Of Slayers and Angels
by Bob Head
Of Slayers and Angels
[reviews]
Author: Bob Head
Disclaimer: None of the characters below (Except for the Slayer's Shadow) belong to me. All the BtVS people belong to Joss Whedon, Mutant Enemy and 20th Century Fox. I'm just trying to have fun.
Pairing: Buffy/Willow, of course.
Spoilers: One for Season 1, a few for Season 2, more for Season 3. So if you haven't seen the first three seasons... Of course, if you haven't seen them, you've probably been living under a rock for the last decade, so what are you doing here anyway?
Rating: NC-17
Feedback: Well, Yeah! frank_8281@yahoo.com
OF Slayers AND Angels
Willow's POV
In the three months that we've been a couple there has been a lot going on. Because of the circumstances our friends already knew, but Buffy's mom and my parents were in the dark about us. My parents, well they've pretty much ignored me since I was thirteen, so no big surprise that they had no clue as to who I was dating. Buffy's mom, well she took it better than we expected. At least she didn't kick Buffy out of the house like she did when she found out about her being the Slayer. We still haven't told my parents because, well, I'm kinda scared to. They're not the most orthodox Jewish people in the world but the torah condemns same sex relationships in no uncertain terms. So I'm fairly sure what my father's reaction would be, homeless Willow! Fortunately, they're not scheduled to come back from their lecture tour in Europe for another month so no need to worry about that confrontation, yet. Not that there haven't been confrontations, because there have been. One with Scott Hope, who kept asking Buffy out and not taking 'no' for an answer. At least until that night in the Bronze, when I let him know who she was with in no uncertain terms by kissing her senseless in front of him. I thought that would be easier than Buffy beating the crap out of him, which is what she was leaning toward. Then there was Faith.
See Faith is a Slayer too. I know, there's only supposed to be one, but not long after Buffy came to Sunnydale she drowned while facing the Master. Xander performed CPR and brought her back but apparently, it was enough to call Kendra, the next Slayer in line. Then when Kendra was killed last year, Faith was called. The problem was that when Faith came to town she was running from Kakistos, this really old and ugly Vampire, who had killed her Watcher. Since she left this little detail out of her cute stories about her sleeping in the nude and wrestling alligators she almost got Buffy and herself killed. This didn't exactly put her on my top ten list to start with, but when Faith found out that Buffy and I were a couple, she seemed to think that gave her a license to make snide remarks and to hit on me. Which I tried to ignore, for the most part, until she managed to get me cornered in the stacks one evening and tried to grope me. She had her hand over my mouth but I bit her and screamed. Buffy was there in a second and when it was over Faith was on the floor bleeding and holding her ribs. Buffy told her that if she ever touched me again, she'd kill her. I believe her; I just hope that Faith does.
Buffy called me just a little while ago. She was crying, almost hysterical, it took me almost ten minutes to get her calmed down enough for me to understand her. Except even then what she said didn't make sense. See, before I got kidnapped and we got together as a couple Buffy had only had one other serious relationship. That was with Angel. This is the hard part; Angel was a Vampire who had been cursed with a soul by a tribe of gypsies in revenge for murdering a young girl. Long story short; Buffy and Angel fell in love and on her seventeenth birthday they made love. Because of the terms of the curse one moment's happiness would cost Angel his soul and he would revert to Angelus. For a hundred years he was the evilest most vicious creature in existence. And making love with Buffy turned him back into that monster. Over the next few weeks, he did everything he could to drive Buffy insane. When it looked like that was going to fail he decided to end the world by opening a portal to suck us all into a hell dimension. While Buffy went to stop him I tried to restore the curse, but it was too late. The portal was opening and she had to kill Angel and send him to hell to save the world. That's what doesn't make any sense! When I finally got her to stop crying she said Angel was back!
Buffy's POV
God, what's taking Willow so long! I've got him chained up but he's crazy, almost feral. It's tearing me apart seeing him this way. It was hard enough to kill him once, what if I have to do it again?
"Oh, Will please, please hurry!" I sob.
Almost as if in answer; "Buffy?"
"Buffy, where are you?"
"In the living room Will." I manage to choke out.
I hear her come up behind me but I can't tear my eyes from the figure huddled against the fireplace.
"Buffy, look at me."
"Oh God, Will look at him! What are we going to do? Why is he back?"
She pulls me to her and hugs me saying; "I don't know baby. I don't know, but we'll do everything we can to find out."
I'm starting to calm down now; Wills always has that effect on me, soothing me. So soothing I almost miss what she asks next.
