Chapter Three
= = = ( Dreams And Nightmares) = = =
WARNING!
THIS CHAPTER IS RATED 'R' FOR ADULT CONTANT! IF YOU DO NOT WANT TO HEAR ABOUT TWO BEAUTIFUL WOMEN GETTING IT ON TOGETHER, THEN DON'T READ! Thank You. Vix
Faith was dreaming. She knew she was, that was obvious. Why else would Angel have been dancing Ballet while Giles was dressed like a pirate - complete with eye-patch? The only problem was, that was what she was dreaming about before. Now, her mind was fixed on something else. A Slayer- Something-else.
It was Buffy, that much was obvious, but she only knew it because it was making her Slayer-Senses go hey-wire. She couldn't really make out much, all she could see were streaks of color, and noise was echoed as though through a long tube . . . but this was Buffy. The only sense that was working in full living-color was touch, and she could feel. She could feel everything. The blonde seemed to be everywhere, and yet nowhere at once. All the places her hands moved left little streaks of fire along her skin, leaving her burning for more . . .
She blamed her self. It was her own fault. She and Buffy not only did a bit of Synchronized-Slaying together, they also did a bit of snuggling on the couch. That almost made her blow her lid! When she fled the room, and then Dawn came in distressed, she completely forgot about her misguided blood- supply. After all the depressing stories that the Kid told her . . . she just figured she wouldn't need those extra 5 minutes in the shower. Boy, was she wrong!
The pour brunette was practically a smoldering pile of rubble when slowly the touches started becoming lighter . . . the Streaks of color began to fade to black, and the sounds became whispers carried away by an unseen wind. She didn't want them to go, she didn't want them to leave her like this. She needed them, she needed release. As she slowly started to wake, her only thought was on trying to fall back asleep and re-enter that dream. Great, she thought, now I'm even more pent up then before! Taking a deep breath in order to clam down, that haunting scent caught her attention . . .
'What the Hell?!" was all that could describe Faith's reaction. That, or possibly 'What the fuck is going on?!'. The Slayers were tangled again. And this time, it was much worse. Well, depending on how you look at it.
Both were laying face down on the mattress, turned slightly to the left, but the blonde's body was almost completely covered by the brunette's. As Faith tried to slowly extract herself from their inter-wound bodies, she realized; (A) There was no way she could do it with out waking the blonde and then dealing with one pissed off Slayer, and then (B) She Didn't Want To. Not only were they wrapped up beyond repair, but Faith's brain was still running on empty.
The blonde didn't seem to be all that bothered by their attachment. In fact, she seemed quite happy with it. Her head was lain gently on the pillow, her leg stretched slightly over the edge of the bed, and she had a hand on her breast . . . that didn't belong to her. Faith was stuck, and in more than just one way. The arm she had wrapped under the older girl was gently cupping the blonde's breast, and her other . . . well . . . It was 'Pinched'. Being held between the older woman's thigh . . . and pubic bone. Buffy's hands though, were gently tucked under her pillow. Her face held a small smile, and she stirred lightly in her sleep.
Lifting her head to see her mattress-mate a little better, she saw Buffy's eyes moving rapidly under their lids. Thank god she's dreaming, she thought. And quite vividly, it would seem. It reminded Faith of that movie, 'The Matrix', the way their eyes would wiggle when they were down- loading. But in that movie it ad been creepy . . . with Buffy it was cute. Not to mention the little whimpery noises the blonde was making.
All the naughty touching and shared body heat was not helping Faith's little predicament in the slightest. In fact, it was making the impossible, seem quite real. She stared down into the face of this earthly Angel and sighed. So beautiful . . . so perfect . . . So - Oh My God!
Buffy had stirred, and in the process pressed against Faith's hand a bit . . . the 'Pinched' Hand. Hmm, Faith thought Evilly, seems a yogurt isn't what she wanted after all. Heat was what Faith had felt . . . and moisture. Seems she and I are painted into the same corner . . . maybe I should, I don't know, Help Her Out? Faith laughed silently, and gently laid her head back down, allowing herself to nuzzle into the blonde's silken hair.
Buffy hummed lightly as Faith lightly tickled the back of the blonde's neck with the tip of her nose. Faith smiled at the obvious enjoyment of her sister-Slayer. Gently cupping the breast in her hand, she allowed her thumb to run over the quickly hardening nub through the blonde's tank-top. She took in a shuddering breath, and Faith joined her. she was shaking with the knowledge that Buffy was enjoying this, the way she was touching her, pleasing her . . . she wanted to enjoy this while she could. Sleepy Buffy was very different from awake Buffy. There was no way the Chosen One would allow anything like this if she were awake.
Faith silently groaned as Buffy gasped lightly, and pressed herself into the brunette's touch. Oh yeah, she was loving this. Gently teasing the nipple beneath the cloth, the younger Slayer gently kneaded the breast that seemed to fit so perfectly into her hand. Slow, Faith reminded her self as she tried to take deep breath through her nose, you have to take this slow. She couldn't wake the blonde - - no, not yet - - they weren't finished yet. Being as gentle as possible, she gently ran her nose along the blonde's exposed shoulder. Buffy's hips bucked slightly. Faith laughed. Slayers' necks must be some kind of a soft-spot. She allowed herself a gentle kiss along the collar-bone before going back to tickling again.
With touches as light as air the brunette began moving her other hand. Each time the blonde would move her hips, the younger girl would gently run her fingers along the in-seam of the slayers shorts. After a few minutes, the Slayers were gasping lightly, and Buffy was sleepily rubbing Faith's gentle fingers. Gritting her teeth, Faith almost growled. She couldn't take it any more. She needed the blonde, and now. She needed her now! Gently slipping her formerly 'Pinched' hand up the leg of the older woman's shorts (whish were starting to ride, due to their movement), Faith allowed her fingers to become more acquainted with their surroundings.
The dark Slayer let her fingertips run gently up the sensitive flesh of the blonde's inner thigh, eliciting a sleepy moan from her dozing counter-part. Smiling, she was quickly becoming bolder. She leaned down and began kissing the back of the blonde's neck. Buffy whimpered and nuzzled into her pillow slightly. Faith's fingers began to tickle higher and higher, slowly reaching the apex of the blonde's legs. As she let her fingers trace the edge of the blonde's panties, she moaned herself. Quickly biting her lip to stifle her own cries of pleasure, Faith returned to her task. Her touches So light it was almost phantomlike, her fingers began grazing the crotch of Buffy's underpants. They were soaked.
As the blonde tried to let out a strangled breath, she arched into the brunette's hand. Faith groaned, out loud this time, and leaned down to kiss the tender flesh of Angel's Scar. She licked it lightly as she let her fingers gently stroke the blonde through her thin cotton panties. The combined touches of her breast and slit, and not to mention the tender kisses at her pulse-point had the Chosen One reduced to a mewling ball of need in the Dark Slayer's arms. Faith had never felt so empowered in her whole life. This woman had faced death on an almost yearly basis, and yet it was her hands and lips that made the blonde shake, shiver, and tremble.
Slowly letting her fingers run under the leg elastic, the brunette licked the tender skin at the older girl's throat. Faith had never been so turned on this much in her whole life. Buffy was wet and ready and in her arms, and she had made her that way. Not to mention the fact that as Buffy's hips bucked forward against her fingers, her butt rubbed gently back against Faith's crotch. Gently slipping her index and middle finger past the elastic, she let them run along the hot wet haven between the blonde's legs.
"Oh . . . . . Oh . . . . .Oh!" Faith couldn't tell if older woman was chanting or panting, but she didn't care. It sounded damn hot, and it certainly sounded like the blonde was enjoying herself. As Faith let one finger run over the Slayer's opening, she knew she couldn't take it. Biting down on her lip, she stifled a deep moan. Buffy shifted slightly in her sleep, raising her neck, trying to find the lips that had left her so suddenly. Faith took a deep breath, and pinched the Slayer's nipple lightly. She whimpered, though this time it didn't sound as pleasured as before. Deciding that perhaps she shouldn't do that again, Faith licked her lips, and began kissing Angel's Mark again.
The air was thick with the smell of both their passions, and the room was now so hot is felt as though the air itself were sweating from their heat. Buffy continued chanting and moaning as Faith kept up her gentle touches and light strokes. All the while, their needs were building, growing evermore desperate. The blonde was beyond foreplay, and in quite desperate need of fulfillment. Faith knew this; she could feel it. And after all, who was Faith to deny Buffy of anything she wanted? But Faith's need for Pleasure had grown too. She tried to push that out of her mind as she slowly let her finger take one last stroke of the older girl's slick outer lips. Buffy let out a loud moan, causing Faith to chorus with her. Quickly slipping a single finger into the older woman slick channel, she bit down on Buffy's neck to stifle her moan.
"NO!" Buffy Yelled. Uh oh, Faith though, not good. Buffy was bucking wildly now, though not out of passion, out of fear. Her arms flailed wildly, and her head rocked from side to side in blind panic. In the blink of an eye, her dream had changed, and now the blonde seemed to want nothing more than to get as far away from the brunette as possible. Quickly trying to disentangle her self from the blonde's clothing, Faith watched as the blonde slowly started to wake, still screaming. "No! Spike, Stop It! No, STOP! PLEASE, NO!!!"
With her last exclamation, her eyes shot open. Not used to the dark of the room, they couldn't focus on the body nearest her. She struck out, and Hard! Faith smashed against the foot of the bed, and grabbed the back of her head; having hit the same place her had two days before when she first arrived. As her eyes focused after the birds stopped circling around her head, Faith saw that Buffy was crouched against the head board. The small blonde looked even tinier than ever. She was holding onto the bars tightly, crouched against it as though afraid of something. But not only that. She was also sobbing. She looked so frightened, so helpless, and so scared.
Faith had never been so speechless in her life. Buffy Summers, Slayer extraordinaire, was scared shitless. Her body quaked lightly, and tears ran down her face as she looked around the room as though trying to find something that had suddenly disappeared. Faith gently scooted up the bed, slowly trying to approached the girl. She pulled herself even tighter against the bars. Faith reached out a hand and laid it gently against her shoulder.
"Don't Touch Me! DON'T TOUCH ME!!" she yelled suddenly, slapping Faith's hand away violently. Faith recoiled slightly. She had momentarily forgotten that this girl wasn't as helpless as she looked. She was a Slayer, and a stronger one than her. But she remembered . . . she remembered being that scared once. And she remembered that when you're that scared, you tend to lash out at anything and everything possible.
"B, It's okay, It's just me." Faith said gently, scooting a bit closer, trying to get the blonde to quite down before the house woke in a panic.
"Don't you touch me, Bitch! Don't you FUCKING touch me!!!" she screamed, thrashing as Faith tried to grab both her shoulders. But as soon as she had her hands on either arm, the Slayer let our a scream loud enough to rival a fog-horn. Quickly letting go, Faith tried to figure out what to do. Just then the brunette heard quick foot-steps coming down the hall. Dashing to the door she opened it before the night visitor had a chance. There in the hall, looking quite worried was Willow.
"Faith, what's going on?!" She whispered angrily. She looked suspicious and Faith realized she thought that she had hurt the blonde. Faith shushed the redhead, and opened the door slightly so she could see the blonde for a second, then closed it entirely. Stepping out into the hall to talk to her for a second. Willow shook her head and ran a hand through her hair.
"I dunno what happened," Faith whispered, noticing that Kennedy had come up to see what was going on. "One second she was fine, the next she's freaking out." Willow sighed, and rubbed her eyes.
"Shoot. . . . It's the nightmares again." Rubbing her temples for a second, she looked to the door, and then back as Faith. The brunette was PISSED!
"You knew this shit was happening?!" she whispered loudly, "You knew that she was having these nightmares?!"
"I knew she was having them, but she won't tell anyone what their about." Willow defended her self quickly, her tiredness making her irritable. "We all thought she was past them, but I guess they're back again. Ugh, okay, let's all just go back to bed." She said, slowly turning to walk back to her room. Faith grabbed her arm, and turned her around.
"You're just going to leave her like that?!" Faith was getting really mad. "She's you're best friend! Aren't you going to take care of her?"
"She won't let me!" Willow growled back. "She never lets any one. We tried, we all tried, but it won't do any good. She just keeps yelling and then nobody gets any rest. Just go to bed Faith, it'll be like it never happened in the morning." Willow pulled her arm out of Faith's grasp and walked back to her room. Faith was shocked. Willow, the little touchy- feely witch she remembered from all those years ago, seemed to have curled up and died. Shaking her head, Faith looked to the only person left in the hall. It was Kennedy.
