Chutes & Ladders

Faith let that sink in for a few minutes before tentatively looking over at the other girl. "So…we're okay?"

"Yeah," Buffy replied. A few laughing teens left the Bronze, walking between them and down the alley. The blonde watched their retreating forms quietly. Faith stepped closer, as if to touch her and Buffy looked back up to her, finishing her thought quietly. "We're friends."

"Good." Faith said with a forced smile. She dropped her hand as if she hadn't been intending to touch the other slayer. Friends?

Part 2

Interlude 1: December 29th

As a rule, Faith was not cool with people waking her up. It didn't much matter who was doing the waking or what time of day or night it happened to be. If she was asleep, there was no good reason for disrupting that. So when a particularly loud knock sounded on her door and roused her, the slayer kicked her covers off indignantly and tried to decide between punching the visitor in the face and smashing their head into the doorjamb. She didn't bother putting anything over her skimpy underwear before stomping to the door and yanking it open.

Cordelia stood on the other side, holding two insulated cups in her gloved hands. "I brought caffeinated goodness." She said cheerfully, waving one cup under Faith's nose.

Glaring, Faith snatched the proffered cup and stepped into her room.

"Would you like to come in, Cordelia?" Cordelia mimicked a deep voice that was presumably supposed to be Faith. "Why yes, I would! Thank you for offering." She responded to herself in her normal voice.

The slayer flopped backward on her rickety bed, managing to keep all the liquid in her cup, before taking a sip and raising an aggravated eyebrow. "There a reason you woke me up, Princess?"

The other girl shoved one of Faith's bare legs aside indelicately, and seated herself. She took a slow sip from her cup. "Well, I know you've been hit in the head a lot, so I'm guessing you just forgot that we went to the Bronze together last night."

Faith stared back in confusion.

"After I willingly spoke to Xander Harris for you, you just took off and I had no idea where you went!"

"Oh."

"Yeah, 'oh.' I don't know what it's like where you come from, but in civilized society, we usually let our friends know if we're bagging on an outing half way through."

"Sorry, Mom. Next time I'll be sure to ask your permission." Faith dragged her cover back over herself, closing her eyes and laying down with her coffee.

Cordelia sighed loudly.

"You wanna know what happened after you went inside." The slayer said knowingly.

"Yes, please." The cheerleader turned to face the supine slayer.

"You're such a fucking chick."

"So are you." The taller girl reminded her. "You may be confused because you spend your time killing things and trying to get in Buffy's pants…"

Faith opened one eye to glare. "Fuck off."

"Somebody's grouchy." Cordy sing-songed.

Sighing, the slayer propped herself up on one elbow and sipped her drink. "You're not leaving anytime soon, are you?"

"Nope."

"Fine." Faith stared at her cup, running her nail over the lip of the lid. "We fought; I told her I was sorry; she said okay. We're friends. The end."

"You're friends?"

"Yeah." Faith replied and batted her eyelashes in what she thought was a feminine way. "Tomorrow I'm gonna go over there and paint her toenails."

Cordy snickered. "What the hell is wrong with you two?"

"What?" Faith asked defensively.

"You know what. You're fighting. Then you're making out in alleys. Then you're fighting. Then you're friends."

The slayer shrugged indifferently.

Cordelia decided to go with a very direct approach. "Why don't you try just talking to her? Tell her how you feel."

Tell Buffy how she felt? That sounded about as awesome as stuffing bamboo shoots under her fingernails. Besides, what the hell did Cordelia know about it? Faith didn't even know how she felt about the other slayer. Faith's eyes narrowed. "I feel like I wanna get some and Buffy's hot."

Unimpressed, the cheerleader shook her head. "Please. We both know that's not all it is."

"It really is. Just looking for a little action." Leering now, she leaned toward the other girl. "Maybe you could save me some hassle here."

"Ew." Cordelia sniffed indignantly. "I prefer my dates to be a little more… hygienic."

"Didn't say anything about a date."

"Well in that case, I prefer them to have penises." The cheerleader rolled her eyes and smacked Faith's leg through the blanket. "Now, get up and put on some pants."

Grumbling, Faith did as instructed.

"So what are you going to do?" Cordy asked as the slayer was hunting down a clean shirt to change into.

"About what?"

"About Buffy." The girl's glance was withering. "Try to keep up."

"Nothing."