"Buffy is he secure? Can we leave him here alone?"
"Yes, that bracket I've got him chained to is solidly mounted. He's not going anywhere."
"Okay then, who's on Oz-watch tonight?"
"Faith. I was on patrol then I did a sweep through Miller's Wood's. That's where I found Angel." I answer.
"Okay, Faith on watch is good. We can tell her that you need to study and I'm helping you. Of course she'll think we're just going to make out, but she'll leave the library anyway, then we'll hit the books and find out everything we can about A'cathla and the hell dimension he was supposed to suck the world into. Maybe that will give us an idea as to how Angel could come back, and how he got this way."
Wow, Willow, in babble and research mode. Balance is almost restored to my world. That's what she does, helps me balance out the craziness in my life. That's why I love her so much. I hug her, give her a quick kiss, and we both head out the door.
Faith's POV
I am so fucking bored! Even with my tunes and the comics I brought to read. Wolf watch is just hours of tedium punctuated by moments, just moments, of excitement when Red's ex tries to force his way out of the book cage. Which he hasn't, and that's really too bad. I could use a good scrap about now. Then the doors bust open and I grab my comics and stuff them in my backpack, hoping that Red and B don't notice.
"Red, B what's the up?"
"I was helping Buffy study for her Bio test tomorrow and we realized that we needed a book that I didn't have at my house, so here we are."
I can't resist; "You sure it's Biology you guys are studying and not Anatomy?"
Red blushes and B growls; "Watch your mouth Faith."
"Easy B, not lookin' to start nothin'. You know me, mouth in motion before mind in gear-girl here.
"Since we're going to be studying anyway, Faith why don't you take the rest of the night off. We can watch Oz."
I look from Red to B and back again. A little confused by this generous offer on their part, I hesitate.
"Faith," B says; "are you really having that much fun here?"
"Hell no, B!" I grab my backpack and CD player and bolt for the door. "Maybe if I hurry I can get in a couple of stakings before sunrise!"
As the doors swing shut I look back through windows. Red is already at the index card thing and B is hovering over her shoulder with a worried look on her face. Something more is goin' on than they're sayin'. Maybe if I can find out what that something is, I can use it to take fuckin' little miss perfect Buffy down a peg or two.
Part 2
Shadow's POV
In my long life I have seen some strange things, but I have never seen anyone come back from a hell-dimension after the portal had closed. So, yeah, this was a first. I was watching when he jumped her, I almost stepped in but she managed to knock him out. Then things got strange. Instead of staking him she dragged him to the mansion where she had the final confrontation with Angelus. Then about thirty minutes later Red shows up. A few minutes after that they both take off at a run. I decided to indulge my curiosity and see what's so special about this blood rat that's got the Slayer so upset. That's how I came to be standing in the middle of the living room of this old place staring at the figure chained to the fireplace.
"Angelus." I breathe.
That brings his head around with a snarl. Guess there's something in there that can still recognize human speech, and it doesn't seem happy. No wonder the Slayer seemed frazzled. Last time she saw this guy he was on the pointy end of a sword she had just run through him. Even though she has 'her' Willow now, this may not end well.
Willow's POV
Hours we've been at this, and nothing. Not a hint as to how he came back or why. I think I know how he got the way he is now, but I'm not sure I want to tell Buffy. She's already beating herself up over this, I can tell. I look over at her, where she's dozing fitfully on a bench. I can only guess what kind of nightmares she's having. I sit down next to her and pull her into my lap and gently kiss her forehead, stroke her hair and whisper soothing words to her. No, I can't tell her yet that it's my fault that Angel's crazy. That if I hadn't restored his soul that he wouldn't have been tortured for centuries. He still would have been stuck there, but it was his human soul that caused him to be a target. If I had left well enough alone, he'd have been Angelus when he went there and at least he'd have stood a fighting chance. If I tell her, I might lose her. I couldn't stand that, I just couldn't!
Buffy's POV
Mmmm.... Willow-scent fills my nostrils as I wake up with my head in her lap. I look up past the gentle swell of her breasts to her sweet face. She looks so peaceful that I hate to wake her up, but we need to get going and clean up before Giles shows up. Which is when I noticed Giles going over the books we left out on the table, damn. I shake Willow awake as I pop up and say with as much cheerfulness as I can.
"Hi, Giles! Been here long?" Willow gives me a slightly scared look.
"Hmm, no, not long. What happened to Faith?"
Will stepped in; "We had a, uh, late night study session and told her that she could leave early."
