"Sure, B. The next time I got a itch in the Slayer senses, I'll just give you a call," Faith said. Raising a hand and pretending to hold a phone to her ear, she continued. "Hey, B…I just did a trip through Restfield. Got me some vamps on the radar." She paused and met Buffy's eyes. "Nah. Can't tell where…No. Couldn't get a count, neither. Think it's something big, though. It's like a gong going off in my head."
For a second, Buffy wondered if the fork in her hand was going to survive. One end bent under her grip as she glared at Faith. "It would have been better than…"
"W-Willow," Tara interrupted suddenly. "Do you th-think we could take a look at the tun-tunnels? Was there a m-main entrance?"
Reluctantly, Buffy looked away from Faith and concentrated on the planning session. To keep herself from saying anything further, she stuffed a huge bite of spaghetti into her mouth and chewed.
"Um…yeah. I think there are a few places we could get in." Willow typed quickly and then spun her laptop around so they all had a view of the screen. "One at the edge of campus by the Field House, one near the psychology building, and one close to the dorms." Before Buffy got a good look at the map, Willow flipped the laptop again. "Give me a minute. I'm going to access all of the old maintenance reports. If the records are good enough, I might be able to see if there's a chance one of the entrances isn't as blocked as we think."
"Is that the best plan?" Joyce shifted on the couch. "I know it's the Scooby way to charge in with stakes raised, but this seems a little thin on planning."
Buffy stifled a sigh. Couldn't her mother come up with something new? It was the same question every time a new evil dropped in for a visit. "Mom," she started softly, "we can't plan if we don't have more information. We can't get more information unless we check out the tunnels." Then, because she really didn't want to brush off the concern, Buffy tacked on, "I promise we'll be careful. I'll put Faith on a leash and I won't let her run off on her own."
The second Buffy stopped talking, a piece of garlic bread smacked into the side of her head. "That wasn't nice!" Willow pointed a slender finger at Buffy and narrowed her eyes.
Despite the scolding, Buffy saw Willow's lips twitch. "Give it up, Will. You know I'm right." Then, going in for the kill, she added, "And I bet you're thinking that maybe I shouldn't be the one holding onto the leash, huh?"
Bulls' eye. Willow's face went crimson and her mouth opened and closed silently.
Raising her hands in victory, Buffy did a seated version of a victory dance until Giles cleared his throat. "As amusing as you may find the situation, Buffy, I'm afraid we do need to come up with a strategy. While I agree that you and Faith should explore the tunnels, I do not want to place either of you in unnecessary risk."
"Ain't gonna be any risk, Tweed," Faith growled. "Not to me, anyway." She glared at Buffy. "The Princess'll be too tied up to tag along and get in the way. There's more than one use for a leash."
Buffy flashed Faith a big smile. "What's the matter? Can't you take a little teasing?"
She might have pushed too hard. Only Willow's hand on Faith's arm seemed to be keeping the other Slayer from springing at Buffy. "Might want to be careful, B. I mean…I'm thinking you don't remember this afternoon. I ain't the best artist in the world; that don't mean I can't see how good you'd look on paper. Cave Buffy in all her glory – and me havin' to hold her under the water to scrub her up."
The words hung in the air, and Buffy's smile disappeared. "You wouldn't." Even as she protested, Buffy knew that Faith would.
"Got me a sketch book in the bedroom, B," Faith said, confirming Buffy's fears.
Fine. If Faith wanted to be that way, it was time to get back to work. "What do you want us to do, Giles?" Turning away from Faith's triumphant smirk, Buffy steered the conversation back to the task at hand. "It seems simple enough. Faith and I head to campus, see if the tunnels are blocked. If not, we do a little vamp killing."
"Wh-what if it's not just vam-vampires?" Tara's soft question brought Buffy up short. "I know th-that's what you f-felt in town. We h-haven't found the m-mage, though. Do you th-think he might be th-there, too?"
"Uh…" Magic wasn't something they'd had to deal with before, and Buffy floundered. "I guess so." She looked at the closest thing the Scoobies had to a magical expert – Willow. "What do you think, Will?"
Shrugging, Willow said, "He might. If he's teamed up with whatever you and Faith felt."
"OK then. If he is there, what do we do? How do we stop him?" This was more like it. Buffy relaxed against the couch as things started to come together. They'd have the plan Giles wanted in no time. Her relaxation lasted mere seconds, though.
"Don't ask me, Buffy." Unfortunately, Willow seemed to have willingly abdicated her position as Magic Girl. "I'm still a beginner in all things arcane. When we ran into the mage – who we only think is Ethan – Tara was running the show. I was just along for the magical roller coaster ride."
***
Tara had to grit her teeth and force herself not to duck her head as she suddenly became found herself in the spotlight with everyone looking at her. "I…I'm n-not an expert," she stuttered. Not by a long shot. "And the man at the b-bar was m-more po-powerful than I am."
