"Someone order a getaway car?" Faith's voice rose above the roar of the Jeep's engine, her grin almost as blinding as the headlights cutting through the darkness.

Tara staggered forward. Her legs felt like rubber bands; they shook and wavered and seemed to have no solid structure. The continued tingle of Ethan's magic, however, made overcoming that obstacle easier. Tara simply ignored her legs and let fear drive her to the Jeep. Buffy was already perched in the back. One leg dangled from the passenger side door and she held out a helping hand as Tara scrambled inside.

It was a tight fit. Thanks to Englemann and Walsh, the normally roomy SUV had no available space. Squeezing onto the seat, Tara found herself inadvertently holding Buffy as the Jeep leapt forward the second she sat down.

"Any problems, guys?" Buffy sounded out of breath as she asked her question.

Faith's shrug was visible despite the darkness. "What d'ya expect, B? Even if the Men in Black got guns, they ain't real bright. Ran into a pile of 'em in the parking lot and put a Slayer hurt on 'em. Then I went to get Red; real glad she didn't find any friends out there." Her voice hoarsened to a near growl over the final few words.

Thanks to their proximity, Tara felt Buffy stiffen. She automatically stroked her hands up and down Buffy's arms in response. "I'm glad you're OK, too, F-Faith." The atmosphere in the SUV was seconds from an explosion as Buffy and Faith silently squared off. "And th-thank you f-for sav-saving us from Ethan."

For a second, Tara didn't think her intervention would help. Then Faith appeared to relax behind the wheel. "Any time, Blondie. I'm thinking, though, that you gotta stop with the late night walks across campus. First you're a vamp snack and now you got Evil Dudes with guns and magic chasing after ya'."

Crisis averted. Tara chuckled and leaned closer to Buffy so she could meet Faith's eyes in the rearview mirror. "Why w-would I stop? I've got you to pr-protect me." Choking the words out amid more laughter, she teased. "My Kn-Knight in Shin-ning Armor."

"Sorry, Tara. I can't let her do that." Willow grinned as she turned in her seat and rested her chin on the back of the seat. "Faith's spoken for. I only let her wear that outfit for me. Buffy can do it, though, can't you, Buff? Buffy was there for me every time things got crazy until I found Faith."

There was a strained pause, and Tara wanted to pound her head in frustration. What was causing the problem this time? As she opened her mouth, vowing to tell the Scoobies to grow up, Buffy began to sing.

"You gotta have Faith, Faith, Faith…" Buffy's off-key rendition of George was drowned by Faith's howl from the front seat.

"I told ya' not to say that anymore, Red. You know it sets B off." Her voice lowered. "Crazy bitch; always pushin' my buttons." Tara wasn't sure if she referred to Buffy or Willow with that last remark. "Why don't ya' stop playing, B, and see if you can twist some info out of the Professor? It'd be wicked to hit Tweed with the news for once. Make him think we ain't as stupid as he thinks."

Whoever Faith had been addressing proved to be irrelevant. Willow sobered quickly and patted Faith's arm. "We don't have to do anything to Professor Walsh, Faith. I have the printouts, remember? Give me a chance to read the whole pile. I'm sure it will tell us what we need to know, and if it doesn't, I'll just hack into the system again." Tara glimpsed Willow's wide smile. "She may be renowned as a psychologist, but the professor doesn't do well when it comes to computer security. Wanna bet that that she's on the panel that keeps telling me UCS doesn't need to upgrade its system?"

***

Thank God. Buffy hoped her relief didn't show. "Thanks, Will," she said. Thanks for always having the answers – and for making sure Buffy didn't have to 'twist' information out of the two doctors. Vampires and demons were fine for punching practice. Buffy drew the line at humans, though. Unfortunately, if they didn't need their captives… "Where should we stash the Brain Trust?"

Apparently no one else had followed her thought process. There was an uncomfortable silence, marred only by the rumble of the engine and the hum of the tires against the road.

"Perhaps we were wrong, Englemann," Walsh said.

Buffy barely spared her a glance, though. She was too busy wrestling with their latest problem. Well, she thought it was the biggest item on the agenda until Walsh kept talking.

"Are you listening to this? They're children." The disappointed, almost pitying, sound in Walsh's voice grated on Buffy's already ragged nerves. "Not even your genius with computer chips could have fixed Buffy. Or that other one." She leaned forward before Buffy could stop her. "What was your name, dear? Faith?"

The Jeep swerved slightly as Faith's head whipped around so she could glare at Walsh.

"Faith!" Willow dove across the front seat and steadied the wheel. "Ignore her. She's even better than Buffy at pushing buttons." Not backing down, even when Faith transferred her glare, Willow explained. "Believe me. I know all about Walsh. You should see the way she winds up the kids in class. We're her personal puppets, performing for the perfect grade."

It was true. Buffy roughly shoved Walsh back against the seat. "Wicked Walsh. That's what we call her when she's not there." Talking helped alleviate her own sudden anger at Walsh's comments. What had she meant anyway? She and Faith didn't need fixing.

Did they?

A warm hand touched Buffy's thigh. "B…Buffy?" Tara smiled hesitantly when Buffy glanced her way. "I'm su-sure the prof-fessor is only t-trying to dr-drive a wedge between us."

Reaching down, Buffy idly linked her fingers with Tara's. She realized the other girl was right. Some of the lingering anger and doubt drained away. "Not us, Tara," she responded. Walsh was too smart for that. She'd seen her and Willow together. They weren't the weak link. "Me and Faith. Walsh just doesn't get it."

