FIC: Fear

[Patrick Kelly <bandits@xxxxxxxxx>]

Title: Fear
Rating: PG-13
Author: Pat Kelly
Summary: The latest in my alternate Season 3, which I've named "The Summer Friendship
Series - Sunnydale". (Thanks Quin :-) Faith and Buffy have had a friendship pre-Sunnydale.
The last installment was "Traditions".
Spoilers: "Bad Girls", "The Zeppo"
Disclaimer: All hail Joss and his army of Mutant Enemies. I don't own BTVS. I make no
money.

FEAR

"Look!" Faith said, panicked.

"Where?" Buffy asked, feeling her heart race and her adrenaline go into overdrive.

"Don't you hear the moaning?"

"Of course I hear the moaning!" The blonde snapped. "But it's coming from everywhere!"

"He's gaining on you!"

"I can't see him!"

"Turn around! He's behind you!"

"Oh God! Oh God!"

"Fire! Fire!"

The sound of a pistol going off, emanated from the television in Buffy's room. She, well,
the character she was controlling, had just shot a zombie square in the head. Seeing the
mindless creature thump to the pavement, she sighed in relief, and hit pause.

"Always be alert. They're slow, but they're also tough as shit." Faith coached her.

"Nice aim though."

"Thanks." Buffy was breathing heavily, but smiled. "You're up. You get the next street."

The slayers were lying on Buffy's bed, playing video games, and showed no signs of tiring.
Even though it was three a.m., and during the school week, no less. Last week they had
stopped another attempted opening of the Hellmouth. That entitled them to some serious
downtime as far as they were concerned, and were now occupying themselves doing mindless
things. Like playing video games.

"But you're doin' so well, B."

"Chicken." Buffy grinned. "Hey, what time..." She checked her clock. "Three in the
morning? Why didn't you tell me?"

"You were focused. I didn't wanna ruin that for ya."

Buffy ran her hands through her hair. "I'm going to be...zombie-like tomorrow. Like them."
She pointed to the TV.

"Yeah, but at least your flesh won't be all rotted." Faith pointed out.

"I can always count on you for the upside."

"That's cause I'm so damn positive." She gave a thumbs up. "'Miss Sunshine'. That's me."

"Uh huh." Buffy chuckled, pulling down the covers.

Faith grabbed her by the waist, stopping her, and pressed their bodies together. She
started kissing the back of her neck.

"Skip. Play hooky tomorrow. Stay here."

"Oh...you have no idea how much I want to do that right now." Buffy was totally relaxed,
her eyes closed. "Wow...you're...good at this. Love you."

Faith smiled. "Love you too."

She reluctantly got out of the brunette's grasp, and turned, so they were face to face.

"But as much as I do, that still doesn't change the fact that I have to go to school, and
need sleep."

"You're not tired."

"I will be."

Buffy got under the covers, and Faith followed.

"If you *really* loved me -" The younger slayer tried.

"Not going to work."

"What if I...?" She and Buffy began to kiss passionately, tongues included, and then she
pulled back abruptly, leaving the blonde whimpering.

"Goodnight, Faith." Buffy said with a smile, after recovering.

"Damn." Her partner cursed. "Fine. Goodni...oh. We left the machine on."

"Leave it. Until we get to a save point, that stays on. Gotten too far to have to start
over again."

"It probably...won't take that long to reach one, you know." Faith said softly.

They looked at each other for a second, and then threw off the sheets.

***

"You've been sluggish all day, Buffy. Are you feeling okay?" Willow asked her friend the
next day as they left class.

She got a yawn as an answer.

"Yeah, just tired, Will. Faith kept me up all night."

The redhead coughed. "Oh."

"But those zombies were asking for it, so..."

She was now confused. "Oh." After a second, she understood. "Oh...oh! The game."

"Then I tried to tell her I needed to sleep, but when we actually got *in* bed..." Buffy
sighed, and Willow blushed. "She convinced me to continue playing."

"Well that's...oh look! The lunch menu!" They walked up to the menu that was taped to one
of the walls, and Willow began to look at the day's offering. "Spaghetti. Yum."

"They say it's spaghetti, but it's probably demon liver that looks like spaghetti."

"K...won't be eating that."

"So how are you and Oz doing?" Buffy leaned against the wall as her friend continued to
read.

"Good. Great. He's great." She smiled. "We're not as far along as you and Faith are,
but...it's really nice."

"As far as..." Buffy gave her a sheepish grin. "Did you think I meant...that Faith and
I...?"

"Um...didn't you?" Willow asked in a whisper.

The blonde laughed. "Nope. We're really close, though. I don't know how I've lasted this
long without...I don't know how *she's* lasted this long."

"Embarrassed now. My mind was in a gutter-type place...and it shouldn't have
been...and...sorry."

"Don't be. It's my fault. No, it's Faith fault. I've been around her so much that
everything I say has sounded like sexual innuendoes lately. But -"

"You really don't care and love her anyway?" Willow finished, smirking.

"Mm hmm." They continued walking down the hallway. "I hope she'll try to go back to
school. I got her thinking about it, but I can't force her."

"She stay home?"

Buffy nodded. "As much as it may not seem like it, she does want to do more than play
games all day. I think she's just scared."

"Maybe we could...talk to her? Do the 'friendly encouraging' thing?"

