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Title: Family Closeness FAMILY CLOSENESS Giles sighed. Two weeks and nothing had come along. He wanted to be of assistance to Buffy and Faith, but as they weren't dealing with anything demonic, his talents were rather useless. He couldn't find a solution or an explanation in a book, and it would be ineffective to combat the commandos with his ancient collection of weaponry. He did appreciate the fact that he was kept in the loop, but he tended to think it was purely for his benefit. They didn't need his counsel. Willow was sitting over at the table using her laptop to try and trace the possible location of the military group's base. Given that they were spotted most often in the vicinity of the campus, she thought that perhaps the government had purchased part of the college's property to build on. Where,she wasn't sure, but if that was the case, there had to be records somewhere. Kept secret and sealed. If they existed, she'd find them. As he watched her, Giles was glad Willow had something todo after what happened with Oz. He realized that she could've gone anywhere to work, but she came here to keep him company. Again, he sadly realized that he wasn't truly needed. Angry now, the Englishman told himself that self-pity wasn't going to help anything. They didn't have to keep him informed, nor did they have to come see him. He was luckier than most fathers were, biological or not. "Have you discovered anything of use?" Giles asked the redhead. Willow frowned. "I think the Mayor cleared out all the town's records and files before Graduation just in case his ascension went wrong, cause uh, everything looks cleared out. And it's good for him he did, consideringhe went all blooey." "Yes, but it puts us back at square one." "That's not a good thing." She thought quietly for a moment, and then started typing again. "Maybe I can -" There was a knock, the two of exchanged a look, and then Giles went to answer the door. When he saw who it was, covered in rags and looking sickly, he narrowed his eyes and wanted to slam the door shut on the visitor's face. "Have a heart, Rupert." Spike said with a weak smile. *** Buffy and Faith were on stage at the Bronze, and they each had hold of an arm. A vampire's arms. They glanced at the drummer of the night's band, and the frightened guy got in their path, and held out his drumstick.The slayers rammed the vampire into the stick, and it turned to ash. Dusting herself off, the brunette gave their helper a pat on the back, as her partner hopped off stage. The blonde waited and extended her hand, which Faith cameover and accepted, hopping down. The crowd looked at them. "This a club or not?" Faith asked. The band started up again, and everyone lost themselves in the noise. "That's more like it." "I can't believe he thought we wouldn't stake him in here." Buffy grinned. "He musta been new." "Told you it would be better when we came out, B." Faith said. "The whole 'nobody can know you're a slayer line' is total crap. It's saferif more people know." "Yeah, and plus, my whole graduating class knew without me saying a word, and it was getting more and more difficult to come up with excuses as to why we carry pointy, wooden things." Faith nodded as both of them moved back to the bar. "And why stress over that?" "I agree." Buffy was scanning the club. "Any sign of Xander yet?" "Neg. But we can kill time." "Oh, you on board with Thanksgiving?" "That's the holiday with all the food, right?" Faith asked. "Then I'm at your disposal." "Offering yourself to me? I love it when you do that." The younger slayer backed her girlfriend up against the counter, and reached for her lower curves. "Have you no shame?" Buffy teased. "Don't think so." Faith smirked. "Hey, we should get mochas for Giles and Willow. They've probably been working hard, and they need to stay awake for our 'touching base' meeting." Faith turned her head to look at the guy behind the counter. "Five mochas." She turned back toward the blonde. "As much as I love touching base, I love another kind of touching even more." "That a fact?" Buffy asked, looking serious. "Am I the only one who knows where my hands are?" Faith was confused. "Oh no." Buffy shook her head with a sexy smile. "I know where they are. Believe me." Faith sighed. "I'm glad we're helping Willow, and I don'tregret invitin' her to stay at your mom's, it's cool having her there, but it's been way too long since..." "Think your mochas are ready." A voice interrupted. "What do you want, Beefstick?" The brunette glared, facing him. "Made quite a show with that vampire." Riley noticed. "We've got nothing to hide." Buffy told him angrily. "I can see that." He said softly. "You know somewhere more private we can go?" They were suspicious. "It's just me. I shouldn't even be near you, but -" "Fine." Faith said, still very annoyed by his arrival. Ifthey listened to what he had to say, then he would leave them alone. "Grab our drinks and let's go." *** In a private room locked away from prying eyes, a woman stood, talking to something in the shadows. No one else could find out what was in here, not yet, for they were all unknowingly and unwillingly part of the Project. "I know it's early, and I wanted to let you sleep awhile longer, but things have changed. I need you awake." "I understand." "I knew you would." She smiled. "Listen to me. I'm worried about your brother. I want you to keep an eye on him for me. I can't trust anyoneelse with my suspicions. It's for his own good." "Yes, Mother." "He'll be leaving soon, temporarily, so hurry. The quicker I'm
sure, the quicker I can decide whether or not to punish him. Make me
proud." *** "Bloody hell, man. You're cuttin' off my circulation." Giles was tying Spike to a chair, and stared at the vampire with disbelief. "Well it pinches." "I could've killed you, remember that." Giles said. "And the only reason I let you in here was because Willow told us of your predicament, which you say the military group had a hand in." "They did." Spike grumbled. "You treat me right, quench my thirst, and I might just tell your girls where they're at. I'm sure you all wanna rough 'em up a bit." "What do you know about what happened to her?" "Just what the other inmates passed along. That she checked in, then checked out." Giles was quiet, thinking. "Be patient. Willow was kind enough to go to the butcher." "Red's got a heart, all right. Kinda feel bad for trying to stop it from beating." Spike grinned. "It would be in your best interests to shut up." Faith, Buffy and Riley walked in then, and their eyes zeroed in on Spike, while Spike zeroed in on Riley. "What's he doing here?" They said in unison. The blonde vampire was struggling to free himself from the ropes, and Riley glared at the slayers. "That's Hostile 17. Do you want to explain what that monster is doing alive and how you know him?" "Not really." Buffy snapped. "Cause I don't know why he'shere either." She looked at Giles. "Confused. Help me not be." "Spike was captured by the fellows that that gentleman," Giles nodded at Riley, "works with. In exchange