Faith brushed dirt from her hands and sat down in front of Guinevere's fresh grave. Callum threw down the shovel Faith had pilfered from the B&B's garden shed and sat down next to her. "You alright?"
She shrugged, "She was a Slayer and I killed her."
Callum straightened his back, "Self defense against a crazy woman thought to have been dead long ago, who just stabbed someone you care about. You didn't know Buffy was going to pull through."
"That's just it, I'm not sorry… Not for that anyway."
"But you feel sorry for her."
"Yeah, I guess I kinda do. I mean this whole thing was seriously messed up from the beginning. Who's bright idea was it to lock her inside a freaking cave anyway? That thing about it being for her protection was a crock of bull."
He looked around at the seemingly idyllic forest landscape surrounding the cottage. It looked like something out of a Disney film. "Agreed. This place screams gilded cage."
"Probably some Watcher's Council BS, or maybe she was already going nuts or something. Who knows." She said plucking a blade of grass and tearing it into little pieces.
"Are you going to be alright?"
"Always am."
He wrapped an arm around her. "Babe, it's me. Couples therapy, remember?"
"So much more fun when you're naked."
Callum chuckled, "Come on, beautiful, you wanted to check out the cottage some more, might find some answers."
She sighed and pulled herself up. "Yeah, better see if there are any more bombshells waiting for us."
Buffy pushed herself up out of bed unsteadily. She was healing well but her chest and back seared with pain at every movement. She watched Spike sleeping for a moment as she gingerly shrugged on her robe before creeping out of the room. The bathroom door at the end of the hall was open and Buffy shuffled towards it. She was feeling fairly weak after everything and wouldn't have gotten up at all if she didn't have to use the bathroom so badly.
She stood at the sink washing her hands and examining her reflection in the mirror. She was pale and looked exhausted. There were circles under her eyes like she hadn't slept in a week. Her breathing was still a little off but at least she was ambulatory. Barely. This was definitely worse than the wound she had suffered at the Hellmouth.
The corner of the shower curtain caught her eye in the mirror.
Mmm… hot water sounds really good— I should probably get cleaned up and check out the damage for myself…
She sighed as she shrugged off her robe and the oversized shirt she had slept in. Then turned to look at herself in the mirror. She peeled off the bandage a few inches right of her sternum. It was a testament to how much the ordeal had upset Spike since he had yet to make a joke about her being stabbed in the boob. The slash was crusted over with blood. It looked like it was a few days old and had started to heal. She proceeded to contort her arm around to pull off the bandage at her back. Using the mirror she was able to see that side was healing just as well. The hilt of the sword had left a nasty bruise.
There were two baskets on the countertop filled with tiny bottles of shampoo and conditioner. A third basket was filled with what looked like little seashell shaped homemade soaps. Buffy grabbed one of each along with a fresh washcloth and proceeded to the shower. It was just as glorious as she had hoped it would be. The wounds were raw and burned under the water but it felt so good to get clean. She washed gingerly, watching trace amounts of blood and dirt run down the drain.
Could be worse, at least it doesn't look like the shower scene in 'Psycho'— She thought.
By the time she got back to their room she felt like she had just finished an extensive training session with the girls. She took the towel off of her wet hair and pulled her robe tighter around herself. Then collapsed back onto the bed as smoothly as possible and let out a hiss of pain as she eased against the pillows. The wound at her back stung dully and felt like one large bruise.
Because it is one big bruise.
She shifted awkwardly as she tried to get comfortable and swore under her breath. Spike lifted his head towards her groggily, "Alright, Pet?"
"I'm fine. Just doing the healing thing."
He turned, propped himself up on one elbow with his head in his hand, "You smell nice. Shower help?"
"Yeah. I'm feeling better. Still hurts but you know how that goes—" she cut off with a wince of pain.
"What do you feel like doing? Do you want to head home early or take a few more days here?"
"I hadn't really thought about it. We should probably check out the cottage again." She said pulling the blanket back over herself.
"Faith and Callum went this morning, been gone all day as far as I know."
She nodded, "Alright. What about phone calls? Did you call Willow?"