"And, um, what were you studying? 'Exploring Demon Dimensions', 'Mystery of A'cathla'." He takes off his glasses and starts to clean them. Never, a good sign.
"Busted." I say with a grimace.
"Is there anything you girls want to tell me?"
"Buffy had a dream." Willow said.
"Yeah, a dream," I jump in; "And it bought up some questions.... about Angel."
"What sort of questions?" He asks.
"Well, in my dream, Angel came back to Sunnydale and he was.... well, he was crazy."
"I assume you mean more so than usual for Angelus."
"He was animalistic Giles, he couldn't even speak." Will took my hand and squeezed.
"Well, unless you feel this was one of your prophecy dreams, I wouldn't be too concerned. There is no record I know of that indicates anyone has ever returned from a hell dimension once the portal was closed."
"No, I don't think it was prophecy, just disturbing." Thank God, I think he's buying the dream story. I glance at Willow and she jumps in.
"Well, I think we need to get to class now, see you later Giles!"
"Yeah, thanks for your help Giles, Bye." We head for the doors.
Shadow's POV
Of all the fucked up situations, this one has got to take the cake! For almost two weeks now they've been sneaking up to the old mansion to take care of Angelus. It's pretty obvious they haven't told the others that he's back yet. Secrets are never a good thing between this Slayer and her friends. You'd think she'd have learned that by now.
Faith's POV
Goddamn! I lost them, again! Where the fuck did they go! It's always the same damn thing every night. I lean up against a tree, fire up a cigarette to calm my nerves and try to figure out how they keep losing me. Every night, they do a patrol of the cemeteries and then they head up into Miller's Woods and somehow, in the middle of fucking nowhere, they vanish! I just can't figure it. I can't follow 'em any closer or B will sense me and probably kick my ass again. What's that? I look around expecting to see somebody watching me, but nobody's there. Fuck this, I'm gonna go find some vamps to take out my frustration on, and then hit the Bronze.
Willow's POV
Well, at least he's getting better, he's aware of his surroundings, even talking a little. Mostly to Buffy, which kinda worries me but at least we don't have to keep him chained up all the time. The first few days were a nightmare! Trying to keep him fed and not get eaten ourselves, and I don't mean in a good way. It didn't take long to figure out how to get blood. Sunnydale must be the only town in the country where butcher shops sell blood by the gallon, no questions asked. Getting the blood wasn't hard, getting him to take it without him trying to kill us that was the problem. Anyway, now that he's more coherent Buffy and I don't have to take care of him quite so much. We still haven't told the others about him. Buffy is afraid that Giles will just want to stake Angel and who could blame him, after all he did kill Giles' girlfriend. Okay that was a babble again, and I have really been trying to break that habit. I even asked Buffy to remind me when I start it but she said, no because it gives her an excuse to kiss me breathless. Huh, not that it takes much in the way of Buffy-kissage to leave me breathless.
"Willow."
"Yipes! Angel, have I ever told you how much I hate when you do that!"
He gets this little sheepish grin and says; "Sorry, I didn't mean to scare you like that."
"Well, it's as much my bad as yours, I should have been paying more attention. Was there something you needed?"
"I just wanted to ask you a question."
"Sure." I said; going back to washing the dishes Buffy and I used earlier.
"How long have you and Buffy been together?" he asks.
At that, my eyes grow wide and I drop the glass from my suddenly nerveless fingers.
Buffy's POV
Will and I had brought Chinese food for our dinner tonight and she was washing the dishes while I got rid of our trash. I was on my way back to the house when I heard a crash from inside. I bolted through the back door and into the kitchen where I saw Willow backed up against the sink with blood dripping from her hand and Angel in game face!
I grab him by his shirt and throw him through the swinging door down the hallway towards the dining room. I follow; drawing 'Mr. Pointy' the stake that Kendra gave me before she died. I draw back to stake him and Willow screams.
"Buffy, wait!"
"Will, I have to, I am not going to let him hurt anyone else and especially not you!"
"But he didn't! I dropped a glass in the sink and cut myself, that's all! He never touched me, in fact he was backing away when you came in!"
I look at Willow and back to Angel. "And the game face?"
He looked almost embarrassed when he answered, "The smell, when she cut herself I was caught off guard. I couldn't stop the change."
"Okay, then." I know I still had a doubtful look on my face as I went to check on Will's hand. But I couldn't help it. If I had any question about having residual warm and fuzzy feelings for Angel this little incident settled it. When I saw him standing over Willow in game face, all I saw was a Vampire threatening my girlfriend. A Vampire that I needed to dust. Gingerly I took Willow's hand into my own and examined the cut.
