FIC: Fruits of Her Labor, Scene I

[bhv <bighotvirgo@xxxxxxxxx>]

Sequel to Scenes from the Rest of Their Lives

Buffy/Willow, with Faith and Kennedy complicating
things

NC-17 for language and sexual imagery

I love feedback!

Also archived at:
http://www.ikoly.com/fanfic/story.php?no=280
and
http://nearheralways.com/efiction/viewstory.php?sid=2897

AUTHOR'S NOTE: This picks up after Scene III of Scenes
from the Rest of Their Lives.

Disclaimers: 

Buffy, the Vampire Slayer and all characters therein
belong solely to Joss Whedon, UPN, Mutant Enemy, et
al, not this author. This story was created purely for
fandom purposes. No copyright infringement is
intended. 

Song lyrics from "In a Funny Way? by Mercury Rev, from
the Laurel Canyon soundtrack, copyright 2003,
Hollywood Records. Lyrics quoted for entertainment
purposes, no copyright infringement intended. 

Please do not repost anything without my permission
and if permission is granted for reposting, reposts
must include complete credit and disclaimers for use
of copyright materials. 


Scene I


?On a summer day
you can hear her call

but in a funny way 
she reminds you of the fall

through the fields 
and the streams 
and the lakes 
and the trees 
and the grass 
and the walks 
and all night talks

and I am

home again?


Willow never understood why everyone thought she was
such a bad driver.  She loved driving!  It was such a
rush of stimulation ? speed and torque and numbers
constantly shifting in relation to other forces and
you were in the middle of this live moving equation
and, if that wasn?t enough, you looked out the window
and were surrounded by thousands of other parts of an
even larger immense whitmanesque calculation.

As she drained the last of her mocha and lowered the
venti-sized cup that had been engulfing her face, the
highly caffeinated uberwitch realized several things
all at once:

One, the aforementioned immense calculation must have
fallen apart somewhere, because ahead and all around
her, three lanes of LA traffic were coming to a
screeching, grinding halt;

Two, she was almost certainly going to rear end the
ridiculous, albeit solidly gigantic, orange Hummer in
front of her;

Three, from here on out the Council was just going to
have to pony up, she was no longer going to rent
compact, budget traveler, circus clown cars any more.
 This thought was eclipsed by the usual
when-did-all-this-happen? weirdness she felt when
reminded of the fact that she herself was now a major
part of the Council, one-fifth to be exact;

Four, she was really, as in ?very much, thank you,?
glad to be alive and wanted to stay that way.

Willow focused her energy and a bright plasmic shudder
rolled though the air around her, traveling across all
three lanes and hopefully far enough backwards to make
sure all the drivers and passengers a mile or so
behind her escaped not only injury but collision all
together.

After a reassuring glance in the rearview, she leaned
back on the headrest, took a couple of long slow
cleansing breaths, and chuckled softly to herself,
?Cool.?

---

Keeping her eyes on the bottom of the pool so she
could calculate when to enter her turn, Buffy
visualized that she was merely a passenger in the
powerful swimming machine that was her body as it
sliced through the water.  Paying attention to, but
not interfering with, her breathing, she focused on
allowing her arms, legs, back, hands, feet, to move
with as little wasted motion as possible through the
water.  

She?d done her ?power? lap workout earlier and hadn?t
anticipated another lengthy swim, but she still had
too much energy left, due no doubt to the nature of
the intense dream that had awakened her. 

?Don?t go there. Just swim. Plenty of time to think
about the dream later.  Just keep your breath going.
 Just stay inside the stroke.  Don?t think about the
dream.?

?Don?t think about the way Willow?s nipple felt as it
crinkled against your greedy tongue, don?t think about
how your lust shut out everything else as you bit into
that sweet crease between her ass and thigh, don?t
think about how you gasped feeling her sex contract
and clinch against your slickened mouth after you made
her come.? 

?Don?t go there ... that was just a dream ... that
didn?t happen ... but the sensations were so vivid ...
you?d even tasted your fingers after you woke up to
make sure ... and almost cried when she wasn?t on them
anymore ... Wait! ... turn marker ... Whoa ... it?s
OK, there?s still time, just roll under with the
shoulder and push off ... crap!?