Spike frowned and cleared his throat, "Not yet, I thought it might be better if you talked to her."
Buffy looked towards the clock, "Almost dinner time. I'll call later."
"You should definitely eat something."
"I look like death."
"Nonsense. I look like death and no one bats an eye."
"You look like you should be a male pinup in some dirty magazine."
"You say the sweetest things," he chuckled, "but seriously, you need to eat. Sure you're a bit peaky but just as beautiful as ever, nothing a little makeup can't fix if you're all that worried."
"Gee thanks," her voice dripped with sarcasm.
"Come on, you know I'm right."
"Fine. can you hand me some clean clothes?"
"You need fresh bandages."
She glanced over at the clock again, "Yeah, that's probably a good idea. They are looking better but I really don't need them popping open if I have another coughing fit or something. Dinner actually sounds like a pretty great idea right now."
Spike rolled out of bed and grabbed a clean pair of jeans and a shirt for himself. His own wound looked significantly better than hers but he was still moving rather stiffly.
"How are you feeling?" She asked.
"I'm alright, Pet. Bit tender, but then I don't have to breathe so there's that," he said as he pulled his shirt on gingerly and went to get Buffy's clothes out of her bag. He tossed them onto the bed next to her before grabbing the first aid kit.
Buffy slipped her robe off of her shoulders and Spike raised his eyebrows when he saw the wounds.
"Well, at least it's starting to close a little."
"Yeah, it's not as bad as yesterday, still hurts like a bitch."
"I hear you on that one."
Spike moved around to her back laying a cool hand on her shoulder as he applied a fresh bandage. When he finished he ran his fingers down her arms, kissing her neck.
Buffy inhaled sharply at his tender caress and started to cough a little. "Sorry, Love," he murmured as he moved back around to her front. He shook his head as he secured the bandage, "Likely to leave a scar."
"Guess it's a good thing my boyfriend thinks my scars are sexy." She smirked.
"Bloody well right they are," he crooned and leaned in to kiss her.
Buffy slowly pulled back from the kiss, "Humm, yeah, better not start anything we can't finish."
He pushed her clothes towards her, "Better put these on then."
"Any idea what they are serving for dinner tonight?" She asked as she started to dress herself.
He sniffed the air, "Hard to tell over your soap but I'm thinking it smells a bit like a curry," he answered as he helped her with her shirt.
"Sounds good."
Faith had spent the past couple of hours going through the cabin and more specifically the things in Guinevere's bedroom. Her room was the most orderly place on the entire second level. It was also the only room they had found so far that didn't have any drawings on the walls. The only thing that really stuck out was the enormous bookcase along one wall that was completely filled with journals and sketchbooks. They were stacked on top of the bookcase until they reached the ceiling. There were no other books. Not one.
This is a job for the brains… I can't do this shit…
Faith thought as she flipped through one of the journals.
She scoffed and went back out into the hall behind Callum who had brought his camera along and was now taking pictures of the drawings covering the walls in the upstairs hallway. The drawings looked like they were done in charcoal from the fireplace. It looked as though Guinevere had tried to wash them down a few times but had started over again. Most of the drawings were of things that happened years before she and Buffy were called but a few looked familiar. One such drawing looked remarkably like Angelus and it made Faith shudder.
Another drawing showed a depiction of what was clearly mayor Wilkins turning into a giant snake. She had been in a coma at the time and had only heard about the events after. Although, surprisingly, it wasn't half as bad as seeing the Beast she had faced in LA just after she broke out of prison; when Angel had lost his soul.
There was even a scene depicting Angelus feeding off of her. She had nearly died from the substance she had injected into herself in order to knock him out. It had ended up being an odd bonding experience for them in the end. It was strange and more than a little unnerving to see it on the wall like that.
Faith sat down on the floor staring at the drawings.
Callum lowered his camera and looked down at her, "You alright, darling?"
She didn't respond immediately, "All of this is just seriously freaking weird. Like scenes from my life and it's just really nuts-o-plenty."