for..." He was visualizing it, and paled. "The red stuff." Faith supplied. "Thank you." He said gratefully. "That and temporary shelter, as his apparent inability to feed has left him weak -" "Skin and bones." Spike chipped in. "Don't get some bloodin me soon, and I'll be a living skeleton. Like famine pictures from those dusty countries, only not half as funny." "Anybody talking to you, Billy?" Faith asked in a tone that told him to keep quiet. "He has promised," The former librarian continued, "to give us information regarding the location of..." "I don't think so." Riley said. "I'm taking him back to the Initiative right now." "Whoa there." Faith stepped in front of him. "You're off duty. We brought you here cause you wanted to talk, so talk." Xander entered the house, decked out in his old army costume. He spotted his friends first. "Didn't wanna wait, huh?" He frowned, but then smiled. "What the hey. I forgive ya. Sorry, took a little longer than I thought. Went to the base, but they didn't know anything about our men in black. And if they did, they didn't wanna tell me. But if you ask me, I pulled off an Oscar-winning -" He saw Spike and Riley. "Uh...huh. I stepped into the Twilight Zone, didn't I? Rod Serling is gonna walk down those steps any minute now. I bet if I go back out and then come back in, they'll be gone. Right?" "It's cool, Xand." Buffy assured him. "Riley was just about to tell us something real useful. And Spike...we'll fill you in later." "Lemme get a seat." He headed over to the couch, and eyedthe vampire. "You're sure he can't use his fangs?" "Like I'd bite you." Spike snorted disgustedly. "What's that supposed to mean?" Willow walked through the door, holding a white paper bag. She scanned the room. "Uh...hey?" "Are more people coming, or is this it?" Riley sighed. *** Eyes watched the meeting from Giles' courtyard. The data he was gathering was quite interesting. His brother was being irrational, but he wasn't the only one who had his attention. *** The whole gang was on the sofa, Giles was standing behindit, and Spike was still in the chair, silently angry because there was a container of pig's blood that he wasn't allowed to have yet. They were all looking at Riley expectantly. "Okay, I'm going home for Thanksgiving tomorrow, and I wanted to go there knowing both sides of the story." "Both sides of the story?" Xander asked, not understanding. "I know what the Initiative thinks -" "That's who you work for?" Willow questioned. "Yeah, and I guess since I already lied to them, telling you that isn't that big of a deal." He paused. "I know what they think, but I wanna hear your explanation. I've started digging my own grave, and before I decide if I want to go any deeper, I need all the facts. Then I can get away and think for awhile." "What do you think gives you the right to come here and demand answers from us?" Giles asked calmly. "I'm not...demanding, sir. I just want to understand." Hehad been saying that a lot. "Your people want to talk now, to understand now, after they flew three thousand miles to Boston, kidnapped her, and then drug her to a lab to do tests on her?" Willow got madder the more she spoke. "Don't you think you're way past the civilized, talking stage?" "I told them already," Riley looked at Buffy and Faith, "that it's just me asking. I'm not speaking for anybody else. They don't even know I'm here." "You talk like you're innocent." Faith said with distrustin her eyes. "I wasn't part of the team that was sent to Boston. I didn't do any of the experiments. The scientists handle that. But I was there while they were doing them." He stared at his feet. "Demons are one thing, but when I saw...I couldn't believe it. More and more, I find myself wondering what I'm a part of." He met their faces once again. "I'm confused, and I'm here so I can hopefully start making sense of everything." For awhile, nobody said a word. "What do you want to know?" Buffy asked. "What you are." She stood up, and walked into the kitchen. Everyone watched her, not sure what she was doing. When she came back in, she was carrying a knife, and she walked up to Riley. Turning her hand over, so he could see her palm, she took the knife, and slowly sliced the skin, not cringing once. As she finished, there was a trail of blood on her palm. "What do you see?" She asked. "Blood." "Touch it." She instructed. He did so, reluctantly, her blood sitting on his finger. "Is it warm?" "Yes." "Then tell me, what do you think I am? Just based on thisbasic, non-scientific experiment." He coughed nervously. "Human." "Feel free to take that back to your Initiative and analyze it to your heart's content. Excuse me." She turned, went back into the kitchen, and turned on the faucet. "Can I have some?" Spike asked, licking his lips. Riley faced the group. "I believe that she's human, and you too." He looked at Faith. "We have enough samples and medical records that say that." "They have her medical records?" Willow was shocked. "Then what do you want?" Xander asked after a moment. "To know that extra something that gives them the strength, the rapid healing. All the scientists have been able to figure out is that her cells replicate a lot faster than a normal human being, and that her adrenaline levels skyrocket when she fights. Their big theory is that a part of her genetic makeup must be something other than human. But her genes don't match up with any known species of demon we have on file." "Cause *we're* not demons, pal. Not evil. Understand? We don't know why we have the skills we do, we just have 'em. Our parents were normal human beings, physically anyway, and it's been like this all our lives. We kill demons, that's our job assigned from up high, so we do it. And that's that." Faith explained. "Then why isn't he dead?" Riley pointed to Spike. "Long story that you don't get to hear. But we'll handle him, so don't go squealing to your buddies." "But -" "Excuse me, but how would they know how her body reacts during a confrontation?" Giles asked. Sighing, he knew that if they ever found out, he was dead. "There's a chip...it's plugged directly into her nervous system and receives data on what her body is doing internally twenty-four hours a day, and it gets sent to the scientists. I'm not sure how -" "That's the white spot on the x-ray, isn't it?" Faith gotup and looked him in the eye. "Isn't it?" "I've said too much." "No, you haven't said nowhere near enough." He turned away, and found himself looking at Xander. "She doesn't remember what happened to her. She lost three months, man. Probably the most painful of her life." Xander said. "Exactly why I can't say anything else about it." "It gives her really bad headaches, Riley." Willow told him. "*Really* bad." "The memories would be worse." "You wankers used the chip to mess with her mind, didn't you?" Spike asked. Buffy came back into the room, her cut cleaned, disinfected, and already closed. She stood by her girlfriend. "I'd rather have one big pain all at once and get it over with, instead of all these smaller pains popping up unexpectedl..." Her mouth widened. "It's