"Damn it, this is deep Wills, it might need stitches."
"No it won't." She said.
I glance up at her skeptically. "Is the ink dry on that medical degree Will?"
"I know I'm not a doctor silly, I'm a Witch; remember? I just need a couple of basic spell components for a poultice. This will be healed by tomorrow,"
"Are you sure Will? I don't want to take a chance with you."
"I'm sure. Besides, I think you need to have a talk with Angel."
"Why?' I ask suspiciously.
"He asked how long we've been together. That's why I dropped the glass."
"Oh." I sighed. "Damn, I have so not been looking forward to this conversation."
Willow gave me a sympathetic look and started gathering the ingredients for her poultice. I went to look for Angel.
Part 3
Angel's POV
I'm sitting in the living room watching the fire when I hear her come down the hall. Her heart rate is elevated and she's breathing heavily. I'm guessing she doesn't want to have this talk any more than I do.
"How did you know?" She asks quietly.
"Is Willow going to be okay?" I respond, stalling more than anything else.
"Yes, and don't change the subject."
I sigh. "You're not going to make this easy are you?"
"Is there some reason I should, Angel? I loved you more than anything or anyone, but I wasn't happy and neither were you." She chuckled and then continued; "Well, except for once and we know how that turned out don't we?"
"I'm sorry, I didn't know what would happen."
"Well, now you do and I really hope you take the lesson to heart Angel. Maybe take a vow of celibacy or something."
"I can't change what happened or what I did, Buffy. All I can do is try to make amends." And that's when she snaps.
"Make amends!? AMENDS! Do you really not understand? What you did? To my friends? To Giles? To ME? You wanted to know how long Will and I have been together Angel? Three months! In all that time Angel, Willow and I have held hands, we've kissed, and we've had some pretty heavy make-out sessions. But do you know what we've never done Angel? We've never made love! And do you know why? It's because I am so FUCKED UP over what you did to me!"
All I can do is sit there in stunned silence as she draws a shaky breath and continues.
"It's not like I don't want to. And God knows it's not because Willow doesn't want to, because I've seen the hurt and confusion in her eyes when I back off. It's because in my gut I am so afraid that if I make love to Willow that I'll wake up the next day and she'll be gone! That the next time I see her she'll be evil! Like you were, because whatever happened to you had to be my fault! So if you want to 'make amends' Angel, you waltz your ass into that kitchen and you 'make amends' to Willow for turning me into the fucked up neurotic BITCH that won't make love to her like she deserves, because I'm afraid if I do it'll RUIN her. Just like I ruined YOU!"
I stood up and walked over to her. I really don't know what I thought I was doing or what I would have said because as I reach out to Buffy Willow bursts into the room, her eyes go coal black and she screams at me;
"Don't you TOUCH her!"
I go flying across the room and slam into the wall hard enough to crack the stone façade. For the second time tonight I find myself face down on the floor. Blackness eats away at the edges of my vision until I fall into the pit of unconsciousness.
Willow's POV
I had just finished mixing the stuff for my hand when I heard Buffy start shouting. I move down the hallway towards the living room only to stop in shock when I realize what Buffy's saying:
"...you waltz your ass into that kitchen and you 'make amends' to Willow for turning me into the fucked up neurotic BITCH that won't make love to her like she deserves, because I'm afraid if I do it'll RUIN her. Just like I ruined YOU!"
I hear the pain and self-loathing in her voice and it tears my heart. I run the rest of the way and enter the room just in time to see Angel reaching for Buffy and something inside me just snaps!
"Don't you TOUCH her!" I scream.
I feel the magicks flare inside me and I just let them loose, pouring all my rage at Buffy's pain into Angel. He slams into a wall over thirty feet away with a sound like a gunshot! Buffy whirls and stares at me with a horrified expression on her face.
"Oh God, Will, you heard?"
"Yes." I said softly.
"Will, I'm so sorry, I never meant for you to hear that." Tears start streaming down her cheeks and I take her in my arms and wipe the tears away before answering.
"It's good that I did Buffy. Secrets like that are the only things that can hurt us. I was beginning to think you were having second thoughts about us."
"No Will, never ever, doubt that I love you. This is my problem. I'm just sorry that I'm hurting you because of it." she whispers.
"Buffy, look at me." I take her chin and bring her eyes up to meet mine. "This is our problem and we'll work through it together."
"Have I told you lately Miss Rosenberg just how much I love you."