As the underwater flip fell apart, all the forward
momentum dissipated down the length of her body, out
through her legs and ... ?owww!? ... the disoriented
slayer felt a sickening crack as her right ankle
slammed against the edge of the pool

Ricocheting clumsily off the tiled wall, Buffy coughed
and spluttered, cursing as she shot up out of the
water in a splash. 

Yanking her goggles off, she pulled herself up out the
pool and limped awkwardly over to her chair.
 Cautiously surveying the damage to her foot, she was
grimly relieved to determine it was only a hairline
fracture. 

She took several long chugs from her bottle of water,
then got up and gingerly started to totter into the
house for ice, muttering, ?Rest, ice, compression,
elevation, yadda, yadda, yadda.?

Her slow progress was halted after only a few steps by
the ringing of the phone. Hopping back to the table,
she saw that it was Willow calling, and answered,
slumping back down into the soft poolside chair.

?Hey,? she winced as she raised her foot.

As was usual lately, Willow?s voice was bright, but
Buffy could also hear a hint of concern.  ?I got your
message.  Are you all right??

?Are you all right?? Buffy countered instead of
answering right away.  

?I asked you first,? the witch said.  ?You sounded a
little freaked out when you called.  What?s wrong??

Buffy suppressed a groan as she tried to wiggle her
toes.  ?How come it took so long for you to call back?
 I could have had an emergency!?  

She decided against telling Willow about her foot. She
didn?t want to worry the witch, and with slayer
healing, the fracture should knit in a day or two.
Plus she?d have to explain how she injured herself,
and well, it was embarrassing.

?My phone battery was dead and I didn?t even see you?d
called till I got back in the car and plugged it in,?
said Willow, happily adding, ?And besides, you never
have emergencies anymore, Buff!?

?Yeah, unless you count breaking your ankle because
your lust-filled brain is too addled to keep you from
swimming into a concrete wall an emergency.? ?So
you?re OK?? the slayer asked instead.  ?No weirdness,
strange unexplained feelings of doom, intense dreams??

?Yeah ... ,? the witch assured her slowly, trying to
read between the lines. ?I mean, yeah, I?m OK.  But
?big no? to the rest of it. Why??

?My spidey sense has been vibing all day.?  Buffy
explained. ?Not in a vampy or demony way, more a
general, uh oh, something?s about to happen kind of
way.? She paused, then continued solemnly, ?Will,
you?d tell me if something important was happening,
right?  If someone was hurt or something strange was
going on, you?d let me know, right??  As liberating as
it was to be free of responsibility, Buffy often felt
more than just a little out of the loop nowadays.

Sensing her insecurity, Willow again reassured her,
?Of course I would tell you, Buff.  Absolutely.  In a
second.?

The slayer allowed herself to relax slightly.  ?So
everything is OK??

?As far as I know,? the witch answered.   

?OK.  Sorry to be a worry wart. So, how goes the
research? Are you still plowing through all of
Wesley?s new, yet musty, books??

?I decided today that I?ve had enough of both
mustiness and Wesley,? said the witch.  ?I?m at the
airport now. See, there was a traffic thingy and I had
to get on a different freeway and it took a long time
and it was a major deal ...?

Buffy smiled, forgetting her foot, happy to just be
listening to Willow. Happy that Willow sounded so
carefree and confident lately, even with all her new
Council responsibilities.

They hadn?t seen each other since Buffy had left for
New Mexico, but they spoke on the phone and emailed
almost every day. Mostly, their communication was
light and casual, with a flirting edge that both
enjoyed.  And oddly, for the most part, Buffy was at
peace with the situation, feeling that there was a
deeper, constant, connection that sustained them.
Sure, there were the occasional bad days and lonely
nights, insecurities and fears, but Buffy was learning
to ride these out.

And of one thing she was certain: staying together
with Willow would have been a mistake. She would have
held the witch back, demanded more than Willow could
easily give, divided her attention and focus away from
the new challenges she now seemed to be enjoying so
much. Buffy knew they were both where they needed to
be. For now. 

Winding down her tale of the magically-averted traffic
disaster, Willow paused, then said softly, ?So ...?