"Is it like in the slayer handbook that all slayers must be morons?"

"Cordy…" Faith growled warningly.

"No, I'm just wondering because she's all 'Dances with Nerds' and you're pretending not to be in love with like the only person who can stand you, so… I'm just saying, it seems to be a trend."

"Nobody said nothing about love." Faith hissed, getting close enough to Cordelia that the other girl leaned away. "I told you what this is. Can you just try to keep your trap shut for once?"

"Fine." The other girl huffed. "If you wanna spend your nights braiding her hair and watching her date vampires with souls or whatever, that's your problem."

"Great." The slayer gritted out. "Can we get out of here now? I'm starving."

---

Buffy frowned slightly at her fellow slayer, who was eating her third cheeseburger from the Happy Burger bag she was carrying. "Hungry much?" She asked, scanning the street for any signs of the supernatural.

Faith paused mid-chew. "You want one?" She asked around a mouthful of burger.

"You have more?" The blonde replied incredulously.

Behind the two slayers trailed their friends. Cordelia rolled her eyes while Xander and Willow exchanged long-suffering looks. Oz strolled along at his girlfriend's side, indifferent to the goings on ahead of them.

"They were having a special." The brunette slayer told her defensively.

"Buy ten burgers and the heart attack's free?" Buffy guessed.

"Doubt a heart attack's gonna have time to get me." Faith shrugged.

"No, it'll probably be a vampire because we can't hear anything over you inhaling those burgers."

"What's your problem, B?"

"Nothing. What's your problem, F?"

"I don't have a problem."

"Good." Buffy raised her voice.

"Great!"

"Uh, guys?" Willow piped up.

"What!" They both shouted, looking behind them.

The redhead stared at them for a moment, then pointed ahead to the left where a shifty looking form was darting through the gates at the Sunnydale Cemetery.

"Shit." Faith swore, and quickly downed the rest of her burger. Buffy was already darting toward the graveyard, her footfall practically silent. "Hold this for me." The brunette shoved her bag into a surprised Xander's chest and then took off after the other slayer. She ran hard but Buffy was faster and Faith passed through the gates several strides behind her. She saw the vampire running from the side. He was going to intercept Buffy. Before she could shout a warning, the vamp stepped in front of the blonde slayer. In his hand he held a long piece of pipe.

Faith saw the way it would play out with sickening certainty. But she was powerless to stop it. Buffy was running too fast; she couldn't pull back in time.

The blonde slayer plowed straight into the pipe the vampire extended. It clipped her in the chest and she somersaulted in the air before landing hard on her back. She lay unmoving on the ground.

Her attacker hefted the pipe over his head, intent on bringing it down on the prone girl. Faith pushed herself harder, tackling the gleeful vampire before he had time to bring his weapon down.

The vamp hit the ground hard and lay momentarily dazed. The slayer scrambled away from him on her hands and knees, stopping next to Buffy. "B!" She shouted urgently. Her hands felt the blonde's head, looking for any injuries. An ugly welt was already forming across her chest. Finding nothing bleeding or swelling under Buffy's hair, Faith gently probed the area around her bruise, feeling for anything broken.

Buffy groaned.

"B, you okay?" The brunette's fingers cupped her neck. "Can you hear me, Buffy?"

The blonde groaned again.

"Damn," Hissed a voice behind her. "I thought I'd killed the bitch."

Faith was on her feet again, eyes narrowed dangerously. "Lucky for you, she's not that easy to kill." She attacked, fists and feet flying at him. The vampire was fast and really strong. She couldn't seem to get the upper hand. Not that she was really giving him her entire focus. While trading blows and evading kicks, her eyes sought out the fallen slayer. Buffy still lay on the ground unmoving. "B!" Faith screamed over at her while hopping over the foot meant to trip her. "C'mon, Buffy, say something!"

The vampire caught her with a vicious punch to the solar plexus. Faith stumbled backward, feeling like a hole had been knocked through her chest. "Mmm," Said the vampire now standing over her. "It's been fun."

"Yeah," Faith rasped. "Well, it ain't over yet."

The vamp shrugged. "Almost over." He leaned closer to her, licking his lips. "And when I'm done with you. I'm gonna eat your little friend."

From the corner of her eye, Faith saw the Scoobies, finally jogging into the cemetery. They took stock of the situation and started running faster toward the two slayers. "Like hell you are." Faith gritted out, dragging herself to her feet. The vampire smiled and then dove at her, knocking her back to the ground. The two began rolling around, each trying to land on top and bash the other's skull into the dirt.

