Chapter 10 - A new body experience

Note:

Thanks for the reviews. It's really interesting to read what people think, expect or dread to happen next. I have only read one body switch story ever (by Tango). If I had read that somebody else had done the switch with a pregnant Buffy I would have probably stayed away from the concept altogether. So I am kinda glad that I didn't come across it. ;-)

When Buffy woke up, she found herself lying in one of Sunnydale's dark and deserted alleys. Supporting herself against a wall, she slowly stood up. She was still a bit dizzy and disoriented. And she felt strange, different somehow. But she couldn't really pin it down and dismissed it as an aftereffect of whatever the hell had just happened.

Buffy had no idea why she was suddenly somewhere completely else. But she was sure that her abrupt change of location had been orchestrated by somebody – probably somebody evil – with a specific purpose in mind. Buffy had to assume that somebody wanted to catch her alone and was after her or the baby, even though she and Angel had taken the greatest care to keep their little secret as quiet as possible. Buffy looked around, expecting to get attacked any second. But she couldn't spot anything suspicious. Were they maybe after Angel instead of her? Was he still at the mansion? She had to get back there immediately.

Buffy started running. But when she caught a glimpse of herself in a window, she stopped. She took a closer look and saw Faith staring back at her. "That bitch!" Buffy said, glaring at the reflection, and immediately resumed running. She had only one thought: her baby. She hoped that Faith was still at the mansion. As long as Faith stayed there Angel would make sure she didn't do anything stupid. He was already worried because Buffy had been so tired earlier. She didn't want to imagine what could happen if Faith left the mansion without Angel noticing. She hoped that Angel's overprotectiveness would come in handy today. But what if Faith used this chance to hurt Angel? Was that maybe her primary goal? Did she want to finish what she had tried to do last time, namely kill Angel?

"What baby?" Faith asked confused.

"Buffy, you are starting to worry me," Angel said. "Something is very wrong here."

Faith's mind was racing. Was Buffy pregnant? By whom? But then why was Angel here and not the baby's father? It couldn't be Angel's. Or could it? Faith had to improvise. "You are damn right that something is wrong. You are crowding me." That was always a good guess with Angel, at least she hoped it still was. She headed for the door.

Angel followed her. "Where are you going?"

"None of your business. I need some space."

"I will not let you leave like this." Angel reached for her hand to stop her.

Faith slapped his hand away. "Get off my case!"

Angel looked at her strangely. Buffy's behavior had changed noticeably due to the pregnancy and he'd tried to be as understanding as possible. But she had never lashed out at him like this, at least not without a reason. Maybe he had smothered her lately. He relented, "Fine, if you really have a problem with me taking care of you, I have to accept that."

Faith mentally sighed with relief, almost free.

"But in the condition you are in, I will not have you be alone. I will take you to your mom's place, if that would make you feel better, or Willow's if you prefer that."

"I don't need a babysitter."

"Don't you see that something is wrong with you? Buffy, just think this through rationally. Something or someone might be doing this to you to catch you alone, to hurt our baby."

"Our baby?" Faith asked amazed. Did he actually mean that? Maybe Angel had kind of adopted the baby already. Nothing would ever come between him and his precious Buffy. Or maybe she was still in a coma and dreaming all this.

"Buffy?" Angel looked at her scrutinizingly. He reached out to take her hand again, but Faith took a step back. "What is going on?"

"Nothing, really," Faith said quickly. "But maybe staying at mom's place would be a good idea after all." Joyce would probably be a lot easier to fool. Once there she could disappear hassle-free.

"Well, if that's what you want," Angel said.

"Just for a little while. It's not you, it's me. I just need some change of scenery, that's all."

"Okay, I understand. But don't forget your books, if you want to go to college straight from your mom's place tomorrow."

"Oh, yeah, sure. I almost forgot. Um… would you mind getting them for me?" Faith asked sweetly.

Angel planted himself in front of her and grabbed her arm firmly. "Who are you?" he asked threateningly.

Faith didn't answer at first. She wasn't sure what exactly had made Angel so suspicious suddenly.

Angel took her silence as a clue that he was on the right track. "Who are you? What is going on here? Where is Buffy?"