"She's right, you know." Kennedy walked closer to the door, and looked to Faith. "It's been a while since the last one, but they're all the same. I've been here the longest of all the potentials, and I've only been here for three. Well, not including this one." The younger brunette sighed, and leaned against the wall. "Every time someone has to come in and wake her up, then they try and talk to her and she turns to stone. The next morning she acts like she can't remember any of it. She plays it off as night- terrors, but we all know they're not." Kennedy pushed off, and started walking down the stairs again. "Maybe you can get through to her . . ."
Faith nodded slightly to herself, and looked to the door. She stood their, as though trying to see through it, wondering if it was even worth trying. If Willow couldn't get anything out of her, then how was she supposed to? Shrugging her shoulders, she turned the knob, and entered the room. Buffy was still huddled against the headboard sobbing quietly. Faith sat down on the edge of the bed, not wanting to crowd her, and waited. After a few minutes of silence, the sobbing slowed, and the blonde was simply gasping unevenly for breath. Faith again lay a gentle hand on the blonde shoulder. Buffy jumped, and slammed herself tight against her headboard. This was not going to be easy.
"B?" she whispered quietly, "B, it's okay, it's just me." Faith put the hand back on her back, and the blonde growled, but she didn't take it away. "It's okay, nobody else is here. Nobody's going to hurt you, little B, it's just you and me now." She stopped growling, but her sobbing started again. "B . . . What were you dreaming about? Huh? What got you so scared?" Faith asked gently, not wanting to put her off. Buffy sniffled, and looked at Faith for a second, then back at the wall.
"Not dreams," she said haltingly, "Night-Terrors."
"Uh-Uh B, that shit ain't gonna work on me. I was here, remember, I was the one you tossed halfway across the room. I was awake before you were, and you were talking about somebody. Who's got you so scared, little B." Buffy turned to glare at her, obviously pissed that things weren't going her way.
"Stop calling me that. I'm not little." Faith chuckled, and rubbed her back lightly. Buffy's back arched as though the soft contact was hurting her, so Faith stilled her hand.
"You are little, B. But I'll stop if that's what you want." Buffy just nodded, turning back to the headboard. "Come on Buff, what's wrong . . . you can't keep it bottled up forever, you told me that once. And you were right, you know?" Faith sighed, and leaned against the head-board next to Buffy. "It was like, one day, all of a sudden, I just . . . cracked. I just couldn't take it anymore. I thought that if I made my self think I was invincible, then I would be." Looking at Buffy sadly, the brunette sighed, "No one's invincible, and I learned that the hard way. To be invincible is to have no feelings. No Pain, no Guilt, not Fear . . . but more than that, no Love. No care for anyone or anything around you. Stone, and steel and all coldness. No human can achieve that. Nothing with a heart or a soul or a spirit could even be reduced to something that low." Faith smiled. "So certainly not you, B."
"What's that supposed to mean?" Buffy growled slightly, her tears stopped.
"It means, stop acting like you're the Queen of the Underworld. There are things that can hurt you, things that can beat you, you're not invincible, and no one expects you to be. You can get hurt, and knocked down, and most of all cry. No one's asking you to be made of steel B . . . nobody but yourself." Faith sighed, and scooted closer. This time Buffy didn't move away. "So how about we trade, huh? For the rest of the night, I'll be invincible, and you can just be Buffy. Okay?" Buffy poked her head out, and there were tears shining in her eyes again. "I won't let anything hurt you; a Redeeming Slayer's Promise." Buffy nodded slowly.
"Okay." She whispered, almost silently.
"Alright. But on one condition, alright?" Buffy nodded, and Faith sighed. "What'd Spike do to you?" Buffy's eyes bugged, and she grabbed onto the bars so tight the creaked and her knuckles turned white. "B, come on, just tell me." No response. "I heard you yelling about him when you woke up, so there's no use in lying . . . what did he do to you? Did he bite you?" Buffy shook her head. "Did he attack you?" Buffy nodded. "He attacked you? When? Like, just recently?" Now Faith was pissed. Why was this guy living in their house if he was beating on B, Faith wondered?
"No, a long time ago." She said quietly, almost child-like. Faith sighed.
"You mean way back when he was with Angel?" Faith asked, almost exasperated. She'd thought that he'd helped her in the end. Besides, he was chipped, then souled, and he was helping them all out. Besides, what was she so scared of; he was in love with her. Everyone knew it, and you could see it as plain as day. Besides, Dawn had said they'd been involved last year; wouldn't that show that they had some kind of understanding. But then there was the flinching and the twitching. Almost every time Spike touched Buffy she would flinch. Like when they'd done Tai-chi, She completely toppled over just because he was around. This was getting confusing.
"No, about a year ago. The day that Tara died." She whispered out, voice tight as a noose and getting smaller. Faith flinched at that. Dawn had told her about Buffy's refusal to see the Vampire again, and this was before his Soul . . . perhaps there was something that the little-sister left out.
"What happened, Buff?" Faith asked slowly, trying to be as gentle as possible. The blonde shook her head, and gently leaned it against the bars she had in a death grip. She took in a shuddering breath, and the bars creaked as she crushed them in her hands. Faith reached out and gently pried them off the Bars. "Easy B, you know you're going to regret that in the morning . . . or when the head-board falls down and smashes us in our sleep." Faith took the small yet powerful hands into her own and laughed with a mixture of nerves and disdain. "What a way for a Slayer to go: Death my broken-bed." Buffy laughed slightly, though it was through new tears. "Come on, Tell old Faithy what happened." Buffy quieted again.
"It was nothing. Just living with an old enemy - "
"Nuh-uh," Faith said quickly, cutting her off, "Don't hand me that crap and tell me it's fudge; I know that isn't it. You handed your life over for Angel's even after he tried to kill you and all your friends . . . keep trying, and this time why don't you try some honesty on for size?" Faith was being superior, and Buffy hated it. "Come on; I'm the invincible one, remember. You just have to be Buffy." The hands in Faiths clenched in on them selves, and the blonde started shaking with uncontrolled sobs.
"I thought I was though." She cried quietly, "I was so sure I could handle it . . . But it went too far." She sobbed. Now Faith was really lost! She had no idea what this girl was talking about, but all she knew was: KEEP HER TALKING. "He was just too strong . . . and my shoulder hut so much, even before I smashed it on the tub . . ." Faith reached over and took the girl into her arms again. "I couldn't push him away . . . and he just kept grabbing me, holding me down . . . he grabbed me so hard he bruised my leg . . ." Buffy just Kept sobbing, and Faith just held her. She was starting to get a very clear picture of what Spike had done, and it was making the blood rush in her ears.
"He didn't even . . ." She whispered so quietly, even Faith had to strain her ears, though they were so close together. "I was so weak, and he just snuck in on me . . . But it scared me so much!" she sobbed the last part and broke down into uncontrollable tears, shaking violently in the brunette's arms. Taking deep breaths, and gently stroking the blonde's back Faith soothed her as best she could.
She ran her hands over the soft fabric of her shirt, fingertips gently tracing patterns as they moved up and down. Slowly, Faith pulled the older girl into her lap, surprised but please when Buffy wrapped her arms around the youth's neck. Her cries still plaguing her, Buffy barely noticed the brunette kissing her temple, whispering to her gently.
"It's okay sweets, it's alright," Faith gently kissed the blonde hair beneath her chin, loving the closeness they were sharing. Buffy was curled up in the Dark Slayer's lap, shaking slightly with her tears, all the while letting the brunette take care of her.
"Every time he touches me, every time he looks at me that way . . ." she whispered quietly, the breath tickly Faith's ears. She smiled, though she felt guilty about it; Buffy was telling her the scariest thing that was happening to her, and Faith was loving it. Not that the blonde was crying, but the fact that Buffy had opened up to her, allowing her to hold her in this way. Gently sliding her hands up the blonde's shirt, she started gently caressing the soft, warm skin. Buffy's back arched slightly, and her breath was shuddering as Faith ran her finger down the sensitive skin for the first time.
"Don't worry B," Faith said gently, "I'm not gonna hurtcha." Faith said gently, kissing her head again, keeping her touches light and soft, slowly touching the blonde's silken skin. The blonde still shook, though it wasn't sobbing. It was her hitching breath. Faith kissed her head lightly every few seconds, waiting for the older woman to calm.
"I'm sorry you had to see me like this." Buffy mumbled. Faith chuckled.
"It's okay B, better me then the others, that's all I'm saying." Buffy nodded and nuzzled into the brunette's shoulder, obviously exhausted. "Besides, the way you've been acting with the potentials, I was worried you still thought you were the beyond." Buffy made a small noise, rather indistinguishable to Faith. It was like a sleepy sigh, or a whimper. Whatever it was, it was so child like and cute. . . . reaching down Faith kissed the blonde's forehead. Buffy smiled slightly, whispering a small thank-you. "No problem B." Faith said quietly, still rubbing the blonde's back.
She felt the blond shift slightly, making herself more comfortable. Faith felt her soften, but not fall asleep. She was in that clam, quiet state of pre-sleep-readiness. Faith kissed her forehead again, making Buffy flutter her eyes open to look at the brunette. Their gazes met, and neither looked away, though not a one of them could tell you why. Faith couldn't tear her eyes away from the deep hazel that seemed so sleepily transfixed by her light brown ones. Leaning in again, Faith let her lips brush Buffy's cheek this time. It was so light Buffy thought she'd whispered something against her at first. Pulling back just far enough to catch her eye once more, Faith blushed. Buffy's eyes were shy yet nervous. But they didn't show regret, and that was what Faith was looking for. She didn't want Buffy to feel any regret.
"B . . ." Faith whispered, leaning in to her lips slowly, giving her plenty of time to pull away. She felt the blonde gulp slightly, but her lips were met gently. The kiss was soft and gentle, anything but what Faith was used to. It was light, shy; something that brunette would never describe herself as. But then again, this was Buffy, and Faith knew that one thing would never change; she would do anything for her. Even act on a part of herself she'd never let shine before.
She let her mouth open slowly, her lips grasping the blonde's with a slow burning fever she'd only known shortly before the blonde had awoken. The blonde whimpered slightly, and she could feel her hesitantly reach a hand up to cup the brunette's cheek. Faith pulled away for a second to kiss the thumb that lingered near her mouth. Smiling she leaned into the older girls kisses once again. Buffy gently stroked the youth's face with her soft fingers. Faith held the blonde closer to her, the hands on Buffy's bare back still gently caressing the supple skin of the true Chosen One. Now I know why they picked her, Faith thought to her self, who wouldn't?
"Faith," Buffy whimpered between kisses, a wordless communication. Faith pulled the girl so she was flush against her, sitting in her lap. Their kisses became more frequent, though just as soft and light. Quickly, as though nervously, Faith felt the blonde's tongue run along her lower lip; asking entrance. The younger girl could feel her heart racing already. She gently licked the luscious lower lip of her counter-part and moaned at the warm fullness of it. Buffy half sighed, half moaned, and wrapped a hand around the brunette's lower back. It was Faith's turn to whimper now, as she felt the blonde's tongue hesitantly run along hers. GOOG GOD! Faith thought shakily, She's gonna kill me!
Faith gently slid her arms to Buffy's sides, grasping her hips lightly. Their kisses became more passionate, Faith pulling the smaller girls lip between hers and sucking it lightly until she let out a low guttural moan of pleasure. Tossing her head back slowly, Buffy basked in the feeling of the feather light kisses that Faith was gentle lying across her neck and to her opposite ear. The brunette chuckled huskily as she gently tugged the fleshy part of her ear, causing the Chosen One to giggle happily. Anyone looking on would think that these two people had done this a hundred times, and this was just one hundred and one. They looked so at ease with each- other's passions and bodies that you'd never guess that this was new to them. Maybe it was a Slayer thing, or maybe it was just a love thing.
"Oh, Faith." Buffy whispered lightly at the feel of Faith's hands lightly tugging her hips closer. With their bodies pressed together evenly, and Faith's gentle kisses along the almost steel column of the blonde's neck, the two were completely separated from the world. Nothing outside of each other seemed to exist. Buffy let her hands run through the silken raven hair, her fingers gliding through the soft strands. One of Faith's hands slowly glided along the narrow hip and along the soft patch of stomach that was exposed below the older girl's shirt. Lost in the feel of the Dark Slayer's kisses, she didn't feel the hand gently sliding up her shirt until it cupped her breast. Quick as a heartbeat, Buffy moved back.
"Faith, what are you doing?" Buffy asked quickly between pants. The younger girl looked up, seemingly confused as to why the gentle touches and soft kissed had stopped. The blonde had that look of no-nonsense, and Faith knew she'd have to be serious if she wanted to get out of this with all her remaining limbs. Taking a deep breath to calm herself - which ended up being a little shaky - she looked the Slayer square in her Hazel eyes.