Xander ran up and got between his two friends.

"Encourage who?" He asked.

"Faith." Buffy answered.

"To do what?"

"Go to school."

"Why would she want to do...?" Both girls looked at him. "Go education!"

"Good boy." Willow praised him.

"Who wants to bug Giles?" Buffy asked.

"Me!" Xander and Willow echoed.

***

Angel had on a white muscle shirt, and was working out in the mansion. First, he did one
hundred push-ups. In thirty seconds. Next, he stood and did a combination of a pair of
punches and a spinning heel kick, fifteen times. Then, ten jabs with each hand. After
that, five front kicks with the right leg, five with the left. Preparing to finish the
routine, he backed up to the curtain that hid the light from the garden, and closed his
eyes.

Then, he started to run towards the far the far wall. Continuing to pick up speed, he
vaulted himself into the air, and did a jump kick. His foot smashed against the wall,
leaving a crack, and he flipped backwards, landing on his feet. Before he could relax, he
felt someone coming up behind him.

Instinctively, he brought up his forearm for a backhand shot, hard and fast. A hand
gripped it.

"Take it easy, Big Guy." The person said, letting go.

Angel turned around. "Faith."

"What was that?"

"Morning warm up."

Her mouth formed an 'O', as she ran her fingers over the very visible crack.

"I feel wicked sorry for the wall." She quirked an eyebrow, a thought popping into her
head. "Shouldn't you be asleep?"

The slayer watched as he shook his head in frustration.

"I *hate* myths." He sat down on his couch, and waited for the heat he was feeling from
the workout to fade, and to be replaced by his normal coldness. "Do you need something?"

"Was just walkin', and realized I never thanked ya for pulling me out of the way of that
three-headed snake thing a couple weeks ago. Almost lost a leg."

He gave her a half-smile, but didn't speak.

"Library? Hellmouth? Psycho demon chicks?"

"Why are you here?" He asked.

"Can't a girl visit her girlfriend's ex just to say 'hey'?"

"No." She sat on the arm of the couch that was farthest from Angel. "Buffy's at school,
and you're not."

She looked at him. "I can go see her if I want."

"You know that's not what I meant."

"How'd -?"

"I've been around a long time. You start to notice things after awhile."

Something occurred to her then. What she felt was a valid excuse not to have the
discussion that was bound to happen, because she was having second thoughts. She hopped
off the arm.

"Wait. You tried to see a sunrise."

"That's true."

"You're not all there. Nuthouse material. Why did I even think I could...?" Faith started
to make her exit. "Sorry I bugged ya. I'm gonna go."

"I'm not proud of what I almost did, but I've moved past it." She stopped and turned
around "You came here to talk, Faith. And I can listen."

"I've changed my mind. Okay?"

"Okay." He didn't want to push.

They stood there for a second or two, and just as she was about to leave again, he
recalled something.

"I was tracking a vampire last night. The way he was dressed...I think he was part of a
larger group. I recognized it, but I can't remember..." He trailed off.

"And?"

"He had two swords. One long, one short. I was going to confront him, but another vampire
came in, staked him and took the swords. I've seen the other one around town lately.
Black, well-dressed."

"Trick." Faith muttered.

"You know him?"

"Old friend." She said sarcastically. "Better go pass along the info. Thanks."

She started to walk again.

"You have nothing to fear, but fear itself." He said to her.

"That's real original, Angel." She called over her shoulder.

"I may not have come up with it, but it's still the truth. Occasionally, humans can be
pretty smart."

"Am I supposed to take that as a compliment for my race?" She asked, now at the door.

"My point is, don't let it hold you back. Fear's only powerful when you give it power."

"And Yoda says fear leads to the Dark Side. Do I listen to you, or a Muppet? Hmm. Tough
choice."

"You can do anything you want."

"Yeah, well...later."

***

Instead of bugging Giles like they had planned, the three friends ended up being the ones
who were bugged. And bored. When they got to the library, they met someone new. Wesley
Wyndam-Pryce. A young British, watcher. He didn't seem as snooty and "better than you" as
Post was, but he was very green. That much was obvious.

And Giles assured them that the man wasn't evil. Which was comforting, but he loved to
talk. About his rules, laid out his schedule, what he expected...he never shut up. For
once, they couldn't stand to be in the library. Giles included. The new guy also wanted to
meet Faith, and Buffy grinned, going over the other slayer's possible reactions in her
head.

She also wanted Faith there so she could concentrate her, something she would enjoy more
than listening to Wesley.

"Now that the preliminaries are taken care of, how about we get right on with it? What can
you tell me about last night's patrol?" He got out a pad.

"Patrol?" Buffy asked.

"You *did* slay vampires last night, correct?"

"Uh, see, we stopped the Hellmouth from opening a few weeks ago, and vampires and demons
don't come out for awhile after something big like that. We've been taking a break."

"Well deserved one." Xander came to her defense.

"Abso-darn-lutely." Willow added with a nod.

"I see." Wesley said with a slight glare.

"But I did kill zombies!" The blonde said quickly, not realizing what she saying.

"Zombies? Really?"

"Yeah...kinda. And kinda...no." She said sheepishly. "Hold on. Why am I talking to you
like I care what you think?"

The young watcher looked at the older, ex one.