Xander reached Buffy first. He slid next to her on his knees, immediately grasping her arm. "Buffy?"

"Is she okay?" Willow arrived next to them, her voice beginning to have a touch of hysteria.

"I can't tell!" Xander grasped the blonde's shoulders, shaking her lightly. "C'mon, Buff."

Buffy managed a low moan, slowly blinking her eyes open. "Xander?"

"Oh, God!" Willow moaned. "She's not sure! She has amnesia!"

Xander made an impatient shushing gesture with his hand. "Yeah," He smiled gently at Buffy. "It's me."

The slayer tried to sit up, clutching her arms across her chest as she did so.

Cordelia was kneeling in the grass now too, and helped push her up into a sitting position. "What happened?"

"He… hit me… with… a pipe." Buffy grimaced, her chest hurting with every expansion of her lungs. She looked around quickly. "Did Faith get him?"

"Sounds like she's still getting him." Oz remarked, as the sounds of flesh pounding into flesh and muffled grunts of pain reached them. A nearby cluster of trees blocked their view of the fighting duo.

"Gotta help her." The blonde slayer muttered, reaching for Xander's shoulder to push herself up.

"Let Faith handle it!" Willow ordered, pushing back gently on Buffy's shoulders. "You need to sit down for a minute."

"I'm fine." Buffy insisted disagreeably, but pain flickered across her face when she moved.

Suddenly, the vampire came sailing out from behind the trees. He landed on his back, several yards away from them. Faith barreled out after him, leaping in the air to land on his fallen form, feet first. She grasped her stake from inside her jacket and lofted it above her head. Her eyes happened to fall on the group of friends and when she saw Buffy sitting up and alert, the relief in her face was obvious.

She focused on the task at hand and brought the stake down toward the vampire's chest. Before it could make contact, the slayer was tackled from the side by a new vampire and the first one had time to scramble away. The newcomer was female and extremely angry from the looks of things.

Faith was on her feet quickly, facing the two vampires warily. They smiled at one another and charged at their enemy together.

The slayer moved to the side, trying to move out of proximity from at least one of them. She struck the male in the gut.

The vampire curled forward, covering his stomach protectively. Faith saw a lucky shot and she took it, swinging her stake down and into his back.

He exploded into dust and his ashes swirled over the face of his shocked companion. The remaining vamp looked up with hatred in her eyes. "You're going to pay for that, bitch."

Faith shrugged indifferently. "Doubt it." She remarked, as she easily dodged the first blow the vampire attempted.

The furious vamp came again, this time executing a scissor kick that caught the slayer's temple. Faith lurched sideways, her arm coming up to cover her face protectively.

Taking advantage of her unguarded torso, the vamp punched hard. Her first connected with the side of Faith's ribcage and a sickening crack sounded.

Faith was propelled to her knees, almost crashing into the tree they were now beside. The vamp stepped closer and delivered a tremendous blow the slayer's temple.

Pain splintered through the brunette's head and she dropped to her side in the grass. The vampire stood over her, smirking down. "Told ya you'd pay."

Buffy had been watching the fight in concern and now she climbed unsteadily to her feet. She shook off the restraining hands of Willow and Xander and ignored their pleas for her to sit back down. The vamp was clearly getting ready to go for a final blow. Faith lay on the ground clutching her side where several ribs were obviously fractured. The blow to the head had left her disoriented and she had not yet looked up to see the danger looming above her. Maybe Faith would recover her sensibilities and dodge the blow. Maybe she wouldn't. Buffy wasn't going to take that chance.

The blonde slayer's chest burned in agony as she began to run. Buffy clenched her teeth against the pain, forcing herself to move faster and faster. The vampire looked up in annoyance as Buffy got closer. Her fists shot up in front of her defensively. She was expecting the slayer to tackle her. But the blonde leapt gracefully in the air just as she reached the vampire and the injured slayer. Her palms landed perfectly across the lowest tree branch and she grasped it tightly.

Buffy's thighs were wrapped around the vampire's neck before the creature even realized what was happening. Instinctively, she gripped the slayer's legs, trying to pry them from her throat.