whenever I start remembering. Thenit kicks in. That's how the blocker part of it works, right?" "Even if I thought it was a good idea to shut the chip off, I can't. I don't have the code, or the access." Riley said. "So you have a computer system." Willow grinned to herself. She'd remember that. "Then I suppose turning off my chip is out of the question." Spike frowned. "Bastards." "Who does have the access?" Faith demanded. "Only one person." The soldier said. "And I have to go." The brunette moved to stop him, and Xander still stood inhis way. "Let him leave, guys." Buffy said. Xander moved. "Some things don't have a nice, neat, scientific explanation, Riley, and if the Initiative is going to mess around with demons, they have to realize that. And what was said is going to stay here, got it?" "Keep Hostile 17 out of sight." He opened the door. "It's Spike, you inbred cowboy." The vampire said, pissed off. "Oh, just so you know? All my friends? Human. Make sure they get left alone. Hope you come to the right decision." The blonde slayer said, then he walked out the door. *** He followed his brother to see what else he could learn. Soon he would go back and talk to Mother. *** "So you got a chip too." Spike grinned. "At least you canstill hit people." Buffy walked up to his chair. "What can you tell me that he didn't?" "I can show you where they run everything from. White anddull as hell. You've seen it." She glared. "Except that you don't remember any of it." "You'll take me there." She stated. "After we've had the best Thanksgiving ever." "B?" Faith asked. "We just learned as much as we're gonna learn until Rileygets back. When he does, then we'll figure out what to do next." "Really think we can trust him?" "I don't get the evil vibe from him. Do you?" "No." The brunette had to admit. "Seems like he got mixedup in something that got bigger than he could handle, though." "While we're waiting, I can try and find their system." Willow offered. Buffy smiled. "Sure, just be careful. But I really think we all need a break from this. I know I do. It's the start of the holiday season, we're all here, and it's time to cheer up. With my mom going away for Thanksgiving, and I had to swear that I was going to be okay a hundred times before she would go - " "She's gonna spend it with Sarah, right?" Willow asked. "I can't believe she's moving." "To live with her girl in Hawaii." Faith grinned. "And that's great, but it'll be just us, and I want us tobe happy, together, and to turn this place into Thanksgiving Central." The blonde said. "Pardon?" Giles asked. "I've got that construction job to finish at the campus tomorrow -" Xander began to say. "The new Culture Center building. I'm excited, can you tell?" Faith said sarcastically. "But after, I'm Preparation H." They stared at him. "H asin Harris. As in my official Thanksgiving title. 'Preparation Harris.' Not the ointment. I don't have hemorrhoids." "Never thought such a thing." Willow said, while she and the rest of the gang swallowed hard. "Good. Cause I don't. Anyway, I know I could go for a holiday meal that doesn't involve yelling." Xander looked uncomfortable as he said that. "Can I give an invite to Cordelia?" "Was just gonna suggest that." Buffy said. "Will, you in?" The redhead gave a less than sincere smile, and spoke softly. "Uh huh." "You've designated my flat as the hub for this gathering without asking for my permission." Giles observed. "I did." Buffy agreed. "Why?" "Cause I knew you weren't going to turn me down." She smiled. Spike cleared his throat. "Can I eat now?" "Thinking...thinking...no." "Why bloody not?" "You asked to drink the blood from my hand. Besides beinga disgusting thought for me, you have to learn that impatience gets you nothing." "Talk to your woman." He pleaded with Faith. "Make her be reasonable." "How'd you figure that out?" Faith asked. "Can smell it. The heat, luv. That's what we vampires are attracted to, and the way it's radiating off the two of you, it's damn near stifling. Been awhile since you cooled each other off, hasn't it?" Everyone averted their eyes, and the slayers wanted to rip Spike's throat out. "But there's caring and..." He made a face. "Love, in there too, which is simply...revolting." "Well, you just lost any shot you had of me changing her mind for ya." The Bostonian said, kissing her girlfriend. "Goddamn it! That's not fair!" Spike looked up towards the ceiling. "Yeah, that's right! I blame you! I didn't ask for this! Uh...okay, I did, but you were never around! You drove me to it! The Big, All Powerful absent one! Omniscient, lazy, never lifts a finger, son of a..." Xander grabbed a cross that was sitting on the table, andwent and put it up to Spike's face. The vampire practically howled. "Oops. Sorry. God made me do it. He works in mysterious ways, the Lord does." Xander backed off, as they all snickered. "You ask to be damned, you get it, Spike." Buffy said. "Blaming other people, especially supreme beings, God, the Goddess, Buddha, Vishnu...whatever, never solved anything." Willow said in a disappointed tone. "All I want is a drink!" Spike groaned. *** After everyone had left his house, Giles sat down on his couch with a sigh, and Angel came downstairs. "I thought something smelled off." Spike sneered. "What the hell are you doing here, Grand-Dad?" The older vampire simply glared, and turned to the ex-librarian. He hadn't forgotten the torture Spike had put him through. "How come you didn't tell me she was taken?" "It was Faith's decision. She didn't want to worry you, because she knew you were trying to find your place in Los Angeles, and Buffy's predicament would've most assuredly stopped you from setting out on your own." Giles answered. She was probably right, but still, he missed being in theloop concerning the goings on around Sunnydale. Especially something as big as Buffy being experimented on. His eyes darkened. He had decided that he hated Riley Finn and whomever the kid was associated with. "I would've helped." "Do you believe that's why your friend had a vision of Buffy? For you to help us with it now? Or is this something else entirely?" "I don't know." "You do realize that this is all very vague, don't you? And I feel I should remind you that she's not helpless and it's not your job to keep her safe." "It's not yours anymore, either. Are you going to walk away?" "Hang on. You're here, hiding and spying on your ex-honey, and you don't know why?" Spike asked with a chuckle. "I think it's just an excuse to play voyeur, see what you lost. I'm proud. Truly pathetic and perverted. But that's supposed to be Angelus' gig, isn't it? Maybe there isn't a difference between the Poof and the Prowler after all." "Keep pushing me, Spike, and you'll see where the line is." Angel promised. "Enough." Giles got in between the tied up Spike and the angry Angel. "Now obviously, the reason for the vision and your arrival hasn't presented itself yet, so all we can do is wait." Angel nodded. "I'll be around. See what I can find out." "I don't like secrets, Angel. Are you positive this is the way you want to handle -?" "Giles, if