"You were upset." She said flatly. The blonde had a look of hardness mixed with confusion. "You were hurting, and . . ." Faith trailed off, unable to look Buffy in the eye anymore. It hurt too much. "I was trying to comfort you." She said quietly.
"Comfort me?" The tone was expressionless. Faith pulled away and leaned against the headboard heavily. Tilting her head back, and tried to get all the blood back to the sensible places in her body.
"Yeah, B. Comfort." Faith said simply, her voice slightly raspy as she spoke, "and this is the only way I know how to give it." Without her consent, the brunette's voice took on a tone of slight shame. "It's the only kind of comfort people have found in me, or that I have been able to give . . ." opening her eyes that seemed to focus on nothing, Buffy watched as the girl spoke emotionlessly. "Besides," she said quickly, turning to the older woman, "It looked like you could use it." At that the blonde frowned slightly.
"What do you mean?" Faith chuckled.
"How long has it been since you've had sex, B?" Faith asked, tone almost humorous.
"Not since . . ." Buffy started, then stopped when she realized the answer, "Um, not since before the . . . incident with Spike." She said quietly, clearing her throat. Faith didn't look shocked. "About two weeks before that, actually."
"Uh huh." Faith said as though she were cataloging it for later reference, "And when was the last time you made love?" Faith asked her slowly. A deep blush ran over the blonde's cheeks, and she looked down at her fidgeting hands.
"I guess Riley . . . but I don't think - well . . ." her voice dropped even more as she practically whispered, " . . . Angel really." Now that was enough to make the brunette's eye bug, slightly. So, Faith thought slowly, she didn't love the Farm-boy . . . what was wrong with the beef- stick? She wondered. Well, besides his lack of talent in bed?
"Okay." Faith said, voice slightly higher than a few seconds before, but she doubted if the blonde would notice. "And when was the last time you . . . you know." There was a look of bewilderment on the older girl's face, and Faith clarified. " 'Got Off'?" she ventured. The blonde's eyes widened in both understanding and in shameful realization.
"Before Spike." She said, almost silently.
"WHAT?!" Faith almost yelled. Buffy looked at her dazed, and the brunette realized that her shock was not a good reaction to have just then. "Are you telling me that with all the world-saving and all the demons, bringers, and Uber-Vamps you've been fighting for almost a year . . . you've never tooted your own horn?!" she ventured slowly, amazement marring her face. The blonde nodded, but instead of the embarrassment she showed before, there was now only sadness.
"I know." She said flatly. "I tried but . . . every time I did . . ." she cut off, falling silent. Her looked down at her hands, now still, and the blonde seemed a million miles away. Sighing slowly, she looked to the ceiling. "I just couldn't. Every touch reminded me of his, every feeling reminded me of what I let him do, the way I let him hurt me. It scared me. Like if I let myself feel that way again the pain would fallow too. I can't be helpless, Faith." She said firmly, looking to the younger girl suddenly, "Not now. I can't falter while all these lives depend on me. It's not just Giles and the Scoobs anymore . . . it's all the girls. And after that; the fate of the world." Her voice sounded like it was going to crack, but never did. "It's a risk I can't take. One the world can't afford." She sighed and looked down at her hands again.
"I know what you mean." Faith said quietly. Buffy turned to look back at her suddenly, face unreadable. "Take it from a survivor; things do get easier." At that Buffy's face softened, though only for a second. The blonde remembered the way Faith hated pity and Sympathy; they were things the brunette didn't feel she needed. "But when you do, take my advice, B. Make it soft, and gentle. And make sure it's with some that loves you, for real this time." Her voice dropped even quieter, and she too had to look away, "Because anything else will just feel like a repeat of a pain you're dying to forget." Faith sighed, and leaned her head against the wall slightly.
"When did - " Buffy started, but then cut her self off, realizing it probably wasn't her place to ask. Faith turned her head slightly to look at her, and the blonde cleared her throat. "When did it happen to you?" she asked slowly. Faith closed her eyes, and the blonde could see her gulp slightly.
"I was twelve. Foster-care. It was the father who was supposed to be a really good guy. He was always sticking up for me when the mom would get mad . . ." she trailed off slightly, then took in a long slow breath. "He only did it once, and even waited for his wife to be out of the house. But from then on . . . when ever he touched me, when ever he told the mom to lay off of me . . . it was like I could feel it again. Like I could feel the scrape of his nails on my back, the pain of him inside me . . . it was the reason I had to leave. And That's when I started running. Seems I still haven't stopped." She finished quietly, running a hand through her hair slowly, turning to look away from the blonde, though her eyes were still closed.
She barely even noticed the blonde scooting over to sit next to her. Though she did feel it as the blonde looped an arm through hers. Resting a golden head on the brunette's shoulder, they both sat in silence. The brunette had only ever told that to her watcher before. And she knew Buffy wouldn't tell anyone. But for some reason, she felt like moving away from the blonde. Suddenly worried that the invisible dirt that always seemed to cover her was starting to show and the older girl would notice, as though infecting the blonde with her impurity some how. But even if that was the case, Buffy didn't seem to mind. In fact, she fell asleep with her head right there on the brunette's shoulder. Not knowing how long they sat there for, the Dark Slayer remembered that the next morning would be a Friday; Buffy had to work.
"B . . ." Faith prodded gently, "B, come on. We have to get in bed." The blonde stirred slightly, but wasn't fully awake. Sighing slightly at how cute the woman looked, Faith lifted her gently, and laid her down on the bed, pulling the covers around them both. As she slowly wrapped her arms around the woman's middle, she started to squirm an wake fully. "Shh Shh Shhhh . . . B, it's just me. Go back to sleep, it's just Faith." She said gently, running a hand gently over the golden locks. Buffy nodded, still more asleep than awake, and feel back into dreams almost instantly. Curling up behind the older Slayer, she thought about what the next day would bring.
"I know one thing," she whispered to herself, "it's going to be as easy as possible for you, B."
.
.
= = = ( Conscious Reasoning ) = = =
As the early morning light hit the front lawn, Faith squinted slightly and took one last drag off of her cigarette. She heard Buffy stir slight on the bed; rolling over sleepily and then nuzzle back under the sheets. Flicking the butt down onto the walk, Faith climbed back into the window. She was lucky the smell didn't wake the blonde Slayer up. She knew how much Buffy hated her smoking. Faith unzipped her bag, pulled out some clothes, and quickly got dressed. She leaned down and kissed the older girl's forhead gently, and then turned the buzzer off on the alarm clock. Hearing foot- steps head towards the door, she quickly walked through it before anyone had the chance to enter.
"Faith." Willow stated, almost surprised to see the brunette, "What are you doing up?"
"Taking charge." She said quietly, leading Willow away from the master bedroom. Before the brunette could lead her down the stairs though the witch stopped.
"What do you mean?" she asked suspiciously, "What happened to Buffy?" Faith sighed and ran a hand through her hair.
"I talked to her . . . and she talked to me. It took a while, but she finally fell asleep. She's pretty out of it now, out like the dead. I just want her to rest. Besides; I got a plan. You don't like it, we'll fix it, okay?" Willow looked apprehensive though it was obvious that she didn't have a better plan. They walked the rest of the way down the stairs, and then stopped at the base. "Get all the girls assembled, I want to talk to them. I'm going to call the school, tell them Buffy's gonna be a little late today." The red-head did as she was told; heading into the living-room while Faith went to the kitchen.
Taking out pots and pans the brunette laid out a few cooking pieces she'd need and started a fresh pot of coffee. She picked up the phone and scrolled through the numbers on the saved speed-dial. Finding the one for the school, she pressed talk and waited for an answer. As the front-desk picked up, she asked to be transferred to the desk of Principal Wood.
"Sunnydale High; Principal Wood?" came the business tone through the receiver. Faith looked at her watched and then took a deep breath.
"Principal Wood?" she asked into the receiver, "This is Faith, you and I met yester day?" she asked slowly.
"Yes, I remember. How can I help you." He stated, his tone very professional the entire time.
"I just called to tell you that Buffy had a pretty rough night of Slaying yesterday and she's only just gotten to sleep. She'll be in a little late, and she wanted me to ask you to ask her students to stop buy at Lunch or after school for a bit if they miss her?" It was a little fib, but she was sure she'd be right in guessing the blonde's wishes.
"Yes, sure, that's fine." Wood said quickly, she could hear him writing something in the background, jutting down a note, "Tell her she can have the whole day off, her student's will still be here on Monday."
"Nah, really, it's okay. Knowing Buffy she'll thank you for the offer, but she'll come in anyways. In fact I'm sure she's going to be there sooner than either you and I would think, so no worries. Just though you should get the heads up."
"Yes, thank you Faith. I'll be sure to tell her students. Bye." He sounded nice enough, Faith though as she hung up the phone. Placing the phone back into it's jack, she walked out into the main-area again. As she stood at the door-way, she was hit with a feeling. She knew it well, and as all eyes fell on her with trepidation, fear, and mistrust, she knew exactly what it was. Sympathy. She knew what Buffy felt now; every time she stood before her Potential-Army. Glancing over the faces she felt nervous, self- conscious, and more than anything else: helplessness. Some of these girls are gonna die, she realized. She could only hope that when the time came they'd be ready.
"Okay!" the brunette yelled to the group, grabbing the attention of the girls in the back, gabbing away. "We got a new plan for today." She stated firmly. "Those of you that have school, you're still going to school, those of you that don't' . . . day off." At that there was a mass of loud cheers and three moans of disappointment. "BUT!" she called over the sudden noise. "Be ready. Tonight, we're gonna try something new as well. Intensive, hard, and you'd all better rest up . . . you're going to need it." With that she left the room. Willow fallowed her, not looking happy, shortly fallowed by Giles.
"Faith!" Willow yelled suddenly, "What are you doing!?"
"Easy, Red," Faith said, pouring a cup of coffee for herself and adding a bit of milk. "I've got a plan. Besides, the way I hear it, they've all been running ragged. 'Bout time they got a break, and I have just the thing in mind." Faith got out butter, eggs, bread, bacon, and started cooking. IT was you standard break-fast, and Faith seemed pretty adept at making it. all the while she explained.
"We're going to spilt up tonight." She said, scrambling eggs, "All the girls are coming out tonight. Two groups to a cemetery, not a single girl gets to stay behind. Buffy and I will take a group out to the busiest, Giles and you can take the next, and Spike can take a group on his own though it'll have to be small. Anya, Xander and Dawn can stay here and guard the house, hold-down the fort or whatever. Not that there's much use in attacking it with all the girls elsewhere." Popping beard into the toaster, she stated all of this as though it was nothing too exciting. Giles looked to Willow as the brunette was lowering the flame on the now cooked bacon and covering the food with a lid to keep in warm.
"Uhm, well, yes . . . I guess that sounds alright." The Englishman nodded slowly, "Seems like you have an idea of things."
"Yeah, I guess you could say that. I've just noticed the same girls going out on patrol night after night, and girls being more focused on research rather than fighting. We're trying to get as many girls out of this alive, and if they aren't battle-tested by the time things start to get serious . . . then we're just shooting ourselves in the foot." She refilled her mug and added a little sugar but no milk this time. "No more babying them. They need to learn that the worst is coming, and if they can't handle a single Vamp or a Bringer . . . chances are they're never going to leave this town alive." Faith walked past them to the stairs again. The two remaining Scoobies looked at each other, and sadly realized she was right.
Faith walked up the stairs, trying not to spill the coffee, hoping she remembered the way the blonde liked to drink it. Setting it down on the nightstand, she sat on the edge of the bed gently, just looking at the older girl. She looked so old, and yet . . . far too young to be mixed up in all of this. IS this what a person looks like after dying three times, she wondered? Even in her sleep she seemed fitful. A slight frown to her features. As the brunette gently ran the backs of her fingers across the older woman's cheek, she saw the True Slayer's lips twitch into a smile for a second, then her eyes slowly open.
"Hey." Faith said gently. She couldn't help the way one corner of her mouth curled into a smirk at the almost childlike look on the girl's face. The girl stretched, her joints popping as she did, but as Buffy's eyes opened and she saw what time it was she hot up out of bed.
"WHOA!" Faith said, putting a hand on her shoulder quickly, "Take it easy. I called your boss already and told him you'd be late. He says you could have the day off, but we both knew you'd be going anyway." Buffy looked at the girl as though she'd suddenly grown another head. "You - need to go take a shower." She stated, pulling the blonde out of bed and leading her to the connecting door.
"But - !" she tried to protest, but Faith leaned in a kissed her suddenly, silencing her. It was a quick, almost chaste kiss. She did it because she knew that the surprise would get the usual motor-mouth to stop in her tracks.