"I can imagine. I don't know how I'd feel if it were me." He shrugged, "Did you see the one in the bedroom at the end? There's one with a guy collapsed over a cross, I swear it looks like Spike from the back. Got the hair anyway. It's really freaky."
"Yeah it really does. What did you think of the ice monster one?"
Callum shrugged, "Bit over the top aesthetically, speaking. Looks like a giant icicle thing with claws and teeth."
Faith had to laugh, "Yeah pretty much. Got to say I'm kind of glad I haven't had to fight that one. Not really a fan of the whole snow and ice-mountain cave-dweller scene. And what's with the Yeti looking thing with the box?"
"You're the expert here."
"Right—" she gave him a skeptic look and shrugged it off.
"What do you make of that one?" He asked, pointing to his left. Most of the drawings there were so corrupted by intersecting lines, neither of them could figure out what they were supposed to be.
"Not a clue, most of this looks like complete garbage. Make sure you get pictures of everything though."
"On it, Lass."
"Did you have a chance to check out that last two rooms?"
"Ahh, I got the one on the left you already checked out . Not much in there, in the way of artwork. You already saw the two sets of bunk beds without mattresses. Kinda looks like she just piled stuff up in there that reminded her of her family," His shoulders dropped a little, "This place is bloody depressing."
She crossed her arms over her chest as she scanned her eyes over the walls. "Giles would blow his intellectual wad in here. Probably wouldn't be able to get him to shut up about the place."
"Trust me, if it weren't for the creep-factor I'd probably be right along with him."
"Yeah well I'm going to check out that last room."
Faith padded down the hallway a little. The door opened a crack and she gasped when the sight of a woman met her; before she realized it was yet another drawing. The room had been completely cleared out. Every reachable surface had been drawn on. Black lines of charcoal covered nearly every inch.
The drawing of the woman, that had first caught her attention, took up about half of one wall. She was thin, dark haired and wore a white empire waist gown with blood dripping down the front of her. She was surrounded by children of various ages, and fire.
A wall of blood red fire stood behind the figures in the drawing. It was one of the only drawings that had any color added and Faith realized with a jolt that it was probably blood. Maybe from one of the animals Guinevere had killed.
Faith pulled herself away from the intense stare of the two dimensional woman to examine the rest of the drawings. Demons in all shapes and sizes dotted the walls. A flayed man bound between two trees. Another man arched in pain as light shot out of his eyes and mouth obscuring his features. A woman with blonde hair that looked like it could be Buffy, punching her fist into a demonic Frankenstein's monster. There was an odd image of a woman floating, dressed in all black with black hair and eyes and unnerving black veins running across her exposed skin.
Faith had no way of knowing if most of these drawings were from the past, present, or future. She had heard stories about Willow going dark and wondered if the last drawing could possibly be her.
Callum walked in, disrupting her thoughts, "Bloody hell—" he breathed, "Glad I brought extra film."
"You're not kidding."
He pointed towards the picture that had originally caught Faith's eye, "Who do we think that is?"
Faith frowned, "That would be Spike's ex."
Buffy and Spike had just gone into the great room after dinner when Faith and Callum returned to the Inn. Buffy was starting to feel significantly better after getting some food in her stomach. Spike had been right to insist she eat.
Faith plopped down on the couch next to Buffy, jostling the cushions and making Buffy wince.
She turned to glare at her, "Easy, bouncing Betty."
"Sorry about that B, kind of a rough day."
"How so? What did you guys find?"
Callum sat in a wingback chair next to the spot Spike had taken up on its twin in front of the unlit fireplace.
Faith sighed and shifted further into the cushions, "Well, we took care of Guinevere and checked out her graffiti. It's really extensive, there is so much crap to go through there."
Spike leaned forward, resting his elbows on his thighs. "Anything of note?"
"Lots. Some of it was stuff I know already happened. Like she was having Slayer dreams about us. I really don't believe she didn't know Slayers were still around. I really think she was playing us from the get-go."
Buffy hugged a throw pillow to her chest, "I wondered when you first told us about the drawings. It's really wiggy."
"She had to have known."