"I… I still don't feel too well. Please let go of me. You are hurting me."

Buffy, in Faith's body, was running towards the mansion. She was just as worried about Angel as she was about the baby. When Buffy burst through the door, she saw Angel holding on to her body and looking very angry.

Angel looked up and saw Faith's body standing in the doorway. "Faith?" he asked confused. Then he looked back at the woman he was holding. The bad feeling he'd already had got even worse and part of him hoped that what he suspected wouldn't prove to be true.

Buffy slowly came closer, solely fixated on Faith. "I would so kick your ass if you weren't carrying my baby."

Angel looked back at the newcomer. "Buffy?"

"Yeah, it's me. Faith somehow switched our bodies, or rather souls. She stole my body and I am trapped in hers."

Angel looked Buffy's body over once more. At first he had thought that somebody had just taken on Buffy's appearance, like a clone. But since it was Buffy's real body the baby was in great danger and they had to tread carefully. They couldn't simply threaten Faith with bodily harm. "Undo it. Now!" Angel snarled at Faith.

Faith tried to break free, but she was no match for Angel. Something was seriously wrong with her. At first she had thought the weakness was a side-effect of the body switch, but it got continually worse.

"Don't let go of her, Angel. We can't let her out of our sight. She might hurt the baby." Then Buffy addressed Faith. "Don't you move one inch. If you hurt my baby, I swear-"

"You are really pregnant, B?" Faith asked slightly amused. "But it can't be the big guy's, right?"

"Buffy, we need to get her out of there and you back in there," Angel said.

"I completely agree." Turning towards Faith again, Buffy asked, "How do we undo this?"

"Wouldn't you like to know?" Faith said with a smug smile.

"Don't play games with us, Faith," Angel warned.

"Well, you would be the expert on that, wouldn't you?"

"Faith, why don't we just sit down and talk?" Buffy suggested, trying to appear as friendly as possible.

"Sit down and talk? You gonna offer me a cup of tea next? Besides, being your prisoner doesn't really make me wanna chat, you know."

Buffy and Angel exchanged glances, trying to figure out what the other one was thinking and how to proceed.

"Hey, I am not gonna run. I could take both of you, if I wanted," Faith bluffed.

Buffy and Angel exchanged another look and Buffy shrugged her shoulders. They would have to accommodate some of Faith's wishes. And Angel had noticed that Faith wasn't up to her full strength anyway, so he let go of her arm.

Buffy motioned Faith to the sofa, but Faith stood her ground and folded her arms in front of her chest. "You wanna talk? Then talk. I'm listening."

"Fine." Buffy put her hands on her hips. "I have no clue why you thought taking over my body would be a good idea. I guess it's your way of revenge for my attempt to kill you. Let's forget for a moment that you gave me plenty of reason to do so. Actually, I am willing to forget that permanently, as long as you disappear out of our lives forever. But that is my body and I want it back. And believe me, you don't really want to be me. My life is far from easy. This body has a lot more restrictions than you think, especially right now. Besides, it's a main target for everything evil roaming the streets."

Buffy and Angel looked expectantly at Faith, waiting what she would do or say.

Faith paced back and forth for a while. Then she chuckled. "Wow, I still can't believe it. You are really pregnant. The infallible Slayer is pregnant. Has any Slayer ever sunk so low? But you like to set records, don't you? The first Slayer to sleep willingly with a vampire. The first Slayer to set loose a mass murderer, in the form of her former boyfriend. And now this. Anything else I missed?"

"What do you want, Faith?" Buffy asked, starting to get impatient. The longer Faith was in Buffy's body, the more uneasy Buffy got.

"Hmm… Somebody asking me what I want is actually a good start. What do I want? This could be fun. I can choose anything I want?" Faith asked provocatively.

"Cut the crap," Buffy said. "I want back into my body. I want my baby back. What do you want?"

"Is it really Angel's? Because it can't be, can it?" Faith came closer and whispered to Buffy, "Or did you just tell him it is his? And he was stupid enough to believe the fairytale? How come he is even still alive?"

"What do you want, Faith?" Buffy wasn't sure if telling Faith that the baby was really Angel's would be helpful or not. She was afraid that Faith would somehow find a way to use it against them.