"No arguments. You finally have the bathroom without a line behind you, so take advantage. I want you in the kitchen for breakfast after you change - NO BUTS!" she stated as she turned to head back down-stairs. "Coffee's on the night-stand." She said as the door snapped shut behind her. She stood just out-side the door for a second and listened. No noise. After a few seconds she heard the distinct sound of the bathroom door shutting and the water being turned on. Sighing Faith fell back against the door she took in a long slow breath. I hope you know what you're doing, she thought.
"Long night?" Faith's head shot up at the sound of Kennedy's voice. The younger girl was wearing a smirk, and she pretty darn obvious what she was thinking about. Faith chuckled, remembering what it was like to be that young, that alive. She missed it. Getting up Faith stretched her arms over her head and shook her head. "You get her to settle down?" she asked slowly. The double meaning of 'settle down' not lost on them.
"Not exactly, but I think I helped." Faith said, a touch of the old confidence shinning through. "Hey, Kenny . . . think you could help me with something?" Faith said slowly, now Kennedy was the one who looked apprehensive. "Willow doesn't have any classes on Fridays, right?" Faith said, tossing her arm over her counter-part's, and leading the girl downstairs.
When Buffy made her way down stairs she was surprised to see so many girls still in their sleeping bags, resting. She slowly mad her way into the kitchen where Faith, Kennedy, and Dawn were talking, with Willow perusing the newspaper (pretending not be listening in). Sipping her coffee as she walked in, Buffy looked over the odd match of kids. Faith's attention was instantly grabbed by her entering, causing the brunette to smile.
"Dawn," Buffy said as she sat down next to Willow, "Aren't you supposed to be at school?" she said, voice not with out an edge of warning.
"My first-period was cancelled. I'm going to start walking over in about 20 minutes." She said, kicking her feet as she sat on the counter.
"That's okay, I'll drive you in a few minutes."
"No you won't." Faith said, sliding her a plate of breakfast; complete with Juice and buttered toast. "You're going to sit down and eat breakfast. Bad enough you're going to work with next to no sleep." Buffy blushed slightly and fidgeted in her seat at the mention of the night before. She hesitantly picked up her fork and stated eating. "Good, now relax. I'll be right back, you just keep eating." Faith smiled at her slyly, and Buffy looked guiltily back down at her food. It was good, that was for sure, but it seemed that she was the only one the brunette had made it for.
Faith walked out of the room and into the dinning room. Glancing back, she saw that the four girls had started talking about something else. Good, Faith thought to herself, because it's now or never. Taking the longer way; she looped back around, through the entryway, and into the basement. Walking down the steps, Faith pulled her cigarettes out of her pocket. Spike was just pulling on his duster, facing away from the brunette. Hearing someone enter he called back over his shoulder.
"I'll be up in a moment Lil'Bit, just lacing up my boots."
"I'm almost as tall as you, and besides . . ." Faith said, watching as the Vampire turned around surprised. "There's been a change in plans." Faith pulled a smoke out of her pack with her lips, and searched her pockets for a lighter, pretending not to feel it in her pocket.
"Here, let me get that for you." He said, lighting his Zippo and walking towards her. As he stepped closer and held the small fire out for her she had to pull in the urge to light what must have been his highly flammable hair on fire and watching him turn to dust. "What do you mean 'Change in plans'?" he asked her, closing the lighter and sitting back down in his cot.
"Well, Buffy had another one of her fits last night - "
"The nightmares." He asked quickly, though it sounded almost like a statement. Faith's anger flared like a wild-fire at hearing that he knew about them. Pushing it down again, and leaned against the pillar to face him.
"Yeah, well, they kept her up most of the night . . . well, I guess you could say that I did too - " she added smoothly, noticing that she got the desired reaction of Spike looking up suddenly, " - But the point is; we have a new plan for training. The girls are getting the day off, and the entire Scooby-Crew will be taking the girls out tonight. Not a single one is staying back at the fort." Faith took another long drag off her cigarette and blew it out slowly.
"Who's going to watch the shack?" he asked, almost suspiciously. Faith chuckled and blew a smoke-ring.
"X-Man and The Anyerism. Staying with 'The Little Bit', as you called her. Meanwhile the rest are going to be getting dirty with the best of us." At that Faith pushed up and took a drag again. Giving the Vamp a hard look she let the smoke curl it's way out of her nose slowly. Tossing the butt down she stomped on it. "You're in deep shit, Spike, you know that?" Faith said, almost as though she cared.
"What's that?" he said quickly, not missing the threat she'd just lain down.
"You. Are. In. Deep. Shit . . . Spike." She said again, slowly. "Buffy said it her self. You're here because she needed a strong warrior, and you were the strongest she had." Faith smirked and cracked her knuckles one by one, "I say had because that's not the case anymore, is it?" Click, Click, Click. . . "She's got me now, and I guess that makes you wonder where you fall, huh?" He didn't move as she began to slowly pace, but his eyes fallowed her.
"You're a killer, you're a Creature, and you're a danger. You have no chip to control you, and you've fed since you've had a soul . . . you're no Angel, Bleach-Boy." Spike sneered at her, and Faith smiled in return. "Not to mention you're other recent indiscretions. She might have needed you . . . but she doesn't any more." As she stepped right into his space Faith practically growled. "You even breath over the line, and you'll be blowing in the wind, William." As she started for the steps he called out after her.
"You think you can replace me?" He asked her quickly, overly confidant. "You're no divine-spirit your self. You didn't need to lose your soul to kill . . . don't think she doesn't know that." At that Faith's eyes pinched shut, and she turned to face him again. Her old smile back in place, the brunette chuckled.
"But which one of us was offered her bed, and which one of us sleeps on a cot featuring chains and cuffs?" His eyes narrowed, and he got up just as the door down stairs opened.
"Faith?" Buffy's voice called.
"Down here!" She called back, face smug. The blonde walked down to the third step where the other Slayer stood, still facing the Vampire.
"What are you doing down here?" Buffy said, trying to sound conversational. The younger girl didn't miss the edge of weariness to the blonde's question. Faith finally turned to face her.
"Just chatting over a Smoke." Faith said replied calmly. Buffy frowned, and faith's insides jumped, knowing she was going to get questioned.
"What are you doing smoking?!" Buffy asked harshly, "You're going to kill yourself! Not to mention it makes your breath stink, and I have to sleep next to you now . . ." she trailed off as she pulled Faith back up the stairs by her hand. Faith just waved back down to Spike, a large fake pout on her face as she went. Closing the door, Buffy turned to the brunette, her face hard. Faith squirmed slightly, and looked down at her shoes. Buffy held out her hand, and Faith suddenly became confused. "Cigarettes, please." She said firmly. Faith quickly reached into her pocket and handed the blonde her half-empty pack of Gaoulwaies.
"What are these?" the blonde asked, looking at the box, eye-brow raised.
" 'Gal-ways', you can tell because they have the fairies on them." Faith said, chuckling slightly. And here I could have sworn Buffy took French in high-school, Faith thought. Buffy looked at the box for a second, then ripped it into pieces. Faith had little to no reaction, simply watching.
"No More Smoking!" She said firmly, "I can't have you huffing and puffing while we're trying to get the girls into shape." Faith nodded, and smiled. Buffy looked at her suspiciously, "What?" she slowly drawled.
"Nothing." Faith stated, still just smiling.
"Okay . . . well I have to get to work, and Dawn needs to be dropped off so you're in charge of the house, okay?" Faith nodded, and Buffy sighed, running a hand through he hair slowly. "Umm, I just wanted to, uh . . . well, I wanted to thank you for taking over this morning. It was really, umm . . . It was, uh, it's - "
"Hey, it's cool." Faith said, saving her from what they both knew she was saying and had the potential to get 'mushy'. Suddenly a honk came from what must have been the Jeep parked in the drive-way. Buffy fidgeted slightly, and pointed over her shoulder as she started walking backwards towards the front door. "Hey, B." Faith said quickly, Buffy stopped and Faith walked up to her.
Before the blonde could pull away or even react, Faith took both the older woman's hands in her own and kissed her gently. As Buffy felt the brunette's lips gently grasp hers she felt the breath she'd just taken flutter in her chest, and her stomach tighten with anticipation. The feeling that just touching the other Slayer elicited in her had always fascinated the older girl, but ever since their touching had become slightly more intimate it seemed as though Faith was almost a different person. Just as that though started to shock and scare Buffy, Faith pulled away. Letting go of her hands, Faith smiled at her, and gave her a gentle nudge out of the break-fast nook and back towards the front door.
"Go help people, B," Faith told her quietly, "They're waiting." Buffy shook her head, and nodded, trying to clear her head. As the brunette watched her slowly walk out the door, she smirked. I could get used to this, Faith thought. Bringing a hand up to gently run her fingers across her lips, the younger girl couldn't help but smile. Something was going on between them -- finally, if you asked Faith -- and the brunette wasn't going to waste it. Walking back into the kitchen, Faith started cleaning up from the break- fast she'd made. By now a lot of the girls were up and eating their morning meals.
"Hey Faith?" Kennedy asked her, shaking an empty box of cookies, "I think it's time for a grocery-run. Things are starting to get a little meager here . . ." Faith nodded as she rinsed the frying pan and placed it in the drying rack.
"Alright, why don't you and I go out around lunch time?" Faith offered, "Go get Red and bring her in here." Kennedy looked at her for a second, eyes hard, and didn't move. "Kenny, girl; she's the one with the grocery money . . . besides, she's good with numbers and she knows what we need. She makes the list every week, or so it goes." The smaller brunette sighed angrily and went into the other room. Faith dried her hands and fallowed her a few seconds later. Kennedy was leaning against a wall about as far away from the red-head as she could get.
"Hey Will?" Faith asked, giving Kennedy an exasperated look before getting the Witch's attention, "Do you think we could go out and grab some more groceries later?" Willow nodded, but then stopped.
"Buffy took the car, didn't she?"
"Yeah, what's wrong?" Faith asked, noticing Willow's sudden disappointment.
"Faith, we need to buy food for almost 40 or 50 people . . . we need the jeep, and with Xander at work we don't even have the Taurus. I guess we're just going to have to wait until she gets back." Just then a plate could be heard breaking in the other room.
"I don't think they're going to last that long, Red." Faith said gently. Turing to the now silent potential the Slayer breathed shortly, "Why don't you ask around about what people want, get a feel for certain kinds of food or whatever. Talk to Andrew about whatever he might need for what he gonna be cooking for dinners in the next week or so too?" Kennedy nodded and did as she was told. "Red, why don't you look into raising some funds and calculating the hows and what of our spending capabilities?" Willow nodded slowly, but looked hesitant.
"Faith, how are we going to be getting all this food home from the market with just two people?"
"We're not going to be just two people; you, me, and Kennedy are going." The Witch suddenly blushed, and she looked down at the table. "And don't worry. We're gonna stop by the school to get the Jeep. Buffy'll just have to walk home today, I guess. Besides, I'll drop off a lunch for her too." With that Faith disappeared back into the kitchen again, leaving a slightly shocked Willow in her wake. Shaking her head slightly and turning back to her computer, she didn't notice that Kennedy was watching her.
Leaning on the small pillar at the base of the stairs, the potential watched. Willow opened and closed files, punching numbers into the calculator, jotting down little notes on a piece of scrap paper, and focusing in on her work. She was adorable, the girl thought, and she hated that she still believed it. she loved Willow, she loved her so much . . . and just when she was trying to express said feeling to her, what happened? She was thinking about someone else. Shaking her head, Kennedy bit her lip.
But still, she thought, it was really good up until then . . . maybe she's just not used to being with other women . . . NO, she berated herself suddenly, You can't go making excuses for her, what she did was totally unacceptable. No one has sex with Kennedy Roth and forgets it! but as she looked at the sad expression on the red-head face she couldn't help her first little instinct screaming at her to go cheer her up by any means necessary.
As the young girl's eyes traveled from her former girl-friend's sad little pout up to her pale cheeks the phrase 'lickable' came to mind as he eyes settled on those charming little freckles. A hand on her shoulder shook Kennedy out of her thoughts. Faith was smiling at her knowingly, as though she could have just her the girl's internal musings. Kennedy tried to hold back the blush she was sure was now creeping along her own cheeks, she watched as Faith nodded in Willow's direction.
"Why don't you sit and talk things over while I clean up a bit, huh?" the older brunette offered. Kennedy just nodded once and sat down next to the witch, wordlessly tossing her a fairly extensive list. As the red-head perused it silently Faith sighed . . . this was going to be harder than she'd thought.
.
.
(To Be Continued . . .)