"Actually, yes." I say with a grin.
"I did? When?"
"When you reamed out Angel."
At that, she smiles that smile that always makes my knees dizzy.
"Speaking of Angel, remind me never to piss you off Wills."
"Well, I feel kind of bad about that, it's just that when I saw him reaching for you I just got so mad."
She glances over at Angel with a sigh and says; "Think we ought to move him to his bedroom?"
"I guess we should. Do you think he'll be okay?"
"Strangely, not that worried about him anymore."
Buffy's POV
Oddly enough I really wasn't. Worried about Angel, that is. I guess I just really needed to get all that stuff out. I felt a little bad about doing it in front of Willow like that, but like she said, secrets are the only things that can hurt us. While we were moving him we came to couple of decisions and since they involved Angel we waited for him to come to. Finally he rose stiffly to a seated position, feeling gingerly of the back of his head.
"How are you feeling?" I ask.
"Like I got hit by a really big truck."
Might as well jump in with both feet; "Will and I have a couple of things to tell you before we leave."
"If this is going to be like our last two conversations give me a minute to take cover; will you?" He said painfully.
"Well, it shouldn't be physically painful, but Willow and I won't be coming back up here anymore."
"Oh."
Will moved up behind me and put her hand on my shoulder. "You don't really need us to take care of you anymore and being here is too upsetting, for all of us."
"So are you going to tell the others about me."
"Yes we are," Will says; "and if I were you I'd stay out of Giles' way."
"I'll do my best."
After an awkward moment of silence, "Well, I guess that's about..."
"I have two more things to say." Will interrupts.
"Angel, first, I owe you an apology."
"No, you..."
"It's not about tonight. When you were trying to destroy the world, and Buffy had to send you to hell, I was performing the ritual to restore your soul. But I was too late, so it's my fault that you were tortured for centuries."
"What do you mean Wills?" I ask.
"If I had been a little faster and restored him before he opened the portal, you wouldn't have had to send Angel thru; if I hadn't restored his soul before he went there, the Demons in that realm would have left him alone. It was his humanity that made him prey for them. So any way you look at it, it's my fault."
I got up and took Will in my arms and hugged her.
"No Willow, It's not your fault. Everything that happened then is my responsibility. Especially the consequences." I just looked at Angel like I'd never seen him before."
"I don't think either of you understands. I was so jealous of what you and Buffy had and could have had again after you had your soul back. A little piece of me will always wonder if the magicks didn't respond to that jealousy and cause Angel's soul to be restored at the worst possible moment."
"Oh Willow, no baby. Going by that logic, if I had just staked him when I found out what had happened none of it would have been necessary. And because I didn't..." slowly realization of what my Willow had just done dawned on me.
"Oh, Willow you are sooo sneaky."
"I try." Will said smugly. "When I first realized that Angel being crazy could be my fault I was pretty upset about it, but then I figured out that too many other things were beyond my control." She took me by the shoulders and shook me gently. "Just like they were beyond your control."
Sounding confused, Angel said; "I think I just missed something here didn't I?"
"Willow just told me in a very round-a-bout way that what happened between you and I wasn't my fault, because there were too many circumstances beyond my control." I glance over at Angel. "Or yours."
He looked thoughtful as he considered what had just been said. Then something occurred to me.
"Will?"
"Uh-huh?"
"Didn't you say two more things?" I asked.
"Yes, I did. Angel?" she said to get his attention.
"If you ever hurt Buffy again, physically or emotionally, I will kill you."
She looked at me with a serious expression and said; "A vague disclaimer is no ones friend."
With that she turned and walked out of the room, leaving Angel staring after her like she was the scariest thing he had ever seen.
Part 4
Shadow's POV
I chuckle as I move down the trail. That was the funniest thing I had ever seen. The look on Angelus' face! Then I stop. It's Faith, the other Slayer. She's in the cemetery to the east. I pick up my pace and change direction. I've only seen her in action a few times but something seems, off about her. There's something bottled up inside that girl buried so deep I'm not sure she's even aware of it. One thing I am sure of though, if something isn't done soon we might lose her.
Faith's POV
I made a sweep through Shady Rest on my way to the Bronze. I'd already staked three Vamps in Restfield and I was still pissed about Red and B giving me the slip, guess that's why I didn't sense them till they were on top of me. Five vamps were surrounding me and before I realized it. I was hip deep in shit. I was holding my own at first, dusting two of them and sweeping the legs out from under a third. Then three more come outta nowhere with a fuckin' net! They rush me with it and slam me up against a tree and then the world goes away.
