FIC: Episode 2 in T.C.P.S. "I Once Was Lost, But Now I'm Found." (2/8)

[Heather & ~~Kimber <kacoe@xxxxxxx>]

TITLE: Episode 2 in T.C.P.S. "I Once Was Lost, But Now I'm Found." (2/8)
AUTHORS: Heather (nerdgurrl@xxxxxxxxx) & ~~Kimber (kacoe@xxxxxxx)
DISCLAIMER: All recognizable characters from the television show Buffy the Vampire Slayer
belong to Joss Whedon and Mutant Enemy. Any additional characters mentioned are the
property of the authors and may not be used without permission. This arrangement of words
in cyberspace is also owned by the authors and may not be displayed, copied, quoted from
or used without permission. This is a work of fiction done for enjoyment and the authors
who are in no way receiving monetary compensation for their efforts.
SUMMARY: Episode 2 in Heather and Kimber's "Convergent Paths Series". The alternate
universe version of Buffy the Vampire Slayer.
SPOILERS: Season one thru four including all season five speculations.
DISTRIBUTION: None. Lists only.
AUTHORS? NOTES:
Thoughts enclosed in <. . .>
Flashbacks enclosed in ((. . .))
Emphasis is denoted with *. . .*

-----------

She was warm but not uncomfortable. It was a welcomed change to the blood boiling
temperature of this afternoon. Being in a cramped boxcar with hardly any ventilation
didn?t help much either. Neither did the fact she was wearing nearly everything she
owned. In straining to open her eyes, she noticed two things. First, she was no longer
moving which meant she'd finally reached her destination. Second, that she was sore in
places she'd taken for granted, like that piece of skin that separated your nostrils.
Who the hell would have ever thought *that* could hurt?

It didn't matter much now. What did matter was getting where she was going. To where
she'd been driven ever since she killed that bastard Kaskistos who shredded her Watcher
right in front of her. Faith could still picture the look on her face and hear the blood
curdling screams as the vampire tore into her flesh. She shuddered a bit then quickly
chastised herself. Slayers weren't supposed to shudder. They were suppose to kill
vampires, save the world and make damn sure they lived to see the next day. Plunge and
move on, plunge and move on. . .that was her mantra ever since she was called. Until she
lost her Watcher, that was all Faith knew. Now she was carrying out her Watcher's last
wishes: Find Rupert Giles, who ever he was, and give him the Watcher's diary and notes.
As far as a plan went, it wasn't the best in the world, but it gave her something to do
before heading out to LA to start a life for herself. Plus, traveling wasn't that bad
either, though the accommodations could have been better.

After stopping in at the local gas station to ask for directions, she was on her way.
Correction. The only gas station. As she made her way down what was supposed to be the
main street, Faith wondered how anyone could stand to live in a town so small. She walked
down the path of a small condo complex when her Slayer sense started to tingle. There was
a vamp nearby, she could feel it in her bones. As if on cue, a member of the undead
American society jumped out at her from behind a tangle of trees.

"Dinner has arrived." The vampire grinned at her.

"Sorry pal. Nobody eats me without my permission," Faith smirked as she pulled a stake
out of her jacket. ".. . .and a pulse."

The vampire was momentarily confused by the comment, dinner usually didn't talk back, only
screamed. That gave Faith ample time to throw a few quick punches just for the hell of it
before staking him.

"Oww. Damn." Faith grabbed her shoulder. She was so pumped about getting her first vamp
in the town, she had forgotten how sore she was.

All of the commotion caused a certain British resident to open his door to investigate.
"Um, hello?" He looked at the battered girl in front of him. "Can I, ah, help you?"

"Now that depends. . ." Faith took a deep breath and winced. Three days on a boxcar and
she was already getting out of shape.

"Depends on what? Who are you?" Giles took his glasses off and stepped outside into the
courtyard. This girl was in bad shape and he wondered absently how she wound up on *his*
doorstep of all places.