she knew I was here, she'd be more distracted than she already is. I don't want that. She seems really into this Thanksgiving thing, it's something that's making her happy, and I'd ruin..." He looked sad, trailing off. "Believe me, I'm not getting the good half of this deal. To be on the outside looking in at what I can't...well, I'd forgotten how bad it feels." He left. "Hard to believe *that* was the scourge of a continent." Spike said sarcastically, with a mixture of disappointment and disgust. *** "Oh...ooh." Faith was sitting on Buffy's bed, propped up against her girlfriend, who was massaging the stiffness right out of her neck. "God. I hate it when the rush wears off, cause my neck never wants to move." "I told you what the problem is. You dust one vamp, then turn your head so fast to see where the next one's coming from, that sometimes I think you're gonna snap it." "I'm just aware of my surroundings. If I didn't stay on top of things, in a split second, I could get blindsided." She got quiet. "Or not be quick enough to help ya." "Hey, you don't still think...it's your fault I was taken, do you?" "Can't help it, B. If I had just quit teasing you about Giles, you wouldn't have left the house. If I came after you sooner..." "We were kidding around. We always do that. There was no way you could've known." "What if I was the one who walked out? Who got nabbed?" "Then I'd be feeling the same way you are." Buffy admitted. "But you'd be the one trying to comfort me right now. So another you and me are having this talk in reverse in some other universe. Could say it's a universal, relationship, 'Sad/Comfort' talk. Kinda kooky, don'tcha think?" Faith sighed, but she was smirking. "But that doesn't matter. What matters is, I'm alive, here, and with you." "Yeah, with a reminder in your head, and there's nothing I can do about it." "Will you stop please? Everything will be fine. I have complete...faith in that." Buffy smiled, and kissed Faith's hair. "And when we're doing the duty thing, I know you'll be there to back me up. How many times have you saved my life?" "You want an exact figure?" She was grinning. "No, but you've done it a whole damn lot, I know that." "Been there for me plenty, too." "That's cause we're the best slayer duo that ever lived." "Uh, we're the only." "And when they read about us in the history books, or data pads or whatever, they'll say, 'They were the best that ever lived, and they always looked out for each other. And remember kids, being a slayer was a tough job. They didn't even have homing stakes back then.'" "That's what they'll say, huh?" "Exactly. Every word." "You can tell the future now?" "I thought you knew." Faith laughed. The blonde was so ridiculous. She wouldn't have it any other way. "Now please tell me you feel better, and that there'll be no more depression tonight." "No more." She felt Buffy's hands sneak under her tank top, and they started to massage her back. Then the blonde's lips started kissing her now loosened neck. "This is definitely making me feel better." "Like me to continue?" "I can predict the future too. Down the road, I see alt-marriages being recognized and us tyin' the knot; and in about five seconds, I see your mouth doing something other than talkin', B." "I'll take that long and indirect answer as a yes, honey." Buffy slipped the tank top over Faith's head, and tossed it to the floor, just as Willow appeared in the doorway. The three girls froze simultaneously, and Faith, her chest now covered by just a black bra, made no move to hide that fact. The way Willow was peering into the room, she couldn't see below Faith's waist. That meant she couldn't see that the slayer still had her black leather pants on, so she thought that bra was the *only* thing Faith was wearing. "Oh...uh...um...Xander and I got movies. They're downstairs. Him too. Where I'm gonna go. Now." The redhead blushed. "I'm...I'm sorry." She hurried away. The superhuman, evil destroying, intimidating, unstoppable Chosen Two looked at one another...and whimpered. *** The next day passed, and when Xander showed up at Giles' in the morning, the job complete, he didn't look very well. At the construction site, he had dug into a weak spot in the dirt, and fallen into a large, underground cave. It turned out to be the old Sunnydale mission that everyone thought was destroyed by an earthquake a century or so before. Something in there had apparently made Xander sick, and his girlfriend, who had arrived from Los Angeles, was currently tending to him.But his illness wasn't the only thing that resulted from the unearthing of the mission. The professor, who had been a big contributor to the Cultural Center, was murdered the night before, and her ear was removed. Buffy was hurrying like a madwoman to get everything ready for Thanksgiving, so Faith volunteered to go and check things out. Willow had been very interested in tagging along, so she went with the brunette slayer. The blonde one was in the kitchen with Giles now, watching him peel vegetables in the sink. "You know what? We need to boil those and put them through the ricer." "I don't think I have a ricer." Giles told her. "You don't have a ricer? What do you mean? How could someone not have a ricer?" She was flabbergasted. "Well, do you have one at home?" "I don't know. What's a ricer?" Cordelia came into the kitchen. "How is he?" "Angel's good. And nowhere near here." The ex-cheerleadersaid, glancing at Giles quickly. "That's...great. But I was talking about Xander." "Yeah! Right! Still sick. He's got a really bad fever. And lots of other things wrong with him." She frowned. "Figures. The one time I get to come visit *him*, and he contracts some mysterious disease." "Hopefully Willow and Faith's search will provide us withsome answers." Giles said. "They better remember to pick up the cranberry sauce." Buffy said. "How ya doing in there, Spike?" "Getting bloody tired of looking at Syphilis Boy, and still starving." Spike growled. "Syphilis?!" Xander screamed. "Cordy!" His girlfriend went running to him. *** Faith and Willow were searching the new Cultural Center. The brunette got a small cramp in her stomach, walking around the murder scene.One where a human was the victim. Locking the professor away in her memory, the woman became another reason for her to keep fighting. She let the small pain come, and then told it to go away, because she had a job to do. They neededto find out what had been the professor's killer. The redhead had a cramp of her own, because she was still remembering how she had walked in on the two slayers, who were about to have an intimate moment. Probably more like an intimate couple of hours. But it wasn't simply the embarrassment that had her in knots; it was the fact that she no longer had anyone to love, to get intimate with. She had been dealing well lately, but seeing Buffy and Faith immediately took the Band-Aid off her wounded heart. Willow wanted someone to heal it completely, and the moretime that passed, the less she cared who it was. She still had hope that it would be Oz, as he was the only one who she loved in every