Shadow's POV
I arrive just in time to see Faith go limp against the tree. Good thing I brought the axe.
"Hello boys, mind if I cut in?"
"Who the hell are you?" Snarled the lead vamp.
"Shadow" I answer quietly.
Guess two of them have heard of me. They go pale even for Vampires. One of them grabs the leader's arm and whispers something in his ear. I take the opportunity to move closer.
"Look, we don't want any trouble with you."
"Too late, blood rat!"
He gets that deer in the headlights look for the two seconds it takes him to turn to dust after I take his head off. His second gets split almost in two as the other three flee for their unlives. I step around the tree and cut the net that holds Faith to it and lower her to the ground. Damn, she is well and truly out. I pull out my cell phone and call Giles,
"Hello, Rupert Giles speaking."
"Missing one of your Slayers, Giles?"
"Shadow? Is something wrong?"
"Depends. Do you consider Faith being unconscious as wrong?"
"Where are you?" He sounds worried now.
"Shady Rest. Meet me by the west entrance." I hang up.
Buffy's POV
We're heading for the Bronze when my cell starts ringing. I check the number.
"It's Giles." I tell Will.
"So much for Bronzing." Sighs Willow.
"Hi, Giles. What's up?"
"Thank God, Buffy. Where are you?" He sounds upset.
"About three blocks from the Bronze on Mercer."
"Good, that puts you near Shady Rest Cemetery, doesn't it?"
"Yes." I answer.
"Meet, me at the west side entrance, Faith has been injured."
I pull Willow with me and start to run; "How bad?"
"She's unconscious, that's all I know."
"I'll meet you there." I tell Willow; "It's Faith, she's hurt."
Then we run. I have to pace myself to let Wills keep up but I'm not going to leave her behind. It's too big a risk. We reach the graveyard and as we run through the gate we almost collide with Shadow carrying Faith.
Shadow's POV
Shit, I knew Giles would call her but I didn't think she was this close. I've been keeping out of her way since we rescued Red. Because she's going to have questions that I really don't want to answer.
"Hello, Slayer."
"What happened?" That's my girl, straight to business.
"A group of Vamps ambushed her, used a net to tangle her up then smacked her into a tree."
I set Faith on the ground and watch as Red checks her over.
"I don't think any things broken Buffy, but she should probably go to the hospital for X-rays." She says.
"How long has she been out Shadow?" Asks the Slayer.
"Less than thirty minutes. I was going to wait for Giles, but since you're here, I think I'll just go." I start to move off but only make it a few steps before the Slayer catches up.
"Where do you think you're going?" She snaps.
"Somewhere that's else." Giving her own words of a few months ago back to her.
"I don't think so mister. You and I need to have a conversation."
I sigh. "Fine. What would you like to know?"
"How about where you've been for three months?"
"Around." I answer curtly.
"And I haven't seen you, why?"
"Sorry, I thought you were batting for the home team, did we have a date?" Yes, I do enjoy pulling the tiger's tail.
She actually growls at me; "I got plenty of cryptic shit from you the last time I saw you. I think I like it even less now. So either you start giving me a few straight answers, or I'm going to lose my patience!"
I can't resist. "Did you ever have any?"
She starts to give me an angry reply when Giles pulls up in his French kiddy car. Gotta remember to compliment him on his timing.
"This is not over Shadow."
"Probably not. But at least for tonight it is. Go take care of your little sister, Slayer and I'll see you around."
She scowled and headed over to the others. As I watch them put Faith in the car I realize what's wrong about her. Her power and Buffy's should be almost identical, but Buffy is at least half again as strong as Faith. Of course now that I see the difference I think I may know the cause too. Willow's bond with the Slayer makes her stronger. Faith, lacking a bond with a mate, isn't developing as fast as Buffy. That might turn out to be a problem. Slayers, who don't have anything to live for except Slaying, have a tendency not to live very long.
Faith's POV
Ooo, as bad as my head feels, I better have had one hell of a good time last night. I gingerly open my eyes, or try to. When the jackhammer in my skull settles back to a bass thump, I try again. This time just opening them the barest of slits. The crappy color on the walls tells me that I'm in the hospital; the question is what the hell am I doing here? I seem to remember Vampires, a lot of them, and a net? Then nothing. I finally get my eyes open the rest of the way and test to see if my head really will fall off if I move it. Since it doesn't, I look around the room and see Red and B cuddled together in a recliner. Since I'm not exactly their favorite person, I wonder what they're doing here. And since I have to go to the bathroom wicked bad, I guess I'm gonna have to find out.