"You condone the slayers taking 'time off' from their duty?"

"I was informed some time ago, that I am no longer a Watcher. Which means, they aren't
under my supervision. What they choose to do or not to do, is their choice, and I have no
right to interfere."

Giles had too happy a smile, which caused Wesley to shrink back.

"You tell 'em, G-Man." Xander said, throwing his fist in the air. The librarian looked at
him. "You tell 'em, Mr. Giles, sir?"

"But they have always consistently performed their duties, better than any slayers the
Council has had, and if you want my unofficial answer, they're good at what they do
because they have freedom to do their job as they please. My advice to you, is to allow
them to continue to have that freedom." Giles continued.

"I'll...I'll take that under advisement."

"I'm sure you will."

That's when Faith entered the library, and an excited Buffy jumped out of her chair, and
ran to her. She hugged the brunette tightly, as the other girl looked over her shoulder at
Wesley.

"New watcher?" Faith whispered.

"New watcher." Buffy confirmed. "Thank God you're here."

"Great. He's a dork, isn't he?" She sighed, as Buffy nodded. "Look, I got some news."

Wesley had walked up to them.

"You are Faith, I presume?" He asked. She didn't answer him. "My name is -"

"This is slayer stuff, okay pal?"

"If you have information regarding vampires or any other demonic creatures, you're
obligated to share it with me as well as Buffy."

"Am I?"

Buffy felt sorry for the watcher, but also knew she was going enjoy sitting back and
watching. She was really going to enjoy it.

***

"He cowers too easily." Faith said at night as they came up on the Gleaves Family crypt.

Eventually, Faith had informed them all about what Angel had told her. That turned on a
light bulb for Wesley, who went into a long tale of a demon called Balthazar and his
vampire groupies known as the Eliminati. According to Wesley, the remaining vampires were
trying to get an amulet that belonged to Balthazar, who was supposedly dead, for
sentimental value.

So they were "assigned" to retrieve the amulet.

"I was disappointed." Buffy admitted. "How come you went to see Angel?"

"To find out if you were a screamer or a purrer in bed." Faith leered.

"You should have just asked me. Or found out for yourself." Buffy came back, keeping the
banter going.

"Don't say anything you don't mean, B."

"Come on, Faith. You know me. I mean *everything* I say." She ran her hand down Faith's
chest. "Do you know how badly I want to touch you?"

"Think I'm gettin' it." The brunette's voice was hoarse.

"Now, why were you really visiting Angel?" Buffy slipped out of 'seductive mode'
immediately.

"Damn you're a tease! I thought that was my area." She was now very; very...aware...of the
heat she was feeling.

"Meant it, though."

"You mean *everything* you say, right?" Faith smirked, copying the blonde's earlier words.


"Right."

"I'm holdin' you to that. Hey, I see the crypt."

Faith ran ahead, and Buffy sped up to keep pace with her.

"How come you can weasel out of answering my questions all the time?"

"I'm good at it, that's why."

They went inside the crypt and saw three stone coffins inside. Opening the first one they
came to, all they saw was a skeleton. No amulet.

"Strike one." Buffy said.

"She lines up for the next pitch..." Faith said, pushing the lid aside to open the second
one. The amulet sat around the neck of the skeleton. "And she connects."

Buffy smiled as she came up behind the other slayer, and brought her arms around Faith's
waist.

"It looks like it could go all the way."

"Her feet hit first,"

The slayers began to kiss, and it briefly occurred to them just how twisted they were.
Surrounded by dead people and cobwebs, they were getting intimate. It was disturbing, but
there was also the fact that they were so "excited", that they didn't care.

"The first base coach waves her on,"

"The ball goes outta the park as she flies by second. She's gonna score,"

Hands began to wander, but then there came voices from outside. Which sounded like they
were getting closer.

"But fans rush the field delaying the game." Buffy cursed.

Pushing the lid closed on the coffin that contained the amulet, they both jumped into the
first one, and slid that lid closed as well. The blonde was lying on top of the brunette,
and the brunette was lying on top of a dead guy. But they didn't notice that. They noticed
each other's heavy breathing, and the footsteps now in the crypt.

After a minute, all they heard was their breathing. Short, quick breaths. The visitors
were gone, and they both knew it had been members of the Eliminati, and that the vampires
had taken the amulet. But moving wasn't a priority.

"I take it back. I still like this position. I feel so submissive being on the bottom."
Faith said with a grin. "You know, if we stay like this a little longer, it might just
cure my claustrophobia."

"You were never claustrophobic." Buffy pointed out.

"That's funny. Could have sworn I was. Guess this means we can't stay here, huh?"

"Nope. Got vampires to chase. Unfortunately."

Buffy pushed the lid off, and climbed out, helping Faith.

"Well, three's a crowd anyway." She looked back at the skeleton. "Sorry bout that, buddy."


"Don't think he minded."

"What male would? Dead or alive?"

They rushed out, back into the cemetery, and saw two of the Eliminati jump down a nearby
manhole. The girls halted, thinking for a second.

"Odds?" Buffy asked.

"Depends how many are down there."

"Estimation?"

"Sounded like a lot of footsteps. Pretty bad, I'd figure."

"Possible fighting space?"

"Tight. It could get ugly."

