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Title: The Rocky Road Chapter
11: I Can See Clearly Now (12/?)
Author: Kimber (kacoe@xxxxxxx) Disclaimer: All BTVS characters belong to Joss Whedon and Mutant Enemy. Summary: Fourth in the Road Series Spoilers: Everything is fair game. Distribution: Pat Kelly, Rodrigo, Gary Thompson, Syrenslure and Serendipity. Anyone else, e-mail me please. Author's Notes: I hate complaining but I’m starving for feedback. FEED ME! Thoughts are enclosed in < > Flashback are enclosed in <<<< >>>> ------------ ‘I only want to say, if there
is a way, take this cup away from me.’
“Sorry baby, this is for your own good.” Xander whispered to a sleeping Anya as he tied her up and gagged her. She didn’t stir, didn’t move at all. Just continued to sleep peacefully. He’d slipped her some sleeping pills Giles gave him and she was out cold. He dressed quickly, still sore from the beating he’d received a few days ago. The past few days were filled with researching the prophesy, Buffy and Faith patrolling, and lots of silence. Well, silence when he was in the room. He knew this would happen, but until it did, he didn’t know how bad it would feel. How the feeling would curl up in the pit of his stomach and ferment like a rotten piece of meat. He made his decision when he saw the look Willow gave him. As soon as he was strong enough he’d leave in search of Dru. He could feel her weakening, but she still called to him. Given enough time, he could hone in on her exact location like a beacon in the night. Then they’d perform the final ritual and everything would be in place. He thanked whatever God was out there that the gang hadn’t deciphered the prophesy yet. He made sure of it by hiding the key book in the bottom of a box of books that Giles never used. They wouldn’t resort to the boxes until after they’d exhausted every other avenue. That should give him at least twenty four hours, maybe more if he was lucky. He opened the window carefully and shimmied out to the back of the complex. Once he was far enough, he broke into a full sprint to the last place he’d seen her – the mansion. He’d be able to pick up her scent from there and hopefully get on the right track. Hopefully. *****Twelve hours later***** “Damn!” Giles slammed the book down on the table, causing four heads to snap up in his direction. “Sorry. Do any of you have volume 6 of the Garzian texts?” “I was looking for it before but couldn’t find it.” Willow answered finally. Giles shook his head. “It was right here yesterday when. . .” He trailed off in thought. “Xander hasn’t been out of his room today.” Cordelia shook her head. “No. He’s been in there with little miss ‘I-want-orgasms’ since last night. You’d think she would give him a break seeing as he almost died. He must have some constitution.” She went back to flipping though her book. Willow gave Giles a look then sprinted to the back bedroom door. She started knocking frantically. “Xander? Anya?” She tried the knob. “Open the door!” She looked back at Giles worried. “Can you, um. . ?” She nodded. Willow closed her eyes and concentrated. After a few seconds the lock clicked and she opened the door. “Xander, what do you think you’re. . . oh God.” Anya was tied to the bed. She was struggling with her bindings and she was gagged. Willow and Giles went to her and began to undo the knots. Giles reached up and took the scarf off of her mouth. “Are you alright?” Anya narrowed her eyes. “Do I look alright to you? I woke up at eight o’clock this morning. Didn’t any of you think to come in here?” “Anya we’re sorry. What happened to Xander?” Willow tried to get her to focus. “I’m wonderful, a little parched but what would you expect after being gagged for half a day?” She sat up and rubbed her wrists. “As for Xander, I don’t know. We were talking and the next thing I know I’m laying here, tied up. And it wasn’t even in a fun way.” She crossed her arms and pouted. Willow turned to Giles and rolled her eyes. “I think she’ll be fine.” “He must have gone out the window.” Spike commented from the doorway. “How do you know that?” Giles turned to him. Spike pointed to the window. “Cause it’s open you ninny.” He shook his head. “Sometimes I wonder if I’m on the wrong team.” And he walked out. ------------------- “This wacky vampire could be anywhere.” Faith turned to Buffy. “Tell me again why we’re patrolling during the day?” “She may be a vamp, but the people that took her were human. Giles gave a pretty vague description, but from what I can tell it’s the same kind of guys that tried to. . .” She trailed off, not wanting to bring up bad memories. “You mean the same MIB’s that tried to cart my ass across the ocean?” She sent a sideways glance towards Buffy. “I never saw them but I get the drift.” “They tried to cart MY ass across the ocean.. . “ Buffy stopped short and looked at her. “And yes, it’s the same kind of guys, only different ones.” She narrowed her eyes wondering if that made sense. Neither Faith nor Buffy moved. Faith knew Buffy stopped for a reason, they’d never really talked about it, but she couldn’t help but push the older Slayer’s buttons. “Technically, it was my ass.” She smiled. “Yeah, and I was in it thanks to you!” ”So what? Now you wanna go toe to toe over something that happened ages ago? Cause if you do, I’m ready.” She took a defensive stance. “As a matter of fact, I’m ready to go blow for blow on anything you’ve got to drudge up.” Buffy looked at her for a few moments. “No.” She’d said it so quietly and with such resignation that it made Faith soften. “What’s the what, B? Don’t tell me