"Hey, you guys gonna sleep all day or can one of you get a nurse to help me to the john?"
"Faith, um, wake up Wills. Faith's awake."
"Oh, five more minutes, please?" B grins and I start to chuckle, before my head painfully reminds me just what a bad idea that is.
"Oww, my achin' head."
"Will, we gotta help Faith, remember? Wake up baby."
"Huh, oh Faith, right." Red is not a morning person.
"Go tell a nurse she's up Will. And find Giles, he's probably looking for tea in the cafeteria."
"Right." Like I said, not a morning person.
As Red went in search of a nurse and Giles, B gives me a hard look and I know I'm busted.
"How long have you been in Sunnydale Faith?"
"You know how long I've been here B."
"Indulge me F."
Shit, now I know I'm in deep. The only time she calls me that is when she's really pissed at me.
"About ten weeks." I tell her.
"Two and a half months then?"
"You gonna come to a point sometime today B?"
"The point Faith, is that I've been Slaying here in Sunnydale for a little over two years and I am not on a first name basis with the ER personnel at this hospital! Why is it that you seem to be?"
"Come on B, our line of work, we get hurt sometimes. You know that."
"But not if we're careful Faith, not if we take the time to think before we act. Even if we do get hurt, we go to Giles first. He's got the training and experience to help us when our own Slayerness isn't enough to deal with our injuries."
"All right B." Anything to shut her the fuck up!
"All right what?"
"Next time I get hurt, I'll go to Giles."
She just looks at me for a minute like she's trying to decide if I'm lying or not.
"Okay, I'll go see if I can find out what's keeping that nurse."
Great, fuckin' great! So now they think I can't hack it! They already look at me like I'm second best. Like I'm not as good as Buffy the Perfect! Now they know I get hurt more than she does. Maybe I wouldn't if I had a bunch of ass kissers worshiping me like they do B. Maybe if some of the little Scooby gang would back me up like they do her I could do better. Well fuck them! Fuck B, fuck Giles, and fuck the Scoobies! Gonna fuck 'em all up. But not Red. I can feel a little smile form on my face. No, Red I'm just gonna fuck.
Part 5
Buffy's POV
Well that was fun, not! After we got Faith taken care of Giles, Will and myself had Xander, Cordelia and Oz meet us at the library. Then we told them about Angel being back. Giles took it better than we expected. Oz was his usual stoic self. Cordy, as usual, was only concerned about how it might affect her. Xander, well Xander and I nearly came to blows.
If Will hadn't held me back, Faith probably would have had some company in the hospital. I so hope she got the message. That she doesn't have to be alone, that we are her friends, if she'll let us be. Sometimes I worry about her. Too much alone time isn't healthy.
But tonight I'm not worrying about anyone or anything except Willow. We're going to do an early patrol and then we're going on a date! An actual date with dinner, a movie and hopefully Willow smoochies afterwards. Maybe more, if my nerve holds up. I've been thinking about what Will said at Angel's the other night, and she was right. Just because Angel went evil after we slept together it doesn't mean that Willow will too. Now if I keep telling myself that maybe I'll start to believe it.
Willow's POV
I gotta hurry up and finish getting ready! Buffy will be here any time! I can't be late, not tonight. I think what I said might have sunk in and I don't want to take a chance of spooking her. I want everything to go perfectly tonight. Oh crap, someone's knocking on my window. I peek through the curtains. Angel? What's he doing here?
Opening the French doors I ask; "Angel, is something wrong?
"No, I just wanted to stop by and give you this." He holds out a key.
"Huh? I don't understand."
"The other night I didn't get a chance to talk to you before you left. Like I told Buffy I can't change what happened but maybe I can help you two get past the problem I caused."
"You mean the one where Buffy is afraid to have sex with me because she thinks it'll make me evil?" Yes, I'm being a bitch, but I'm still so mad at him for hurting Buffy. And I want him to go before she shows up.
"Yeah, that one. Look Willow, all I want to do is help."
"I don't see how you can Angel, this is something Buffy and I have to deal with on our own."
"I know, but if you need a place where you two can be alone I can help with that at least. This key is for apartment 7a in the old Pierson building. It unlocks the front door to the building too. The fridge is stocked, the utilities are on, and it's yours for as long as you need it."
I look at the key, then back to Angel; "You own the apartment?"
"I own the building. Look, anything you or Buffy need I'll take care of it." He hands me the key and turns to go.