"Do we really want to get the amulet?"

"No. But if we don't, Wes'll probably go into a lecture."

"And do we wanna hear it?" They shook their heads. "Confidence level?"

"Damn high."

"I feel lucky. Why don't we just go for it?"

"Got energy to burn, B?" Faith smiled wickedly.

"Oh yeah."

In the next second, they were heading to the manhole.

***

Down in the sewer, the two slayers had their hands full of Eliminati. Buffy kicked one of
them on the ground and threw a second out of the way, as Faith backhanded another.

"We're surrounded!" The petite one screamed.

"You noticed that, too?" Her partner asked sarcastically, as she backhanded one again.

Buffy ducked a vampire's swing and round-housed his knee, making him fall. Faith grabbed
her current opponent's arm, and threw him into a wall. The blonde then did a spinning kick
to a new, charging arrival, sending him flying, just as a second one came in to try and
hit her with his sword. She backed up, and the sword hit the floor instead.

Faith kicked another Eliminatus that was behind her, and he fell onto a raised area. A
vampire that was already on the high area tried to leap at Faith, but she sent him to join
his friend. Buffy elbow jabbed one, who fell over his comrade. Her fellow slayer turned
around to meet the leader's fist. They could tell, because he had the amulet on him.

She retaliated with a roundhouse to his head, but was then grabbed by a vampire and shoved
into a wall.

"Lemme go!" She yelled.

Buffy saw Faith's situation, and quickly threw her stake into the vampire's back, dusting
him and freeing the brunette. They exchanged small smiles, but then she found herself in
the same predicament Faith had just been in. The leader stood in front of her as she was
being held, and pointed his sword at her chest

"Let's settle this honorably." He said.

She didn't want to. Buffy kicked the sword out of his hands, into the nearby pool of
water. She shrugged off the one who had been gripping her, only to have the leader try to
stab her with his smaller sword. She barely dodged, and he pinned her against the edge of
the pool.

"Well, then, let's just settle it."

He dunked her head into the water. And held it there. Buffy tried to get out, but after a
few seconds of getting nowhere, she stopped moving all together. Faith watched, wide-eyed
and helpless, as a vampire had gotten her into a full nelson. That she couldn't get out
of.

"Buffy! You son of a bitch!" Faith growled angrily at the leader, as he grinned at her in
victory.

Surprising them both, Buffy then leapt up, long sword in hand.

"I hate it when they drown me." The wet-haired slayer said, eerily focused.

She swung at him, but he somersaulted away, and got back to his feet. He tried to ward
her off with his less than impressive shorter sword, which she knocked from his grip
easily. Trying yet again to hit him, he moved just in time to avoid her. Faith broke the
hold her vampire had on her finally, and swung him up onto to the raised area.

"B! Gotta go!"

"We came for the amulet." Buffy told the leader determinedly.

She jabbed the sword at him, getting the blade tip right in between the chain holding the
amulet to his waist. She then lifted the sword, and the chain came with it, sliding down
to the hilt. The leader was now visibly frightened, and wasted no time in running off.
Faith walked over to her, a look of admiration on her face.

"You kick ass." Buffy allowed herself a sly grin. "But if you ever, *ever* scare me like
that again, I will kick your ass." She pushed her finger into Buffy's chest several times
for emphasis.

"Never again."

"You look good wet, anybody ever tell you that?"

Buffy swallowed. "Race you home."

***

They got in the front door, out of breath, three minutes later, and slammed it shut.

"Mom! You home?" Buffy called. Silence. "I'll take that as a 'no'."

"We're alone?" Faith wanted to make sure.

"Uh huh. I can't wait anymore."

"Me either."

The Bostonian backed Buffy up against the door, and started to slip both their jackets
off, all the while touching and kissing anywhere she could reach. Buffy was returning the
favor. They dropped to the floor, never stopping. All the emotion, jokes, innuendoes, a
lot of which had been exchanged tonight, overwhelmed them. Words didn't do it, slaying
didn't help. Buffy, and Faith, had never needed physical contact as much as they did right
at that moment.

There were a lot of forces driving their need. Lust, attraction, and more sexual tension
than they could shake a stake at. But the most important force behind the act they were
going to perform, was love. They had expressed it in almost every way except one.

Faith had held out so long, because she wanted to build up the other areas of their
relationship first. She had never wanted to do that with anyone. But because they had, she
didn't have any fear about what would happen if she slept with Buffy. They were on solid
ground, and she knew she wasn't going anywhere in the morning.

Wasn't going to get up and run off. It was a good feeling, knowing that it was going to
mean something. There was no questioning what they felt. She wanted Buffy, and Buffy
wanted her back. Body, mind, soul, personality, good, bad, happy, bitchy, all of it. It
were those thoughts, their feelings for one another, that made them both stop abruptly.
They wanted their first time to be done right.

"Bedroom." They echoed.

***

Faith was in the library the following day, along with Cordelia, Wesley, and Giles. Buffy,
Willow and Xander were in Chemistry Class getting ready to take a test. The cheerleader
would have been there as well, but she took a personal day yesterday. She had had a gift
certificate from Xander for the local health spa (Christmas present that wasn't cheap),
and had to take the test after school. So now, she was filing her nails.

