A/N: Sorry, this should have been posted yesterday but the whole site is having an issue with the Document Manager (still is actually, you would think they would at least address that on the main page...) But someone on Yahoo Answers figured out a way around it. If you just edit a previous document and copy and paste the new chapter in it, it should work. So I hope that helps anyone else who's trying to post new stories/chapters right now too.

CHAPTER SEVENTEEN

"Stop looking at my boobs."

Faith looks up from Buffy's chest to meet her eyes, but all she's greeted with is the sight of Buffy's eyes being closed. They're sitting cross-legged across from each other, attempting to meditate or whatever. Faith's got too much ADD for all that. "How the hell did you do that?" Faith asks, dumbfounded.

Buffy's lips linger in a small smile. "Wouldn't you like to know?"

"Cut the crap. Seriously, what did you do? Are you like, reading my thoughts now? Cause that'd be a whole mess of fucked up."

Buffy opens her eyes, but only to roll them. She stares at the other girl across from her. "No, it was still you're feelings. I've noticed whenever you look at my boobs you get somewhere between horny and homesick. Which, by the way, I still find a bit creepy. Don't mommy fetish me, please."

"Okay number one, fuck you. Number two, fuck off. I was just joking before, I ain't got some twisted mommy thing goin' on," Faith retorts. Buffy just raises an eyebrow at her skeptically. "Seriously, Twinkie. I might never have had the best mom growing up but it's not like I'm looking for one in you."

"Whatever. We need to focus, Faith, so can you please close your eyes and concentrate? You're starting to make me feel annoyed and defensive. You project more than I do."

Faith scoffs, but closes her eyes. She tries to concentrate on controlling her own emotions, but it was difficult. She's never been one to hide what she feels. Well, alright, that's a load of bullcrap. She hid her feelings for Buffy for five damn years. She tried to think about that, tried to think of it as protecting herself from getting hurt. If she could find a way to block out these feelings, then neither of them could end up hurting each other. Besides, if she was to be honest with herself, this feeling each other thing scared her a little. What if she starts feeling that Buffy's getting second thoughts? Not that she's had second thoughts yet, or at least none that she could feel. But she would never want to feel something like that lingering. There are just some things you don't want to know until you're told. She tried to concentrate, tried to focus… and then her ADD kicks in and she finds her mind wandering back to what they did about an hour ago on the bed.

Buffy sighs dramatically, "Damnit, Faith. I think it was working for a second! Now you've got me all…" she shifts a bit, uncomfortable. Faith looks at her.

She was about to retort with some smart ass remark, but then it dawns on her. It did work for a second because she didn't feel Buffy either. If only for a minute. "Wait, it worked?"

"I think so, at least until you got all sixteen year old boy on me. Can't you just focus? I swear you have the attention span of a gnat."

But something's weird, because she can tell Buffy's annoyed but she realizes that she can't feel it. "B… you're annoyed right?"

"Obviously! I mean, this is important, and your mind is always wandering off to—"

"I can't feel you," Faith says, interrupting her. Buffy blinks, stopping her train of thought.

"Are you sure?"

That aggravates Faith. She doesn't like the way she said it, like she can't figure shit out my herself and needs to get her homework double checked before handing it in. "Well now I don't know cause now you've got me annoyed for asking stupid questions," Faith snaps.

"I am not asking stupid questions!" Buffy yells, her aggravation mixing with Faith's. But Faith doesn't want this to keep fueling until they get into some huge fight so when Buffy's about to yell at her again, she leans in, covering her mouth with hers. Buffy blinks, surprised, but she kisses her back softly. Faith can feel the tension begin to melt away, and when she pulls away, Buffy breathes a little. "Okay, better."

Faith smiles, sitting back down across from her. They sit in silence for a little while, just looking at each other. "Can you feel me now?" Buffy asks carefully.

"No," Faith says automatically. Then she retracts as she thinks, "Wait, yes. A little. Barely though, like I have to concentrate on it. Why are you jealous?"

"Because you care barely feel mine now and yours are still going full throttle at me."