"For starters I want to know how come you are pregnant and the vamp plays along," Faith said, this time dead serious.

"Because it is my baby!" Angel growled.

Buffy gently touched his arm in an attempt to calm him down. They didn't have much bargaining ground. Faith held all the cards in her hands. They'd have to appeal to her conscience. Buffy would beg, if she had to. "Faith, we won't hold it against you. You can leave. Nobody will try to stop you. We'll forget this ever happened. Just don't hurt my baby. Please, Faith."

"How did he get you pregnant? I thought you two couldn't do the horizontal mambo. What changed?"

Buffy had a bad feeling that this was going somewhere she wouldn't like.

"What changed?" Faith asked again. The determined tone of her voice indicated that she wouldn't let them fob her off with anything less than the truth.

"Nothing," Buffy said finally.

"Nothing?"

"Nothing."

"So you two still can't sleep with each other?"

Buffy didn't say anything.

"But he could sleep with me, couldn't he?" Faith asked with a mischievous grin.

"I couldn't. It's still Buffy's body," Angel bluffed. He was certain that he would never be able to enjoy sleeping with Faith in the slightest.

"I never liked going to school, but this could be an interesting biology experiment."

Buffy still kept quiet, but Angel noticed that her heartbeat had gone up a notch.

Faith approached Angel and circled him. "I don't insist that you enjoy it too. I'll be totally satisfied with … my satisfaction. And if you do enjoy it, I always wanted to meet Angelus. But what I really want to know is what is so special about you that would make a Slayer," Faith gave Buffy a contemptuous look, "betray her calling."

"If you still don't know that, you will never understand," Buffy said. "Our relationship was never about sex." Admittedly, it was at least part of the reason why Angel had left, but Faith didn't know that. And after all, they were back together despite not knowing for sure if they could ever be intimate again.

Faith dragged a single finger over Angel's chest. "I'd like to test that theory myself. I am a curious person. Besides, it would be a nice addition to the Slayer handbook, don't you think, B?"

Buffy closed her eyes for a moment. She needed to get rid of the picture in her mind. She needed to solely focus on what was important. And that was her baby. Nothing else mattered. She would do – or endure – anything, if it would ensure her baby's safety.

"And apart from not trusting you," Faith went on, "if I had a boyfriend that made having sex worth risking the end of the world, I wouldn't admit it either. Well, on second thought, I probably would brag about it. But the point is you wouldn't."

"We didn't know about that part of the curse," Buffy said.

"Ignorance truly is bliss, isn't it?"

"You couldn't care less about our relationship," Buffy said. "You are just jealous of what we have, always have been, even if you can't admit it, not even to yourself. But it doesn't have to be that way, Faith."

"Buffy, is right," Angel said. "You can have all that too. You don't have to be alone. You've fought on your own for so long that you've simply forgotten-"

"Shut up! You two don't know anything about me," Faith yelled. "But you got one thing right, B. I don't care. I don't care if you'll ever be able to forgive Angel that he slept with me. I don't care if he'll ever be able to look you in the eyes again - without seeing me there." Suddenly, Faith was hit by a dizzy spell and swayed.

Buffy and Angel noticed and exchanged worried looks.

Faith was getting weaker and weaker. She couldn't ignore it any longer. "What is happening to me? Why am I feeling so weak?"

"I'm not quite sure," Buffy said. "But it's probably because I am pregnant."

"Don't try to fool me," Faith said angrily. "Tell me right now what I want to know or I will have to find a way to make you."

"It's the truth. My powers and the baby react strange to danger. My body probably sees you as a danger. It's protecting the baby. It's making you weak." Looking worriedly at Angel, she added, "It's never been that bad before though."

Faith looked at them scrutinizingly, trying to gauge if they were telling the truth or trying to trick her.

"Tell us how to reverse it and you'll get your body back," Buffy said.

"And then you'll simply let me go?" Faith asked disbelievingly.

"Yes, no tricks," Buffy said.

Faith looked unsure at Angel. Buffy was obviously ruled by her motherly instincts for the time being. But what were Angel's priorities? After all, Faith had tried to kill him.