Wesley was studying the amulet, and Giles was trying to mask his annoyance. He was also
trying to avoid having to talk to the other man. Faith knew all that was going on, but she
really wasn't paying attention to any of it. She knew she was glowing because of what had
happened last night. She had never glowed before, after sex.

But it was so much more than that, more than she expected. Every single detail was still
clear to her, and every single moment was amazing. All the touches, the way they moved
together, the sounds...but there was one moment that stood out from the rest. It was right
before, no, during, Buffy's release. It had been building and building. As Faith watched
her body shake, and the waves wash over her, she listened to her voice too.

Buffy repeated three words over and over. Again and again. Like a mantra.

I love you.

Sure, she had said that lots of times, but Faith had never heard anyone say them in that
situation. It had always been dirty talk, insults that she let the guys think she got off
on. Besides her and Buffy's first kiss, it was the most beautiful thing she had ever
experienced. As Buffy came down off the pleasure high, and collapsed down onto her body,
Faith cried silent tears. It was mind blowing physically and an overload emotionally.

She still wasn't grounded, and still couldn't focus, but damn it, she was happier than
hell. There was a clarity to her thoughts too, after they were lying in bed, resting. Her
life was on such an upswing, friends, a place to stay, a steady and great relationship,
that she went back to what Angel had said earlier. Fear was something she fueled, gave
life to, and she could kill it.

What did she have to lose by going back to school? Nothing. She could only gain, and even
if she hit a few potholes along the way, she had a support system. And she wanted to
learn, wanted to do well. Screw fear. Faith decided she would give it a shot. It was too
late this year, but maybe she could get into summer school or just start next fall.

Cordelia scooted her chair closer to the slayer, then.

"It was good, wasn't it?"

"You have no idea, C. No idea."

She stared at Faith for a few seconds.

"Now I'm jealous. I'm going back over there."

Wesley came over to the table with a smile on his face.

"Good work. The amulet will have to be authenticated, obviously..."

"It's real." Faith said. He moved to speak, but she cut him off. "For followers of a dead
demon, there sure were a lot of 'em. And they fought hard to try and hold on to that
thing. It was for more than sentimental crap. Buffy almost died for it, so you better
figure out why it's so damn important. Get me?"

Objecting wasn't a good idea, as he had found out.

"Y-yes."

"Smarter than you look." She looked at Giles, who had made his way over. "We want him
involved, too, or you're gonna find us impossible to work with."

Wesley looked at Giles. "Let's...um...get to work, shall we?"

"An excellent suggestion."

Faith rose. "I'm gonna pay Buffy a visit. You boys play nice. Keep 'em in line, Cor."

"Will do." Cordelia said.

***

In Chemistry Class, Buffy was sitting at a lab table in the back, by a window, and
Xander and Willow were sitting at the one behind her. They were waiting for the teacher to
finish double checking the tests for any mistakes. The redhead had noticed her friend's
unusually cheery mood ever since they walked in the front doors that morning, and now she
saw the faraway look.

It all clicked, and her face went red. Buffy turned around on her stool to face them, and
that confirmed it.

"Wow. Big wow."

The blonde smiled. She was in the same state of euphoria that Faith was in, and already
missed being near her.

"Wow what?" Xander asked, never able to figure out female facial expressions or attitudes.


Willow whispered to him. First his eyes went wide, then he made a repetitive sound like
"da da da", and then his eyes closed as he fainted, falling off the stool and to the
ground, his seat landing on top of him. Everyone noticed, and the teacher came running.
Buffy and Willow tried not to laugh, knowing it wasn't serious. Water would wake him right
up.

That's when Buffy glanced at the window, and saw Faith standing there, grinning.
The brunette started drawing something with her finger, courtesy of the dust that had
gathered on the glass. First she drew the shape of an eye, and next to it, she drew a
heart with a letter 'B' inside of it.

The teacher was trying to get her attention, and when Buffy realized it, she quickly
looked away.

"Buffy, can you go get some water from the bathroom?"

"Sure, Miss Taggert."

She hurried out of the room and down the hall, going into the bathroom. The school had
made a wise decision putting a Dixie Cup Dispenser in there with the paper towels. Faith
was in there already, leaning against one of the sinks. She had heard the teacher's
request. They kissed as Buffy filled the cup, and when they stopped, water was flowing
over the edges.

"What were you doing, peeking in the window?" She asked Faith playfully.

"I dunno...looking at you...and I figured that since I'm gonna have to sit in one of those
classrooms eventually, I should check one out."

"You mean...?" The brunette nodded, and she got a hug. "I'm so glad."

"Thought you would be. It'll be something new to tackle, anyway." She looked toward the
door. "You got people waiting."

"I do, don't I?" She sighed. "Good luck kiss?"

After she got all the good luck she could stand, she ran back into the classroom and
splashed Xander's face. He choked as his eyes shot open.

"BuffyFaithSkinFingersTongueOrgasmicJoinInPlease." He ran all his words together, speaking
rapidly. Thankfully, only the slayer and hacker could decipher it.

Miss Taggert checked the clock on the wall, and sighed.

"There won't be enough time for all of you to finish today. I guess I'll have to delay the
test until tomorrow. Study hall for the rest of the period."

The class cheered, clapping and whistling.