= = = ( Dreams And Nightmares) = = =
WARNING!
THIS CHAPTER IS RATED 'R' FOR ADULT CONTANT! IF YOU DO NOT WANT TO HEAR ABOUT TWO BEAUTIFUL WOMEN GETTING IT ON TOGETHER, THEN DON'T READ! Thank You. Vix
Faith was dreaming. She knew she was, that was obvious. Why else would Angel have been dancing Ballet while Giles was dressed like a pirate - complete with eye-patch? The only problem was, that was what she was dreaming about before. Now, her mind was fixed on something else. A Slayer- Something-else.
It was Buffy, that much was obvious, but she only knew it because it was making her Slayer-Senses go hey-wire. She couldn't really make out much, all she could see were streaks of color, and noise was echoed as though through a long tube . . . but this was Buffy. The only sense that was working in full living-color was touch, and she could feel. She could feel everything. The blonde seemed to be everywhere, and yet nowhere at once. All the places her hands moved left little streaks of fire along her skin, leaving her burning for more . . .
She blamed her self. It was her own fault. She and Buffy not only did a bit of Synchronized-Slaying together, they also did a bit of snuggling on the couch. That almost made her blow her lid! When she fled the room, and then Dawn came in distressed, she completely forgot about her misguided blood- supply. After all the depressing stories that the Kid told her . . . she just figured she wouldn't need those extra 5 minutes in the shower. Boy, was she wrong!
The pour brunette was practically a smoldering pile of rubble when slowly the touches started becoming lighter . . . the Streaks of color began to fade to black, and the sounds became whispers carried away by an unseen wind. She didn't want them to go, she didn't want them to leave her like this. She needed them, she needed release. As she slowly started to wake, her only thought was on trying to fall back asleep and re-enter that dream. Great, she thought, now I'm even more pent up then before! Taking a deep breath in order to clam down, that haunting scent caught her attention . . .
'What the Hell?!" was all that could describe Faith's reaction. That, or possibly 'What the fuck is going on?!'. The Slayers were tangled again. And this time, it was much worse. Well, depending on how you look at it.
Both were laying face down on the mattress, turned slightly to the left, but the blonde's body was almost completely covered by the brunette's. As Faith tried to slowly extract herself from their inter-wound bodies, she realized; (A) There was no way she could do it with out waking the blonde and then dealing with one pissed off Slayer, and then (B) She Didn't Want To. Not only were they wrapped up beyond repair, but Faith's brain was still running on empty.
The blonde didn't seem to be all that bothered by their attachment. In fact, she seemed quite happy with it. Her head was lain gently on the pillow, her leg stretched slightly over the edge of the bed, and she had a hand on her breast . . . that didn't belong to her. Faith was stuck, and in more than just one way. The arm she had wrapped under the older girl was gently cupping the blonde's breast, and her other . . . well . . . It was 'Pinched'. Being held between the older woman's thigh . . . and pubic bone. Buffy's hands though, were gently tucked under her pillow. Her face held a small smile, and she stirred lightly in her sleep.
Lifting her head to see her mattress-mate a little better, she saw Buffy's eyes moving rapidly under their lids. Thank god she's dreaming, she thought. And quite vividly, it would seem. It reminded Faith of that movie, 'The Matrix', the way their eyes would wiggle when they were down- loading. But in that movie it ad been creepy . . . with Buffy it was cute. Not to mention the little whimpery noises the blonde was making.
All the naughty touching and shared body heat was not helping Faith's little predicament in the slightest. In fact, it was making the impossible, seem quite real. She stared down into the face of this earthly Angel and sighed. So beautiful . . . so perfect . . . So - Oh My God!
Buffy had stirred, and in the process pressed against Faith's hand a bit . . . the 'Pinched' Hand. Hmm, Faith thought Evilly, seems a yogurt isn't what she wanted after all. Heat was what Faith had felt . . . and moisture. Seems she and I are painted into the same corner . . . maybe I should, I don't know, Help Her Out? Faith laughed silently, and gently laid her head back down, allowing herself to nuzzle into the blonde's silken hair.
Buffy hummed lightly as Faith lightly tickled the back of the blonde's neck with the tip of her nose. Faith smiled at the obvious enjoyment of her sister-Slayer. Gently cupping the breast in her hand, she allowed her thumb to run over the quickly hardening nub through the blonde's tank-top. She took in a shuddering breath, and Faith joined her. she was shaking with the knowledge that Buffy was enjoying this, the way she was touching her, pleasing her . . . she wanted to enjoy this while she could. Sleepy Buffy was very different from awake Buffy. There was no way the Chosen One would allow anything like this if she were awake.
Faith silently groaned as Buffy gasped lightly, and pressed herself into the brunette's touch. Oh yeah, she was loving this. Gently teasing the nipple beneath the cloth, the younger Slayer gently kneaded the breast that seemed to fit so perfectly into her hand. Slow, Faith reminded her self as she tried to take deep breath through her nose, you have to take this slow. She couldn't wake the blonde - - no, not yet - - they weren't finished yet. Being as gentle as possible, she gently ran her nose along the blonde's exposed shoulder. Buffy's hips bucked slightly. Faith laughed. Slayers' necks must be some kind of a soft-spot. She allowed herself a gentle kiss along the collar-bone before going back to tickling again.
With touches as light as air the brunette began moving her other hand. Each time the blonde would move her hips, the younger girl would gently run her fingers along the in-seam of the slayers shorts. After a few minutes, the Slayers were gasping lightly, and Buffy was sleepily rubbing Faith's gentle fingers. Gritting her teeth, Faith almost growled. She couldn't take it any more. She needed the blonde, and now. She needed her now! Gently slipping her formerly 'Pinched' hand up the leg of the older woman's shorts (whish were starting to ride, due to their movement), Faith allowed her fingers to become more acquainted with their surroundings.
The dark Slayer let her fingertips run gently up the sensitive flesh of the blonde's inner thigh, eliciting a sleepy moan from her dozing counter-part. Smiling, she was quickly becoming bolder. She leaned down and began kissing the back of the blonde's neck. Buffy whimpered and nuzzled into her pillow slightly. Faith's fingers began to tickle higher and higher, slowly reaching the apex of the blonde's legs. As she let her fingers trace the edge of the blonde's panties, she moaned herself. Quickly biting her lip to stifle her own cries of pleasure, Faith returned to her task. Her touches So light it was almost phantomlike, her fingers began grazing the crotch of Buffy's underpants. They were soaked.
As the blonde tried to let out a strangled breath, she arched into the brunette's hand. Faith groaned, out loud this time, and leaned down to kiss the tender flesh of Angel's Scar. She licked it lightly as she let her fingers gently stroke the blonde through her thin cotton panties. The combined touches of her breast and slit, and not to mention the tender kisses at her pulse-point had the Chosen One reduced to a mewling ball of need in the Dark Slayer's arms. Faith had never felt so empowered in her whole life. This woman had faced death on an almost yearly basis, and yet it was her hands and lips that made the blonde shake, shiver, and tremble.
Slowly letting her fingers run under the leg elastic, the brunette licked the tender skin at the older girl's throat. Faith had never been so turned on this much in her whole life. Buffy was wet and ready and in her arms, and she had made her that way. Not to mention the fact that as Buffy's hips bucked forward against her fingers, her butt rubbed gently back against Faith's crotch. Gently slipping her index and middle finger past the elastic, she let them run along the hot wet haven between the blonde's legs.
"Oh . . . . . Oh . . . . .Oh!" Faith couldn't tell if older woman was chanting or panting, but she didn't care. It sounded damn hot, and it certainly sounded like the blonde was enjoying herself. As Faith let one finger run over the Slayer's opening, she knew she couldn't take it. Biting down on her lip, she stifled a deep moan. Buffy shifted slightly in her sleep, raising her neck, trying to find the lips that had left her so suddenly. Faith took a deep breath, and pinched the Slayer's nipple lightly. She whimpered, though this time it didn't sound as pleasured as before. Deciding that perhaps she shouldn't do that again, Faith licked her lips, and began kissing Angel's Mark again.
The air was thick with the smell of both their passions, and the room was now so hot is felt as though the air itself were sweating from their heat. Buffy continued chanting and moaning as Faith kept up her gentle touches and light strokes. All the while, their needs were building, growing evermore desperate. The blonde was beyond foreplay, and in quite desperate need of fulfillment. Faith knew this; she could feel it. And after all, who was Faith to deny Buffy of anything she wanted? But Faith's need for Pleasure had grown too. She tried to push that out of her mind as she slowly let her finger take one last stroke of the older girl's slick outer lips. Buffy let out a loud moan, causing Faith to chorus with her. Quickly slipping a single finger into the older woman slick channel, she bit down on Buffy's neck to stifle her moan.
"NO!" Buffy Yelled. Uh oh, Faith though, not good. Buffy was bucking wildly now, though not out of passion, out of fear. Her arms flailed wildly, and her head rocked from side to side in blind panic. In the blink of an eye, her dream had changed, and now the blonde seemed to want nothing more than to get as far away from the brunette as possible. Quickly trying to disentangle her self from the blonde's clothing, Faith watched as the blonde slowly started to wake, still screaming. "No! Spike, Stop It! No, STOP! PLEASE, NO!!!"
With her last exclamation, her eyes shot open. Not used to the dark of the room, they couldn't focus on the body nearest her. She struck out, and Hard! Faith smashed against the foot of the bed, and grabbed the back of her head; having hit the same place her had two days before when she first arrived. As her eyes focused after the birds stopped circling around her head, Faith saw that Buffy was crouched against the head board. The small blonde looked even tinier than ever. She was holding onto the bars tightly, crouched against it as though afraid of something. But not only that. She was also sobbing. She looked so frightened, so helpless, and so scared.
Faith had never been so speechless in her life. Buffy Summers, Slayer extraordinaire, was scared shitless. Her body quaked lightly, and tears ran down her face as she looked around the room as though trying to find something that had suddenly disappeared. Faith gently scooted up the bed, slowly trying to approached the girl. She pulled herself even tighter against the bars. Faith reached out a hand and laid it gently against her shoulder.
"Don't Touch Me! DON'T TOUCH ME!!" she yelled suddenly, slapping Faith's hand away violently. Faith recoiled slightly. She had momentarily forgotten that this girl wasn't as helpless as she looked. She was a Slayer, and a stronger one than her. But she remembered . . . she remembered being that scared once. And she remembered that when you're that scared, you tend to lash out at anything and everything possible.
"B, It's okay, It's just me." Faith said gently, scooting a bit closer, trying to get the blonde to quite down before the house woke in a panic.
"Don't you touch me, Bitch! Don't you FUCKING touch me!!!" she screamed, thrashing as Faith tried to grab both her shoulders. But as soon as she had her hands on either arm, the Slayer let our a scream loud enough to rival a fog-horn. Quickly letting go, Faith tried to figure out what to do. Just then the brunette heard quick foot-steps coming down the hall. Dashing to the door she opened it before the night visitor had a chance. There in the hall, looking quite worried was Willow.
"Faith, what's going on?!" She whispered angrily. She looked suspicious and Faith realized she thought that she had hurt the blonde. Faith shushed the redhead, and opened the door slightly so she could see the blonde for a second, then closed it entirely. Stepping out into the hall to talk to her for a second. Willow shook her head and ran a hand through her hair.
"I dunno what happened," Faith whispered, noticing that Kennedy had come up to see what was going on. "One second she was fine, the next she's freaking out." Willow sighed, and rubbed her eyes.
"Shoot. . . . It's the nightmares again." Rubbing her temples for a second, she looked to the door, and then back as Faith. The brunette was PISSED!
"You knew this shit was happening?!" she whispered loudly, "You knew that she was having these nightmares?!"
"I knew she was having them, but she won't tell anyone what their about." Willow defended her self quickly, her tiredness making her irritable. "We all thought she was past them, but I guess they're back again. Ugh, okay, let's all just go back to bed." She said, slowly turning to walk back to her room. Faith grabbed her arm, and turned her around.
"You're just going to leave her like that?!" Faith was getting really mad. "She's you're best friend! Aren't you going to take care of her?"
"She won't let me!" Willow growled back. "She never lets any one. We tried, we all tried, but it won't do any good. She just keeps yelling and then nobody gets any rest. Just go to bed Faith, it'll be like it never happened in the morning." Willow pulled her arm out of Faith's grasp and walked back to her room. Faith was shocked. Willow, the little touchy- feely witch she remembered from all those years ago, seemed to have curled up and died. Shaking her head, Faith looked to the only person left in the hall. It was Kennedy.