The news met with resistance. "It won't be just you against him, T," Faith assured her. "We'll be there – me and B." She winked and waved a hand at Buffy. "There ain't anything that can beat the Chosen Two." Her words broke off in a pained grunt. "Fuck, Red, what was that for? I was bein' nice to B, just like you wanted."
"Whoo hoo," Willow answered dryly. "It might have been nice, but you left out something important." Her eyes narrowed as she glared at Faith. "Tara won't be alone because you, Buffy, and I will be there to help. You and the Cave Slayer over there are good with sharp, pointy things. When the magic starts flying, though, I don't see you chanting in Sumerian and lobbing fireballs."
"W-Willow, I don't…" Tara wanted to protest that last part. Lobbing fireballs? What kind of magic had the other girl been practicing?
Unfortunately, Faith interrupted before Tara could complete the comment. "No way, Red. No way! You ain't goin'." She appeared to square off with Willow; although, neither one of them moved an inch. "Like Giles said, we don't have any info. Who knows what shit's using the tunnels for a home? You can go after me and B figure things out."
"I agree with Faith." Buffy leaned closer to Tara, pulling her attention away from the increasingly heated discussion.
"You don't w-want Willow to go?" In deference to Buffy's quiet voice, Tara whispered her response. She was confused. Hadn't Willow indicated earlier that she often went with Faith on patrol? "Why not? I m-mean, I do-don't th-think she'll need to do any big spells, and I w-won't let her ch-charge off to f-fight if something happens." Tara's confusion faded and she nearly giggled as a sudden image of Faith and Willow in matching leashes popped into her head.
Not laughing proved to be a good choice, though. Buffy rolled her eyes. "No, Tara. I don't want you to go. Will's been in the fight since the beginning. She knows the score and she knows when to duck behind a tombstone and let me and Faith do our thing." Reaching out, Buffy touched Tara's arm lightly. "I don't want you to get hurt, Tara."
Buffy was serious. Her eyes met Tara's steadily.
The hand on her arm was warm and strong. Tara stared at it, watching Buffy slowly stroking over her forearm and hand. "Sw-sweetie, I promise, nothing will happen to me." Tara felt her cheeks heat from Buffy's unexpected concern. "Really."
"I ain't arguing no more!" Tara jumped at Faith's near bellow; she didn't look away from Buffy, however.
Placing her free hand over Buffy's, Tara smiled slightly. "You don't w-want to have to fight with me the way Fa-Faith is fighting with Willow, do you? I only l-look like I ca-can't defend myself." She deliberately pushed the memory of the vampire from the Student Union out of her mind. Tara was expecting there to be trouble if they went searching in the tunnels. She'd be ready this time. "I don't do f-fireballs, Buffy, but I can do other th-things."
She could see Buffy's disbelief in her frown and furrowed brows.
This called for a demonstration. Tara told herself she wasn't showing off as she closed her eyes and centered. She only needed to do something small…It was an easy task to touch the nearest ley line and pool a tiny reservoir of borrowed energy. "Watch, Buffy," she said. Releasing her hold on Buffy, she cupped her hand and poured the power into a single Word. Blue flames shimmered from her outstretched palm.
"Son of a bitch!" Buffy's pulled away from Tara so sharply that she bumped into the couch.
Tara – and her hand – resumed their spot at the center of attention. Even Faith and Willow gave up discussing who would be going into the tunnels to stare. Tara squelched the urge to close her hand and hide the magical display. "S-see?" she said instead. "If an-anything gets past you and Faith, I c-can do this. Or…" She hesitated. There was another, more effective spell, in her mother's spell books. "Or I c-can do a s-sunlight spell. It's a lot more powerful."
"You can do that?" Willow abandoned her argument with Faith entirely and nearly dove across the space separating her from Tara. She peered excitedly at the flames still flickering in Tara's palm.
If she was honest… Tara hedged her answer. The truth wouldn't convince Buffy to let her go with them to the tunnels. "I kn-know the spell." Maybe with Willow's help, she could muster enough power and control to get it to actually work.
"Huh. If the girls have got that kind of mojo, B, they should be safe. Besides," Faith gave a patently fake smile, "it ain't like we're gonna go in with stakes flying. Mrs. S was wrong about that. All we're doing is looking. You know, gathering some info."
Surprisingly, no one commented on the unlikelihood of Faith (or Buffy) following that plan.
"Take the Jeep." Joyce broke the silence by tossing her car keys to Willow. "Rupert and I will stay here and search through the books again. If you find anything…" Her gaze rested on Faith. "…or you run into trouble, call."
Faith looked mutinous as she climbed to her feet. "I can't believe you, Mrs. S. I thought you'd be different than B. Nicer or something." Her booted feet thudded into the floor as she stalked toward the door. "You're making it sound like I go lookin' for a fight."
"Sorry, honey," Joyce said, and Tara nearly giggled at her unrepentant smile. "I am nicer than Buffy – but that doesn't mean I can't see the truth. When you and my daughter are together, bad things seem to happen. I'm just making sure that the two adults with you," she pointed at Tara and Willow, "understand my expectations."