"Yeah, but is it cause you've blocked your emotions from me or that I blocked you out?" Faith asks. That makes Buffy confused. She blinks.

"I have no idea."

"Well what were you concentrating on?"

Buffy looks away, her eyes finding something apparently more interesting on the carpet to stare at. "You know, just, making it stop."

"You're a liar."

Buffy snaps her head to look back at her, "I thought you couldn't feel me regularly now. Stop digging!"

"I'm not," Faith tells her, annoyance coloring her voice again. "It doesn't take a genius to figure out when you lie though."

"Says the Queen Liar!"

Damnit. Faith leans in and captures Buffy's lips with hers again; just trying to stop the annoyance train that keeps escalating once she starts it. Buffy relaxes and so does she. When she pulls back, Buffy takes a breath. "Sorry."

"It's alright," Faith tells her. She leans back. "So what were you thinking about?"

Buffy looks down and starts picking at the carpet. "Pizza," she mumbles, and Faith laughs. Buffy snaps her head up, "Hey! I'm hungry, okay?"

Faith stops laughing though when she realizes what that means. "Wait, so I was the one who blocked you?"

Buffy shrugs, "I guess so. What were you thinking about?"

"Protecting myself."

"What?" Buffy asks, confusement written on her features. "From what? Me? I'm not going to hurt you, Faith…"

"Nah, B, it's not—" Faith starts, then sighs. She shakes her head and leans back on her elbows. "I dunno. I guess I just don't like this. I mean, I don't want to know what you're feeling. I don't want to know everything all the time. It's like opening your presents before Christmas. Or, on the flip side, knowing what day you're gonna die."

"Because that's not morbid and dramatic at all," Buffy states, but it's sad. "Damnit," she says, "Now you've got me upset. Why are you so bipolar?"

"I'm not! I'm just… shit, Buffy, I don't know. I'm just kind of scared of it, I guess…"

"I'm not getting scared from you, I'm getting upset," Buffy tells her quietly. She picks at the carpet more before she sighs and lays down on it. Faith looks at her for a minute before lying down next to her.

"Hey," Faith says softly, and Buffy's eyes look up to meet hers. Faith leans in and kisses her forehead softly. "Maybe it's just… more immediate emotions that you get. Not what's underneath them. I don't know." She sighs and brushes a piece of blonde hair out of Buffy's eyes. "You wanna take a break?" Buffy nods softly, a little smile on her face.

Buffy takes her hand in hers and holds it close to her chest. "You know what I'm getting from you now?" she whispers.

"What?"

"Love," Buffy tells her softly. She brings Faith's hand up to kiss it softly, each finger. Faith can't help the smile that's threatening to take over. "But wouldn't that be underneath too?" Buffy asks her quietly. "Always there, under the surface? So I don't see how I can be getting that right now…"

Faith shrugs. "I don't know, it was just a theory. Ain't never been the best at this shit," she tells her. She leans in and kisses her softly. "But I do love you, Buffy…" she whispers against her lips. She can feel Buffy smile against them.

"I'm glad I'm with you, Faith," she tells her softly. Faith grins and rolls Buffy over so she can get on top of her, kissing her softly. Buffy runs her fingers through her hair, pulling her closer. It was chaste; innocent, and yet there was so much passion behind it. But it wasn't a kiss to lead further, it was just a kiss to kiss, and somehow it made it more comfortable, without the threatening impending doom that hovers over their head if they get too bouncy with each other, or whatever.

There's a knock on the door.

"Go away!" the both yell, then look at each other and giggle.

The door opens and Kennedy walks in. Faith scowls and buries her head in Buffy's chest as Kennedy just raises an eyebrow at the two slayers on the floor. "There's a bed for that, you know."

Buffy sighs and sits up, taking Faith with her. "Don't tell me the worlds going to end," Buffy says dryly.

"About to. There's a big fight downstairs," Kennedy tells them with a click of her tongue. Annoyance. "Giles decided to let us all in on the little fact that just because you guys have an issue, we all get to be punished."

"Great," Buffy groans, standing up to go play mommy to all the girls.