?So ... ? Buffy answered, smiling to herself. ?Let the
flirting begin.?

?So, hi,? the witch said shyly, sounding much like her
younger self, an approach she knew Buffy couldn?t
resist. 

?Hi, yourself,? Buffy grinned despite her throbbing
foot. ?You alone??

?Yeah.  You?? Willow asked, a grin in her voice as
well.

?Very funny.?  Buffy answered drily, as Willow knew
Buffy never had visitors.

?So ... ,? Willow again switched into cute shy mode,
?whatcha doin???

?Sitting by the pool,? Buffy answered. ?Watching my
foot turn purple ...?

?Ahhhh, the pool.  So, didja swim?? the witch asked
coyly.

?Yeah ...? Buffy answered.  

?So ... you?re wearing your suit?? Willow asked, a
little too innocently. 

?God, how I wish we had done this back when she really
was shy and innocent.? ?Yes,? Buffy answered.  ?I?m
wearing my suit cause I was swimming and it?s a
swimsuit.?

Willow continued, beguilingly, ?And ... you?re all wet
... and drippy ... and muscle-y... and stuff??

Through the phone, the slayer heard the blaring of a
car horn.

?You?re driving?? she questioned sternly. ?I thought
you were at the airport.?

?I am at the airport, sort of,? the witch answered
evasively. ?At the exit to the airport.? 

?Will, we?ve talked about this...? Buffy protested.  

?OK. OK!? The witch gave in.

?OK, what??  Buffy pressed.

?OK, no sexy innuendo on the phone while I?m driving,?
Willow whined a little.  ?Check.?

?Check, and?? Buffy said, mock-mercilessly.

?And no pouting,? Willow pouted. ?Check, Miss
why-didn?t-you-call-and-what-if-I-had-an-emergency??

?Guilty as charged.  Big pouter here,? Buffy chuckled,
then added in a more serious tone, ?So, Will??

?Yeah??

?You didn?t have any strange dreams last night?? The
slayer couldn?t let go of the dream.

?Strange how?? asked Willow.

?Intense,? said Buffy, suddenly feeling shy herself.
?You know ...?

?Like ?sexy? intense?? Willow asked, her curiosity
growing.  ?You had an intense sex dream??

Suddenly from Willow?s end of the line, Buffy heard
more horns blaring. Cringing, she intervened, ?Ya know
what?  We shouldn?t ...?

?No, wait!? Willow protested. ?Tell me!  I?ll pull the
car over...?  

Buffy heard the distant sound of brakes squealing.
 ?No,? she said firmly.  ?Let?s just talk later, OK??
 

?But, Buffy!?

Between Willow?s driving and her own foot swelling,
Buffy really was feeling the need to end the call.
?We?ll talk later, OK?? 

?Maybe ... ? Willow pretended to sulk

?Fine,? said Buffy, bemusedly. ?Be that way, I still
love you. Pouter.?      

?And I love you. Meany!? Willow hung up.

---

Somewhat grudgingly, Faith rolled down the window.
 The sweet-smelling desert air whipped into the car,
putting out her cigarette and generally blowing her
hair all to hell.  

She had an intrinsic distrust of wide open spaces ?
too few people spread too far apart ? but this
afternoon, despite herself, she was enjoying the
drive, the freedom, the scenery.  

?Who is that happy girl in the rearview mirror
anyhow?? ?  ?travel my way? ... shades down low ?
?take the highway? ? cigarette clamped between red
lips ? ?that is best? ? hair blowing all over the
place ... ?get your kicks on route sixty-six? ...
?That girl doesn?t have a care in the world.?

She snapped the cigarette out into the wind, pushed
the button to raise the window, then distractedly had
to lower it a little because her hair got caught.  ?A
Dunkin Donuts on the corner, some garbage, and a T
station or two, this place might be all right,? she
growled, reminding herself she was no longer a girl,
had seldom been happy, and that this wasn?t a
vacation, there were plenty of cares in her world.  

She was here on business and there was more waiting
for her back east after she was finished.  She was not
going to slip up and forget herself.  She was not
going to lose the trust of those who had taken a
chance on her.  She was not going to give in to Robin
and get back together with him. She was not going to
blow her stint as senior Slayer. And she sure as hell
wasn?t going to get caught up in this heaving bodice
romantic entertwined destiny crap between Buffy and
Red. 