***

Later at night, the two slayers were gyrating their bodies on the Bronze's dance floor.
Wild abandon was the only way to describe it. The music got faster, and they sped up right
along with it, getting closer and closer. Of course, several guys were trying to get in on
the fun, but they were warded off. Their hips continued to go left and right and their
hands ran down each other's chests.

Then Buffy noticed Angel standing under the stairs that led to the second level of the
club. She cocked her head in his direction, and Faith saw him too. She let Buffy lead her
over to him by the hand, but turned her head to look back at the disappointed guys' faces.


"Sorry, boys! Show's over!" Faith said to them, and then turned to the vampire as she sat
down and Buffy sat on her lap. "Why'd you kill our fun, Big Guy?"

"Yeah." Buffy added. "Party pooper."

Angel knew immediately what they had done, could see the new level of closeness. The small
sting he felt, caused him to hesitate before answering, but he was also glad that with
Faith, Buffy didn't have to face any consequences. Like she had to with him.

"It's important." He said.

"What's the what?"

"Balthazar."

"We know all about it. He's dead." Faith said.

"Not as dead as you think. Word on the street puts him in the packing warehouse on
Devereau. He's looking for..."

"Amulet. Restore strength. Right?" The blonde continued.

Angel nodded. "From what I'm hearing, that's not something we'd like to see happen."

"No prob. We got it." The brunette assured him.

"I know. I spoke to Giles, but he said you gave it to someone."

Wesley then chose to make an appearance, poking his head around the corner, looking at his
charges with narrowed eyes.

"Ah. There you are." The watcher spoke.

"And here's Captain Misinformation now." Buffy muttered.

"You're both certainly giving me a run for my money. I think we ought to establish that if
you're going to go out slaying, you leave me a number where I can contact you."

"You mean we didn't? Oh damn. My brain must be slippin'." Faith said sarcastically.

"Where's the amulet?" Angel asked, annoyed at the new guy.

Wesley turned his head sharply, just now aware of Angel's presence.

"Who are you?"

"A friend. Do you have it?"

"It's somewhere safe." Faith reached into Wesley's jacket, retrieved the amulet, and
handed it over to Angel. "How did you know?"

"Pooches your jacket." Buffy explained.

"Now, hang on a minute..."

"Walking around with this thing is like wearing a target." Angel told him.

"You'll take care of it?" Faith asked.

"Yeah."

The slayers stood, along with the vampire.

"We'll do recon on Balthazar." Buffy said.

"If I may...Balthazar is dead. Am I the only one that remembers that?" Wesley said, angry
at being cut out.

"Be careful." Angel addressed the girls, smirking.

They winked at him, and left the club.

***

Walking the streets searching for the packing warehouse, Buffy drifted back to first thing
in the morning. The whole gang had been sitting in the lounge, and Willow was displaying
all the early admission packets she had received. To really good, expensive, far-away
colleges. It was the thought that her friend might leave Sunnydale, go out of her life,
that was putting a damper on her good mood.

And it was a very real possibility. Something she couldn't make herself face, even though
she wanted Willow out of danger and showing the world her talent. The fear of losing the
redhead was making her sick to her stomach, and she was doing the only thing she could at
that moment to make herself feel better. Talking with Faith about it.

"She isn't going anywhere, B. She's just excited right now. It'll pass."

"You think?"

"Red's attached to you and Xander like...super glue. There's her magick deal..."

"But I don't want her to give her opportunities up for me. I want her to -"

"Buffy, it's her decision. She'll do whatever she wants to do."

"I know, I know." The blonde sighed.

They reached the warehouse, and stood on either side of a dirty window, so they could look
in. What they saw was Balthazar, a very pale, extremely overweight, pig looking demon,
sitting immobile in a tank of water. His minions surrounded him, and one of them was
moistening him with water.

Buffy and Faith gave one another appalled looks as they listened in.

"I see fear...and remorse...and the pitiful look of faces that cry out for mercy! But what
I *don't* see is what I *want* to see, AND THAT'S...MY...AMULET!"

"Lord Balthazar, we found it! We had it! But the Slayers..." Said one of the vampires.

"Already I'm bored."

The demon held out his hands, and somehow, he made the vampire float to him. The girls
grimaced outside, as Balthazar squeezed his victim's throat, snapping his neck and
dropping him to the ground.

"Vincent...come here."

A vampire they recognized as the leader from the previous night, stepped forward.

"Closer."

Vincent leaned down some.

"Closer."

Balthazar put his "hands" on Vincent's shoulders.

"Let me tell you...what I want to see."

They backed off from the window, and started to whisper.

"Okay, we got ten, maybe twelve bad guys and one big demon in desperate need of a
Stairmaster." Buffy said.

"I was gonna go with Babe's fat,
'spent-too-much-time-walking-around-atom-bomb-testing-sites', trailer park, uncle."

"You get descriptive bonus points for tonight's slayage."

"I try."

"We need better firepower."

"And being the place that this is, we go to the high school librarian for it. Twisted."
Faith snuck a glance back in the window. "Some of the vamps are leavin' around the other
side."

"Three stakes. How many you got?"

"Uh...four."

"We gotta follow."

Faith nodded. "Right behind ya."

***

At the library, Wesley and Giles were in the office. The official watcher was looking at
pictures on the wall, and the unofficial one, was sitting at his desk, cleaning his
glasses. They were arguing. Wesley's "know it all" attitude was showing itself again.