sense of the word, but she was open to just about anyone. If she were going to love a person again, she'd know it right away, because she'd be looking for that spark. All she needed was to see their eyes, and then it would be clear. Though what were the chances of clicking like that? She was also not a huge fan of Thanksgiving. Besides the historical atrocities and lies that surrounded it, she had no cause to celebrate. What was she supposed to be thankful for? Her life? It was in pieces. Her boyfriend gone, her best friend in pain and used by the government. Andshe had to stand by, not being able to prevent any of it. She hated the black cloud that was smothering her usually cheery personality, but she couldn't get rid of it, and the holiday could come and go as far as she was concerned. There was guilt too, because Buffy wanted to make the best possible dinner and day out of it that she could, and Willow feared that she was going to silently put a damper on the whole thing. Another recent fear she had was that her presence in Buffy's house was preventing the slayers from being intimate, and she didn't want them to feel like they had to put everything on hold for her. They were happy and in love, and they should feel free to express that. Just because she was single, that didn't mean they had to pretend they were too. It wasn't like she couldn't sleep on the couch. Joyce had even offered to clean out the storage room for her. "What do you think?" Faith was asking her. Oh yeah. They were looking for clues, weren't they? "Maybe we're looking for a witch. There's some great spells that work much better with an ear in the mix." "Do I wanna know what kinda spells they are?" "Uh...nope. Or it could be an ear-harvesting demon that...it's, like, building another demon completely out of ears." Willow felt like an idiot as soon as those words were out of her mouth. "You feelin' okay, Red?" Faith smirked a little. "Actually?" She sighed. "Not really. I've been thinking about what happened last night and -" The Bostonian cleared her throat. "Sorry about that. Thought we had more time." "Don't be sorry." Willow shook her head. "You shouldn't schedule around me. If you guys wanna...you know, then tell me and I'll make plans. Or go watch TV for awhile or something." Faith tried to brush it off. "It's not that big of a deal, really, it's..." "Yes it is. So no lying. I remember when Oz and I..." She trailed off, and tried smiling. "You're already giving me a place to stay, that I'm really grateful for, and I don't want you to make your lives any more turvy topsy for me. I'm a big girl, independent and standing on my own ten toes. Which are attached to my feet, by the way." Her eyes found an empty display case.The only empty case. "Light bulb." "Huh?" "Just went on in my head." She pointed, and the slayer looked. They walked up to it, and Willow bent down. There was an inscription. "Early 1800 Chumash Knife. Chumash. They were Native American." She stood. "We have a lead." "Then let's take off." Faith didn't hide the fact that she wanted out of there. "So is this some sick version of -?" "Revenge?" Willow asked bitterly, as they left. "Wouldn't surprise me." "I thought I was getting that vibe." "What vibe?" "That you weren't down with the whole Thanksgiving thing." "No way. Thanksgiving isn't about the blending of two cultures or promoting togetherness. It's about one culture wiping out another. And then they make animated specials about the part where, with the maize and the big, big belt buckles. They don't show you the next scene, where all the bison die and Squanto takes a musket ball in the stomach." "Ouch." 'Angry Willow' was not a fun sight. "Well it's all true. It's a sham. It's all about death." "The natives got screwed over and our ancestors were all assholes, I know, but B just wants..." "Cranberry sauce." Willow remembered. "I just have this thing with events that are full of falseness. But I'm trying to hold it in for her." "Wanna know what I think? I think Thanksgiving was never about Pilgrims and the Indi...Native Americans. People just took that pic of them sittin' around a table as a starting point. That's the commercial side, messed with by some suits in an office. Long as they get a parade on TV, or a Disney flick out of it, history doesn't matter. But Thanksgiving is about something totally different. Always has been. It isn't anything as big or as world changing as cultural harmony, but it still means something. "It didn't until this year though, not for me. Guess I'vebeen waiting for the right one, and it's finally here." "What's it mean?" "You're smart. Figure it out. It either hits ya, or it misses." Faith grinned. "Oh, and...thanks. For giving us the go ahead." She winked. *** Willow got back to Giles' without Faith. The other girl had decided they should split up, because the faster Giles got the information,the quicker they could figure out what was going on. That's why Faith went to get the food, and she ran by the library. She was currently holding a stack of books in her hands. Buffy came up to her immediately. "Faith'll be here soon." The redhead assured her. "With the cranberry sauce." "Any luck at the center?" Giles asked. "Uh huh. A Chumash knife was taken." She set the stack down on the table. "How about a cure for multiple disease?" Cordelia asked, both her and Xander looking hopeful. Willow shook her head with a sympathetic frown. "Chumash? They were indigenous to the whole area. Peaceful, if I remember correctly." Giles recollected. "Oh, they were peaceful, all right. They were fluffy indigenous kittens, till we came along." Buffy and Giles stared at her. There was an awkward silence, as it was their turn to get a taste of 'Angry Willow.' "So...do you think Faith will get rolls too? Cause I just remembered we need rolls." The blonde said. *** Faith was cutting through the park, carrying a shopping bag that contained the cranberry sauce, a box of tea bags for Giles, and she picked up rolls for some odd reason. It wasn't that rolls were bad, but she hadn't been intending to get any. She had been standing in the checkout line, happened to see them on a rack in front of an aisle, and something had just told her tograb them. And something was now telling her that she was being followed. She sighed. "Got places to be, so if you wanna throw down, show yourself and we can get this over with." "It's just me, Faith." A voice said from behind her. The brunette turned quickly, nearly dropping the bag. "Angel? Not evil, right?" "No. Why would I be?" He said calmly. She shrugged. "How are things?" "They could be better. Could also be worse." Faith said truthfully. "What's it like on your end?" "I'm getting used to it." They stood looking at each other for several seconds. He liked Faith, but every time he saw her, the first thing that came to his mind wasthat she was the person who had taken Buffy from him. The past couple of months, being in LA and not around Buffy at all (at least he saw her when he lived in Sunnydale), he missed her more and more. He found himself wondering. If Faith hadn't shown up or been as close