Part 1: Sunday
Dawn was just beginning to creep through the gossamer curtains when Faith blinked slowly and entered wakefulness. She flexed her arms experimentally, hoping to feel stronger now than she had the day before. Nothing. Eyes squeezed shut in sudden anger and frustration, she clenched her fists tightly. Beside her, the other slayer gave a sleepy sigh and shifted in her sleep, bringing the back of her hand into Faith's side. Her brown eyes opened again to look at Buffy. The blonde didn't seem to be on the verge of waking any time soon. As silently as possible, the dark slayer slid from the bed and stripped off the borrowed pajamas she was wearing. Her black leather pants slid up her thighs like a second skin and she pulled her top on carelessly. Without a glance to Buffy, she picked her boots up and slipped out the door.
Fucking heater's screwed up again.Faith huffed in agitation when she stepped into the motel room. Nothing in this dump ever worked the way it was supposed to. The heat was too high or it shut off altogether. In the summer, the AC spewed out lukewarm air and the shower stung like needles as it drummed out hot water for no longer than four minutes at a time. She dropped her keys on the rickety table by the door and toed her boots off. Flopping fully clothed on the bed, she pulled one of the musty pillows in under her head. It was probably time to think about heading out of Sunnydale. Maybe she'd go up to LA for a while. Boston was out. She'd never go back to that place again. But there was no sense in staying in Sunnydale if she wasn't a slayer anymore. Buffy barely tolerated her as a slayer.
Buffy. Faith felt sick just thinking about the night before. Bad enough to cry in front of her but to let herself kiss the other slayer again? She was an idiot. An idiot for letting Buffy mess with her head like this. She didn't even blame the other girl really. Probably just felt sorry for me.Poor little Faith, stupid and weak and crying. B was just the type to go in for that shit. The girl was a sucker for a tragic headcase. The heat in the room was becoming less tolerable by the moment, and she sat up abruptly, flinging the pillow away from her. Screw this. She'd go get a shower and get out of here. Go check the bus schedules maybe. From there it was a simple matter of scraping together some cash for a ticket. Or if she got really desperate, hitching.
A knock at the door made her pause on the way to the tiny bathroom. "Yeah?" She called out, wondering who could be at the door.
"Faith?" Giles was calling, as she swung the door open. "Oh," He said, at normal volume. "Faith. I was going to see you at Buffy's but I happened to see you walking this way."
She nodded and leaned against the door frame.
"May I come in?" The watcher asked formally.
She shrugged and released the door, stepping inside and seating herself at the end of her bed.
Giles looked around uncomfortably, taking in the clothes tossed haphazardly and the scarred furniture.
"What's up, G?" The girl asked impatiently, wondering what could have made Giles show up at her residence for the first time.
"I was thinking perhaps we could do a little more meditation." He jiggled the paper bag in his hand.
Eyebrows arched skeptically, Faith shrugged. "Not really in the mood right now. Got a lot going on."
Giles flushed. "Of course. But centering oneself through meditation can be a useful technique for self discovery. You may have something internally working to block your powers."
"Really?" She asked, brow furrowed.
Giles swallowed hard and forced a reassuring smile. "It's quite possible."
"Okay." Faith agreed quickly, thoughts of her shower already forgotten.
"May I?" Giles pulled out a chair tucked under the table and shifted a couple magazines from it. Clearing a small space on the cluttered tabletop, he quickly arranged the grounding crystal. "Now, just like we did before, Faith. Look for the imperfection in its center."
Faith blinked to clear her head and then leaned in, studying the crystal. Was that the imperfection? It was tiny, shaped like a stake. Hmm.
Watching her slack jaw, Giles spoke quietly, "Faith?" Satisfied when she didn't reply, and he quickly reached into the bag for a small case. Inside was a pre-filled syringe. His steady fingers picked it up, along with an alcohol swab. He grasped Faith's slender arm and quickly swabbed a spot near her inner elbow. A few quick taps rid the needle of any air bubbles and he efficiently pressed it into her skin then depressed the plunger. When all the yellow fluid was gone, he removed the syringe and packed it away in the case. After stowing it back in the bag, Giles cleared his throat and waved a hand in front of Faith's face.
Blinking hard, she glanced to him. "What happened?"
The librarian shrugged cluelessly. "I thought you had gone into deep meditation."
Faith frowned. "I don't think so."
"Well," Said Giles quietly as he began to pack up the crystal. "We can always try again later. Nothing to be concerned about."
"Sure," The slayer muttered.
"Why don't you come to the library tomorrow around 10?" He suggested.
"Okay."
"Excellent. I should be going now."
"Yeah." Faith stood as he reached for the door. "Wait!" She stuffed her hands in her pockets. "Umm, have you heard anything from the council?"
"I'm afraid I haven't." Giles frowned apologetically. "Try not to worry. I'm sure I'll hear something soon."
Faith nodded in response and Giles stepped out, letting the door close firmly behind him. The moment he was out of the room, his shoulders slumped. By tomorrow evening, this would be over one way or another. As he ducked inside his car, he glanced in distaste toward his passenger. "She's coming to the library tomorrow and I'll inject her with the last dose."
"Good." The man agreed in a British accent. As Giles began backing out of the small parking lot, the Brit flipped open his cell phone and pushed a button for speed dial. "Hobson here." He said when it was answered. "It's in motion. The slayer will be ready for the test tomorrow." The council member called Hobson clicked his phone shut and placed it back in his inside jacket pocket. "That was Blair." He said conversationally. "Everything is proceeding as planned."
"Swell." Grunted the librarian.
"Oh, chin up, Rupert!" The other councilman teased.
Giles glared. "That girl is going to die. And it will be on our hands."
Shrugging easily, Hobson studied the passing landscape. "Then a new slayer will be called." Off Giles's disgusted look, "You know as well as I do that a slayer must have other skills aside from strength. She must be cunning and resourceful. The cruciamentum allows us to determine whether she is."