"I didn't say you had emotional problems." He faced Giles. "I said you had *an* emotional
problem. It's quite different."

"My 'attachment' to the slayers is not a problem. In point of fact, it's been a very -"

He was interrupted.

"The way you've handled this assignment is something of an embarrassment to the Council."

Giles was ready to snap. "If you want to criticize my methods, fine. But you can keep your
snide remarks to yourself. And while you're at it, don't criticize my methods." He put his
glasses on.

"The fact is, you're no longer qualified to act as Watcher. It's not your fault. You've
done...well. It's simply time for somebody else to take the field."

Wesley realized that the older man was no longer looking at him. Instead Giles' eyes were
focused on the window, and he turned as well, to see three Eliminati staring at them.

"Now's a good time to start."

***

"How did they know?" Buffy asked as a vampire came at her, and she tossed him into a
truck.

They were in alley, where Eliminati had been waiting to keep them busy, while others had
gone on ahead. Buffy had a bad feeling that they had gone where she and Faith had been
headed. Her opponent came at her again, trying to kick her, but she blocked him, and
round-housed his gut, which made him collapse. She jumped on him, and they began to
struggle on the ground.

"Beats me. But they're still gonna die."

Faith was battling Vincent, who had hung back to correct his failure from last night. But
she planned on dusting him before he could do that. She ducked his kick, and gave him a
hard uppercut, which landed him on his back. She kicked him in the side for good measure,
and then commenced with the staking.

Her partner dusted hers as well, and stood.

"He was too easy." Faith said with a scowl.

"Giles. We have to get to him." Buffy told her. "And ...the other..."

"Wesley."

"Right. Him."

They sped up, and as soon as they turned a corner, the brunette froze.

"I think we got more comin'."

Suddenly, another Eliminatus landed in front of them from above, and thrust at Faith with
his short sword. She caught his arm, shoved him into a crate, and then swung him into a
pile of wood. Buffy came up and staked him, and they continued toward their destination.

As they reached the end of the building they had been going past, a hand reached out and
grabbed Buffy by the shoulder. She grabbed the man by the arm roughly, and swung him
against a dumpster, thinking he was a vampire. Before either of them could realize that he
wasn't, Faith plunged her stake into his heart.

He grabbed his chest with surprise, his eyes wide. The slayers' eyes were too, and when
they saw the blood coming, it finally hit them. Faith dropped her stake to the ground, and
sank to her knees.

"I...didn't know...I didn't know..."

Buffy got beside him, and tried to push her hands to his chest to stop the blood.

"Don't move." She told him, and then called back to Faith. "We need to call 911!" But
Faith was paralyzed. "It'll be okay...it'll..."

Her words of comfort to the man were pointless, because as soon as blood came out of his
mouth, he was dead. They sat there, both numb. How could this happen? How could they make
this mistake? Things were going so well, and then...Buffy knew they had to go.

She grabbed Faith's stake off the ground, and pulled the brunette up.

"We have to get out of here." She said shakily. The other slayer's response was a nod, but
she couldn't take her eyes off the man she...killed. "I don't know what...what to do."

"You're...right. We have to...go." Faith spoke quietly.

They started running, and a couple streets over, they collided right into Angel. He looked
at them, worried.

"Are you all right?"

"Yeah." Buffy said, hiding her blood-covered hand.

Faith wasn't looking at him at all, but he didn't have time to wonder what was wrong.

"I've just been to the warehouse. I was waiting for you. They got Giles."

***

"The front! The front! Moisten the front!" Balthazar said as Giles and Wesley watched,
disgusted.

"Oh, God! Oh, God!" Wesley whimpered.

"It doesn't seem too promising, does it?" Giles said calmly.

"Stay calm, Mr. Giles. We have to stay calm."

"Well thank God you're here. I was planning to panic."

Wesley looked at Balthazar. "What *is* that thing?"

"That would be your demon. You know, the dead one?"

"There's no need to get snippy."

The demon turned his attention to them.

"Bring them closer." They got shoved. "You know what I want."

"If it's for me to scrub those hard-to-reach areas, I'd like to request you kill me now."
Giles said sarcastically. He got hit in the back for his tone. "Ow."

"Are you out of your mind?" Wesley asked. "This is hardly the time for games!"

"Why not? They're going to torture us to death anyway."

Balthazar snickered. "You're not wrong about that."

"Now, hold on. We...we can deal with this rationally. We have something you want. You have
something we want." Wesley sniveled.

"Hmm...a trade. Intriguing." He was quiet. "No. Wait. Boring. Pull off his kneecaps!"

"No, no, no! The Slayers gave it to someone. A tall man, a friend. I can tell you
everything."

"Quiet, you twerp! They'll kill us both." Giles spat.

"But I'd like to have my kneecaps."

"You will tell us everything!" Balthazar yelled.

"Yes! Sir."

"What is this friend's name?"

"I didn't actually catch it."

"Look, um, tell you what, let Captain Courageous here go, and I'll tell you what you need
to know. How's that deal?" Giles tried to reason with the demon.

"There is one deal! You will die quickly, or you will die slowly! The man who has my
amulet! What is his name?"

"His name is Angel." Angel said, rushing in, vampire visage in place.