"I'm Faith, The Vampire Slayer. Who the hell are you?" She quirked her eyebrow up and
gave him an annoyed look. The shock on his face only made her smirk. "I'm looking for
Rupert Giles. He live here?"

"Faith the. . .oh dear. Perhaps you should come inside." Giles stepped aside and
gestured to the open door.

She played with the stake in her hands, appraising the man in front of her. "Sorry, not
into the older *older* guy thing. . .although you are kinda cute." She smiled wide.

Giles turned red and coughed. "Ahem, yes well, I'm Rupert Giles. I must say, I wasn't
expecting to see you."

Faith nodded. "I'll bet. . .and I wasn't expecting to be here." She looked around. "You
got any food? Cause I'm starved."

Giles smiled at her and gestured to the opened door again. Faith grabbed her bag and
muttered a thanks before she walked in. He rubbed his temples for what would be the first
of many times that night. He knew the appearance of another Slayer could only have bad
news attached to it.

Faith was shrugging off her jacket as Giles closed the door. He noted the pain cross her
face. "You're hurt. Is there something I can get you?"

She walked into the kitchen and opened the fridge. "Not unless you know a good masseuse.
Preferably male, foreign and muscley," she said into the refrigerator.

"Ah, yes well, aspirin and some bandages then. Those cuts look to be a few days old and
you wouldn't want to get them infected." Giles walked off to the backroom. "I'll get the
first aid kit."

"Whatever." Faith muttered. She'd pulled out some ham, salami, cheese and all the works
she could find. She was poking around in the kitchen drawers when Giles arrived with a
large first aid kit.

"Don't you have any bread?" She looked over at him.

"The croissants are in the drawer you're, ah, currently rummaging through."

"Real bread. The kind you can sink your teeth into. Not this English breakfast crap."

Giles quirked his eyebrows. "If you would be so kind as to take a seat, I'd like to take
a look at your wounds, um, Faith was it?"

She assessed him for a moment then took a seat on the barstool. "Yeah, Faith." She
nodded.

Giles began to clean her cuts and abrasions. She must have been in quite a large fight to
have gotten so many. He glanced up at her now and then, trying to figure out her state of
mind. "You have something for me I understand?" Giles looked up at her again.

"Yeah." She answered between bites. "You could say that." Faith reached for her bag and
took out a book and a few folders.

Giles took the items and thumbed through them. "Faith, this is your Watchers' diary. If
you have it, then. . ." She looked at him in a way that only a Slayer who has seen her
Watcher die can. The sadness was in her eyes, then instantly it was gone. This girl was
good at building walls and Giles wondered just how many others he was going to encounter.
"Yes, well. I'll have to ring up the council and see what they have to say on the
matter. I believe they'll want you to stay here until a new Watcher can be assigned. . ."

"Whoah, back the truck up a second." Faith stood up. "I did my duty, I delivered the
diary. Now, if you don't mind, I'm gone."

"And where will you go?"

"Tahiti." She crossed her arms across her chest indignantly, her voice dripping with
sarcasm.

"Tahiti, indeed." He took his glasses off and wiped them with a cloth. "You do realize
that a Slayer's duty is never done and over with. Stay the night and I'll contact the
council in the morning. You look like you haven't seen a bed in weeks." Giles walked
over to the linen closet and pulled out a few blankets. "I don't see why they wouldn't
allow you to stay here. We are living on an active hellmouth after all." He paused to
gauge her reaction.

"A hellmouth?" She nodded in appreciation. "Cool. So that means there's extra slayage
available."

Giles smiled. "Yes, I'd like you and Buffy to meet tomorrow afternoon, if that's alright?
Perhaps send you on patrol with her if your up to it." He already imagined she would be.

Faith flopped down on the couch, kicked her feet up on the coffee table and turned on the
TV. "Sure. I've heard a lot about her. The infamous Buffy. Died, came back, saved the
world a few times. Supposed to be a real badass with the kill count." Faith smirked.
"She hasn't met *me* yet."