"Maybe it sort of added to driving her round the bend." Callum suggested, "Don't forget bout the journals and the sketchbooks we found too."
"Ohh yeah, thanks babe. Yeah she had like hundreds of these things on a big bookshelf in her bedroom. I only flipped through a couple of them but she was definitely losing it for a while."
"It doesn't surprise me," Buffy frowned.
Faith turned back to Buffy, "I had Callum get pictures of all of it. And we grabbed a few of the journals for Giles but there are too many of them to even think about taking with us."
"At least we have the sword and we can get back in. I'm sure Giles is going to want to check it out."
"Probably. But one thing at a time. We're going to have to get the film developed when we get back. I can tell you one thing though," she rolled her head towards Spike, "there's one hell of a portrait of your ex in there."
Spike shifted forward a little more, "Dru?"
"Oh yeah. Looking real creepy with a bunch of kids around her and all this blood dripping down. It's freaky."
"Well that tracks. She always did have a thing for kids." His tone was matter of fact, he wasn't surprised in the slightest.
"Not helping the creep factor here," Faith groused.
"Anything else?"
Faith adjusted herself on the couch, "Not a clue really. You figure some of those drawings could be almost as old as the cabin. I only know the ones that I either lived through or heard stories about. Like this one that looks like it could be Willow when she went all dark-side, but I couldn't tell you if that already happened or if she's going to go dark again."
Buffy frowned at that, "Will has been doing really well with the magic stuff but this thing with Kennedy—"
"Yeah what's going on with that bitch anyway?" Faith asked.
"As long as she's still in Australia and far far away from Willow and my sister, I don't really care."
"You better be careful she doesn't come back round. My sister-in-law had that problem with her ex before my brother. Sort of how they met, actually."
"I know Giles has connections in Australia; they are supposed to be keeping tabs on her."
Callum raised his eyebrows and glanced over at Spike, "Probably for the best I take it?"
"Any more trouble out of her and I'll happily rip her throat out."
"Never did get that third notch did you?" Faith said.
He smirked, "Oh I got my notch alright. Brought the house down."
Buffy blushed, "Oh my word, do you have to bring that up?"
"Don't care what you say, Pet. You don't forget your first time, especially when we started out on the ground floor and ended up in the basement. God, that was a fun night."
Callum bit back a laugh, "Now I understand why you laughed at me for breaking the bed."
"Wow, B, didn't know you had it in you."
"How'bout all the furniture I had to replace in my old crypt?" He wiggled his eyebrows at her.
Buffy glared at Spike, "You are—" Doing this on purpose.
You bet I am, Slayer. Know it's gonna be a bit before you're up to anything, got to keep things interesting.
She rolled her eyes at his smirk, "Anyway… enough about our sex-life; what are you two up to tonight?"
"I could definitely use a drink or twelve," Faith answered.
"Absolutely," Callum stood, extending his hand towards her, "can I buy you a drink, beautiful?"
She let him pull her up, "You know it."
Buffy let out a tired sigh, "I have some serious phone calls to make, I guess."
Faith turned toward her as Callum wrapped an arm around her waist, "You still haven't checked in with Giles and Willow?"
"No, not yet."
Faith snorted, "Good luck with that."
"Gee, thanks." Buffy pouted a little.
"Giles can wait a bit can't he?" Spike asked.
She sighed, "Yeah, I won't be able to get him off the phone if I mention Queenie. I definitely need to call Will and Dawn though. Get her filled in and make sure everything is alright there. Go on, you three go get your drink on, I'll be phone-call girl."
Spike leaned forward taking her hand, "Doesn't seem fair."
Buffy shrugged a shoulder, "I'm not really feeling the drinks tonight. I'm actually thinking more sleep."
"Probably do you some good, Love."
The inn had a small bar at the back of the dining room. The three of them sidled up to the bar, Faith sitting between the two men.
"How is B doing, I mean really?" Faith asked abruptly.
"She's alright. Don't think it's all sunk in just yet."
Callum raised a finger in the air to get the bartender's attention, "Could we get a bottle of whiskey and three glasses here?"
