blonde folded her arms, "for some reason, Faith seems to like you. Don't expect me to be so forgiving."

"B!" Faith looked at the other slayer in surprise, "You aren't helping, y'know?"

"You think I should turn my back on this?" Kate stared hard at Buffy, "Just ignore the law because now Faith is sorry for what she did? Is that it?"

"Not even close." Buffy snorted, "I think you should clear out because Faith can do a much better job of paying for her mistakes here than she can in jail." She turned to the brunette, "Speaking of which, Giles wants us all at his place in half an hour. He's been talking to Angel, and they think that Spike is up to something more than just crashing a college dance."

"Just a minute –" Kate began angrily.

"Look, cop-lady." Buffy snapped, "make a choice. Either arrest us both or head back to LA. We've got bigger problems than you to deal with."

"Jesus, B!" Faith got to her feet, "Back off!"

The blonde gave her a surprised look,

"D'you want her to take you away, Faith? You quitting on me, again?"

"No!" Faith felt a chill of shock. "Jesus. No. I don't want to leave." She turned to the detective, who was watching them both with a hard expression on her face, "I'm sorry, Kate. B's a little tense. We had a pretty bad vampire attack a couple of nights ago, and from the sound of it there's worse on the way. They really do need me to be here."

Kate stared at the brunette wordlessly for several seconds. The time seemed to creep by to Faith, who knew much it would take for the detective to turn a blind eye to her survival.

"Why did you call me?" she asked at last, her eyes only on Faith, "You had to know I would come for you."

"Yeah." Faith admitted quietly, "But we had to learn what Spike was up to." She glanced at Buffy, who was not looking at either of them, "B says this guy is really bad news, and if the thing two nights ago was just a distraction, then she's more right than you could ever know."

"So you want me to let you stay."

"Yeah." Faith brushed her hair back with her hand, "This vamp's killed two slayers before this. I need to be here to watch B's back. Please, Katie."

Kate laughed softly, mirthlessly,

"I couldn't make you come, even I wanted to, could I? I mean, I'm just human, and you two are … whatever it is you are."

"I'd let you take me." Faith shook her head.

"I wouldn't." Buffy snapped, her voice cold.

"Buffy, what the hell is wrong with you?" Faith turned on the other slayer. I am officially freaked. Giles and I are gonna talk about this.

"Fine." Buffy threw her hands in the air, "You want to go back to jail, do it. I can handle this alone. That's how a slayer is supposed to work, anyway."

Faith sighed, realising that it was pointless to press the issue given the blonde's current mood.

"What's it gonna be, Katie?" she asked, without looking at the detective, "You want my hands behind my back for the cuffs, or what?"

"No." Kate seemed almost to have to drag the word out of her throat, "No. I get the feeling that you may be needed here just to keep your friend under control." She looked torn and unhappy as Faith sneaked a glance at her, and the brunette slayer felt a deep sense of sympathy. Every time she thinks she's got it sorted out, her world unravels on her. I know how that feels.

"Thanks, Kate." She said, at last. "You won't regret it, I promise."

"I hope you're right." The detective laughed bitterly, "I really do."