to Buffy as she was, would he and the older slayer still be together? Every scenario he came up with told him, that more than likely, the answer was no. He had to face the facts; he and Buffy weren't meant to be. He just hoped Faith's decision not to tell him about what happened, wasn't an attempt to shut him out of her life. "Seen her yet?" Faith asked, breaking the quiet. "No. And I don't plan to." She raised her eyebrows, but didn't say anything. "I'm here because you and Buffy might be in danger." "What kind?" "Well, I know you found out that that knife was missing..." "How long've you been tracking us?" "And I think the Chumash connection is where to start looking. Might be some kind of vengeful spirit." He continued his thought, bypassingthe question. "Go to the church on sixth. Father Gabriel runs it. His family dates back to those days." "Now?" "Probably a good idea. Giles and Willow are already checking the books." "B's gonna kill me if I don't get her this stuff." She was debating with herself. "There a reason you're on edge? Besides our welfare?" Angel spoke softly. "How is she? Since the..." His eyes met hers. "You talked to Giles." She realized. "Uh...hangin' in there, like the rest of us. Tough as always. And you're probably pissed at me for not -" "Go to the church. I'll drop off the bag." "Wouldn't that break your stealth cover?" Faith tossed him the bag with a smirk. "This little tip better pay off, Big Guy." *** It was paying off all right. Faith had found Father Gabriel hanging out back of the church, and a Native American guy slicing his throat with the stolen knife. They were fighting, and he had the upper hand, sitting atop her, trying to shove the knife down into her stomach. The younger slayer was pushing against him. "I am vengeance. I am my people's cry. They call for Hus,for the avenging spirit to carve out justice." "And the ears are trophies?" Faith asked. She brought herknee up, and threw him off of her. "The guys that wrecked your people are dead now too. Welcome to the twentieth century." She silently realized that while Native Americans weren't being killed, they didn't have the best situation in society. But she wasn't telling him that. "So just go rest." "I cannot rest. If they are in the earth, then their children's blood shall be spilled." "Fine. We'll do this the hard way." Hus launched himself at Faith, and she rolled just enoughto avoid him. She jumped up and grabbed him by his neck, yanked him off the ground, and shoved him up against a tree. "Your kind slaughtered my people. Now you kill their spirit. This is a great day for you." That caught her off guard, and she felt guilt and sympathy all at once. Conflicting with those feelings, was her knowledge that he had killed two people, and it was too much. Releasing him before she did anything she might regret, she then backed away, while he stood. In the next second, he becamea swarm of bats that flew off into the darkness. *** Cordelia had seen her boss peering in through the window,and had excused herself, going out into the courtyard. Considering Willow and Giles were snapping at each other, she was glad to step out of the house. She grabbed his arm and pulled him away, whispering. "For a secret visit, you sure are making it easy for people to notice you." She said, seeing the bag. "What's that?" "Groceries. I told Faith I'd drop them off." "She knows now too?" The ex-cheerleader was very disappointed in him. "How close are you to solving this?" "Close. Then I'll go." "I don't know why you wanna hide, anyway. It's not like you left pissed at each other." "It's my choice, Cordelia." Angel stated. "Will you take this inside?" "How am I going to explain where I got it from?" "I have no idea." "You're a big help." "Enjoying yourself?" "Besides the verbal cat fight about the Shoemush -" "Chumash." "- and my boyfriend practically being on his deathbed, I'm having a splendid time." He smirked. "It'll get better." Saying that, he then disappeared. Cordelia looked down, the bag at her feet. She picked it up and headed back inside, just in time to catch more fighting. "I'm not gonna help you kill him. I'm not on board." Willow was saying. "What choice do we have?" Buffy asked, nearing exhaustion. "Buffy, this isn't a western. We're not at Fort...Giles with the cavalry coming to save us. It's one lonely guy. Oppressed warrior guy who'sjust trying to..." "Kill a lot of people?" The redhead frowned. "I didn't say he was right." "Will, you know how bad I feel about this. It's eating meup -" She saw Cordelia, and her eyes traveled to the bag. She immediately took it, not asking questions, with a sigh of relief. "One-fourth cup of brandy and let it simmer -" She said to her, nodded to the bookcase which the brandy was sitting on, then pointed to the pot on the stove. "I wouldn't say no to a brandy." Spike said. Buffy turned back to Willow. "But even though it's hard, we have to end this. Yes, he's been wronged, and I personally would be ready to apologize -" "Oh, someone put a stake in me." He practically moaned. "You got a lot of volunteers in here." Xander said from the couch. "I just can't take all this mamby-pamby boo-hooing about the bloody Indians." "Uh, the preferred term -" Willow started to correct him. "You won, all right? You came in and you killed them and you took their land. That's what conquering nations do. It's what Caesar did, and he's not going around saying, 'I came, I conquered, I felt really bad aboutit.' The history of the world isn't people making friends. You had better weapons, and you massacred them. End of story." "Well, I think the Spaniards actually did a lot of...not that I don't like Spaniards -" Buffy said. "Listen to you. How you gonna fight anyone with that attitude?" "We don't wanna fight anyone." The wicca insisted. "I just wanna have Thanksgiving." The blonde pouted. Spike snickered. "Yeah...good luck." "If we could talk to him..." Willow tried. "You exterminated his race. What could you possibly say that would make him feel better? It's kill or be killed here. Take your bloody pick." They all kind of looked at one another, and Buffy made her way to the kitchen, beginning to unpack the bag. "Could just be the syphilis talking, but some of that made sense." Xander realized. "I made a lot of these points earlier," Giles said, "but fine, nobody listens to me." "I'm gonna go for a walk." Willow said softly, then made her way out. "I'll go with her." Cordelia volunteered, finishing pouring the brandy and coming back into the living room. "Me too." Xander said, getting up. "Sure you can?" "Oh, leave that one. He looks like he's ready to drop any minute, and I think I can eat someone if he's already dead." Spike said. "I'm up to it." Xander assured her. As her friends were leaving, Buffy called to them. "Hurryback! Dinner's in an hour!" She looked at Giles. "It's not going according to my plan." She said sadly, then began searching the area with her eyes. "Where's Faith?" She then looked down at the bag of rolls and the cranberry sauce onthe counter. "And I'm sure there's a really logical-type of explanation as to