?I?m going to figure this out, I?m going to fix it,
and I?m going to move on.?

She was not going to be weak. She was not going to
fuck up.

Her phone rang.  Squinting at the display, she didn?t
recognize the number.

?Yeah?? Faith gave her usual greeting.

?Hey, Faith.? The hoarse voice on the other end
sounded like Kennedy

?Ken?? 

?Yeah,? the younger slayer said tentatively. ?I asked
Giles where you were and he wouldn?t tell me. Is this
a bad time??

?I?m just doing some legwork. Giles wants to keep it
on the down low for now, that?s all. And no, it?s not
a bad time. At least not for me, but you don?t sound
so good.? Faith wondered why Kennedy was calling her.
?Everybody OK??

?Yeah,? the younger slayer tried to sound reassuring.
?We?re all good. I mean, no vamps or demons. It?s
still pretty quiet around here.?   

?That means it?s personal,? Faith groaned inwardly.
?Give me death and destruction anytime, just don?t cry
on my shoulder about it.? Pushing down her cynicism,
Faith asked, ?So, then ... what?s up??  

Kennedy didn?t answer. Faith, sensing her struggling,
waited a little while, then prompted her, ?Ken,
something?s obviously wrong. Just tell me.?

Kennedy?s words tumbled out. ?I almost killed a guy
last night, Faith.  I thought he was a vamp but he was
just a kid.  And I came this close to killing him.
 And even after I realized he wasn?t a vamp, just for
a second, I wanted to kill him anyway.? Her voice
dropped to a whisper. ?I really wanted to kill
something last night.?  

?These damn kids ...? Faith shook her head. ?Hey, I?m
driving, so I?m just going to pull the car over.?
Faith eased up on the accelerator. ?Just hang on,
Ken.?  Slowing down, she pulled the car off onto the
shoulder. ?OK, now tell me what happened.?

Kennedy continued, again in one long rush, ?I was
upset ... ?cause... well, we don?t need to get into
that, but I was upset and Rona and Vi and I went out
drinking and dancing and I just got more and more
worked up.? She paused to take a breath. ?And, I went
out alone later, looking for vamps ?cause I just
wanted to let all that ... stuff ... out of me, get
rid of it. And this kid ran around the corner of an
alley ... and I was just all over him.  I still don?t
know how I stopped in time.?

Faith interrupted, ?OK, stop.  Most important part of
that sentence? ?I stopped in time.?  And that?s what
matters most. No matter what you felt before or after,
you pulled back and you didn?t finish him off. Do all
that what-iffing you want, Ken, but you gotta start
there.?

The younger slayer considered, then protested, ?But,
I?ve turned into someone ? some ?thing? ... that needs
to kill things to feel good, Faith! I don?t want to be
that. I never wanted to be that, so how did I turn
into that? How do I come back from that?? Kennedy
started to cry.

Faith closed her eyes, took a deep breath, and rested
her forehead on the steering wheel. ?OK. Question
time. OK??

Sniffling, Kennedy answered, ?OK? and seemed to get
calmer as she waited for Faith?s question. 

After waiting a few more seconds, Faith started
quietly, ?You were upset.  I?m assuming it had
something to do with Willow? I know she?s been out in
LA for a coupla weeks, right?? 

?Yeah? was the only answer. 

Choosing her words carefully, since she imagined
Kennedy must be painfully aware that everyone in their
tiny community knew at least the basic plot outline,
if not the details, of what had happened during the
motel layover in May, Faith continued, ?So, this
problem that made you upset, was it a Kennedy and
Willow problem or was anyone else involved?? 

?See, I made a big mistake. I told Willow I?d stick
around as long as she wanted me. Until she and Buffy
... ,? Kennedy trailed off. 

Faith silently bounced her forehead on the steering
wheel. ?I?m impressed at your nobility, Ken,? she
finally said, gently, but with more than a hint of
sarcasm. 

?I know, I know, it was stupid and weak and I?m a
total doormat,? Kennedy whined tearfully.

?Hey,? Faith interrupted, ?I never said that.? 