Christ. Maybe she did have a mommy fetish. Alright, she's gotta stop that one in her tracks. That really is kind of fucked up.

Kennedy looks at Faith curiously when she notices the look on her face. "What's wrong with you?"

"Trust me, you don't want to know," Buffy tells her as she walks out the door. She does give one last lingering look at Faith though, and did she just detect a hint of a smirk? It's gone before she can really process it though, and she finds herself following Kennedy and Buffy out the door, down into the gym where there currently was a screaming match going on.

"Girls, girls, please!" Giles tries, but it's not working. All of the slayers keep screaming at him, among themselves, some of them screaming just to scream.

"HEY!" Buffy screams, but only a couple people seem to pay attention to the entrance of the two head slayers.

"SHUT THE FUCK UP!" Faith yells, hitting the wall for effect. Both sounds echo through the room, and everyone falls silent. Buffy looks at her, a bit frustrated with her methods, but she couldn't deny that it worked, so she let it go. She walks over to stand next to Giles, Faith following behind her.

"Look, I know you guys aren't happy with the situation, and frankly, neither are we," Buffy starts. "And I know you're frustrated, but Giles is right. Without us, it just isn't safe for you guys to go out. You haven't had enough training. If you guys came across that nest that we tackled the other night, do you really think you could have defeated them without us? We all had a tough fight to begin with."

"We're slayers too!" a new (and rather mouthy) girl, Mercedes, pipes up. "We can handle ourselves! It's not our fault that you guys decided to screw each other and throw the whole world out of balance! How is this fair?"

Whoa. What?

"You better watch your fucking mouth before someone puts you down," Faith snaps, advancing on the girl. Buffy puts a hand on her shoulder, stopping her, but it's brief. She can feel her anger at the girl, and it takes over.

Suddenly she's the one in front of Faith. Mercedes backs up as she yells, "What Faith and I do is none of your business!"

"Whoa, B, hold up," Faith says, realizing what's going on and pulling her back towards her quickly. She wraps her arms around her stomach, holding her against her, trying to calm herself to calm Buffy down. "It's cool; she's just a mouthy bitch."

"Who are you calling a bitch?!"

That makes Faith take her arms off of Buffy, and suddenly both of them are advancing on her.

"Buffy! Faith!" Giles exclaims, furious. "Get a hold of yourselves!"

Faith growls, but pulls Buffy back to her again, trying to control herself. This was much easier when Buffy was the one who was controlling her anger issues, not following suit. She pulls her back against her chest, holding her close and whispering in her ear, "Alright, we're cool, B. We're cool. Breathe baby…"

Buffy starts to relax a little in her arms, not caring about who's witnessing their little intimate moment. All that mattered was that they deal with this right now. Faith strokes Buffy's back softly, and when she can tell she's okay, she looks over at Giles helplessly. Because that's what they were now. Buffy was a slave to Faith's emotions, and Faith had emotional issues. Not a recipe for anything good.

"Angel," Giles says suddenly, and it makes both Buffy and Faith look up in surprise. They had been too busy with everything that they didn't notice the brooding vampire in the doorway. Shit, how long has he been there? "Perhaps you have an alternative solution?" The desperation in Giles' voice is clear.

Angel is staring at the two slayers though, who both seem to be frozen in place. Faith eventually gets a hold of herself though and slips her arms away from Buffy, who coughs awkwardly as she steps back. Damnit. That's not how either of them wanted him finding out. "Uh," Angel starts, before tearing his eyes away from the two of them and looking at Giles. "I can take the girls out on patrol for a couple nights. It's been quiet around here anyway."

"But he's a vampire," another girl, Lacy, says with disgust.

"He's got a soul!" Both Buffy and Faith yell. They both look at each other, then over to Angel, who's not looking at them.

"Lacy, I will advise you to remember that this vampire has taken you in," Giles childes her. "He deserves your respect and your thanks ." Lacy mumbles something that no one caught, but sounded like an apology.

"Alright, then it's settled," Giles says. "And while you are out with Angel you all are to listen to him. If he says run, you run. If he says hide, you hide. I will not have any casualties because someone here is too stubborn to listen to a vampire." He looks at Buffy and Faith, "And I must talk to the two of you. Now," he stresses.

