Summary: This is a sequel to my story A Creature I Don't Know which can be found here: s/8467907/1/A-Creature-I-Dont-Know
A/N: I strongly recommend a good understanding of season 5 to follow this: No Place Like Home especially for this update.
Disclaimer: Joss Whedon, Mutant Enemy, 20th Century Fox, UPN and WB Television Networks own the television shows, "Buffy the Vampire Slayer" and "Angel". Dark Horse and IDW own the Comics. No copyright infringement is intended, no money is being earned by myself. The title of each chapter, and the story as a whole, come from K's Choice songs/Album titles. (Given that I had soundtrack for the first I thought I should have one for the second).
Thank you all for your kind words and support for my last story. I hope you enjoy my continuation of it. I would love to hear your thoughts on my thoughts. Many thanks.
2. Something's Wrong
He was listening to her, really he was, but there was just so much going on. He had a girl loudly, and obnoxiously, cursing his name from upstairs as she tried on her school uniform. He had a young girl pulling books off the shelf at random, flicking through ancient texts and then discarding them when she found they didn't hold her attention either. Finally he had Buffy.
She was sat in front of him, trying to tell him something important while trying to get her younger sister to stop touching things and placate her girlfriend.
It was at times like these, though he'd often felt at though he'd had an entire tribe of children, he was grateful he'd never had a family of his own.
He poured himself another cup of tea, trying to regain a sense of peace and calm, but found that Dawn was simply complaining that he didn't have any soda. Any minute now Buffy was going to tell him why she was here, Faith would stop complaining, the three of them would all leave him alone and he could contemplate a life alone. Possibly even watch Passions.
Faith came down the stairs, looked around the three of them bickering and decided that perhaps returning to school wouldn't be the worst thing in the world. She thought about turning round, returning to her room and changing back into her own clothes before any of them noticed her. But she knew, when she came back downstairs they would all still be acting like children. Except for Dawn, she was 14, she was allowed to act like a child.
She placed both her index fingers in her mouth and blew, one hard and sharp whistle and she had all of their attentions.
"B, can you please tell him that you want him to be your Watcher again. Giles, say yes. Dawn, stop touching his books. You know he hates it when you touch his books, especially after you followed Xander's example and read Latin in front of them."
"You know Mom nearly sent Buffy to Miss Potters, you know after she was expelled from Sunnydale High."
"Dawn," Buffy was suddenly on her feet and pulling her sister towards the door, "less talking, more leaving."
Buffy watched as Faith sat and studied with Dawn as the rest of them busied themselves around them, preparing the Magic Box for its opening. Faith would make jokes about trading her Latin for Dawn's history, occasionally one would correct the other's spelling, but for the most part they were quiet as the other's busied themselves around them.
It took Buffy a while to adjust to seeing her in school uniform, so used to the leather and the dark colours that Faith preferred. She simply watched as both girls continued with their work, almost oblivious to everyone around them.
Giles, determined to keep her in school, kept Faith to a strict routine. She would complain, she would curse, but Buffy knew that she loved it. Loved having someone who cared for her, for her future. The fact that Giles was still as dedicated to her after her recovery, after her eighteenth birthday, was proof enough to the girl that he was in it for the long haul. Buffy was sure that it was such commitment to her on the Englishman's side, that had Faith repay him with devotion of her own.
Buffy couldn't help feel jealous though. While she and Giles were training again, working on the theory as well as the practicalities of slaying. He was acting as a father to Faith.
Faith was no longer patrolling, that was Buffy's job alone now. Giles requested that Faith be home by 11pm each school night which limited her patrols. The first week of school Buffy and Faith had worked together, laughing, playing, kissing, fuc… But as the nights turned to the days Giles laid down the law. Faith was to focus on her school work during the week. Buffy was to patrol alone.
But Faith was the active slayer, surely if anyone should have the opportunity to relax and take it easy, if anyone should have the opportunity for a life, it should be Buffy. She was a sophomore now, she had a life, a family, she was more than a slayer too. And yet it was Faith who he allowed to be a girl.
They trained harder, longer, than ever before. If she had not gone to him to request he be her Watcher again she would have wondered if he was trying to keep the two girls apart. Not that she would ever ask him that though. Not that she ever could.
Last time he'd betrayed her trust she'd been left to fight a monster in the dark, powerless and alone. She couldn't, she wouldn't find out if he was forsaken her again. The thought, the prospect, was too much to deal with.
She couldn't speak to Faith about her fears, her insecurities. Faith finally had a father, if she had to choose between Buffy and Giles, Buffy would lose every time. Not she would ever ask her though, not that she ever could.
And so it continued, Giles would treat the slayer in Buffy while attending to the girl in Faith. That was how it was, until the day her mother dropped a couple of plates.
It was nothing, she said.
A couple of headaches, the doctors replied.
But a couple morphed into a few, and the few became constant. The 'nothing' was becoming something. No one could work out what it was but it was getting worse. Second opinion, she said. Wait for a first opinion first. Yet the first was not forth coming.
All she knew was they're coming at her. She wasn't above it. They come through the family. They get to her family.
She dropped off her mom's painkillers and headed straight back out to the Magic Box where her friends were working on the orb the man had given her the other night.
"Giles, I have an idea what's making my mom sick."
"You've spoken to her doctors?"
"They won't find anything. What's hurting her; its supernatural." She picked up the sphere. "The night-watchman who found this went crazy. Like overnight. Something made him that way."