?You didn?t have to, I know it?s true,? Kennedy
sniffed. ?What what would you have done?? 

?Well, first off, Ken, this is kinda an apple and
oranges type deal,? Faith said, somewhat
uncomfortably. ?On account of the fact that my history
with Buffy and Will pretty much rules out me ever
finding myself in that situation, see?? 

As she paused, Faith was hit with a burst of
sensations from last night?s dream. 

Willow?s hand moving slowly inside her ... her own
hands violently ripping a pale green satin bra off the
witch ... Willow?s teeth tormenting her breasts,
marking them over and over. 

Shaking her head to clear it, she leaned back against
the headrest, took a long breath, and continued. ?What
would I do? Well, probably the exact opposite. I?d
have probably acted like a caveman and given Red an
ultimatum and gotten my slayer ass kicked out the door
or turned into a rat or something.?

Kennedy gave a cynical chuckle. ?Well, that was my
backup plan.?

?At least your way, you?re still getting laid.? Faith
said, trying to sound upbeat.

?Great, so I?m not a doormat, I?m just pussy-whipped,?
the younger slayer bit into the words sharply. ?I?m
sitting here twiddling my thumbs in Cleveland while
she?s gone and the whole time, I?m wondering if she?s
with ... her. I mean for all I know, she?s there now.?

?Trust me on this, Ken, she isn?t.? Faith said,
thinking, ?And don?t ask me how I know.?

?How do you know?? Kennedy shot back. ?Is that where
you are??

?I just know,? Faith said evenly. ?Because I haven?t
had to change my panties all day, that?s how.? After a
beat, she prompted, ?So, last night, you?re gettin?
jealous and having a pity party ...? 

?Yeah ... I even looked up the distance between LA and
New Mexico. And I couldn?t get hold of her on her
phone all day long yesterday and I was just sitting
here, getting more and more pissed off and feeling
like my hands were tied, and that I was the one that
tied them!? 

?See, Ken, either way, the problem is you?ve given up
all your power in the situation,? the older slayer
explained, continuing, ?And in ?normal people?
relationships, that?s not always a bad thing. Kennedy
the woman was just trying to preserve her
relationship. But, in addition to being Kennedy the
woman, you are also Kennedy the slayer.? Faith paused
for emphasis. ?And the slayer doesn?t do
relationships.? 

She continued, ?Ken, in the very short
Slayer-to-English dictionary, the word for
relationship is ?mine.?  It?s not about what she wants
and working things out and respect and personal space
and having an understanding and blah blah blah. It?s
about conquest and possession.?

?But I don?t want to possess her!? Kennedy protested.
?I love her. I was trying to show her that I respect
her.?

?And I?m not saying you shouldn?t, but I am saying
that you need to be careful about Kennedy the woman
making promises that Kennedy the slayer can?t
understand, much less keep,? Faith answered patiently.
?At the very least, you need to be prepared to handle
the fallout.?

?So, you?re saying last night was fallout??

?Ken, you can work with the slayer, you can work
around the slayer, but you can?t work against the
slayer, at least not for long. You can?t just lock her
up when she wants something and expect her to sit
pretty and quiet. She?s gonna bust out and look for
some skulls to crack. Vamps are always a good bet but
if they don?t happen to be around, you?ve got a
situation on your hands.? 

?You?re speaking from experience, right?? Kennedy
asked quietly. 

?Yup. A lot of experience in doing things the wrong
way,? Faith answered, just as quietly.

---

Fifteen minutes later, after exacting a promise that
Kennedy would go directly to the punching bag after
hanging up the phone and that she wouldn?t patrol
alone for at least a week, Faith pulled back on the
highway and picked up speed. 

She was within a few miles of the turnoff to Buffy?s
house, but she was so distracted that she barely
noticed. She felt guilty, knowing Kennedy would never
have confided in her if she knew the things Faith had
seen and felt. ?Oh by the way, Ken? I?m having
surround-sound IMAX sex dreams about me and your
girlfriend and when she and the woman she?s in love
with, who isn?t you, have a happy, I feel everything.
So, tell old Faithy all your troubles, kiddo.?

Looking up at the girl in the mirror, she muttered,
?This is starting to feel kinda fucked up.?	

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