"At the expense of her life!"
The other councilman shook his head, unconcerned. "Possibly. While the loss of Faith would of course be regrettable, the council cannot afford to coddle the slayer. She is a weapon for the side of good. And a weapon is only useful when it functions correctly."
Giles gripped the steering wheel hard. "If anyone from the council actually maintained contact with the slayers anymore—"
"We've read your reports. I think some of your descriptions were "reckless" and "undisciplined," correct?"
"Well, yes, but—"
"Then we cannot allow that kind of behavior to continue unchecked. The fate of the world very often rests on the shoulders of the slayer, and she needs to be up to the task of saving it. If the girl pulls through this, she'll be a better slayer for it."
Giles considered for a moment, as he pulled to a stop in front of the decrepit Sunnydale Arms boarding house. "Or we'll have made murderers of ourselves."
The two men stared at one another in tense silence for a moment, before Giles noticed a thin bespectacled man stepping lightly down the cracked front stairs. "Blair?" He asked, jutting his chin toward the man.
Hobson glanced. "Oh, no. Come on out, I'll introduce you." The two men climbed from Giles's tiny car and the watcher stepped around the front to meet the two councilmen standing side by side. "Well," Said Hobson with a reserved smile. "It's about time for you two to meet. If all goes well with the test, you'll be working closely together, at least for a time. Giles, the council has assigned a watcher for Faith, to allow you to concentrate your efforts more narrowly on your slayer."
The man smiled nervously and extended his well-manicured hand. "Wesley Wyndham-Price. Pleasure to meet you."
----
Buffy had begun padding dejectedly down to the kitchen to scrounge up some breakfast when the phone began to ring. "I've got it, Mom!" She yelled, jumping the last three stairs and darting into the kitchen.
"Okay!" Joyce shouted affirmatively from the basement, where she was currently doing laundry.
Snatching up the handset, the slayer pressed it to her ear. "Hello?"
"Morning, Buffster." Xander's cheerful tone filled her ear.
"Hey, Xander."
"Just wanted to call and see how things were. Patrol last night was…"
"Nice?" Buffy supplied.
"If by nice you mean soul crushingly awkward, then yes."
She sighed. "Yeah. I know."
"So? How are things now?"
"Uh," Buffy moved to the cabinet, retrieving a bowl. "Faith's not exactly here."
"What do you mean 'exactly?'"
"She ducked out this morning."
"What happened?"
"It's kind of complicated." Buffy reached deep into the pantry, searching out the Lucky Charms she knew were stashed somewhere.
"Well lay it on me. Complicated is my middle name."
"I thought it was Lavelle."
"And I thought we spoke about how we were never to speak of that again."
Buffy laughed, finally acquiring the hidden cereal box.
On the other end of the line, Xander was chewing his breakfast gustily. "So? What's the what?"
"Uh, I don't really want to get into it right now. It's just…"
"Complicated. I know. You said."
Buffy shook the box then peered inside sadly. Empty! "I'm sorry, Xand. I promise when I want to talk about it, you'll be the first person I call."
"Okay," He replied, mollified. "So are you going to look for her?"
"Xander, she snuck out of my house while I was sleeping. I may not be the big brain like Will, but I'm thinking that's a hint."
"Yeah," He conceded slowly. "But what if she goes out patrolling without you? She could get hurt."
"I know." Buffy sighed.
"How would you feel if you were the one losing your power?" Xander asked curiously, as the sound of a running tap filled the line.
Buffy considered, frowning. "I don't know. I mean, when I think of all the shoes I've ruined with demon's blood. And that vampire who scratched my brand new leather jacket, not to mentioned how long it takes to get the stink of sewer out of your hair—"
"Buff. Focus."
"Right. I'm focus girl." She paused. "I'd be wigged."
"So, you're going to look for her?" He prodded.
"Yeah. If she doesn't come by before patrol, I'll look for her tonight."
"You want some back-up?"
Buffy leaned against the counter, staring forlornly at her empty cereal bowl. "Always. I'll meet you and Will tonight at her place." The two friends said their goodbyes and Buffy gently clicked off the phone and set it down. She hoped Faith would come by sometime today but that didn't seem likely. What the hell was Faith mad about anyway? She was the one who only wanted to get in Buffy's pants after all. Really Buffy was still trying to come to grips with the fact that she had kissed Faith. She liked boys, in a pretty much exclusive way. But then there was Faith walking around all cleavagey and 'five by five-ing' and talking about the color of Buffy's undies. This was all Faith's fault!
Her mother's entry into the kitchen interrupted her train of thought. "Whew." Exhaled Joyce with a smile. "You wear a lot of clothing for someone so small."
Buffy rolled her eyes and smiled back. "Yeah, yeah." Tossing the empty cereal box into the garbage can, the slayer retreated back to her bedroom. She had homework to finish. She would not be thinking about Faith.
----
The passage of an hour found her schoolbooks still sitting in a messy pile on her unmade bed. Not thinking about the situation with Faith was harder than she'd imagined it would be. Sighing quietly, she slumped on her belly and propped her chin in her hands. How had everything gotten so crazy so quickly? She'd only meant to reach out to Faith and try to include her more with the gang. Clearly Faith had some sort of maxi-crush on her and was waiting for the slightest encouragement to act on it. That wasn't Buffy's fault. Whoa. Conceited much?Buffy frowned. Okay, maybe it wasn't a maxi-crush. But either way it didn't really matter did it? Buffy was straight. And not just a little straight. A lot straight. There had been boys before Sunnydale. Being popular, she'd pretty much had her pick. At least until everything had changed with her calling. Her friends abandoned her, not wanting anything to do with the freak who'd set fire to the gym. Her parents divorced, and although they wouldn't come right out and say it was her fault, it so obviously was. Then her mom dragged her to Sunnydale, and instead of being a fresh start, to her surprise she'd found another watcher and the Hellmouth. Just what every girl wanted from a new school. Thankfully she'd met Willow and Xander. And they were great friends, they really were. But they couldn't really get it, because they were normal. And Buffy wasn't.