"Yes, you can go," Angel said. "Nobody will stop you."

Faith was still watching them closely, not sure what to do. They had fooled her once before.

"How did you do it?" Buffy asked. "How can we reverse it?"

Faith sighed. It looked like soon this body would be no use to her anyway. "It was a gift from the Mayor. Even though he was so sure that he would win and beat you, he still took the time to consider what would happen to me in case he should be defeated. He did that just for me." For a short moment, Faith got sad look on her face. But she caught herself quickly and it disappeared again. "He left me a spell to take on a new identity, so that I could disappear. He knew there would be no place for me if he lost. He knew you'd still be after me. And since you tried to take my life, I thought it would be fitting that I take your life. I couldn't have known that your life has become like… this," Faith said disgustedly.

For the first time Faith took the time to look around. There were pregnancy books lying on the table and used cups were standing around. A blanket was carelessly thrown over the back of the couch. The place looked a lot cozier than the last time she had been at the mansion. Everything seemed a lot more colorful, too. It actually looked like somebody was living here, not like the model house it had resembled previously.

"Please, tell us how to undo the spell, Faith," Buffy said again.

"And then?" Faith asked. She didn't want to stay in Buffy's body any longer. She didn't want to be pregnant. She didn't want to be weak. But as soon as she was back in her own body she would be fair game. Buffy's body offered her protection. "Even if you don't hunt me down-"

"We won't, we have other things to worry about," Angel assured her.

"Still, there are other people looking for me. The Council is after me. The hospital must have alerted them when I disappeared."

"Staying in Buffy's body is not a solution," Angel said

"We could protect you from the Council," Buffy said. "Giles and I have defied them before. But I am still the Slayer. If I vouch for you-"

"You? Vouch for me? How stupid do you think I am?"

"It's worth a try," Buffy said, not very convinced herself that it would work.

"As soon as I am back in my own body, you will be the first person on my trail."

"I won't. I don't slay anymore, not at the moment at least. I can't, because of the baby."

"Oh, yeah, right, your precious little baby." Faith touched her stomach. "This is the only reason you are even talking to me."

Buffy got a panicked look on her face when she saw Faith's hand lingering on her stomach.

"Faith, you are still a Slayer," Angel said. "You are one of the good guys. You don't have to lead a life on the run. You can do so much more with your life. You have unique abilities and using them to do good is so much more rewarding. You only got off course because of a stupid accident."

"Shut up! Stop pretending you know me. Stop pretending you care about me. You don't care about me. Nobody cares about me. Nobody wants me. You only want what I have in me."

"I am sure we can find a way out of this that will suit everybody," Buffy said. "The Council can always use another Slayer."

"They are insane and you know it."

"Yes, they are a crazy bunch of power hungry control freaks. But they were thrilled to have two Slayers. They would be mad to turn you down. We just have to sell it to them the right way."

Faith was still hesitant. She had trouble forming a clear thought. "No, I am leaving. And Buffy is coming with me. And when I think it's safe, I will do the switch."

"You won't get far like this, Faith. Just undo the spell and nobody will harm you. I promise." Buffy took a step towards Faith, but Faith backed away from them, slowly making her way to the door.

"No, I am only safe as long as I am in your body."

"Faith, please," Buffy begged. "We can help you."

"Think about it," Angel said. "We will work something out. Being on the run and hiding isn't a solution."

Suddenly, Xander jumped through the door that led to the back yard. Before anyone understood what was happening, he hit Buffy – in Faith's body – hard over the head with a large piece of wood.

He'd seen the stand-off between Angel, Buffy and Faith. They'd seemed to be arguing about something. But Faith and Angel had been standing extremely close together. It had looked like them against Buffy. And when Faith had tried to corner Buffy and Angel had just stood idly by, Xander had seen enough. He'd grabbed a piece of wood that had been lying around and had stormed inside.

Buffy had been too focused on Faith to anticipate Xander's move. And his hit was hard enough to knock her out and she slumped to the ground.

Angel grabbed Xander by the throat and tore the piece of wood from his hand. "You damn idiot!" he growled.

Faith used the commotion to disappear into the night.