They both look over at Angel, only to find that he's not standing there anymore. They follow Giles out of the room, feeling an awful lot like two naughty teenagers about to get scolded. When they've found a private room, Giles closes the door and rounds on them, "What have you two been doing?"

"Nothing," they both say at the same time.

"Don't lie to me; your emotions were completely out of hand! It's gotten worse. What did you do?"

Both of them look down, guilty.

"It has been three hours! Three hours since I last saw you! What were you thinking?" Giles exclaims, furious that the two of them ran out to defy him without a moment's hesitation.

"We didn't have sex," Faith tries to defend, but is silenced by one look from Giles. She suddenly feels sixteen again.

"Well whatever you both did was not smart," Giles scolds them.

"We also tried to meditate!" Buffy chimes in, just trying to get Giles to stop looking at them like that. "And Faith doesn't feel me anymore!" It really was sad how much they both looked and sounded like kids who were getting scolded by their parent.

That makes Giles stop his lecture for a second. "Is that true?" he asks Faith. She nods slowly. But then he's back on to his lecture. "Well, even with that accomplishment, you see what you've done, I take it? Buffy is nearly dominated by your emotions, Faith. You two need to learn to control yourselves. As hard as it may be to believe, I do understand what it's like being wrapped up in a new relationship, but there are more important things to think about it."

They both just nod silently, giving up on defending themselves. They both knew they screwed up.

Giles takes a breath, looking them over. "Now, how did you block Buffy out, Faith?"

"I don't know, I just didn't want to feel her emotions anymore, I guess," Faith says, shrugging. "But I can feel her… if I want to. I just have to focus on it."

"Interesting," Giles says. "But I need you to dig deeper than just not wanting to feel her. Think."

Faith sighs, leaning against the wall as she crosses her arms over her chest. She shrugs a bit, "I dunno, guess I fear it a little bit. I don't want to know."

"Fear," Giles repeats to himself. "Fear… that may be it. Fear is a dominating emotion… it's an instinctual emotion…" he seems to be talking to himself more than them.

"But Faith said it might be because it's always there, under the surface, which is why I can't feel it," Buffy suggests, just trying to throw something in for consideration. Giles just nods, pacing a bit as he thinks. Both girls look at each other and then back at him.

"No," Giles says finally. "Faith is right, but I think I may be as well." He turns to them. "Buffy, what you feel from Faith is her current, up front emotion. We all have many things that we feel all the time, about many different situations, but only one thing that we feel that can control the way we act. That one is the one that is pushed to the front of line, so to speak. But Faith's underlying fear of it may be the key." He looks at Buffy curiously. "But you… you don't feel the same way she does, I take it?"

"I feel every way she does," Buffy says flatly.

"No, I mean about the situation. You must like it for it to dominate you this way," Giles says pointedly. That makes Faith turn to her in surprise, and Buffy look at the floor.

"Not… like, exactly…"

"B, how the hell can you like this?!"

"Hey!" Buffy says, getting exasperated right along with Faith. "It's not like I'm so bold about what I feel, you know! Maybe it's just easier if I feel yours!"

Faith just stares at her incredulously.

"Buffy, I think you need to realize that this is not a good thing," Giles says, pointing out the obvious. It just infuriates Buffy.

"Well I can't just turn how I feel on and off, okay?! It doesn't work like that! And I don't appreciate you guys ganging up on me!" she yells, and then turns and stomps right out the door. Faith doesn't go after her, she's still reeling from the fact that Buffy seems to like this craziness on some level. She stares at Giles.

"Faith, I think you may have to show her that this isn't something that she should hold onto," Giles tells her softly.

"How?"

"I don't know, but this can't go on. I don't like that we're interrupting Angel's life because of this."

Faith sighs, but she nods. She doesn't want Angel to take over training the newbies. That's not his responsibility, it's theirs. She has no idea how she's supposed to convince Buffy that this could be bad for her, but she's going to have to figure it out.

Fast.

TBC…