But then there was Angel. Sure, okay, him being a vampire was kind of a drawback given that she was a Vampire Slayer. But to have someone who she could squeeze without hurting, who could watch her back, and understand when she showed up for a date with fresh dirt on her clothes and wooden stakes in her pocket… It meant something. Angel quickly meant a lot of somethings to her. And if she could be that in love with Angel, she had to be straight, right? And combined with the other guys she'd dated painted a pretty straight picture. Boys were definitely of the good in Buffyland.
She found herself gently touching the pillow on the other side of the bed where Faith had been sleeping just hours before. Boys weregood. But Faith was kinda good too. The slayer's cheeks flushed when she thought about the way Faith's hips had pressed hard into hers, while the other slayer swept Buffy's mouth with her tongue, kissing her so well she'd felt her toes tingle. Kissage with Faith was definitely in the good column. What happened after, not so much. She felt like an idiot for even going as far as kissing Faith now. Hadn't the other slayer told her many times about her 'get some and get gone' policy? Obviously she was looking to do the same now. And if Buffy wasn't willing, Faith wasn't interested.
Irritable now, she sat back up and reached for one of her books at random. Forget Faith. She'd track the other girl down later on and make sure she was alright. If she was still angry, then she'd go her own way. If not, she could come back here and stay over and they could put this whole thing behind them. Either way, Buffy really needed to get some work done. That troll Snyder was practically salivating at the thought of expelling her again. Determined now, she flipped open her Spanish textbook. "I'm the slayer." She informed it sternly. "I can handle you." Smiling, she started to read the assigned exercise, pen poised confidently above her notebook. Her smile faded over the next ten seconds as the Spanish phrases made absolutely no sense to her. Sighing, she reached into the pile for her Spanish/English dictionary. "Buffy no gusta. No gusta at all."
----
Willow and Xander were seated on the front steps of her house, carefully spaced apart. The porchlight illuminated them from behind as the last glint of sunlight slowly vanished over the horizon. "Hey, guys." Buffy greeted, strolling up the walkway to meet them.
"Hey, Buffy!" Willow hopped eagerly to her feet, clearly anxious not to be alone with Xander any longer.
"Buff." Xander nodded in her direction.
"Ready?" Buffy asked, and the three back toward the street. "I'd thought we'd start with Shady Hill and work our way over to Restfield. Hopefully come across Faith on the way."
"How come Faith isn't with you?" Willow asked curiously.
"Long story."
Xander interrupted, "A bad thing happened, Faith bailed."
"Apparently not that long." Buffy frowned at him.
"A thing?" Willow's green eyes were concerned. "What kind of thing?"
"Just a… stupid thing." The slayer clearly didn't wish to elaborate further. Willow pursed her lips thoughtfully but let it drop. If Buffy wanted to tell her, she would.
"So anything going on with you?" Buffy tried to change topics, while idly flipping her stake around her fingers.
"Well," Xander informed them, "Mom asked me to run to the store. I saw Cordelia there and she almost ran me down in the parking lot."
The two girls winced sympathetically. "Yikes." Willow murmured.
"Nah, she meant to miss. I could tell." He puffed his chest out in mock assurance. "She loves me."
Buffy smiled. "Yeah. Well, if you see Cordelia in a car again, you should probably make with the running."
Xander nodded in resignation. "Maybe I should let her run me over. Cordy's kind of the 'eye for an eye' type."
The three fell into a depressed silence that continued as they gradually neared Shady Hill cemetery. Located on the northeastern edge of town, it was one of Sunnydale's oldest cemeteries. There weren't usually many fresh graves to check out, but its hulking masoleoms made it an attractive stomping ground for vampires seeking out more permant dwellings. On their way they passed the long driveway leading to the Sunnydale Zoo where a few final cars were trickling from the parking lot. Xander shuddered involuntarily and looked away.
"Look at us," Buffy sighed as they entered the final block before the cemetery. "This is awful!"
Her two friends glanced at each other, looking for anything awful occurring with the other. "What's awful?" Willow asked.
"We're in a rut!" Buffy informed them dramatically. "We need to cheer up!"
Xander's and Willow's answering stares were skeptical and apologetic, respectively.
"I'm serious!" Buffy trotted a few paces in front of them and turned to walk backwards, easily avoiding disturbances in the pavement and maintaining her footing. "We're young! We're exciting! We should be out doing exciting things!"
"We are." Xander pointed out. "What could be more exciting than patrolling for the undead?"
"That's not exciting." Buffy corrected as they marched through the rusty arch of Shady Hill Cemetary. "We do this all the time."
"We make our own fun." Willow said with a pout.
"I'm just saying we need to drag ourselves out of this funk and really—" Buffy quickly shut up as she spotted a pair of large red skinned demons, concentrating deeply on the grave they were currently digging in. The slayer motioned silently for her friends to step behind the closest mausoleum, their footsteps disguised by the grunts of exertion falling from the demons' bloated purple lips.
The slayer's face was set in business mode now, and she shrugged off the backpack she'd been carrying with a whisper of cloth. "Okay," She murmured just loud enough for her friends to make out. "You two are going to stay here." She held up her hand as Xander started to protest. "I mean it, stay here." She slid open the zipper and unearthed some extra stakes. Handing one each to Willow and Xander, she reached in again and unearthed a hand held cross bow. Buffy handed it gently to Willow, whose eyes widened. "Don't shoot unless you have to."