"She's right, you know." Kennedy walked closer to the door, and looked to Faith. "It's been a while since the last one, but they're all the same. I've been here the longest of all the potentials, and I've only been here for three. Well, not including this one." The younger brunette sighed, and leaned against the wall. "Every time someone has to come in and wake her up, then they try and talk to her and she turns to stone. The next morning she acts like she can't remember any of it. She plays it off as night- terrors, but we all know they're not." Kennedy pushed off, and started walking down the stairs again. "Maybe you can get through to her . . ."
Faith nodded slightly to herself, and looked to the door. She stood their, as though trying to see through it, wondering if it was even worth trying. If Willow couldn't get anything out of her, then how was she supposed to? Shrugging her shoulders, she turned the knob, and entered the room. Buffy was still huddled against the headboard sobbing quietly. Faith sat down on the edge of the bed, not wanting to crowd her, and waited. After a few minutes of silence, the sobbing slowed, and the blonde was simply gasping unevenly for breath. Faith again lay a gentle hand on the blonde shoulder. Buffy jumped, and slammed herself tight against her headboard. This was not going to be easy.
"B?" she whispered quietly, "B, it's okay, it's just me." Faith put the hand back on her back, and the blonde growled, but she didn't take it away. "It's okay, nobody else is here. Nobody's going to hurt you, little B, it's just you and me now." She stopped growling, but her sobbing started again. "B . . . What were you dreaming about? Huh? What got you so scared?" Faith asked gently, not wanting to put her off. Buffy sniffled, and looked at Faith for a second, then back at the wall.
"Not dreams," she said haltingly, "Night-Terrors."
"Uh-Uh B, that shit ain't gonna work on me. I was here, remember, I was the one you tossed halfway across the room. I was awake before you were, and you were talking about somebody. Who's got you so scared, little B." Buffy turned to glare at her, obviously pissed that things weren't going her way.
"Stop calling me that. I'm not little." Faith chuckled, and rubbed her back lightly. Buffy's back arched as though the soft contact was hurting her, so Faith stilled her hand.
"You are little, B. But I'll stop if that's what you want." Buffy just nodded, turning back to the headboard. "Come on Buff, what's wrong . . . you can't keep it bottled up forever, you told me that once. And you were right, you know?" Faith sighed, and leaned against the head-board next to Buffy. "It was like, one day, all of a sudden, I just . . . cracked. I just couldn't take it anymore. I thought that if I made my self think I was invincible, then I would be." Looking at Buffy sadly, the brunette sighed, "No one's invincible, and I learned that the hard way. To be invincible is to have no feelings. No Pain, no Guilt, not Fear . . . but more than that, no Love. No care for anyone or anything around you. Stone, and steel and all coldness. No human can achieve that. Nothing with a heart or a soul or a spirit could even be reduced to something that low." Faith smiled. "So certainly not you, B."
"What's that supposed to mean?" Buffy growled slightly, her tears stopped.
"It means, stop acting like you're the Queen of the Underworld. There are things that can hurt you, things that can beat you, you're not invincible, and no one expects you to be. You can get hurt, and knocked down, and most of all cry. No one's asking you to be made of steel B . . . nobody but yourself." Faith sighed, and scooted closer. This time Buffy didn't move away. "So how about we trade, huh? For the rest of the night, I'll be invincible, and you can just be Buffy. Okay?" Buffy poked her head out, and there were tears shining in her eyes again. "I won't let anything hurt you; a Redeeming Slayer's Promise." Buffy nodded slowly.
"Okay." She whispered, almost silently.
"Alright. But on one condition, alright?" Buffy nodded, and Faith sighed. "What'd Spike do to you?" Buffy's eyes bugged, and she grabbed onto the bars so tight the creaked and her knuckles turned white. "B, come on, just tell me." No response. "I heard you yelling about him when you woke up, so there's no use in lying . . . what did he do to you? Did he bite you?" Buffy shook her head. "Did he attack you?" Buffy nodded. "He attacked you? When? Like, just recently?" Now Faith was pissed. Why was this guy living in their house if he was beating on B, Faith wondered?
"No, a long time ago." She said quietly, almost child-like. Faith sighed.
"You mean way back when he was with Angel?" Faith asked, almost exasperated. She'd thought that he'd helped her in the end. Besides, he was chipped, then souled, and he was helping them all out. Besides, what was she so scared of; he was in love with her. Everyone knew it, and you could see it as plain as day. Besides, Dawn had said they'd been involved last year; wouldn't that show that they had some kind of understanding. But then there was the flinching and the twitching. Almost every time Spike touched Buffy she would flinch. Like when they'd done Tai-chi, She completely toppled over just because he was around. This was getting confusing.
"No, about a year ago. The day that Tara died." She whispered out, voice tight as a noose and getting smaller. Faith flinched at that. Dawn had told her about Buffy's refusal to see the Vampire again, and this was before his Soul . . . perhaps there was something that the little-sister left out.
"What happened, Buff?" Faith asked slowly, trying to be as gentle as possible. The blonde shook her head, and gently leaned it against the bars she had in a death grip. She took in a shuddering breath, and the bars creaked as she crushed them in her hands. Faith reached out and gently pried them off the Bars. "Easy B, you know you're going to regret that in the morning . . . or when the head-board falls down and smashes us in our sleep." Faith took the small yet powerful hands into her own and laughed with a mixture of nerves and disdain. "What a way for a Slayer to go: Death my broken-bed." Buffy laughed slightly, though it was through new tears. "Come on, Tell old Faithy what happened." Buffy quieted again.
"It was nothing. Just living with an old enemy - "
"Nuh-uh," Faith said quickly, cutting her off, "Don't hand me that crap and tell me it's fudge; I know that isn't it. You handed your life over for Angel's even after he tried to kill you and all your friends . . . keep trying, and this time why don't you try some honesty on for size?" Faith was being superior, and Buffy hated it. "Come on; I'm the invincible one, remember. You just have to be Buffy." The hands in Faiths clenched in on them selves, and the blonde started shaking with uncontrolled sobs.
"I thought I was though." She cried quietly, "I was so sure I could handle it . . . But it went too far." She sobbed. Now Faith was really lost! She had no idea what this girl was talking about, but all she knew was: KEEP HER TALKING. "He was just too strong . . . and my shoulder hut so much, even before I smashed it on the tub . . ." Faith reached over and took the girl into her arms again. "I couldn't push him away . . . and he just kept grabbing me, holding me down . . . he grabbed me so hard he bruised my leg . . ." Buffy just Kept sobbing, and Faith just held her. She was starting to get a very clear picture of what Spike had done, and it was making the blood rush in her ears.
"He didn't even . . ." She whispered so quietly, even Faith had to strain her ears, though they were so close together. "I was so weak, and he just snuck in on me . . . But it scared me so much!" she sobbed the last part and broke down into uncontrollable tears, shaking violently in the brunette's arms. Taking deep breaths, and gently stroking the blonde's back Faith soothed her as best she could.
She ran her hands over the soft fabric of her shirt, fingertips gently tracing patterns as they moved up and down. Slowly, Faith pulled the older girl into her lap, surprised but please when Buffy wrapped her arms around the youth's neck. Her cries still plaguing her, Buffy barely noticed the brunette kissing her temple, whispering to her gently.
"It's okay sweets, it's alright," Faith gently kissed the blonde hair beneath her chin, loving the closeness they were sharing. Buffy was curled up in the Dark Slayer's lap, shaking slightly with her tears, all the while letting the brunette take care of her.
"Every time he touches me, every time he looks at me that way . . ." she whispered quietly, the breath tickly Faith's ears. She smiled, though she felt guilty about it; Buffy was telling her the scariest thing that was happening to her, and Faith was loving it. Not that the blonde was crying, but the fact that Buffy had opened up to her, allowing her to hold her in this way. Gently sliding her hands up the blonde's shirt, she started gently caressing the soft, warm skin. Buffy's back arched slightly, and her breath was shuddering as Faith ran her finger down the sensitive skin for the first time.
"Don't worry B," Faith said gently, "I'm not gonna hurtcha." Faith said gently, kissing her head again, keeping her touches light and soft, slowly touching the blonde's silken skin. The blonde still shook, though it wasn't sobbing. It was her hitching breath. Faith kissed her head lightly every few seconds, waiting for the older woman to calm.
"I'm sorry you had to see me like this." Buffy mumbled. Faith chuckled.
"It's okay B, better me then the others, that's all I'm saying." Buffy nodded and nuzzled into the brunette's shoulder, obviously exhausted. "Besides, the way you've been acting with the potentials, I was worried you still thought you were the beyond." Buffy made a small noise, rather indistinguishable to Faith. It was like a sleepy sigh, or a whimper. Whatever it was, it was so child like and cute. . . . reaching down Faith kissed the blonde's forehead. Buffy smiled slightly, whispering a small thank-you. "No problem B." Faith said quietly, still rubbing the blonde's back.
She felt the blond shift slightly, making herself more comfortable. Faith felt her soften, but not fall asleep. She was in that clam, quiet state of pre-sleep-readiness. Faith kissed her forehead again, making Buffy flutter her eyes open to look at the brunette. Their gazes met, and neither looked away, though not a one of them could tell you why. Faith couldn't tear her eyes away from the deep hazel that seemed so sleepily transfixed by her light brown ones. Leaning in again, Faith let her lips brush Buffy's cheek this time. It was so light Buffy thought she'd whispered something against her at first. Pulling back just far enough to catch her eye once more, Faith blushed. Buffy's eyes were shy yet nervous. But they didn't show regret, and that was what Faith was looking for. She didn't want Buffy to feel any regret.
"B . . ." Faith whispered, leaning in to her lips slowly, giving her plenty of time to pull away. She felt the blonde gulp slightly, but her lips were met gently. The kiss was soft and gentle, anything but what Faith was used to. It was light, shy; something that brunette would never describe herself as. But then again, this was Buffy, and Faith knew that one thing would never change; she would do anything for her. Even act on a part of herself she'd never let shine before.
She let her mouth open slowly, her lips grasping the blonde's with a slow burning fever she'd only known shortly before the blonde had awoken. The blonde whimpered slightly, and she could feel her hesitantly reach a hand up to cup the brunette's cheek. Faith pulled away for a second to kiss the thumb that lingered near her mouth. Smiling she leaned into the older girls kisses once again. Buffy gently stroked the youth's face with her soft fingers. Faith held the blonde closer to her, the hands on Buffy's bare back still gently caressing the supple skin of the true Chosen One. Now I know why they picked her, Faith thought to her self, who wouldn't?
"Faith," Buffy whimpered between kisses, a wordless communication. Faith pulled the girl so she was flush against her, sitting in her lap. Their kisses became more frequent, though just as soft and light. Quickly, as though nervously, Faith felt the blonde's tongue run along her lower lip; asking entrance. The younger girl could feel her heart racing already. She gently licked the luscious lower lip of her counter-part and moaned at the warm fullness of it. Buffy half sighed, half moaned, and wrapped a hand around the brunette's lower back. It was Faith's turn to whimper now, as she felt the blonde's tongue hesitantly run along hers. GOOG GOD! Faith thought shakily, She's gonna kill me!
Faith gently slid her arms to Buffy's sides, grasping her hips lightly. Their kisses became more passionate, Faith pulling the smaller girls lip between hers and sucking it lightly until she let out a low guttural moan of pleasure. Tossing her head back slowly, Buffy basked in the feeling of the feather light kisses that Faith was gentle lying across her neck and to her opposite ear. The brunette chuckled huskily as she gently tugged the fleshy part of her ear, causing the Chosen One to giggle happily. Anyone looking on would think that these two people had done this a hundred times, and this was just one hundred and one. They looked so at ease with each- other's passions and bodies that you'd never guess that this was new to them. Maybe it was a Slayer thing, or maybe it was just a love thing.
"Oh, Faith." Buffy whispered lightly at the feel of Faith's hands lightly tugging her hips closer. With their bodies pressed together evenly, and Faith's gentle kisses along the almost steel column of the blonde's neck, the two were completely separated from the world. Nothing outside of each other seemed to exist. Buffy let her hands run through the silken raven hair, her fingers gliding through the soft strands. One of Faith's hands slowly glided along the narrow hip and along the soft patch of stomach that was exposed below the older girl's shirt. Lost in the feel of the Dark Slayer's kisses, she didn't feel the hand gently sliding up her shirt until it cupped her breast. Quick as a heartbeat, Buffy moved back.
"Faith, what are you doing?" Buffy asked quickly between pants. The younger girl looked up, seemingly confused as to why the gentle touches and soft kissed had stopped. The blonde had that look of no-nonsense, and Faith knew she'd have to be serious if she wanted to get out of this with all her remaining limbs. Taking a deep breath to calm herself - which ended up being a little shaky - she looked the Slayer square in her Hazel eyes.