Angel wanted to go after her, but when he saw Buffy lying there unconsciously and Xander looking down at her triumphantly, he rushed to her side. He couldn't risk leaving her like this with Xander. "Buffy, wake up. Come on, love, you gotta wake up."

"Buffy? Who hit you over the head?" Xander asked Angel.

Angel ignored Xander, totally focused on Buffy. "Come on, Buffy. Please, wake up."

Buffy groaned and stirred.

"You okay?"

"Faith," Buffy mumbled.

"Yeah, we gotta go after Faith. Come on, open your eyes."

Buffy opened her eyes. "Oh, my head hurts," Buffy groaned. She tried to get up but that made the pain only worse. She leaned against Angel for support, who gently cradled her head.

Xander looked at them with contempt and said, "First she tries to kill you and now you two are all over each other? You two disgust me!" Xander started to leave. He wanted to go after Faith, which he still believed to be Buffy.

"Where do you think you are going?" Angel demanded.

"I am going after Buffy. I can't believe you did this to her. You know, I really didn't think you would sink this low. I mean, it's no secret that I can't stand you. But after your show at Joyce's house… I really thought... I can't believe I almost fell for your act too. To think I came here to offer you a truce, for Buffy's sake. But man… you have no idea how glad I am that you finally showed your true face to her and I don't mean that ugly vamp face, I mean that hypocritical, backstabbing face."

"Xander, I am Buffy, not Faith!" Buffy said.

"Was my hit that hard? Wow!"

"They switched bodies," Angel said, helping Buffy up.

"Who switched what?" Xander asked confused.

"Faith switched bodies with Buffy. And you hit Buffy, not Faith."

"Right, nice try. No, actually, pretty stupid. I know what I saw and this is the most stupid excuse I have ever heard."

"You hit Buffy and let Faith escape with our baby. If something happens to the baby-"

"We don't have time for this!" Buffy said. "We gotta find Faith." Buffy headed for the door.

"What is going on here?" Xander demanded to know.

Buffy went over to Xander, who took a step back, not too keen on standing too close to Faith.

"Xander, listen to me. Faith woke up from her coma and the Mayor left her a spell to take over whoever's body she wanted so that she could start a new life and disappear. She chose my body, because she always wanted what I had. Don't really know why, but whatever. And now I am stuck in Faith's body. But I am Buffy."

"Okay, I've changed my mind. It's obviously a very well thought through excuse after all."

"Please, Xander, you have to believe me. We don't have time for this. Ask me something that Faith wouldn't know."

"Angel could have told you."

"Right, and why would I waste my time with telling Faith all about your life?" Angel asked. "Besides, when exactly should I have done that?"

"Um… well…"

"Ask me something Angel wouldn't know either," Buffy said.

Xander had to think for a moment. "Okay… um… when I was on the swim team, who was responsible for the others turning into monsters?"

"The coach."

"Who helped him?"

"The nurse."

"And who did Willow think was responsible for everything at first?"

"Jonathan. Do you believe me now?"

"Well… um… I guess… but how did Faith…?" Xander asked, still somewhat confused about the whole thing.

"That's what we need to find out. We have to reverse the spell. You go find Giles and Willow. Maybe they have an idea how to undo this. Angel and I are going after Faith."

"Okay…" Xander said, still baffled that Buffy was looking and sounding like Faith.

Buffy walked over to Angel, who was already waiting for her at the door. Cautiously, she checked the throbbing bump on her head and upon touching it she winced.

Angel lightly touched her shoulder. "Let me get you an aspirin before we go."

"No, we've lost too much time already."

"She is weaker than usual. She can't have gone that far."

"We gotta find her before something happens to the baby," Buffy implored. "Besides, I want Faith to feel the full force of this headache once she is back in her own body."

Faith walked aimlessly through Sunnydale, not sure where exactly she should head next. Leaving town was probably the best idea. Well, it wasn't really an idea, rather the only option she had left.

"Hey, haven't seen you for a while," somebody suddenly called from the other side of the street.

"Oh, hey." Faith had no idea who this guy was, but he obviously knew Buffy.

Riley jogged over to her side of the street. "What have you been up to?"

