Chapter Twelve

It's Only the Wind

"Miss me?"

"Not really, no."

"I'm hurt."

Faith looked Willow over, wondering how the hell the witch had bottomed out. Red was nothing like she remembered. But then again, neither was Buffy, Giles, or Dawn. Willow hadn't seen her the night before, since she'd gone to bed early.

Faith, Buffy and Giles had talked well into the night, catching up and figuring out why Faith was back. They concluded it had to do with Willow.

Now, it was morning, and Willow knew Faith was there. She didn't really care truthfully. She was all too happy to stay in her own little world.

"D-Dawn, you should g-get outside for the bus," Tara said, looking at Faith nervously.

Grumbling, Dawn did as told. She said bye to Buffy and Giles, both of whom were in the process of descending the stairs, obviously still half asleep. They entered the kitchen and sat at the island. Tara smiled and place a cup of tea in front of Giles, and a cup of coffee in front of Buffy. Giles smiled great fully before sipping the drink, slowly awakening.

Buffy, on the other hand, was another matter. She glared at the cup before laying her head in her arms and grumbling about stupid alarm clocks. Tara smiled, glad to see the couple undivided by recent events.

"So, what's goin' on here?" Faith asked, happy to make Buffy miserable, as usual.

"Faith, go away," the blond Slayer grumbled.

"Aw, come on B."

"Go 'way."

"Up, come on. Eat some breakfast, and we're gonna go train," Faith commanded as she walked towards the door, grabbing a mug of coffee right before leaving the kitchen.

"I don't wanna train with Faith," Buffy said, sighing the last few words.

"It might be good for you Buffy," Giles pointed out. "You and Faith can train harder together than you can with me."

Frowning, Buffy huffed in resignation, and started for the stairs, grumbling as she went.

Across the kitchen, Tara smiled slightly at Giles over her tea. He quirked and eyebrow and smiled slightly back, acknowledging her unsaid statement.

Five minutes later, the backdoor slammed as Buffy went outside. Shaking his head in amusement, Giles finished off his tea and went to watch the Slayers from the porch. That was a safe distance, right? He looked around nervously.

Faith and Buffy stopped stretching and looked at each other, silently telling the other what they wanted to work on. Faith grinned and tilted her head, moving to a defensive position. Buffy copied her movements.

Giles sat on the steps, his eyes glued to the Slayers as Faith lunged for Buffy.

Buffy pun to the side and brought her foot out for a kick, only to have Faith block her kick and use the momentum to throw her through the air. Buffy managed to land on her feet, but landed on her side from the force. She was up on her feet and attacking before the other Slayer even managed to get to her side.

Giles watched as the two Slayers fought for over an hour, both getting the upper hand only to lose it suddenly.

Finally, the end came.

Willow, who'd been sulking in her room, sat beside Giles, not saying a word. Buffy looked over to see who's shadow had fallen on the lawn, and stumbled, shocked. Faith jabbed her in the stomach with her elbow, sending her to the ground.

Groaning, Buffy rolled onto her side. NOW she remembered why she didn't want to train with Faith. The other Slayer sent her to her limits and over, forcing her to use all she had and more. She was forced to use her anger, pain, her grief and guilt.

"Come ON B!"

"I'm done."

Faith blinked and lunged, throwing a flurry of punches and kicks at the other Slayer. Buffy countered them and sent a roundhouse kick at Faith, which sent the brunette to the ground. Faith jumped up and tackled Buffy.

"ENOUGH!" Giles yelled as he saw blood start to stream from both female's noses, brought on by the stress they put their bodies through and the overload of chemicals their body was forced to cerate to cope.

Faith and Buffy stood, brushing off their clothing and wiping the blood from their faces.

"That was fun," Buffy said, bone-dead tired.

"Yea, it was," Faith agreed, also tired.

It was only after the Slayers went inside the house that they noticed how late in the afternoon it was. After taking showers, they both conked out, sleeping until dinner that night.

Dawn sighed and left den where Faith had fallen asleep. She'd had a hell of a time waking Faith, and was wondering what she'd done to sleep that hard.

Giles descended the stairs, a groggy Buffy behind him. Dawn smiled at the sight of her ruffled sister, and entered the dining room.

Tara smiled slightly as she set a dish on the table. She watched Faith and Buffy shuffle into the room, exhausted.

"What're we havin'?" Faith asked through a yawn. She and Buffy went for the same seat and accidently collided, sending both of them to the floor with a "oof" from each. Laughter filled the room.