The redhead nodded, her face drawn tight with worry. Buffy glanced at Xander for his confirmation nod and then crept silently around the side of the crypt. She was banking on the element of surprise and hoped that would turn the tide in her favor when taking on two large demons alone. She winced as she stepped on a particularly crackly twig and the closer beast's head darted up. "Orgut!" It growled to the other, who began to dig even faster. The first demon's seven fingered hands gripped the muddy graveside and it began to haul its huge body up.
"That's okay!" Buffy called, breaking into a sprint. "No need to get up; I'll come to you." She ran hard, arms smoothly cutting through the air as she cleared the distance between herself and the demons with breathtaking speed. Two yards from the grave's edge she kicked off into the air, the bottom of her boot connecting solidly with the thing's wide chin. Its head snapped backward and it let out a groan of protest. The other demon didn't pause in his efforts, confident that the first could handle this distraction.
Buffy whipped out the dagger she had stashed in her pantleg and frowned as the first demon recovered with hardly a delay. In seconds it was grasping the earth in his thick paws and hauling its red form up onto solid ground. Buffy waited until its first leg had cleared and it planted its second to stretch to its full height before making her move. She darted forward and brought her foot into its ribs, skewing its balance so that is crashed onto its side. Dropping to her knees, she held her knife in both hands and brought it down quickly, piercing the rough red skin of the beast's chest. Its wounded cry was high pitched and pained. She tried to yank her dagger backward to plunge it in a second place, but it was too firmly embedded and the handle broke off, leaving the jagged end of blade protruding from the demon's chest. Something whipped her in the face as the creature rolled away quickly, stumbling wearily to its feet. She realized with distaste that it had five long tentacles hanging down its back.
"Hate it when they have tentacles." She muttered to herself as she too quickly climbed to her feet. Thick black blood streamed from the wound, but the demon seemed unaware of that fact, as it gripped the blade's edge in its strong hand and yanked it out.
"Wavgr!" The other demon shouted and it sounded like a warning.
To Buffy's surprise, the moment the blade was free of its scaly skin, the demon dropped to its knees. The blood flow stopped completely and its form began to shake. Harder and harder trembled the fallen demon, until finally it stopped, its beady eyes rolling back in its wrinkled head. "Huh." Buffy said in surprised glee. "Didn't see that coming."
Her ankle was abruptly yanked from under her, and she found herself staring at the remaining demon, who appeared considerably angry. It grunted at her and tried slashing at her face with its black claws. Rolling away, she jumped to her feet. "Sorry," She shrugged, "Was that your brother? You guys kind of look alike." The demon roared and charged toward her.
"Okay," She admitted, easily dodging his girth with her speed. "He was a little better looking." As the demon swung around, the tentacles on its back came to life, lashing out in a cloud around the beast's face.
"Maybe a lot better looking." Buffy said in dismay, dodging the first thick appendage that reached desperately for her arms. She backed up several feet, putting the disturbed grave between them. A mental inventory revealed no further weapons save for a few stakes stashed in various pockets. The demon lunged for her quickly and she gritted her teeth when its claws tore into her shoulder. Tentacles were flying everywhere and she struggled to evade them while the beast threw punches toward her. She ducked to evade a direct hit and attempted to kick its legs out from under it. It seemed to anticipate her movement and darted right, away from her kick. The slayer bounced back onto the balls of her feet, hands raised warily in front of her body. She clutched a stake in her left hand, but couldn't get close enough to ram it into its chest with the tentacles whirling through the air.
It came at her again, and she took a hard blow to her cheek. Her face whipped to the side but she held her ground, hoping it would get close enough for her to plunge her stake into its chest. The demon grunted, and Buffy found that its tentacles were discreetly creeping around her. Abandoning her plan to stab it, she executed a back flip that planted her boot under the beast's chin. It stumbled back. Landed hard on its back in the defiled grave. Already it was grabbing exposed roots in the soil to haul itself back to its feet. Buffy's eyes fell on the grave marker. She darted to it and planted her palms firmly on its backside. "Sorry," She murmured, casting a guilty glance upward, and then she heaved the large stone into the grave. It tumbled, landing face down into the startled face of the red demon. Its arms moved weakly as it found itself pinned in the ground by the stone. She knew it was only stunned and had the strength to throw the stone off and come back after her. She leapt into the grave, landing with a resounding thud on its scaly stomach, and quickly jammed her stake into its chest. She yanked with all her might and the stake came free, leaving a gush of black blood in its wake. The demon under her began to shake violently. By the time she'd climbed from the hole, its body was still.
The slayer brushed the dirt from her clothes, irritated. At least Xander and Willow had stayed put like she'd told them to. Still brushing off, she jogged toward the mausoleum she'd left them behind. As she got closer, she could make out the faint sounds of a struggle. Breaking into a run, she rounded the edge of the tomb and took in the sight before her. A vampire in acid wash jeans clutched Xander to his chest. He was trying to go in for a killing bite but was currently being thwarted by frantic head butting by Xander. The vamp was also distracted by an irate Willow, bashing him over the head repeatedly with her empty crossbow. "Will!" Buffy called, moving toward them quickly. Willow looked up and Buffy made a clean "staking" motion with her hand. Wide eyed, Willow dropped the cross bow and pulled a stake from her pocket. Clumsily she rammed it into the vampire's back.
The vamp hissed and released Xander, who stumbled away. "You missed!" He growled through his clenched teeth and moved toward Willow.
"But I won't." Buffy called tauntingly, and seconds later a stake sailed through the air and lodged in his heart.
He looked at his chest and then back up to glare at her. Then he disintegrated and Willow was left alone, coughing.
"You guys okay?" Buffy asked, reaching down a hand to help Xander from where he'd landed on the ground.
"Oh yeah," Xander said casually, as Buffy hauled him up effortlessly. "No problem."
"We so had that." Willow echoed.
Buffy grinned back at them. "You guys were pretty tough."
Xander puffed out his chest. "Vampires everywhere cower when they see us coming."