this thing’s got you wigged, cause you’ve faced a lot tougher shit than this and it didn’t faze you.” Faith paused a moment. “Hell, you even put me down for the count – the only time it actually counted.” She said quietly. Buffy laughed under her breath. “Yeah? Where was I when this happened?” Faith took her by the arm and pulled her into a nearby alley. “Don’t tell me you don’t remember.” Buffy shook her head. “Man! Wonderboy really did turn your memory into scrambled eggs.” “What are you talking about Faith?” “Us. I mean *US* us.” “There was never an us.” Buffy looked up at her. She wasn’t sure, but she could almost see a hurt look on Faith’s face, then it was gone in an instant. “Faith?” “No big. Wonderboy must have gotten rid of that nasty little memory for you when he was busy wiping out your smooch-fest with Red.” She shrugged and started to walk away. Buffy grabbed her arm. “Tell me. If you’re never honest with me again, if you’ve never been honest before – this is the one time I need you to be. Please.” Faith didn’t look up at her. “Before patrol, after patrol. . . “ She laughed a little. “Even during patrol. Behind the Alpert mausoleum.” She walked away a little. “That is of course until you and Angel got back together, then I was yesterday’s news.” She turned around and tried not to look fazed. “Don’t worry B, as far as I know all the pedals were still on your little flower when we were together. It was one big frustrating smooch-fest. But that was a long time ago. No big you don’t remember. We’re five by five now. It was wicked crazy to think it would last anyway. You’re too vanilla for me.” She smiled. Buffy blinked once or twice. “I. . .I don’t remember.” She kicked the nearest garbage can half way across the alley. “Damn him! He took it all away and I’m never gonna get it back!” She kicked a few more cans then slid down the wall and put her face in her hands. In a very un-Faith like move, the dark Slayer knelt down in front of her and put her hands on her shoulders. “You’ll get it back. And he’s gonna pay big for what he did. He’s not on anyone’s Christmas list right now. . .and I have a feeling it’s gonna stay that way for a long time. You’re strong, B, stronger than most. You’re gonna get through it.” She smiled as Buffy looked up at her. “Even if I have to pull you through it kicking and screaming.” Buffy smiled back. She didn’t know what to say. There probably weren’t enough words for it. To have anyone say that was one thing, but for Faith to do it, well, she knew it must have taken everything she had and a little more just to form the words in her brain, let alone say them out loud. “Whoah, a serious moment from the big bad Slayer who doesn’t need anyone. That means a lot.” ”You’re never gonna get it again, Buffy, enjoy it while you can.” Faith smiled at the _expression_ on her face when she said her name. “And for the record, I’m sorry about all that body switch stuff. I was runnin scared and it was my only option. Don’t blame me for something that you can’t say you’d never do if it was your only choice.” She closed her eyes a moment then opened them again. She stood and put her hand out to Buffy and helped her up. Suddenly Faith perked up. “Hey, I have an idea about the whole memory thing, but you’re gonna have to trust me.” Buffy let out a sigh. “What is it?” “Can’t tell ya. . .but if you want it back, at least some of it, this may be the only way. You game?” As soon as Buffy shook her head yes, Faith grabbed her hand and dragged her out of the alley at a full run. --------------------- He looked at his watch for the tenth time. The longer he wandered around in the open, the quicker he was going to get caught. He’d been wandering around the cemetery for over an hour now. His senses told him that Dru was near but he’d had no luck finding her. He stopped short suddenly and knocked himself in the head. They crypt that ran down to the master’s old lair – that was the only place he hadn’t looked yet. Sophomore year was the last time he’d been down there and he hoped that his memory served him correctly. He headed off in the general direction of where he thought it was then ducked behind a headstone when he saw Faith run into the cemetery dragging Buffy along with her. He silently cursed to himself. It had only been about thirteen hours, they couldn’t have known he was gone yet. He watched as they ran across the lawn and behind a crypt, but didn’t come out the other side. He debated with himself over running or seeing exactly what the hell they were up to. His curiosity won out and he crept in a big semi circle about 100 yards or so across from the last place he saw them. --------------- “So what’s this? A trip down memory lane?” Buffy finally caught her breath enough to question her. “You catch on quick. I knew you were a smart girl.” Faith smiled and took a few steps closer to her. “What are we doing here Faith? The only thing that comes to mind with this place is slaying.” ”Remember when we got ambushed by those three strung out vamps? They were mouthing off about feeding off of a heroine addict and they thought that they were invincible. Said when they were done with us, they were gonna go take some flying lessons cuz that’s what real vampires do.” ”Yeah, that was over there by that bunch of trees.” Buffy pointed behind her. “So?” Faith switched gears. “So Angel and I had this case. It was a real tough one. This chick, her kid was taken by a bunch of demons. They thought he was their leader come back to help them rule the world or some crap like that. So the woman couldn’t remember anything about the