Using the vamp's shoulders for support, the blonde released the branch. Buffy's body contorted backward until her outstretched palms met the grass. Pushing off the ground, the blonde curled her body inward, bringing her legs forward and flipping the vamp over her body. The stunned vampire landed on her back, with Buffy astride her, still trapping the vamp's neck in her legs.

"Who's paying now?" She asked cruelly and rolled to the side. The strength in Buffy's legs twisted the vamp's head until it popped right off her neck. The creature had time to make a face of angry surprise before disintegrating into dust.

"Damn, B." Faith whistled from her slumped position in the grass.

Buffy smiled tiredly, their earlier sniping completely forgotten. She flexed her limbs experimentally; her body had really not appreciated those heroics.

The brunette dragged her battered body over to flop beside the other slayer. "Thanks." She mumbled sincerely.

"No problem." Buffy wheezed. "Thanks for not letting her boyfriend eat me."

Faith's chuckle made her wince in pain and clutch her side.

"You okay?"

"I've had worse. You?"

"Well, I did die that one time."

The Scoobies made their way over and extended hands down to pick the two up from the ground. "Wow," Xander remarked as he picked some bits of leaf from Buffy's disheveled hair. "You just dusted her with your legs."

"Yeah," Willow agreed enthusiastically. "Wouldn't want to get stuck in there!"

Xander's snort quickly developed into full on giggling and the rest of the Scoobs goggled at Willow.

Leaning close to Faith's ear, Cordelia whispered, "At least you know you don't have to worry about her trying to steal your girl."

Faith shot her friend a dark look, but if Buffy's enhanced hearing picked up the remark, she ignored it. Instead she was focused on the babbling redhead.

"I didn't—" Willow sputtered. "I meant uh—I wouldn't want to—with the decapitation… and the… uh…"

"It's okay, Will." Buffy patted her arm.

Flushed a horrible red, the young witch tried to turn her statement around. "I just meant because of the death! Not that I wouldn't want to be there otherwise, I mean who wouldn't?" Her eyes widened and she turned to her very surprised best friend. "No! Wait! That's not what I meant."

"Willow," Cordelia cut in helpfully. "Stop talking."

"Right." Agreed Willow, allowing a bemused Oz to take her hand and tug her forward.

Xander was still giggling as he extended his arm toward Buffy. "Help you home, m'lady?"

The blonde looked to Faith, but the brunette had retrieved her Happy Burger bag and was fishing inside for a warm sandwich. Buffy forced a smile and stepped into Xander's wingspan. He wrapped his arm gently around her waist, letting her lean some of her body weight on him. "Thanks, Xander."

"Sure." He replied and grinned. "Now, raise your hand if you wanna hear Will talk more about being trapped between Buffy's legs."

Buffy was injured, but not badly enough that she couldn't elbow him sharply.

"Noted." He winced. "My hands are down."

Faith watched as the duo walked several paces ahead. Xander's hand rested on Buffy's side, closer to her left breast than Faith thought was necessary. Jealousy burned at the back of her throat as she watched the pair with narrowed eyes. She'd forgotten Cordelia was next to her until the tall girl spoke. "What's with you?"

"Nothing." Faith began walking, carefully not shifting her upper body.

"Really." Cordy said doubtfully.

"Really." The slayer insisted. "Now are you gonna watch me in pain here or help me find my burger?"

The cheerleader accepted the greasy bag from Faith's outstretched fingers. "Since you asked so nicely." She retrieved a still warm burger and handed it over to Faith, who casually wolfed it down as if there'd been no interruption in her dining. "You realize you could go relieve Xander of his nursemaid duties and walk with Buffy?"

"Yup."

"But you're not going to."

"Nope."

"Okay, then." Cordelia drawled and she and Faith set off after the other Scoobs.

---

Shortly after midnight, Wesley slipped off his lights and retired to his bedroom. The room at the moment consisted of a new mattress and box spring propped on the floor. The whole apartment, in fact, remained sparsely furnished even after nearly three weeks in Sunnydale. There was no reason to unpack, he thought, removing his glasses and rubbing his tired eyes. The slayer, Faith, was completely opposed to working with the council in any way. She'd all but laughed in his face when he'd asked her to reconsider. Frankly, Wesley wasn't sure what more he could do here. There was no reasoning with the girl. In a few days, one of the council's specialized teams would arrive to handle the problem. And Wesley would be back to merry old England.