"If we use this, what's to stop you from coming and going as you please?" I ask suspiciously.
"I have essentially given the place to you. Since it's a private home I need an invitation to come in. Besides I assume you'll use the same protection ritual you used on Buffy's house last year. Just in case."
Darn tootin' I will! But it does have possibilities. A place where Buffy and I can have alone time when we want. Drat, that's the doorbell, Buffy's here! I look at the key, shake my head and stuff it in my pocket. I'll deal with it later after Buffy goodness!
Buffy's POV
Happiness is very underrated. For the first time in weeks, I'm happy. Will and I are walking down the street hand in hand; we've just left the theater and I've got a grin on my face so wide my cheeks hurt! Not that I could tell you anything about the movie because I was paying attention to only one thing. My Willow. God, she is so beautiful. Sometimes, I wake up in the middle of the night and I have to sneak out to Will's house just to watch her sleep. Just to make sure she's okay. Not sure I want to tell Will about my wee hours stalker attacks. She might think it was creepy or, well, dumb. Well, maybe not so dumb, her parents are in town so rarely that I worry about her in that house all by herself. Will pokes me in the ribs to get my attention.
"Whatcha thinking? Deep thoughts?" She asks.
"Deep and meaningful."
"What about?"
"About how lucky I am to have you."
"Really?" She say's with a grin.
"Really, truly." I look around for a second and realize that I'm not sure where we are. "Will, where are we going?"
"It's a surprise."
"A surprise, huh?"
"Yep."
"Is it a nice surprise?"
"I hope so." She says.
"Willow, what do you mean you hope so? What's going on?" I stop dead in my tracks and I'm not budging till Will explains. She looks at me and sighs.
"Okay, it's not really my surprise. That's why I didn't want to tell you until we were there." She says, averting her eyes from mine.
"Who's surprise is it Will?"
"Well, uh, Angel's."
"Angel's?" I take her chin in my hand and force her to look at me. "Will, baby, don't take this the wrong way; but have you lost your red headed mind? Share, Willow. What's the up?" I give her my version of 'resolve face' so she knows I'm serious.
"Buffy, I love you more than life itself, but you can be a real party poop, yanno? Angel came by just before you did and he left us this key, it goes to an apartment in that building over there and he said we could use it as long as we wanted. And I know you really don't want to have anything to do with him right now, not that I really do either, but I thought it was a nice gesture on his part considering we both beat the crap out of him the other night! And as long as we're here we might as well look at it! Wouldn't it be nice to have somewhere to go, to be alone, together! "
She pauses to take a breath and I pull her to me and kiss her hard. Sometimes that's the only way to stop her when she gets wound up like that. She places her hand at the back of my head and deepens the kiss. Her free hand slips into my shirt and cups my breast. I gasp.
"Will, oh!"
"Shh, let me make it better." She whispers.
She pushes me back till I hit the wall, which is a good thing, cause my knees are getting weak. Her thigh moves up between my legs to press against my center and my head starts spinning. I whimper into her mouth.
"Oh, god Will." I can feel my heart racing like I've run a marathon. My palms are sweating and oh god, my panties are soaked! And if Will doesn't stop nibbling on my earlobe like that I'm gonna throw her to the ground and molest her right here on the street!
Oh shit, hands, Willow-hands. Under my shirt, under my bra! Every inch of me feels like I'm on fire! Somehow, above the sound of the blood roaring in my ears, I hear the sound of a car approaching. My eyes open just in time to glimpse an older couple pass by. They're looking straight at us in bug-eyed shock. I have to get Will and me out of here or we are sooo gonna get arrested! But this feels so good, her tongue dancing with mine, her hands on my body. Oh god! More bad Buffy thoughts about a naked Willow on the sidewalk!
Okay, gotta stop Will just long enough to ask her a question. Of course, that means I actually have to make words come out of my mouth instead of the little whimpering moans that are all I've been able to make for about ten minutes now. Damn! Is babbling contagious? Okay, focus. Oh shit, Will's hand trying to go down my pants is not helping! I grab Willow's wrist and gently move her back a couple of steps while she struggles to stay close.
"Nooo, please Buffy, please?" Her eyes are glazed over but I can see that hurt expression starting to surface.
"It's not, not what you think." I struggle to get out past my labored breathing.
"It's not?" She asks.
"God, no Wills," I gasp; "Willow, where, oh god!" My legs don't seem to want to hold me up. "Where did you say that apartment was?"
She backs away with an impish grin and pulls me towards the building across the street.
TBC...