guys. Nada. Then Angel takes her to the place where the kid was taken, it was in this alley, and he had the woman walk around to see if she could remember anything. So she’s walkin and saying that it’s hopeless and they’ll never find him when suddenly she stops. Get this. . .the demons were the slimey kind. They leave a trail where ever they go – like a calling card. So the woman is sniffing like a bloodhound and suddenly she remembers everything. Angel found the kid the next day and we did some serious spring cleaning on their nest. Took me a week to get the smell outa my leather jacket.” ”I still don’t get it.” Faith got closer and Buffy took a step backwards. They continued like that until Buffy’s back was pressed against the Alpert Mausaleum. “Don’t you get it, B? It’s the whole trigger thing. You see something specific or you smell a certain smell, and you’re reminded of something. The smell of Jack Daniels always reminds me of my old man.” She put her hands on either side of the blonde Slayer so that she had no where to run. “Yeah, I smell turkey and suddenly I’m eight years old again.” Buffy caught on finally to what Faith was leading up to and shook her head no. “Faith I can’t, we can’t. I’m with Will and I would never do anything to hurt her. I love her too much to. . .” Fatih cut her off. ”You don’t have to do anything, B. If she finds out and it doesn’t work then you can blame everything on me, tell her I seduced you. I can take it. But if you want your memory back, this is as good a place to start as any.” Buffy had a million other reasons on the tip of her tongue as to why this couldn’t happen – why it could *never* happen – but Faith kissed them all away. She resisted at first and even tried to pound on Faith’s shoulders to break free, but Faith just kept on kissing her. Finally she relaxed and gave up. As it grew more intense, Buffy felt some sort of charge run through her and a thousand images flashed through her mind. Everything that was hazy became clear, everything grey turned into the color it was supposed to be and all of the bleary lines suddenly came into sharp focus. She was remembering. Faith pulled away suddenly for air. “Damn, B. If I didn’t know any better I’d say you’ve improved.” She wiped her lip to get rid of the lipstick she was sure was smeared there. Buffy chuckled. “You know, if this didn’t work I’d probably be kicking your ass all over this cemetary and bringing the pieces back to Angel in a box.” “But your not.” She looked at Faith. “I’m not. I’m starting to remember. . .everything.” She took a deep breath and tried to calm down. “You’re really good at that too by the way.” She shook her head and tried to clear her thoughts. “It’s all still a little muddled but. . .” ”But you remember. So just look at the kiss being in the name of science.” Faith shrugged. “Yeah. And I also remember being really harsh to you when Angel and I got back together.” ”Don’t say it. Keep it buried where it belongs, B. It was a long time ago.” Faith shot her a serious look. “I know. But let me just say I’m sorry. I mean it Faith.” Buffy took a step closer to her and looked her in the eye. “It all started with you. You were the first girl I ever. . .and I think now if I hadn’t, then Will and I never would have gotten together. You saw it in me, you said as much and I remember it, and you drew it out. Even though I went back to Angel, I couldn’t deny who I was and what I felt – or who I felt it for. You knew, you knew I had feeling for Will.” ”Yup. It was wicked obvious, at least to me. The way you looked at her, the way she looked at you. I always knew you guys would wind up in the hay sooner or later.” Faith smirked. “Looks like it was both.” Buffy nodded. “Come on, we have to get back and tell the others.” Faith grabbed Buffy by the arm. “Slow down blondie. How exactly are we gonna explain this? Especially to your honey. I really don’t need to be turned into a cuddly little rabbit, or a frog or even worse. She could make it so I never have sex for the rest of my life. I’d be of no use to anyone! Your girlfriend has a way wicked habit goin on that I don’t want to be on the receiving end of. Get my drift?” Buffy laughed. “We’ll figure something out. Come on.” They headed toward the main gate and back to Giles’ apartment. ------------ Xander stood up as soon as he’d seen them walk through the gate. He couldn’t hear the conversation, but from the eyefull he’d gotten – he’d surmised that Buffy and Faith had something going on and probably had for some time. That wasn’t a first kiss they’d shared – that was a familiar ‘I-know-how-to-make-you-sqirm’ kiss and had all the makings of more in it. As angry as he was, he felt a little better. At least he knew now that he may have spared Willow some pain by using the crystal. Who knows how many times Buffy had been with Faith, and if Willow found out then she would have been devistated. He smiled just a little knowing that he may have spared his best friend unbearable pain. Now all of those memories were gone and she wouldn’t find out. At least for now. He reached inside his shirt and pulled out the crystal. He rubbed it between his palms and closed his eyes. Close – she was so close he could practically smell her. The crystal began to glow and he looked down at it. Time was growing short and if he was to fullfill his destiny he’d have to start by finding her – his vessel of strength. -------------------
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Buffy: Mm-hmm.
Post-midterm frenzy. And the holiday. Everyone's going home.
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