"Ok, shut it, all ya," Buffy grumbled, standing. She let Faith have that seat, and went for the one open near Giles.

Willow watched them all talk and laugh. She was numb inside, a giant hole where her magic used to be. If she'd been in her right mind, she'd have realized she'd been too addicted to the magics, but she wasn't in her right mind. All she knew was that she wanted to die. Or fill the hole. Something.

Dawn watched Willow, her body pulsing uncomfortably. The energy that she was made of sense Willow was still a threat, and was trying to warn her. But she didn't know it. She just put it down to fear.

After all, the redhead had tried to kill her. In a sense.

And she still didn't always see correctly. But the weird vision was starting to get under control.

Giles kept his eyes on Buffy and Willow. He knew what Willow was going through, but he didn't sympathize. Maybe if she'd been influenced by a demon or her own version of Ethan, sure, but not when she'd tried to kill them all to feed a lethal addiction, one that risked the world. They were all lucky Buffy was still with them, no thanks to Willow taking magic from the Slayer line. She could have doomed them all to eternal hell!

Faith kept her eyes trained on Dawn, looking through her lashed as she ate. There was something about the kid that made her tingle. She put it off as just nerves. After all, the kid HAD seen her with a knife in a store. Not that that was the worse she'd been caught doing or anything...

Tara sighed silently, her sad gaze resting heavily on Willow. She'd been sleeping in the den, giving Willow the bedroom. She wasn't even sure if she and Willow would make up. It didn't seem possible at the moment. After all, Willow could have killed her, and had tried to kill Giles, Dawn and Buffy. Not to mention putting Xander at risk for severe injury when she'd blasted him into the living room.

Exhaling softly, Willow lowered her eyes to her plate, having glanced at everyone around the table. It wasn't fair. They were all condemning her. Hypocrites, the bunch of them, condemning her for something they'd all done too. Buffy, with her addiction to danger, Giles and magic, Faith and being a bad girl, Dawn and stealing, and Tara and lying. What she didn't realize what that she'd just labeled herself as them, once again diverting her blame.

Dawn wondered how much longer the dinner would go on pleasantly before someone snapped. Sure, everyone was talking nicely and stuff, but even she could tell the tension was higher than a kite.

Suddenly, the lights flickered and died. In less than two seconds, everyone was at the windows. The entire street had lost power. Willow escaped upstairs, wanting the solidity of her room.

"Oh fuck," Faith just just as the front door burst open. She and Buffy ran for the door. While the fierce wind blew into the house, a covered figure darted through the door just as they were about to close it.

"Spike?!" Tara asked, looking at the filthy vampire with shock.

"Don't know wha' the hell caused it, but there's a bloody h'rricane comin this way."

Faith, Buffy and Giles all locked gazes. How did they fight a hurricane?!

Tara looked at a sulking Willow, her eyes narrowed in thought.

"It'll be fine," she announced after a few minutes. The arguing group looked at her with shock.

"Fine?" Dawn repeated as if Tara had lost her mind. Again.

Tara nodded. "It's a consequence of the recent magical disruption. A delayed reaction. What we did restored the balance, but Nature is still trying to cope with the abrupt shift. That's what all the sudden rain and burning hot days were. This is just Nature restoring itself."

"That make sense," Giles said after thinking it over. He wondered when Tara had gotten so wise.

"Oh. Well, bugger. If that's it, what am I supposed ta do?" Spike asked.

"Go outside and get staked by a flying tree limb?" Buffy asked in a hopeful yet sarcastic way. Spike just snorted.

"He helped us Buffy. Let him wait it out in the basement," Dawn said. Another argument was started, this one lasting nearly half an hour before Buffy admitted defeat and ordered Spike down to the basement. Faith followed him "just in case", and Dawn went into the kitchen to make hot drinks, their dinner forgotten.

While Buffy and Giles watched the storm, clutching each other, Tara went in the kitchen and took over making the drinks as she heard Dawn slip into the basement.

Smiling, she hummed, pretending not to notice the exclamation of "Well, that's something you don't hear everything ever day!" from the basement followed by, "I wish I did!". After all, if Buffy and Giles couldn't hear it over the storm, how would she? Even standing near the door, when the wind picked up, how was she supposed to hear them?

AN: Ok, Faith;/Spike, Dawn/Spike, Dawn/Faith? I'm leaning towards a threesome, because all relationships are good to me! I need ideas, please!