"Damn B," Faith sighed as she, Giles, Anya and Willow all stepped away from the glowing ball, "why can't you ever bring home a nice Kinder Surprise Toy?"
"Let's not taunt the Happy Fun Ball." Willow warned her.
"It won't hurt us. I had it on me all night. But this guy, Giles," she turned back to her Watcher, "he saw things. Said things."
"Such as...?"
"They'll come at me through my family."
"Who will?"
"I don't know. Yet." Faith saw a darkness behind her she'd seen only once before. "But whatever touched this guy made him see through what the rest of us are seeing. He knew someone's hurting my mom, and they're trying to get to me."
"Yeah but," Faith stepped round the counter to meet her, "you're taking the word from one who flew over the cuckoo's nest here."
"Its not much to go on." Giles agreed.
"Its a start. We have to find out who's making my mom sick, and how."
"Then what?" Willow asked her as Buffy pulled a book off the shelf at random.
"I hunt them. Find them. And kill them."
Faith suddenly remembered when she'd seen the darkness descend upon her before, it was the night she'd come to kill her.
Faith accompanied Buffy back to her house, she didn't like the idea of her resorting to magic. She didn't trust it. She like the way it messed with people and fooled them into seeing things that weren't there. Crazy people saw things that weren't there.
She watched as Buffy prepared herself for the Frenchman's spell, interrupting her thoughts by telling Faith to go home, that she could manage on her own or to simply put down Mr Gordo. Faith stayed put though. Watching over her.
All she could do was watch as Buffy lit incense, yelled at Dawn and poured sand. All she could do was watch as Buffy slowly stood up and look about her room. Her pupils were fixed and dilated, she looked back at Faith as though she had never seen her before. She frowned, laid a small kiss upon her girlfriend's hand and proceeded out of the room.
Faith followed.
She followed as she talked with her mother, she followed her back upstairs. She followed her into Dawn's room and could only watch as Buffy recoiled from her sister. It was only when she took Dawn roughly by the shoulders did Faith step in.
"B. B! Buffy!" She simply stared back at her, her pupils fixed and dilated. "Its only Sunny D. Its only Dawn."
She didn't trust magic. She didn't like how it would make people see things that weren't there.
Like that she was gone. Faith could only watch the devastation the spell had caused, the look of hurt covering the young girl's face.
"I'm telling Mom she did magic."
"You do that Sunny D."
Dawn suddenly looked up at her, the same darkness behind her eyes as her sister had.
"I always hated it when you call me that."
"And B's always hated B!" Faith smiled at her leaving the girl to her room.
"Watch her." Buffy told her, as she replaced the phone and made to grab her jacket.
"Yeah sure, I'll look after her." She descended the stairs further to meet the girl. "B, you really freaked her out up there."
"Just watch her." Buffy repeated as she left the house.
The first thing she remembered was how Dawn reacted to moving to Sunnydale. She didn't understand why she had to be punished because Buffy had done a bad thing. She didn't understand why they had to move, why she had to give her friends, why their father wasn't going with them.
The second thing she remembered was her birthday, she thought she was 10 that year, she might only have been 9, but the memory was the same. Not only was she going to the ice-skating with her father but Dawn, now that she was old enough, wasn't going too. It was just her and her dad. Dawn had to stay home with Mom.
She was human. She was helpless.
None of it was real.
She returned home from the factory tired, beaten and a wreck. Her sister, who she loved, who she hated, who she cared for, who she'd grown up with.
None of it was real.
Her mom and Faith were watching Passions when she got home. Dawn was complaining about it. Faith explained to her how she'd got into the programme. Dawn thought that sounded cool. She didn't remember the mayor, why would she she'd only been twelve at the time. Local politics wasn't important.
None of it was real.
Her mom looked up and smiled at her. "You're home."
"I wasn't disturbing her." Dawn said as she stood. She pushed past her sister in her haste to leave her.
"What's all that about?" Joyce asked her.
"Sister stuff." Buffy said simply. She turned to follow Dawn upstairs before she thought better of it. "You'll wait?" She asked Faith. "I'll walk you home." and then proceeded after her sister once more.
Joyce simply looked at Faith in the armchair.
"Don't look at me." The girl shrugged. "I'm an only child."
Once they were a couple of blocks away from the house, Buffy found Faith's hand taking her own. She smiled down at the contact, she felt like she'd been pulling away especially since she'd told Giles about them. She'd missed her. With Faith back in school, herself back on campus and Giles working them both so hard she felt like she'd barely seen her.
It took Buffy a couple blocks more before she could ask Faith about her time in foster care and growing up with a family that wasn't hers. It was only when they got home, when she listened as Buffy explained what had happened after she'd left her home just a couple of hours before, did Faith understand why.
"I don't know what to say." Giles managed after a while.
"Tell me about it." Buffy sighed.
"Kind of puts our lives into perspective." Faith said.
"It is rather difficult to wrap one's mind around..." Giles nodded. "And she has no idea?"
"None. She thinks she's my kid sister."
"Are you going to tell her?"
"You can't." Faith answered the Englishman's question. "You raised her, grew up with her, she is your kid sister."
"But that's just it;" Buffy ran her fingers through her hair. "... all those memories are fake."
"Not to her." Faith said simply.
Thank you all so much for all your follows, I really appreciate it, especially after only one update. Many thanks, Circus.