"You were upset." She said flatly. The blonde had a look of hardness mixed with confusion. "You were hurting, and . . ." Faith trailed off, unable to look Buffy in the eye anymore. It hurt too much. "I was trying to comfort you." She said quietly.
"Comfort me?" The tone was expressionless. Faith pulled away and leaned against the headboard heavily. Tilting her head back, and tried to get all the blood back to the sensible places in her body.
"Yeah, B. Comfort." Faith said simply, her voice slightly raspy as she spoke, "and this is the only way I know how to give it." Without her consent, the brunette's voice took on a tone of slight shame. "It's the only kind of comfort people have found in me, or that I have been able to give . . ." opening her eyes that seemed to focus on nothing, Buffy watched as the girl spoke emotionlessly. "Besides," she said quickly, turning to the older woman, "It looked like you could use it." At that the blonde frowned slightly.
"What do you mean?" Faith chuckled.
"How long has it been since you've had sex, B?" Faith asked, tone almost humorous.
"Not since . . ." Buffy started, then stopped when she realized the answer, "Um, not since before the . . . incident with Spike." She said quietly, clearing her throat. Faith didn't look shocked. "About two weeks before that, actually."
"Uh huh." Faith said as though she were cataloging it for later reference, "And when was the last time you made love?" Faith asked her slowly. A deep blush ran over the blonde's cheeks, and she looked down at her fidgeting hands.
"I guess Riley . . . but I don't think - well . . ." her voice dropped even more as she practically whispered, " . . . Angel really." Now that was enough to make the brunette's eye bug, slightly. So, Faith thought slowly, she didn't love the Farm-boy . . . what was wrong with the beef- stick? She wondered. Well, besides his lack of talent in bed?
"Okay." Faith said, voice slightly higher than a few seconds before, but she doubted if the blonde would notice. "And when was the last time you . . . you know." There was a look of bewilderment on the older girl's face, and Faith clarified. " 'Got Off'?" she ventured. The blonde's eyes widened in both understanding and in shameful realization.
"Before Spike." She said, almost silently.
"WHAT?!" Faith almost yelled. Buffy looked at her dazed, and the brunette realized that her shock was not a good reaction to have just then. "Are you telling me that with all the world-saving and all the demons, bringers, and Uber-Vamps you've been fighting for almost a year . . . you've never tooted your own horn?!" she ventured slowly, amazement marring her face. The blonde nodded, but instead of the embarrassment she showed before, there was now only sadness.
"I know." She said flatly. "I tried but . . . every time I did . . ." she cut off, falling silent. Her looked down at her hands, now still, and the blonde seemed a million miles away. Sighing slowly, she looked to the ceiling. "I just couldn't. Every touch reminded me of his, every feeling reminded me of what I let him do, the way I let him hurt me. It scared me. Like if I let myself feel that way again the pain would fallow too. I can't be helpless, Faith." She said firmly, looking to the younger girl suddenly, "Not now. I can't falter while all these lives depend on me. It's not just Giles and the Scoobs anymore . . . it's all the girls. And after that; the fate of the world." Her voice sounded like it was going to crack, but never did. "It's a risk I can't take. One the world can't afford." She sighed and looked down at her hands again.
"I know what you mean." Faith said quietly. Buffy turned to look back at her suddenly, face unreadable. "Take it from a survivor; things do get easier." At that Buffy's face softened, though only for a second. The blonde remembered the way Faith hated pity and Sympathy; they were things the brunette didn't feel she needed. "But when you do, take my advice, B. Make it soft, and gentle. And make sure it's with some that loves you, for real this time." Her voice dropped even quieter, and she too had to look away, "Because anything else will just feel like a repeat of a pain you're dying to forget." Faith sighed, and leaned her head against the wall slightly.
"When did - " Buffy started, but then cut her self off, realizing it probably wasn't her place to ask. Faith turned her head slightly to look at her, and the blonde cleared her throat. "When did it happen to you?" she asked slowly. Faith closed her eyes, and the blonde could see her gulp slightly.
"I was twelve. Foster-care. It was the father who was supposed to be a really good guy. He was always sticking up for me when the mom would get mad . . ." she trailed off slightly, then took in a long slow breath. "He only did it once, and even waited for his wife to be out of the house. But from then on . . . when ever he touched me, when ever he told the mom to lay off of me . . . it was like I could feel it again. Like I could feel the scrape of his nails on my back, the pain of him inside me . . . it was the reason I had to leave. And That's when I started running. Seems I still haven't stopped." She finished quietly, running a hand through her hair slowly, turning to look away from the blonde, though her eyes were still closed.
She barely even noticed the blonde scooting over to sit next to her. Though she did feel it as the blonde looped an arm through hers. Resting a golden head on the brunette's shoulder, they both sat in silence. The brunette had only ever told that to her watcher before. And she knew Buffy wouldn't tell anyone. But for some reason, she felt like moving away from the blonde. Suddenly worried that the invisible dirt that always seemed to cover her was starting to show and the older girl would notice, as though infecting the blonde with her impurity some how. But even if that was the case, Buffy didn't seem to mind. In fact, she fell asleep with her head right there on the brunette's shoulder. Not knowing how long they sat there for, the Dark Slayer remembered that the next morning would be a Friday; Buffy had to work.
"B . . ." Faith prodded gently, "B, come on. We have to get in bed." The blonde stirred slightly, but wasn't fully awake. Sighing slightly at how cute the woman looked, Faith lifted her gently, and laid her down on the bed, pulling the covers around them both. As she slowly wrapped her arms around the woman's middle, she started to squirm an wake fully. "Shh Shh Shhhh . . . B, it's just me. Go back to sleep, it's just Faith." She said gently, running a hand gently over the golden locks. Buffy nodded, still more asleep than awake, and feel back into dreams almost instantly. Curling up behind the older Slayer, she thought about what the next day would bring.
"I know one thing," she whispered to herself, "it's going to be as easy as possible for you, B."
.
.
= = = ( Conscious Reasoning ) = = =
As the early morning light hit the front lawn, Faith squinted slightly and took one last drag off of her cigarette. She heard Buffy stir slight on the bed; rolling over sleepily and then nuzzle back under the sheets. Flicking the butt down onto the walk, Faith climbed back into the window. She was lucky the smell didn't wake the blonde Slayer up. She knew how much Buffy hated her smoking. Faith unzipped her bag, pulled out some clothes, and quickly got dressed. She leaned down and kissed the older girl's forhead gently, and then turned the buzzer off on the alarm clock. Hearing foot- steps head towards the door, she quickly walked through it before anyone had the chance to enter.
"Faith." Willow stated, almost surprised to see the brunette, "What are you doing up?"
"Taking charge." She said quietly, leading Willow away from the master bedroom. Before the brunette could lead her down the stairs though the witch stopped.
"What do you mean?" she asked suspiciously, "What happened to Buffy?" Faith sighed and ran a hand through her hair.
"I talked to her . . . and she talked to me. It took a while, but she finally fell asleep. She's pretty out of it now, out like the dead. I just want her to rest. Besides; I got a plan. You don't like it, we'll fix it, okay?" Willow looked apprehensive though it was obvious that she didn't have a better plan. They walked the rest of the way down the stairs, and then stopped at the base. "Get all the girls assembled, I want to talk to them. I'm going to call the school, tell them Buffy's gonna be a little late today." The red-head did as she was told; heading into the living-room while Faith went to the kitchen.
Taking out pots and pans the brunette laid out a few cooking pieces she'd need and started a fresh pot of coffee. She picked up the phone and scrolled through the numbers on the saved speed-dial. Finding the one for the school, she pressed talk and waited for an answer. As the front-desk picked up, she asked to be transferred to the desk of Principal Wood.
"Sunnydale High; Principal Wood?" came the business tone through the receiver. Faith looked at her watched and then took a deep breath.
"Principal Wood?" she asked into the receiver, "This is Faith, you and I met yester day?" she asked slowly.
"Yes, I remember. How can I help you." He stated, his tone very professional the entire time.
"I just called to tell you that Buffy had a pretty rough night of Slaying yesterday and she's only just gotten to sleep. She'll be in a little late, and she wanted me to ask you to ask her students to stop buy at Lunch or after school for a bit if they miss her?" It was a little fib, but she was sure she'd be right in guessing the blonde's wishes.
"Yes, sure, that's fine." Wood said quickly, she could hear him writing something in the background, jutting down a note, "Tell her she can have the whole day off, her student's will still be here on Monday."
"Nah, really, it's okay. Knowing Buffy she'll thank you for the offer, but she'll come in anyways. In fact I'm sure she's going to be there sooner than either you and I would think, so no worries. Just though you should get the heads up."
"Yes, thank you Faith. I'll be sure to tell her students. Bye." He sounded nice enough, Faith though as she hung up the phone. Placing the phone back into it's jack, she walked out into the main-area again. As she stood at the door-way, she was hit with a feeling. She knew it well, and as all eyes fell on her with trepidation, fear, and mistrust, she knew exactly what it was. Sympathy. She knew what Buffy felt now; every time she stood before her Potential-Army. Glancing over the faces she felt nervous, self- conscious, and more than anything else: helplessness. Some of these girls are gonna die, she realized. She could only hope that when the time came they'd be ready.
"Okay!" the brunette yelled to the group, grabbing the attention of the girls in the back, gabbing away. "We got a new plan for today." She stated firmly. "Those of you that have school, you're still going to school, those of you that don't' . . . day off." At that there was a mass of loud cheers and three moans of disappointment. "BUT!" she called over the sudden noise. "Be ready. Tonight, we're gonna try something new as well. Intensive, hard, and you'd all better rest up . . . you're going to need it." With that she left the room. Willow fallowed her, not looking happy, shortly fallowed by Giles.
"Faith!" Willow yelled suddenly, "What are you doing!?"
"Easy, Red," Faith said, pouring a cup of coffee for herself and adding a bit of milk. "I've got a plan. Besides, the way I hear it, they've all been running ragged. 'Bout time they got a break, and I have just the thing in mind." Faith got out butter, eggs, bread, bacon, and started cooking. IT was you standard break-fast, and Faith seemed pretty adept at making it. all the while she explained.
"We're going to spilt up tonight." She said, scrambling eggs, "All the girls are coming out tonight. Two groups to a cemetery, not a single girl gets to stay behind. Buffy and I will take a group out to the busiest, Giles and you can take the next, and Spike can take a group on his own though it'll have to be small. Anya, Xander and Dawn can stay here and guard the house, hold-down the fort or whatever. Not that there's much use in attacking it with all the girls elsewhere." Popping beard into the toaster, she stated all of this as though it was nothing too exciting. Giles looked to Willow as the brunette was lowering the flame on the now cooked bacon and covering the food with a lid to keep in warm.
"Uhm, well, yes . . . I guess that sounds alright." The Englishman nodded slowly, "Seems like you have an idea of things."
"Yeah, I guess you could say that. I've just noticed the same girls going out on patrol night after night, and girls being more focused on research rather than fighting. We're trying to get as many girls out of this alive, and if they aren't battle-tested by the time things start to get serious . . . then we're just shooting ourselves in the foot." She refilled her mug and added a little sugar but no milk this time. "No more babying them. They need to learn that the worst is coming, and if they can't handle a single Vamp or a Bringer . . . chances are they're never going to leave this town alive." Faith walked past them to the stairs again. The two remaining Scoobies looked at each other, and sadly realized she was right.
Faith walked up the stairs, trying not to spill the coffee, hoping she remembered the way the blonde liked to drink it. Setting it down on the nightstand, she sat on the edge of the bed gently, just looking at the older girl. She looked so old, and yet . . . far too young to be mixed up in all of this. IS this what a person looks like after dying three times, she wondered? Even in her sleep she seemed fitful. A slight frown to her features. As the brunette gently ran the backs of her fingers across the older woman's cheek, she saw the True Slayer's lips twitch into a smile for a second, then her eyes slowly open.
"Hey." Faith said gently. She couldn't help the way one corner of her mouth curled into a smirk at the almost childlike look on the girl's face. The girl stretched, her joints popping as she did, but as Buffy's eyes opened and she saw what time it was she hot up out of bed.
"WHOA!" Faith said, putting a hand on her shoulder quickly, "Take it easy. I called your boss already and told him you'd be late. He says you could have the day off, but we both knew you'd be going anyway." Buffy looked at the girl as though she'd suddenly grown another head. "You - need to go take a shower." She stated, pulling the blonde out of bed and leading her to the connecting door.
"But - !" she tried to protest, but Faith leaned in a kissed her suddenly, silencing her. It was a quick, almost chaste kiss. She did it because she knew that the surprise would get the usual motor-mouth to stop in her tracks.