"Straight to the point. Can see why you like this one, Doe-eyes," Spike said as the bartender set down the glasses and retrieved a bottle of whiskey.
"It's not the only reason but it's definitely a perk."
"I bet," Spike gave a weak chuckle and shook his head, "this little trip has gone a bit sideways, hasn't it?" he added as the bartender set the bottle down in front of them and started to pour.
Callum chuckled darkly and took his glass, "Never a dull moment with you lot, I'll say that."
"I'll drink to that. Cheers, mate."
"Cheers," Callum and Faith echoed.
The three of them shot back their drinks and clunked them down onto the bar before Spike refilled them.
"So what now?" Callum asked.
"Probably just finish out our long weekend here and head home. Don't think Buffy is too keen to head back early and should be just about healed by then."
"Brilliant. It'll give me a chance to paint the view."
Spike snorted into his shot glass.
Callum grabbed the bottle and refilled Spike's glass, "What's that? You going to write us a sonnet?"
"Piss off," he muttered, biting back a grin. He had to admit, it was nice having another guy around he could call a friend.
"Do I need to leave you two creative types alone?" Faith smirked, downing another drink.
"Oh is that what you think?" Callum laughed as he wrapped an arm around her waist, "Cheeky one, you are," he pulled her into a kiss, delving deep and leaving her breathless.
"Wow," Faith sounded dazed when she spoke.
Spike downed another shot, "Maybe it's me that should leave the two of you alone."
"You're good. Promise to save it for the bedroom, mate," he squeezed her to him, "Right darlin'?"
"Might be time for us to turn in."
"I probably shouldn't make a night of it anyway. No telling how things are gonna go if Buffy gets into things with Dawn. Bit's libel to take it badly." He paused looking at his glass and filled it again, drinking it quickly.
He was more than a little apprehensive about what this all meant for their relationship. On one hand he was overjoyed with the prospect of having her by his side indefinitely but at the same time he worried about how she would handle watching her loved ones grow old and die. He had never really had that problem but he was sure she would.
"Girl can be savage when she wants to be." Faith commented.
"Got that right," he downed another shot and slid from his stool slapping some money down, "I'm going to see how she's faring."
When Spike got up to their room, Buffy was in her pajamas and sitting up on the bed with her phone in her hand. She glanced up at him when he came in and he immediately noticed her yes were slightly red at the corners.
"Alright, Slayer? You get through to Roam?"
Buffy cleared her throat, "I talked to Willow."
He strode over to sit with her, watching her intently. "What is it?"
Buffy shook her head, "I hum, I sort of chickened out."
"You didn't call?"
Her voice was rough, "I did. I talked to Willow, checked in on the Rome situation with Kennedy being gone. Violet has sort of taken over, who would have thought huh?"
It was clear she was stalling. "Timid little ginger right?"
"Yeah. Turns out she's kind of a natural leader, just needed a confidence boost."
Spike nodded, it was always good to have an update but he couldn't let her change the subject either. "Good for her but what about Red? What's going on there?"
She twisted her hands together around her phone, still clutching it, "Oh I got her all filled in no problem. Told her everything we know so far and then— I asked to talk to Dawn. Spike, I completely froze. I don't even know why. I was doing fine and then when I heard her voice—- I just couldn't tell her what happened. I started babbling about the B what a nice room we have. I sort of tried to push past the freak-out and started to tell her about the cave but then I just made it sound like we went sightseeing or whatever. It was so stupid."
Spike pulled her into him, letting her rest her head in the crook of his neck. "This hasn't exactly been a lovely seaside holiday, Pet. Point of fact I'm not surprised in the least. You've been through a lot, we all have. You're so used to just gettin' right back up no matter what knocks you down like some sodding punch-clown. You're still human, sweetheart."
"Am I?" It was almost a whisper.
He had half expected her to say something like this but it still struck him like a kick to the stomach. "Course you are, Love. You're just a little something extra. Like a hot fudge sundae with whipped cream and a cherry on top."
Buffy snorted a tiny laugh, "You're such an idiot."
"Yeah but you love me so what's that say about you?"
"As long as we get to be idiots together."
"Always."