where these came from." *** About five minutes later, Faith walked through the door. "Hus." She said, going back to the kitchen. "Missed you. It's been crazy. I'm about to drop." Her girlfriend said, and they kissed. "You're telling me." The brunette took a deep breath. "I wanted to be here." "Good, cause I know you weren't trying to skip out on helping me." "Never." She whispered into Buffy's ear. "Later. You and me. House. All alone." "All alone?" Faith nodded. "So you can't drop. Cause I'm gonna make you pass out. After I hear you scream my name, sweat going down your forehead, eyes clenched shut...I can picture it already. What a sight." She closed her eyes for a second. "You'll be the first one screaming, honey." Faith's eyes shot open, and the blonde coughed. "Uh...check the oven?" "What was that you said?" Giles wondered, setting the table. "Hus?" "Oh. That's the name of guy doing the killing. I was comin' back from the store, and my radar went off. He hung up a priest. We traded blows, he turned into a bunch of bats..." "Are you okay?" The older slayer was concerned instantly, scanning for any wounds. "Five by five, B." Faith smiled. "Just annoyed." "I was right then. He is a -" Giles said. "Vengeance spirit?" "How'd you know that?" "He made sure to mention it." Faith sighed, opening the oven door. "I woulda taken him out, but he decided to guilt me." "What do we do?" Buffy asked, putting her arm around her partner's shoulders and letting her know it was all right. "There's no choice now." Giles told them. "We must find away to destroy him. Vengeance is never sated, Buffy. He will continue to kill unless he's stopped. He was not brought forth to reason, he's a manifestation of hundreds of years of anger and hatred." "Bird's about ready to be freed." Faith informed the blonde. "Is there any way we could anticipate his next move?" Buffy questioned. An arrow struck the center of the table. They all looked to see Hus standing at the high window, bow in hand. "You were saying?" Spike asked. *** "I have a valid point of view, don't I?" Willow asked her friends as they walked down Main Street. "Yeah, but Will, there's that little thing where he's hurting people." Xander said while pointing to himself. "Killing even." "If Giles is right, he isn't even a person." Cordelia added. "I know, it's just, we didn't ask his people if they wanted to be slaughtered. They weren't given a choice. 'This is gonna happen, and it's for your own good.' That's unfair." Willow explained, and they all knew part ofthat wasn't just referring to the Chumash. "And all Buffy cares about is gravy and peas." "She wants her friends to be together. I'm all for that."Xander said. "We're all we have, and considering everything that's been going on, the last thing we need is drifting." The three of them walked in silence for awhile. Willow was realizing that she had been fighting what Buffy was trying to do ever sincethe blonde had announced her dinner plans. Her friend had been hurt by it too, she knew that, but she did nothing. Perhaps she had been taking her argument against historical injustices too far. "The guy I work with, his ex-wife was going to get married to a demon that was pretty decent as far as demons go," Cordelia said, "but the groom was going to eat my friend's brains cause it was tradition. I have total respect for other people's cultures, don't get me wrong, but when it involves killing people I care about, a line has to be drawn." Xander smiled. She was something else. Cordelia continued. "Spike's right, the Native Indian...whatever, has got to go. I'm sorry that a couple hundred years agohis people weren't given a fair shot, but I didn't do anything to them. Neitherdid that professor, or Xander, or whoever else he got to. Why should they have to pay for dead people's stupidity?" They were passing by the magic shop, and a girl that was just coming out, bumped into Willow, in a hurry to get off the streets. They looked at one another. "I-I'm s-sorry. I d-didn't mean t-to..." The blonde, and apparently shy, girl stuttered. "It's okay. Really. No injuries." Willow smiled. "And no pain either. Always a plus." The girl smiled somewhat. "Y-yeah...I'm...I...g-gotta go." She walked off, and Willow watched her. Xander whistled. "You still here?" "What?" The redhead faced her friends. "Oh. Present." "Do you see what we're saying?" She nodded with a sigh. "I do. If he tried to hurt -" Willow stopped, her eyes going wide. "Angel." "Why would he try to hurt...?" Xander saw the vampire andducked behind his girlfriend. "He's evil!" "I'm not evil. Why does everyone think that?" Angel said, frustrated. "Angel's here to protect Buffy." Cordelia explained. "Faith too." "I haven't been evil for a long time." "She's not supposed to know he's here. Buffy, I mean. Faith does." She looked at her boss. "New info? "Yeah. All the Chumash weapons are missing from the Cultural Center. Something's up. Where are they?" "Giles'. Faith should be there by now." Willow said. "What do you think he's doing?" "He's a warrior. He'll be looking to take out the strongest fighters that stand in his way." An image of the two strongest fighters in town popped into their heads immediately. There was no doubt as to whom the spirit was going after. "Oh boy." Xander said. "He's formed a raiding party." "We gotta get over there." The redhead started running. *** "Uh, you can have casinos now." Buffy tried to tell Hus as he stood at the top of the stairs, and four other warriors appeared at the windows and the door. "Get down! " Giles screamed. Faith, Giles, and Buffy dove behind the table. "What about me? You gonna leave me here like this?" Spikeasked as an arrow flew and embedded itself in his chest. "Hey! Watch the heart!" "Where's the damn weapons?" Faith asked, angry at being disadvantaged. "Over there." Giles told her, pointing at the chest across the room. "Real convenient, G." "Forgive me, I wasn't expecting ancient warrior spirits to practice their archery skills in my flat!" "I'll get it!" Buffy volunteered. She started to make herway over, but an arrow struck her in the arm. "Ow." "B!" Faith joined her girlfriend. "I'm gonna yank it." "Please." The brunette pulled, and the arrow came out quickly and cleanly. "There's too many. We need help." Faith got to the chest, and grabbed herself a sword. Before she could get any more, one of the warriors who was brave enough to come inside, elbowed her in the face and she hit the floor hard. More pissed than anything else, she shot up, and still having the sword in her hand, she thrust the blade through his stomach. She wiped a bit of blood off the corner of her mouth, and watched in shock as the spirit looked at the blade and then simply removed it. The act reminded her of the Mayor. "He ain't dyin'!" Spike, who now had several arrows in his chest, looked atthe group. "Remember that conquering nation thing? Forget it. Apologize." "Shut up, Spike!" The three of them screamed, all busy with warriors of their own. "Fine, I'll do it myself. Hey, sorry! Sorry about that, Chief!" His chair fell over. "Bloody hell!" *** Outside, the rest of the