It was a shame. The girl was so young. And, sloppy or not, both her previous watchers' reports indicated she had a passion for slaying. He'd thought perhaps with a little work… Well, it didn't matter. If Faith wasn't amenable to working with council then the matter was closed. As he pulled his t-shirt over his head, the phone began to ring. He frowned, wondering who could be calling at such a late hour. He let the shirt fall on his bed and padded down the hall to retrieve his kitchen phone. "Hello?"

"Wesley. It's your father."

The watcher paled. If there was one person he absolutely did not want to hear from at this particular moment, it was his father. "Hi, Dad." He managed to greet cheerfully. "How are you?"

Clearly not in the mood for pleasantries, Roger Wyndam-Price got straight to the point. "How are things progressing with the slayer?"

"Well," Wesley informed him nervously. "She seems quite resigned to her decision. I'm afraid I haven't been able to sway her."

The ensuing silence was extremely uncomfortable. "I see."

"I've tried speaking with her… This last time she actually threatened to kill me."

His father paused, and then sighed loudly. "We're talking about a child here, Wesley. The girl is still a teenager. She's been a slayer less than a year. And you're telling me you can't rein her in?"

"I've tried. I--"

"You've tried." His father repeated dully.

"Yes." The young watcher quietly agreed.

"Well, fine." Roger's voice was laced with scorn. "You've tried. You've tried your very best and you've failed."

Wesley said nothing.

"We'll be sending a team out by the end of the week."

"Perhaps I can try one more time." Wesley offered.

"Don't bother. We will handle the girl."

"Alright."

"Obviously you're not cut out to be in the field."

The younger man bristled at the insult. "Dad, if you'd met the girl…"

"The slayer has nothing to do with this. It was a mistake to send you over there."

"But-"

"Really, I didn't expect her to make it through the cruciamentum. She's certainly no Samantha Kane." Roger snorted. "If I'd have thought the slayer would survive, I certainly wouldn't have suggested sending you."

Wesley felt his face flush. "I-I know I still have a lot to learn, but I did finish third in the academy."

"Being a watcher isn't all about passing courses, Wesley." The older man harrumphed. "A watcher assigned to an active slayer has to be able to keep her under the council's control. The fate of the world often hangs in the balance. And the watcher is the hand that guides the tool. Face it. You just don't have what it takes."

Angry now, Wesley felt his courage grow. For years he'd ignored the denigration and humiliation his father heaped upon him. This was the final straw. "Like you had what it took, Dad?"

"Pardon me?"

"You've never been assigned an active slayer."

"I preferred to work at headquarters. So I could be near my family. And if I had been assigned an active slayer, you can be sure that I wouldn't have screwed up my assignment the way you have." Roger continued before Wesley could interrupt. "I'll be there in three days. To clean up your mess."

The dial tone echoed in his ear. The young watcher slowly pulled the phone from his face. His hands were nearly shaking in anger and embarrassment. His father had always been a hard man. But to know that he'd only assigned Wesley to Sunnydale with the expectation that the slayer would die… He slumped hard against the counter. He reminded himself firmly that he was a twenty-six year old man and grown men did not cry. Fumbling in a box on the counter, Wesley unearthed some whiskey. He didn't bother with a glass, but took a burning gulp. He exhaled roughly, steeling his nerves.

He was going to convince that girl, somehow. His father was not right about him. His eyes fell across the green folder Giles had pressed upon him on Christmas Eve. He'd yet to open it. But if he stood a chance to win Faith over, it wouldn't do to ignore any additional information to be had. Capping the bottle once more, he picked the folder up and flipped it open. Clipped to the inside cover were two pictures. One was obviously recent. The two slayers stood side by side wearing matching strained smiles. The other photo was older. A thin faced young Faith stood next to an overweight woman. The woman's arm pulled the child against her side. The little girl smiled, displaying two missing teeth. Her hands were tucked in the pockets of her too short jeans, and her shirt hung loosely on her skinny frame. But what Wesley immediately took notice of was the look in the child's eyes. There was a defiance in her young eyes that he'd seen just recently when reviewing the video of the cruciamentum. Faith at eight or nine was already displaying the world weary exterior Faith the slayer would show him ten years later when he showed up on her doorstep. Interested now, Wesley began to read.

---

Sorry for the shorter chapter, folks! Please comment and let me know what you thought. Still hating Wesley? Cordelia? I want your opinions! :D