"Well, the force of Willow's 'resolve face' alone…"
"Exactly." Xander agreed, slinging his arm around Buffy's shoulders casually. "Where to now?"
----
They'd been through half of Sunnydale with no sign of Faith. From Shady Hill, they'd done an obligatory pass through the ground of Miss Porter's School and the convent conveniently positioned next door (three vamps for Buffy and one done in by Xander and Willow—vampires were oddly attracted to nuns). A backtrack through the mostly residential area near Willow's and Cordelia's houses was quiet, but some newbies were stalking teens as they walked through the woods affectionately named makeout park (two vamps for Buffy, one skinned palm for Willow when the slayer had to knock her aside to avoid catastrophe). Criss-crossing the town led them through the cemetery across from Sunnydale High, which was unusually empty, and the Mansion loomed huge and dark as it had since Angel had left Sunnydale last week. A particularly weird vamp was skulking outside the mental hospital, wearing the pajamas he'd been in when turned somewhat recently (accidentally dusted by Xander when the former patient ran without hesitation into his upturned stake).
They ran into Jonathan after that, coming out of a house nearby with a dark haired boy in tow. "Hey, guys!" He called, as the two came closer. A chorus of greetings was exchanged and then two groups parted ways.
"Who was that other guy?" Buffy asked curiously, as they headed down the street.
"Warren Mears." Willow told her. "He went to our school for like half a year, and then transferred out.
"I heard he tested out and went right to college." Xander interjected.
Willow nodded in agreement as they neared the opening gates to St. Michael's school. "Yeah, some tech school I think."
Buffy paused in her step as they passed the school's gates and cocked her head to the right.
"You want to check the graveyard back there?" Xander suggested.
"It's usually deserted." Buffy answered absently, but she still appeared to be waiting. Her friends waited expectantly for her to begin moving again. The small Catholic cemetery behind St. Michael's had run out of space for new graves quite some time ago and it lacked the ornate familial tombs that made some of the older cemeteries popular to vamps. Buffy almost never bothered to pass through but still… She had a nagging feeling that something was wrong here tonight. The slayer frowned, shook her head as if to clear it. She took one step forward, smiled sheepishly at Willow and Xander, and then she felt it. Her senses went wild, the tingling in her spine informing her another slayer was nearby. Faith was here. And she wasn't alone.
"Faith's here." Buffy said, turning on heel to jog through the school's gates. "There are two," She concentrated. "Three vamps with her."
Her friends flanked her and the three hurried through the shadowy schoolyard. The graveyard was behind the school, fenced in with tilted wrought iron gates. Buffy vaulted easily over, and didn't wait while her friends climbed over more carefully. St. Michael's lacked much cover, with the exception of some old trees and a small shed for supplies. The three were coming from behind the shed, their view of the shadows beyond partially obscured. As they rounded the dilapidated building, they stopped in their tracks.
Faith was several yards away and being held by two vampires. A third, obviously their ringleader, stood apart from the others, watching as Faith struggled against his lackeys' hold. Xander glanced at Buffy impatiently but she shook her head and held up a hand, signaling him to wait.
Three vampires against one slayer and three humans wasn't terrible odds, but they were starting off in the vamps' favor given that they were holding Faith captive. If they waited a few moments, maybe one of them would at least step away from the other slayer, giving Buffy a better opportunity to free her without injury. Or rather, without further injury. Faith was obviously running out of energy to keep on fighting the group of vampires. Blood was clotted under her bruised nose, and her clothes were filthy, as though she'd been rolling in the dirt. Although vamps held both arms, her left dangled uselessly beside her, obviously dislocated. She'd tried forcibly bouncing the weight of her body onto their toes and jamming her good elbow into their sides, but the two had held her arms unrelentingly, and now she stood between them, her shoulders squared in forced calm. Even from this distance, Buffy could see her rapid breathing and the tension in her face.
The lead vampire was wearing leather pants and a button down silk shirt, looking like every vampire cliché known to man. He folded his arms across his chest and stared amusedly into Faith's face. "That all you got?"
"Tell your buddies to get off me and I'll show you what I got." She shot back. Her grin was sickening, blood coating her teeth.
Leather pants smirked and put a hand to his chin thoughtfully. "What do you think, boys?" He asked of his companions. "Should we let her wear herself out a little more before we show her what we've got planned?"
The one to Faith's left grinned back, merely shrugging. The one on her right laughed. "I dunno," He smiled. "Joey likes it when they struggle."
The vamp to the left, apparently called Joey, shrugged again and smiled wolfishly. "I do." He confessed to Faith.
"Ah hell," Leather pants answered, "So do I." Suddenly he lunged forward, stopping inches from Faith. "Something tells me this one is going to struggle a lot." He lifted a pale hand to her neck, cupping it lightly before letting it trailed suggestively down her body. He lingered at her belt buckle, tucking his thumb in the waist band of her pants.
Faith's bravado faltered for a moment and she flinched, pulling her hips away. Leather pants motioned for Joey to grip her hips, and brought his hands back to her waist. "You can scream." He offered to Faith. "Won't bother us a bit."
The situation was even worse now with all three of them crowding Faith, but they obviously couldn't wait any longer to approach. Buffy met Xander's eyes and jerked her head in the direction of the vamps. He understood and ran around the shed, coming out on the other side and already yelling. "Hey! Get the hell away from her!"
The lead vamp stepped away from Faith in irritation. "Mind your own business, kid, and get out of here."
"No." Xander clutched a bottle of holy water concealed in his hand. "I said let her go."
Leather pants laughed, and looked at his flunkeys. "Can you believe this kid?" He asked, incredulously. Snarling, he turned back to Xander, his game face bared. "Who's gonna make me, kid, you?"