gang was occupied as well. Cordelia, Xander, and Willow each had a shovel, to combat with the spirits. Or at least Xander did, until it was taken from him. "Hey!" He exclaimed, upset. Grabbing a potted plant, he smashed it over a warrior's head. Cordelia and Willow were thwacking away at one, with both of their shovels. "Why. Won't. You. Die?" Willow said. Angel came in, and quickly snapped the warrior's neck. The guy dropped to the ground just as yet another one jumped him, and the warrior'sarms went around his neck. "Help the others!" The vampire instructed. *** Hus had come to face his opponents, holding his knife. The slayers were circling him, waiting for an opportunity to strike. Faith nodded to her partner, and then charged in. When Hus jabbed at her with the knife, she round-housed his hand, and the blade went flying. Buffy caught it, and wentto join the fight. He tried to punch her head, but she ducked under his arm, and Faith swept his legs. He dropped to his knees, and then Buffy sliced at hisarm with the knife. It bled, and Hus went to protect the injury. "Your knife can kill you." The blonde realized. Hus then transformed into a large, black bear discouraging their hopes of ending the battle. The animal stood on its hind legs, and growled loudly. "You made a bear!" Spike shouted from his spot on the floor. "I didn't mean to." Buffy said, as she and Faith backed away, dodging the creature's paws. "Undo it! Undo it!" "Crap." She looked at Faith, and the brunette cocked her head in the direction of Xander, who had just run into the room. Buffy handed over the knife. "All yours." "Hey, Gentle Ben!" Xander started to throw food at the bear, and it turned in his direction. "This is for giving me syphilis!" Faith shoved the knife through the bear's back, and it growled and snarled. It became Hus once again, and the vengeance spirit vanished into a green mist. Willow and Cordelia wearily entered the house and they all surveyed the damage, heading over to the table. Angel watched for a few seconds fromthe courtyard, and then went up the steps, walking away. "Did we win?" Spike asked. *** Willow was sitting at the table, eating dinner with the rest of her friends. It had been quite a night. Yet somehow, they managed to survive, and were all treated to a pretty darn good meal. Though she wasn't very proud of herself. "I feel lousy." She announced to the group. "Turkey came out rather splendidly." Giles said. "Good enough to make me stuffed." Faith said. "And that'sa wicked hard thing to do." She got a kiss for her compliment. "It's just...did you see me?" The redhead asked. "Two seconds of conflict with an indigenous person, and I turned into General Custer." "Violence does that. Instinct takes over." Giles explained. "Yeah, that's the fun." Spike grumbled. "Nobody asked you." Xander told him. "Oh, lay off. You all had a fine meal." "But me..." Willow trailed off. "An entire siege. You'd think one of you would bleed a little." The defanged vampire was clearly unhappy. "Wasn't exactly a perfect Thanksgiving." Buffy said. "Hey, we're all here, aren't we?" Faith asked. "The whole *family*," She looked at Willow and the hacker's eyes widened, "sitting around, live and kickin'. Happy and stomachs ready to burst. Looks pretty damn perfect to me. Wouldn't you say so, Red?" She understood now. She knew what Thanksgiving was about.All these people, were the most important people in her life, and they were all important to each other. That's what they were celebrating. That they were all together, that they had made it this far. Without one another, what reason would there be keep going? The gang had gained and lost members, but they were still strong, and the support base. There were tough times, most recently the past two days, and there would probably be more to come, but they'd pull through. Always being one, big...family. "Yeah. This is nice." Willow smiled. "First Thanksgiving on my own, and we all got through it." Buffy was pleased. Xander looked at his girlfriend. "And you know what? I think my syphilis is clearing right up." Cordelia made a face, but smiled. "And they say romance is dead." The older slayer thought."Or maybe they just wish it." "But we all worked together." Willow said happily. "It was like old times." "Especially with Angel being here and everything." Xanderadded, not thinking about what he was saying. Everyone looked at Buffy. "Oops." *** Faith was lying on Buffy's bed, waiting for her to enter the room. They had gotten back from Giles' a half an hour ago, and Willow, goodto her word, was going to crash there for the night. "You haven't said a word about -" Faith called to her. "About what?" Buffy asked, interrupting. "Don't play dumb with me." "If you wanna know if I'm mad at Angel, I am. Possibly furious. But only at him." She got quiet. "That's where the bag came from! He got itfrom you, didn't he?" "Uh huh." She cringed. "I knew I wasn't going insane. But anyway, if he wants tohide in the shadows and deliver food, he can go right ahead. I might even get around to yelling, and I may take it easy on him. He did help and all. Not tonight, though." "Got something better to do?" "Hell yeah." She appeared in the doorway, wearing a red silk robe. "You." Faith was speechless for a moment. "What are you wearing under there?" "I think you already know the answer to that." The blonde grinned, walking seductively up to the foot of the bed. Her partner reachedfor the robe's tie, but she swatted her hand away. "Not yet." "You're torturing me cause I didn't tell you about him." The brunette pouted, something she would only let Buffy see. "Think so?" "Well, I know you want this as much as I do -" "Ssh." Buffy was contemplating. "Hmm. I guess you'll haveto make it up to me, then." Faith nodded, as she was pushed back onto the mattress and Buffy climbed onto the bed. "There's only one thing I can think of that'd fix everything." She smiled. "You have to give yourself to me; let me have my way with you." "I can live with that." Faith smiled. "After all, it is the start of the giving season. I'm feelin' generous." "You sure? Cause you're gonna have to live with it for the next few hours." "Bring it on, B." Several, *numerous* times, the girls could be heard screaming their thanks throughout the night. *** "It's as you feared." "I hoped you weren't going to say that." She walked up tohim, masking her sadness. "Don't worry. We'll deal with your brother, and the Project will carry on." "I believe it's time for the next phase, and I apologize, Mother," A wooden stiletto shot out from his arm, piercing her heart. "Adam?" "But you are not part of it. At least, not the way you think." The body of Maggie Walsh crumpled to the floor of Room 314. "You were correct, however. The Project will carry on." "We can start our own game. Where people throw ducks at
balloons and nothing is as it
seems." (Homer J. Simpson) "You think you know? What's to come? What you are? You haven't
even begun."
(Tara and Dracula to Buffy, BTVS) "I'm telling mom you slayed in front of me." (Dawn,
BTVS)
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