From Tara's quick frown, neither did she.

"Faith and I argue. A lot." Honesty forced Buffy to continue wryly. "Sometimes we fight. But when the chips are down, we're here for each other. Walsh forgot the most important thing. We're 'The Chosen Two'. The Slayers. No matter what, we get the job done."

"Got that right, B," Faith interjected softly. "Walsh is a stupid bitch…" Her words ended in a disgruntled yelp after Willow smacked her arm.

Buffy smiled. They'd be… No, they were fine. "OK. Back to the big question, guys. What do we do with these guys? Even if Faith's right, and Riley and company won't risk hurting them, I don't think they'll sit around and do nothing. They're going to come after us."

"And they know where we live." Willow peered over the back seat. "I mean, this is the government." Pointing at Englemann, she hurried on. "I bet they know everything about us, Buffy. Where we live. All of our relatives. Where we're likely to go to hide. We can't stay at the apartment or your mom's or Giles' place. Riley probably has people on the way there now."

Damn. Buffy hadn't thought of that. "We have to go to the apartment right away, Will!" They didn't have a choice. "Mom and Giles are waiting, and I'm not leaving them there to face the goon squad." Her voice grew urgent. If Willow was right about the reach of the government, they might already be too late. "Faith, hurry!"

The Jeep leaped forward immediately. "On it, B." And Faith was. They careened through Sunnydale in a way that made Buffy feel slightly less panicked – even if she did have to brace her feet on the floorboard and the back of the driver's seat.

"Buffy, where are we going to go?" Willow's hands fluttered in the air, as if reaching for the laptop that was her almost constant companion.

"I…I don't know," Buffy admitted. None of their usual hangouts was safe, and they couldn't leave town. Angel's mansion? Staying there would bring back memories. It was an emotional risk Buffy was willing to take if it kept them all alive. She opened her mouth and then reconsidered. If Walsh and her connections had done their homework, they might have uncovered her past with the vampire formerly known as Angelus. "What about the old high school?" Talk about memories…

Willow's eyes rounded. "Buffy, it's a pile of rubble. We blew it up. Remember?"

Before Buffy could respond, Faith let go of the wheel with her right hand and gently patted Willow's side. "Even B ain't forgetting graduation, Red. I think she's just tryin' to find a good hideout." Her eyes met Buffy's in the rearview mirror, telling Buffy to let her handle the situation.

Giving Faith a nod, Buffy tuned out the suddenly low murmur of voices from the front seat. Faith had it under control; she'd get Willow past the small matter of moving them all into the nearly-destroyed Sunnydale High School. Unfortunately, getting her mother – and Giles – to buy into the relocation was her responsibility. Buffy closed her eyes. She could see the scene so clearly.

Buffy sprinted into the apartment. "Mom, we have to go. Hurry!"

Surrounded by books and the remains of coffee cake and cups of tea, Joyce looked up. "Go where, honey? It's late, and you know I have to be up early for work."

"We found a super secret military base under campus. My psych professor and her Colonel boyfriend have been building Frankensteins in a lab." Opening the entry hall closet, Buffy scrambled for Faith's stash of stakes and weapons. "The gang's down in the Jeep, but we have to hide out. Riley – Walsh's TA – is after us with a bunch of gun carrying crazies."

Yep. That would be effective. If Joyce didn't laugh, she'd have Buffy back in a mental hospital in no time.

The Jeep skidded into the apartment parking lot while Buffy wrestled inside the confines of a phantom straight jacket. "B, you gonna need help with Giles and Mrs. S?" Faith sounded as if she were hoping the answer was no, and she hadn't taken her hands off the steering wheel.

"No. I got it." Buffy carefully wiggled off Tara's lap, resisting a sudden urge to cling to her like a safety blanket, and opened the passenger-side door. "Just keep an eye on our friends back here. I don't want to waste time chasing them down." Although, it might be more fun than her current project. Catching Tara's reassuring smile in the dim illumination provided by the dome light, Buffy realized she was acting like an idiot. So military black ops were different than their run of the mill apocalypses. Her mother and Giles were used to danger. They'd be on board as soon as Buffy explained the situation. They had always been big proponents of Scooby Rule Number One. Staying alive meant running for safety this time.

With that thought firmly in mind, Buffy closed the door and sprinted for the stairs. With a judicious use of Slayer speed, the trip took seconds. Barely breathing hard, she dug her spare key from her pocket, unlocked the door, and stepped inside Willow's apartment – and into her earlier vision.

Joyce's head snapped up from the book she had been reading. "Buffy, honey, is everything OK? Did you and the girls find something?"

Buffy stared in horror at the piles of books and papers littering the room. The plates with crumbs and uneaten bites of coffee cake. The cooling cups of tea. "I'm not crazy!"

"Does that mean you did, in fact, find the cause of the alert in your senses?" Giles straightened his glasses and reached for a notepad and pencil. "What, precisely, are we dealing with? A new demon?"

The familiarity of his questions snapped Buffy back to reality. Flushing at her overreaction, she took a deep breath. "I don't have time to explain everything right now. I need you and Mom to pack up some food and whatever books you can't live without. I'll grab weapons." Suiting actions to words, she opened the hall closet. "It's time to take a trip down memory lane, guys. Next stop: Sunnydale High."