"That'd be me." Buffy stated coldly from where she'd snuck up behind the other vampires. Her stake found Joey's heart and he took a last startled gasp. As he disintegrated she stepped in behind her fellow slayer. Buffy's arm slid around Faith's waist and she jerked her from the remaining vampire's hold. The brunette cried out as her arm wrenched painfully from his grasp. Buffy didn't pause, just practically threw the dark slayer behind her into Willow's waiting arms. She advanced now toward the empty handed vamp.
He rushed her, teeth bared and swung out in a vicious cross toward her cheek. His fist sailed through empty air as Buffy dropped to a crouch and knocked his feet from under him. He landed hard on his ass and she was astride him instantly, stake poised to kill. The vamps' hands wrapped around her wrist, stopping the downward motion. He bucked wildly, knocking her into a roll.
Leather pants watched these new developments with great displeasure. His dinner was being herded away by a redheaded girl, limping. He growled angrily in his throat and turned furiously to the boy who had interrupted them. Xander had made it to the bookbag with their weapons and was hurriedly loading a new bolt into the crossbow. The vampire stalked over to him and batted him away from the bag easily. Xander stumbled and fell, his arm throbbing as it broke his fall. Wasting no time, the vamp grabbed the front of his shirt and hefted him into the air, throwing him several feet away. Xander's head hit the ground with a dull thunk, and his eyes slid shut.
Satisfied that the boy would remain there until he was ready to eat him, Leather pants turned back to his friend and the blonde girl, who were grappling on the ground, dead leaves crackling under their bodies. The blonde had gotten the upper hand on the other vampire again, and was crouched over him, punching him repeatedly in the face. The leader strode over to them quickly. He gripped her hard around the waist and yanked her up.
Crying out in anger, she reached back and gripped behind his neck. Buffy yanked forward, forcing him to bend and allow her feet back on the ground. She twisted into a crouch, pulling him over her shoulder so he landed at her feet. She stomped on his chest. Hard. Leather pants gasped for unneeded breath and rolled to avoid her next kick.
Buffy was faster and as he rolled onto his knees, her boot flew between his legs and connected with his genitals solidly. He screamed in horrific pain and dropped to his side, clutching his crotch. Buffy whipped a new stake from inside her jacket and leaned over him. "You can scream." She sneered at him. "Doesn't bother me a bit." Her face was a mask of cold fury as her kick connected with the side of his face. The vampire rolled reflexively onto his back. He blinked in surprise as she dusted him.
She stood, eyes darting around for the last vampire. To her horror, he was almost to Xander's prone form. "No!" She muttered, breaking into a sprint. Before she could reach him, a cross bolt sailed through the air and landed with deadly accuracy in his heart. His ashes fell gently onto Xander. The slayer looked behind them in surprise. Willow stood gripping the crossbow, her face surprised.
"I got him!" She cried.
Buffy grinned back. "You were great, Will."
"Will?" Xander coughed from the ground. "What about Xander?"
Willow and Faith shuffled closer, the latter wiping blood from her bruised face. Still, she managed a weak smile. "He tossed you around like a doll, X."
"Thereby leaving Buffy free to get to you." Xander replied sensibly.
Buffy smiled and reached out to assist him to his feet. "You okay?" Her voice was concerned.
Xander touched the back of his head and winced, but his fingers came away blood free. "I think so."
"Then let's get out of here." Buffy suggested.
----
After leaving Willow and Xander at the readhead's front steps, Faith and Buffy started down the street together. Faith watched the other slayer surreptitiously. Buffy had barely looked at her since they'd left the cemetery. Faith was favoring her right ankle, and Buffy's pace had slowed to match her counterpart's, so their progress was agonizingly slow. This silence was starting to get on Faith's nerves. She could see the tension practically radiating off the blonde slayer. She'd known Buffy was freaked out about the kiss, well, the multiple kisses they'd shared, but this silent treatment was so old. "How long you gonna keep doing this?" She blurted out.
"Doing what?"
"Ignoring me. Acting like I'm some bad puppy you gotta teach a lesson to." Buffy opened her mouth indignantly to respond but Faith shook her head and finished. "Jesus, Buffy. You kissed me. Not like I forced you."
Stopping abruptly in her steps, the blonde slayer laughed suddenly. It wasn't her usual bright and airy laugh, instead it was cold. "That's what you think this is?" She covered her face wearily with her hands.
Faith cocked her brow challengingly. "Ain't it?"
"No!" Buffy cried, dropping her hands. "No, that is not it!" She stepped close to Faith for the first time since they'd started walking from Willow's. "This is about what the hell you were thinking when you decided to go out patrolling tonight."
Faith frowned angrily. "I was thinking I'm a slayer, B, that's kind of the job description. What, like I need your permission now?"
"You don't need my permission, but how about my help? Something's going on with your powers, Faith. But you're so damned stubborn that you'd rather go out and get killed and who knows what else just so you don't have to take help from me."
"'Cause you've been so helpful so far." Faith muttered.
Buffy flinched and dropped her eyes from Faith's face. Instead of being happy she'd finally shut the other girl up, Faith felt the hurt on Buffy's face like a punch to the gut. The feeling quickly faded when Buffy squared her shoulders and replied, "It felt pretty helpful to me when I came looking for you tonight and saved you from those vamps."
"I coulda handled it." Faith retorted, but her voice lacked conviction.
"Fine." Buffy said, noticing that people were starting to peek from their windows at the two of them. "Can we get out of here please? We can finish screaming at each other when we get home."
"I'm going to the motel." Faith informed her, starting to walk away.
"Fine." Buffy retorted, clearly angry. "Leave like you always do when something doesn't go your way."
Freezing midstep, Faith turned. "What the hell does that mean?"
"It means that when Giles wants you to train more on something, you take off. I call you out on being reckless when we're slaying and you ditch me for the rest of the night." She paused, then glared back at the brunette. "I kiss you, which was a huge deal for me, by the way, and when I'm not ready to I don't know, jump into bed with you right away, you sneak out in the morning."