***

He immediately grabbed the two Eliminati holding Giles and Wesley, pulled them away, and
slammed one of them into a wall. The other, into some metal shelves. Another one tried to
take their place, but Giles head-butted him, and he fell. Buffy and Faith came in,
punching the two vampires that moved to attack. Buffy wrenched a sword out of one's hand,
and sliced the ropes confining Giles. He pushed Wesley out of the way.

Buffy swung the sword back at the Eliminatus, who Faith was holding for her, and cut his
head off. They both had to jump out of the way of a lunge of another vampire though, and
she dropped the sword. Angel ducked a swing from an Eliminatus and then did a right hook
to his face and then gave him a shot to the gut. He turned around and backhanded one
behind him, blocked a second swing, and punched him again.

"Un...acceptable!" Balthazar screamed.

Giles untied Wesley's hands, away from the fight. He checked behind him just in time to
duck a sword coming for his head. He grabbed the blade, and elbowed the vampire, taking
the weapon. Instinctively, he dueled with him, rather expertly, then the vampire kicked
him in the stomach, getting away and grabbing Wesley from behind.

"Giles!" The watcher squealed.

"Down!"

Wesley ducked, and Giles swung the sword, beheading the vampire.

Buffy went to a raised area, a catwalk, while Faith helped Angel below. As she tossed a
vampire into a stack of oil barrels, she glanced over the edge to see how they were doing.
Angel side-kicked an attacker, and drove him back, right into Faith, who dusted him. She
looked back up to see another one coming, and threw him off the catwalk.

Balthazar could watch no longer, so he held out his hands in Angel's direction, used his
ability to pull the vampire to him, and began crushing his head. Both Buffy and Faith
watched this, and then the blonde spied an electrical cable hanging down near her, that
was connected to lamp directly above Balthazar's pool. Faith saw what she was planning,
and pulled Angel out of the demon's grip just as Buffy pulled on the cable, and the lamp
fell.

Sparks flew, and electricity cooked Balthazar. His skin became red and burned, as he had
no choice but to sit there and die in agony. Buffy jumped down to watch with everyone, and
it appeared as if he was gone. Then his eyes opened, surprising them all.

"You think you've won." He chuckled and wheezed. "When he rises...you'll wish I'd killed
you all."

He finally did die, and they were left frightened and confused.

***

Returning home exhausted, with their world turned upside down, Buffy gently shut the door.
There was a dead man on the streets. A person who had had warm blood, and a heartbeat.
They cut his life short. They had broken a cardinal rule of slaying. But it wasn't
premeditated. They didn't mean to. Buffy kept thinking 'they' because she was just as
responsible. She had practically given him to Faith, and was equally to blame.

In one second, everything ceased to make sense. She wondered if...of course Faith was
trying to take all the blame on herself. And that had to stop. Faith collapsed to the
living room floor, and started to shake.

"Oh God...oh God...oh God...oh God..."

Buffy wrapped her arms around her.

"It'll be okay...it'll be okay...it was an accident..."

"I killed a guy, Buffy. Jesus...I...I murdered him."

"And I helped. We're both in this, and we'll both get through it. Figure out something."

"But...but...you didn't *do* it. The look on his face...the...blood..."

They rocked together.

"I'm here with you...I'm not going anywhere...I'm not going to let you deal with this
alone."

"I feel so...disgusting. I'm not a bad person, am I?"

"No. Absolutely not."

She had never seen Faith like this. Her friend, her lover now, was falling apart. Buffy
wasn't doing much better, but she had to hold it together for her. She had to.

"How can I...? I'm scared...he didn't even have a chance to..."

"I know...I know..."

"I can't fix it...I'm screwed."

"Everything will be fine. I promise."

"How?"

"I don't...know yet, but somehow. I mean everything I say, remember?" Faith nodded into
her chest. "And I love you. That hasn't changed. At all. And it won't." There was a knock
at the door, and they both looked. "Be right back."

Buffy went to answer it. Willow was standing there.

"Hey." The redhead said. "I went by Giles', and he told me what happened." She held up a
couple videos. "I thought you two could wind down with a movie fest."

"That's...thanks...but -"

Cordelia appeared next to Willow.

"And makeovers. It'll cover up the bruises."

"We'd love to...like any other time..."

They finally noticed Buffy's less than cheery attitude. It was bad, whatever was bothering
her.

"What's wrong, Buffy?" Willow asked.

Before she could answer, the two girls standing outside saw Faith run by, and up the
stairs. Buffy whirled around, and ran after her.

"Faith!"

Cordelia and Willow exchanged concerned looks, and followed the blonde. When they got up
there, they made their way to the bathroom. Buffy was kneeling beside her girlfriend,
rubbing her back, as she vomited into the toilet. When Faith was finished, she sucked in
deep breaths, and started crying into Buffy's shoulder.

The hacker and the cheerleader were too shocked to say anything. They just watched in
silence, as Buffy tried to comfort a broken Faith.


--
"I wanna set the record straight. I thought the cop was a prostitute." (Homer J. Simpson)

"You think you know? What's to come? What you are? You haven't even begun."
(Tara to Buffy, BTVS)


"Since when is there a cowboy in 'Death of a Salesman' anyway?" (Willow, BTVS)