"This and that. And you?"

"Well, I had really hoped you'd call me."

Wow, the guy really had the hots for Buffy. And he wasted no time in making his intentions clear. "I would have, but I lost your number."

"Well, it's not like you don't know where to find me."

Maybe Buffy and this guy were already involved. But Buffy was with Angel, or wasn't she? Maybe she'd had a one-night stand with this guy. Maybe the baby was his. But he didn't seem to know anything about the baby. Would Buffy sleep with someone just to get pregnant and then go back to Angel to play happy family? "Um… well… I've been really busy," Faith said.

"Hey, it's okay. You don't have to explain yourself. I'm a big guy. I just thought that… well…"

"Really, I've just had a lot on my mind lately."

"You don't have to lie to make me feel better."

"I am not. But maybe I can make up for my horrible behavior?" Faith suggested with a brilliant smile.

"Well, you could let me take you out for a coffee or something."

"Sounds good," Faith said and looked at him expectantly.

"Now?" Riley was a bit surprised by her sudden interest.

"Yeah, why not?" Faith smiled at him seductively. "You have anything better to do?"

"Um… no, not really." Actually, Riley was supposed to meet with Graham and Forrest. But he was sure he could bail out. He was always the dutiful soldier. He deserved some time-off once in a while. He'd ask them to cover for him. He'd done it for them often enough. He was sure they wouldn't mind.

"How about we have that coffee at your place?" Faith suggested. She needed a place to stay for the night. And if she lay low until the sun was up, at least she wouldn't run into Angel.

Riley agreed happily. "Sure. Let's go."

After walking for a while, Faith was starting to get out of breath. Riley wasn't walking especially fast, but she simply couldn't keep up. In order to disguise her indisposition, she casually linked arms with Riley. He didn't seem to mind one bit. But when she was suddenly hit by another dizzy spell, Riley noticed.

"Hey, you okay?"

"Yeah, I'm okay. It's just been a long day."

"Maybe I should better take you home."

"No, it's nothing. And I was really looking forward to that coffee."

By now Faith was sure she only had a limited period of time left in this body and she had to make good use of it. And with her strength waning more and more her options were limited as well. She wouldn't get far like this. Buffy and Angel would eventually find her. She had to face that this probably wouldn't have a happy ending for her. But she could still go out with a bang. Faith would show them that she was never to be underestimated, not even in this condition. She was a fighter. She always fought to the bitter end. Surrender was not an option.

It would be hard to top the last time – almost killing Angel and nearly dying herself. But one thing she had learned from Buffy and Angel was that violence was overrated. She could be subtle too. And she didn't want to hurt the baby after all. She told herself that she was only concerned about the baby because if something happened to it her days were definitely numbered this time. But even though there were no visible signs of the pregnancy yet, she felt how sensitive her breasts were and that she was unusually moody. Her feelings were all over the place. And the thought of coffee was actually revolting. Or was that all just her imagination? She really needed to get out of this body.

She hadn't been able to fool Angel, but Riley seemed to be a willing participant. Should she tell Riley about the baby? If he was the father, that might do the trick. He seemed to genuinely care about Buffy. Maybe he would want the baby, if he knew about it. That would certainly spoil Buffy's plans for her little patchwork family. But it was a long shot. The father could be anyone. Maybe it had been an accident. It was bound to happen as long as Angel's curse was still active. And if it had been deliberate, Buffy probably would have chosen somebody she didn't know, maybe even somebody from out of town.

But even if Riley was the real father, telling him about the baby wouldn't solve her problem. If Faith switched back into her own body now, she would most likely be in very close proximity of Angel and be at his mercy. She would lose all bargaining power. Maybe if she managed to tie herself up before changing bodies, she could blackmail Angel into letting her go by telling him Buffy's location. And maybe Riley could help her with that plan.

TBC

Note:

I know, I am mean, pulling another cliffhanger. But the next part isn't quite finished yet and I didn't want to let you guys wait any longer. So I am probably going to postpone my next update of MSoV one more time in favor of another update to this story. I realized it's been almost 3 months already since the last update to MSoV, a week or two more shouldn't make a difference by now.