"No arguments. You finally have the bathroom without a line behind you, so take advantage. I want you in the kitchen for breakfast after you change - NO BUTS!" she stated as she turned to head back down-stairs. "Coffee's on the night-stand." She said as the door snapped shut behind her. She stood just out-side the door for a second and listened. No noise. After a few seconds she heard the distinct sound of the bathroom door shutting and the water being turned on. Sighing Faith fell back against the door she took in a long slow breath. I hope you know what you're doing, she thought.
"Long night?" Faith's head shot up at the sound of Kennedy's voice. The younger girl was wearing a smirk, and she pretty darn obvious what she was thinking about. Faith chuckled, remembering what it was like to be that young, that alive. She missed it. Getting up Faith stretched her arms over her head and shook her head. "You get her to settle down?" she asked slowly. The double meaning of 'settle down' not lost on them.
"Not exactly, but I think I helped." Faith said, a touch of the old confidence shinning through. "Hey, Kenny . . . think you could help me with something?" Faith said slowly, now Kennedy was the one who looked apprehensive. "Willow doesn't have any classes on Fridays, right?" Faith said, tossing her arm over her counter-part's, and leading the girl downstairs.
When Buffy made her way down stairs she was surprised to see so many girls still in their sleeping bags, resting. She slowly mad her way into the kitchen where Faith, Kennedy, and Dawn were talking, with Willow perusing the newspaper (pretending not be listening in). Sipping her coffee as she walked in, Buffy looked over the odd match of kids. Faith's attention was instantly grabbed by her entering, causing the brunette to smile.
"Dawn," Buffy said as she sat down next to Willow, "Aren't you supposed to be at school?" she said, voice not with out an edge of warning.
"My first-period was cancelled. I'm going to start walking over in about 20 minutes." She said, kicking her feet as she sat on the counter.
"That's okay, I'll drive you in a few minutes."
"No you won't." Faith said, sliding her a plate of breakfast; complete with Juice and buttered toast. "You're going to sit down and eat breakfast. Bad enough you're going to work with next to no sleep." Buffy blushed slightly and fidgeted in her seat at the mention of the night before. She hesitantly picked up her fork and stated eating. "Good, now relax. I'll be right back, you just keep eating." Faith smiled at her slyly, and Buffy looked guiltily back down at her food. It was good, that was for sure, but it seemed that she was the only one the brunette had made it for.
Faith walked out of the room and into the dinning room. Glancing back, she saw that the four girls had started talking about something else. Good, Faith thought to herself, because it's now or never. Taking the longer way; she looped back around, through the entryway, and into the basement. Walking down the steps, Faith pulled her cigarettes out of her pocket. Spike was just pulling on his duster, facing away from the brunette. Hearing someone enter he called back over his shoulder.
"I'll be up in a moment Lil'Bit, just lacing up my boots."
"I'm almost as tall as you, and besides . . ." Faith said, watching as the Vampire turned around surprised. "There's been a change in plans." Faith pulled a smoke out of her pack with her lips, and searched her pockets for a lighter, pretending not to feel it in her pocket.
"Here, let me get that for you." He said, lighting his Zippo and walking towards her. As he stepped closer and held the small fire out for her she had to pull in the urge to light what must have been his highly flammable hair on fire and watching him turn to dust. "What do you mean 'Change in plans'?" he asked her, closing the lighter and sitting back down in his cot.
"Well, Buffy had another one of her fits last night - "
"The nightmares." He asked quickly, though it sounded almost like a statement. Faith's anger flared like a wild-fire at hearing that he knew about them. Pushing it down again, and leaned against the pillar to face him.
"Yeah, well, they kept her up most of the night . . . well, I guess you could say that I did too - " she added smoothly, noticing that she got the desired reaction of Spike looking up suddenly, " - But the point is; we have a new plan for training. The girls are getting the day off, and the entire Scooby-Crew will be taking the girls out tonight. Not a single one is staying back at the fort." Faith took another long drag off her cigarette and blew it out slowly.
"Who's going to watch the shack?" he asked, almost suspiciously. Faith chuckled and blew a smoke-ring.
"X-Man and The Anyerism. Staying with 'The Little Bit', as you called her. Meanwhile the rest are going to be getting dirty with the best of us." At that Faith pushed up and took a drag again. Giving the Vamp a hard look she let the smoke curl it's way out of her nose slowly. Tossing the butt down she stomped on it. "You're in deep shit, Spike, you know that?" Faith said, almost as though she cared.
"What's that?" he said quickly, not missing the threat she'd just lain down.
"You. Are. In. Deep. Shit . . . Spike." She said again, slowly. "Buffy said it her self. You're here because she needed a strong warrior, and you were the strongest she had." Faith smirked and cracked her knuckles one by one, "I say had because that's not the case anymore, is it?" Click, Click, Click. . . "She's got me now, and I guess that makes you wonder where you fall, huh?" He didn't move as she began to slowly pace, but his eyes fallowed her.
"You're a killer, you're a Creature, and you're a danger. You have no chip to control you, and you've fed since you've had a soul . . . you're no Angel, Bleach-Boy." Spike sneered at her, and Faith smiled in return. "Not to mention you're other recent indiscretions. She might have needed you . . . but she doesn't any more." As she stepped right into his space Faith practically growled. "You even breath over the line, and you'll be blowing in the wind, William." As she started for the steps he called out after her.
"You think you can replace me?" He asked her quickly, overly confidant. "You're no divine-spirit your self. You didn't need to lose your soul to kill . . . don't think she doesn't know that." At that Faith's eyes pinched shut, and she turned to face him again. Her old smile back in place, the brunette chuckled.
"But which one of us was offered her bed, and which one of us sleeps on a cot featuring chains and cuffs?" His eyes narrowed, and he got up just as the door down stairs opened.
"Faith?" Buffy's voice called.
"Down here!" She called back, face smug. The blonde walked down to the third step where the other Slayer stood, still facing the Vampire.
"What are you doing down here?" Buffy said, trying to sound conversational. The younger girl didn't miss the edge of weariness to the blonde's question. Faith finally turned to face her.
"Just chatting over a Smoke." Faith said replied calmly. Buffy frowned, and faith's insides jumped, knowing she was going to get questioned.
"What are you doing smoking?!" Buffy asked harshly, "You're going to kill yourself! Not to mention it makes your breath stink, and I have to sleep next to you now . . ." she trailed off as she pulled Faith back up the stairs by her hand. Faith just waved back down to Spike, a large fake pout on her face as she went. Closing the door, Buffy turned to the brunette, her face hard. Faith squirmed slightly, and looked down at her shoes. Buffy held out her hand, and Faith suddenly became confused. "Cigarettes, please." She said firmly. Faith quickly reached into her pocket and handed the blonde her half-empty pack of Gaoulwaies.
"What are these?" the blonde asked, looking at the box, eye-brow raised.
" 'Gal-ways', you can tell because they have the fairies on them." Faith said, chuckling slightly. And here I could have sworn Buffy took French in high-school, Faith thought. Buffy looked at the box for a second, then ripped it into pieces. Faith had little to no reaction, simply watching.
"No More Smoking!" She said firmly, "I can't have you huffing and puffing while we're trying to get the girls into shape." Faith nodded, and smiled. Buffy looked at her suspiciously, "What?" she slowly drawled.
"Nothing." Faith stated, still just smiling.
"Okay . . . well I have to get to work, and Dawn needs to be dropped off so you're in charge of the house, okay?" Faith nodded, and Buffy sighed, running a hand through he hair slowly. "Umm, I just wanted to, uh . . . well, I wanted to thank you for taking over this morning. It was really, umm . . . It was, uh, it's - "
"Hey, it's cool." Faith said, saving her from what they both knew she was saying and had the potential to get 'mushy'. Suddenly a honk came from what must have been the Jeep parked in the drive-way. Buffy fidgeted slightly, and pointed over her shoulder as she started walking backwards towards the front door. "Hey, B." Faith said quickly, Buffy stopped and Faith walked up to her.
Before the blonde could pull away or even react, Faith took both the older woman's hands in her own and kissed her gently. As Buffy felt the brunette's lips gently grasp hers she felt the breath she'd just taken flutter in her chest, and her stomach tighten with anticipation. The feeling that just touching the other Slayer elicited in her had always fascinated the older girl, but ever since their touching had become slightly more intimate it seemed as though Faith was almost a different person. Just as that though started to shock and scare Buffy, Faith pulled away. Letting go of her hands, Faith smiled at her, and gave her a gentle nudge out of the break-fast nook and back towards the front door.
"Go help people, B," Faith told her quietly, "They're waiting." Buffy shook her head, and nodded, trying to clear her head. As the brunette watched her slowly walk out the door, she smirked. I could get used to this, Faith thought. Bringing a hand up to gently run her fingers across her lips, the younger girl couldn't help but smile. Something was going on between them -- finally, if you asked Faith -- and the brunette wasn't going to waste it. Walking back into the kitchen, Faith started cleaning up from the break- fast she'd made. By now a lot of the girls were up and eating their morning meals.
"Hey Faith?" Kennedy asked her, shaking an empty box of cookies, "I think it's time for a grocery-run. Things are starting to get a little meager here . . ." Faith nodded as she rinsed the frying pan and placed it in the drying rack.
"Alright, why don't you and I go out around lunch time?" Faith offered, "Go get Red and bring her in here." Kennedy looked at her for a second, eyes hard, and didn't move. "Kenny, girl; she's the one with the grocery money . . . besides, she's good with numbers and she knows what we need. She makes the list every week, or so it goes." The smaller brunette sighed angrily and went into the other room. Faith dried her hands and fallowed her a few seconds later. Kennedy was leaning against a wall about as far away from the red-head as she could get.
"Hey Will?" Faith asked, giving Kennedy an exasperated look before getting the Witch's attention, "Do you think we could go out and grab some more groceries later?" Willow nodded, but then stopped.
"Buffy took the car, didn't she?"
"Yeah, what's wrong?" Faith asked, noticing Willow's sudden disappointment.
"Faith, we need to buy food for almost 40 or 50 people . . . we need the jeep, and with Xander at work we don't even have the Taurus. I guess we're just going to have to wait until she gets back." Just then a plate could be heard breaking in the other room.
"I don't think they're going to last that long, Red." Faith said gently. Turing to the now silent potential the Slayer breathed shortly, "Why don't you ask around about what people want, get a feel for certain kinds of food or whatever. Talk to Andrew about whatever he might need for what he gonna be cooking for dinners in the next week or so too?" Kennedy nodded and did as she was told. "Red, why don't you look into raising some funds and calculating the hows and what of our spending capabilities?" Willow nodded slowly, but looked hesitant.
"Faith, how are we going to be getting all this food home from the market with just two people?"
"We're not going to be just two people; you, me, and Kennedy are going." The Witch suddenly blushed, and she looked down at the table. "And don't worry. We're gonna stop by the school to get the Jeep. Buffy'll just have to walk home today, I guess. Besides, I'll drop off a lunch for her too." With that Faith disappeared back into the kitchen again, leaving a slightly shocked Willow in her wake. Shaking her head slightly and turning back to her computer, she didn't notice that Kennedy was watching her.
Leaning on the small pillar at the base of the stairs, the potential watched. Willow opened and closed files, punching numbers into the calculator, jotting down little notes on a piece of scrap paper, and focusing in on her work. She was adorable, the girl thought, and she hated that she still believed it. she loved Willow, she loved her so much . . . and just when she was trying to express said feeling to her, what happened? She was thinking about someone else. Shaking her head, Kennedy bit her lip.
But still, she thought, it was really good up until then . . . maybe she's just not used to being with other women . . . NO, she berated herself suddenly, You can't go making excuses for her, what she did was totally unacceptable. No one has sex with Kennedy Roth and forgets it! but as she looked at the sad expression on the red-head face she couldn't help her first little instinct screaming at her to go cheer her up by any means necessary.
As the young girl's eyes traveled from her former girl-friend's sad little pout up to her pale cheeks the phrase 'lickable' came to mind as he eyes settled on those charming little freckles. A hand on her shoulder shook Kennedy out of her thoughts. Faith was smiling at her knowingly, as though she could have just her the girl's internal musings. Kennedy tried to hold back the blush she was sure was now creeping along her own cheeks, she watched as Faith nodded in Willow's direction.
"Why don't you sit and talk things over while I clean up a bit, huh?" the older brunette offered. Kennedy just nodded once and sat down next to the witch, wordlessly tossing her a fairly extensive list. As the red-head perused it silently Faith sighed . . . this was going to be harder than she'd thought.
.
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(To Be Continued . . .)