"What?" Faith practically roared. "You think I left because you didn't put out?"
Buffy shrugged bitterly.
"Screw you, B." Faith turned and started walking again.
Buffy hesitated a moment and then scurried to catch up. "Tell me why you left then."
Faith shook her head angrily. "Forget it. Doesn't fucking matter."
"Stop!" Buffy demanded, quickly moving in front of the other girl. "Stop walking away and talk to me."
"There's no point. You just think whatever you want anyway."
Buffy put her hands out to block the other girl's movement but stopped short of actually touching her. Faith rolled her eyes but stopped, fidgeting angrily.
The two girls glared at one another for a moment. "Look, I'm sorry, okay?" Buffy finally said. "Just let me help you. What about your arm? You can't get it back in the socket by yourself."
"I'll manage."
Buffy huffed in exasperation. Why did Faith always make everything so much harder than it needed to be? She'd been completely reckless and selfish tonight, going out looking for vamps when she knew damned well she couldn't protect herself right now. She wasn't concerned about how anyone else would feel if she got killed. Or worse yet, turned. She didn't care how Buffy would feel. But trying to reason with her after the fact was clearly not working. Maybe it was time for a different tactic. "Can I come with you?" Buffy asked quietly.
Faith glanced over in irritation and surprise, which was quickly hidden under a mask of indifference. "I guess if you want to." She frowned. "But it ain't exactly the Four Seasons. I'd be surprised if there was even hot water for you to get a shower."
Buffy just nodded and kept her face blank. But secretly, she was pleased. If Faith was too stubborn to come to Buffy's where she'd be safe, Buffy would just bring the safety to her.
----
Faith hesitantly opened the door to her motel room. After Giles's surprise visit earlier, she'd straightened up a little, at least piled most of the dirty clothes in one corner and thrown out the pizza boxes. She was relieved to see the place looked mostly presentable and the temperature had settled somewhere shy of Hell for a change. She left the gritty overhead lighting off, instead flicking on the bedside light and plugging in the Christmas lights she'd strung around the room.
"I like the lights." Buffy offered quietly. Her mood had calmed considerately on the way over. Now she was thinking about how screwed up things were quickly becoming between the two of them. And what she could do to fix it.
"Yeah," Faith raked a hand through her matted hair. "Tis the season or whatever." She started shrugging her jacket off slowly.
"Here," Buffy stepped forward quickly and slid her hands over the jacket's shoulders. "Let me." The brunette stilled and allowed the other slayer to peel the denim carefully from her injured arm. Buffy draped the garment carefully across one of the rickety chairs. Turning back to Faith she spied her now uncovered shoulder. The bulge of her humerus was clearly obvious and looked intensely uncomfortable. Buffy offered a sympathetic wince. "You ready to do the shoulder?"
Faith nodded, seating herself in the chair with her injured arm facing Buffy. The blonde gently grasped her arm and bent her forearm upward at the elbow. Steadying it at a 90 degree angle, she began slowly rotating Faith's bent arm outward from her body until she judged she'd gone far enough. "Ready?" She repeated. Off Faith's nod she gripped the arm firmly around the elbow and pushed upward, allowing the humerus to pop back into its normal location.
Faith released the breath she'd been holding. "Thanks." She murmured.
"Sure." Buffy looked at her bloody face. "You have a first aid kit?"
Gesturing behind her, Faith said, "Bathroom."
Buffy found the kit easily, sitting in easy access on the small bathroom counter. It was stocked with antibiotics, peroxide, bandages of different sizes, gauze, tape, and pretty much everything someone enduring nightly injuries might need. A washcloth was folded over the towel ring, and Buffy ran warm water over it and then brought both her finds back into the main room. Perching on the edge of the bed across from the still seated Faith, she raised the wash cloth. The other slayer allowed Buffy to carefully wipe the dried blood from her face and unearth a gash in her lip and a still swollen nose. Buffy carefully applied antiseptic to the lip as well as a deeper cut by Faith's hairline. The cuts looked to be healing quickly, so she left them uncovered and packed away the supplies.
Faith had been silent through this activity and Buffy glanced at her, puzzled. The other slayer's eyes had closed and she'd fallen asleep sitting up in her chair. Her face looked strained, dark bruises under her eyes from the beating her face had taken. Still leaning forward, Buffy watched the steady rise and fall of the other slayer's chest. Thinking about how close Faith had come to losing her life tonight, she swallowed hard and gently pushed a few strands of hair away from the other girl's face. Standing up silently, she glanced around the room until she spotted an older model phone tucked on the bedside table. She dialed home quickly, hoping her mom hadn't already gone to sleep.
"Hello?" Answered Joyce.
"Hey, Mom." Buffy cupped the receiver and tried to keep her voice down. "It's me."
"Buffy? Is everything okay?"
"Yeah, I'm okay."
"Are you on your way home soon?"
"Uh, I was hoping it would be okay if I stay at Faith's tonight. She got hurt on patrol and I kinda wanna keep an eye on her."
"Is she alright?" The concern was evident in Joyce's voice.
"Yeah, she'll be okay. Slayers heal fast."
"Are you sure you don't want me to come pick you up? Both of you? I don't like you girls being over there by yourselves."
"I'm sure, Mom. Faith's already asleep. I'll be fine, I promise."
"Okay, honey. If you're sure… What about school tomorrow? Will you be home in the morning?"
"Yeah, I need to get changed and get my stuff."
"Okay then, I'll see you in the morning. Be careful."
"I will."
"I love you."
"I love you too, Mom." Buffy gently replaced the receiver in its cradle. Faith was still slumped slightly forward, her body in a light sleep. She approached her carefully and shook her right shoulder. "Faith."
Faith snapped awake. "Huh?"
"You fell asleep." Buffy fidgeted beside her.
"Oh. Uh, sorry."
"That's okay." The blonde shrugged. "I told my mom I was gonna stay here tonight."
Faith looked at her curiously, then feigned nonchalance. "Yeah, okay." She kicked off her boots before climbing to her feet. "I don't have any pajamas, so…"
"Oh." Buffy said, blushing. "Right. That's okay. Uhh, do you have a t-shirt or something?"
Faith turned to rummage through the small amount of clean clothes tucked away in drawers, unearthing two t-shirts and handing one to Buffy.
Buffy accepted it in dismay. She'd been thinking of something larger.
"Sorry, B." Faith shrugged, watching her. "S'all I've got."
"It's fine." She smiled. Stepping around to the other side of the bed, she quickly stripped off her own dirty clothes and pulled Faith's clean shirt over her head. Without glancing at Faith, she slid under the covers on one side of the bed.
Faith's shoulder was still sore and she moved more slowly, peeling her stained and bloody tank top off and reaching her left hand behind her to unsnap her bra. She heard Buffy's sharp intake of breath behind her and smiled to herself.
"Faith!" Buffy cried, but not because she was impressed like Faith had been expecting. "Your back, does it hurt?"
"It's a little tender, why?" Faith tried glancing over her own shoulder to see her back.
Buffy moved across the bed, climbing to her knees on the edge, so her face was level with Faith's back. Her light touch skittered across the bruises marring Faith's back and the other slayer tensed. "You have some pretty bad bruises."
"Landed on a tombstone." Faith answered lightly. "Thought the shoulder broke the fall."
The two fell into silence as Buffy's fingertips traced the yellow and purple marks over the other girl's slim back. Faith stared straight ahead, struggling to keep her breathing even. The Christmas lights twinkled merrily around the room, and she absently reached out to flip off the table lamp, leaving shadows broken only by soft colored light. Buffy's touch became firmer, and her palms slid up over the angles of the brunette's shoulder blades, to cup her soft shoulders.
Swallowing hard, Faith noticed with some alarm that her own right hand slid over her exposed chest to touch Buffy's left hand on her shoulder. The world felt curiously surreal as their hands rested together and Faith watched the blinking lights form patterns on the smooth curves of her own body. Behind her, Buffy's breath hitched and then her cool cheek was pressed into the hollow between Faith's shoulders. The dark slayer's eyes slid shut, completely focusing on that one small sensation of the other girl's cheek lying on her battered skin. There was there the tiniest feeling of movement, and then… The edge of Buffy's mouth skated across her back. Faith trembled, still held in position by the other slayer's firm hands. The blonde's lips pressed fully against her, warm and soft for a moment over her spine.
Through her eyelids she saw only indistinct blinking and she imagined what Buffy's lips looked like, pink and soft and ghosting across her back. She exhaled roughly when the blonde pulled away, just enough so that when she whispered, Faith felt her breath tickling her. "You scared me tonight."
Surprised, Faith's fingers tightened where they lay atop Buffy's. "I'm sorry." She murmured back, still processing the other girl's words. Almost nothing scared Buffy.
Buffy was quiet for a moment, and she let her forehead press into the spot her lips had vacated. "I umm," Her fingers tightened over Faith's shoulders. "I don't want to lose you."
Faith's chest felt tight. She was saved from a response by Buffy moving. The hand on her left shoulder released while Buffy's grip slid lightly down her bare right arm, slipping into Faith's hand. She pulled, trying to turn the brunette toward her.
Faith allowed Buffy to tug her around and the two were facing each other. Buffy's wide eyes were fixed on their joined hands. Slowly, she let her gaze move up, lingering on Faith's deceptively soft abdomen. Faith took a deep breath as the other girl kept looking upward, her gaze sweeping across her breasts, before Buffy looked up into her eyes. Faith stared back, wide eyed. She blinked unsteadily as Buffy's free hand settled against her bare hip. "Please," The blonde started quietly. "Don't do anything like that again."
Faith dipped her head in agreement and the hand at her hip pulled her forward so her knees bumped the bed and she moved shakily into the same position Buffy was in. The blonde's arm at her waist steadied her. They stared at one another for a moment, and then Buffy smiled softly and nodded her head as Faith had.
She leaned forward and wrapped her arms around the other girl, tucking her face into Faith's unruly hair. She still smelled peculiarly of dirt and copper, but her pulse beat steadily in her neck which was all that really mattered right now. Buffy smiled as Faith's arms folded against her waist, drawing them closer together, and she felt the other girl's warm breath against her neck.
Faith struggled to keep breathing normally, even though Buffy's hands were softly climbing and stroking her bare back. "Come on," She said quietly, before things could get too out of control. "Let's lay down."
They pulled apart slowly, and Faith noticed the way Buffy's eyes flicked over her breasts as the blonde lay back. Faith stood up for a moment to strip off her pants, still watching Buffy watching her. She climbed back in, and Buffy drew the coverlet over both of them. They lay facing into each other, and after a moment's deliberation, Buffy moved forward to lay closer to Faith. Her hand landed hesitantly on the dark slayer's hip.
"What are we doing, B?" Faith murmured, taking in the way the tiny Christmas lights illuminated Buffy's skin.
"I don't know." Buffy admitted. "You want me to move back to my side?"
Faith considered, and then sighed. "No, I want you over here with me, B. But I'm not so sure that's what you want."
"I want to be over here too." Buffy whispered.
"Okay," Faith said, exhausted. That was obviously not what she'd been getting at but she was too damned tired to force the issue tonight. "Stay here then."
Buffy moved closer when Faith's reached out and stroked her arm lightly. Her own grasp on Faith's extended so that her hand lay lightly against the small of the brunette's back. "Goodnight, Faith."
"Night, B."
There will be a bit of a delay before the next chapter--real life getting in the way again. In the meantime, if you like the story or have any thoughts or constructive criticism, please leave a review!