What I Am
by sailor80
Six
[reviews]
It was ridiculously easy to get in to the Initiative. Riley used his swipe on the external entrance, and the others followed him in. Tara and Xander, like Riley, were dressed in camouflage; Willow wore a lab jacket over khakis and a blue shirt. She carried a clipboard and tried to look official.
Riley led them through the maze of the facility to the holding area. Dozens of cells lined a concrete walkway. The glass fronts showed the utilitarian interiors. Smooth white walls, twenty foot ceilings, bunks and commodes of stainless steel.
Buffy and Faith were in the last two cells on the right. Riley opened Buffy's cell first. Willow entered before anyone else. It took all her self-control to continue to play her part. She checked Buffy briefly, and blanched at how bad she looked. Both eyes were swollen shut, and she didn't respond to Willow's attempts to wake her. Riley stepped in with a syringe. He ignored Willow's glare and injected Buffy's thigh through what was left of the jeans she still wore. Buffy didn't react immediately but after a few seconds she moaned, "No more."
"On your feet," Riley barked.
Willow, watched, amazed, as Buffy struggled to her feet. Riley stepped forward and put restraints on her. "Procedure," he said quietly to Willow. "If we don't use these, they'll know something's up."
Riley left Xander and Willow with Buffy and went to the next cell. He repeated his actions on Faith, and prodded her into the hallway, where Willow and Xander tried not to act like Buffy's friends. Riley lined them up. He took point, with Faith behind him. Tara was next, then Buffy and Willow, with Xander bringing up the rear. Their exit was more nerve wracking than their entrance, partly because they couldn't move quickly. The Slayers, drugged and shackled, shuffled along with their heads down, and the others could move no faster.
As soon as they emerged from the shrubs hiding the secondary entrance to the facility, they had to scramble to hide in nearby undergrowth. They lay on the damp ground for half an hour, until Riley was sure that all of the units in the field had returned. He wondered why they were coming in early, and pushed that away to concentrate on the problem at hand. He removed the manacles from both Slayers while they waited for Xander to return with a car.
They heard him coming in his dad's beater well before they saw the headlights. Getting everyone into the car was easier than expected. It was a dinosaur from the days of cheap gas, and the seats were huge. Buffy and Faith were still mostly out of it, and Willow cradled Buffy against her and said every prayer she knew. Faith lolled against Tara, who thought that Willow had left quite a bit out of the story she told.
Xander drove them to the Rosenberg home. Willow's parents, as usual, were absent, and it had more space than anyplace else they could go. Once they had Buffy settled on Willow's bed and Faith in the guest room, Xander called Giles. He got the machine, and hung up without leaving a message.
Xander returned to Willow's room. He got her attention and she came out into the hall, where she could see and hear Buffy.
"No answer at Giles'," Xander reported. "I guess he'll turn up, but what do we do with Faith?"
"She'll have to stay here until we figure something out." Willow kept her eyes on Buffy. "See if Riley has any handcuffs or anything so she stays out of trouble until we decide what to do."
"Faith looks pretty beat up, Will. I don't think we have to worry about her for a while." He put his hand on Willow's shoulder. "What do you want me to do?"
"I don't know, Xander." Willow sighed.
Xander squeezed her shoulder gently. "She'll be okay, Willow."
"I know. The waiting's just hard."
"I'll check on you later. Yell if you need anything."
Willow looked up at him. "Thanks."
He nodded and left the room. Willow turned her attention back to Buffy. She wanted to cry, and bit her lip. She held Buffy's hand and waited. It took far less time than it seemed for the Slayer to crack open one eye. She saw her lover haloed in the light of her desk lamp, and thought she was dreaming again. She closed her eye, then risked opening both. Prepared for disappointment, she tried to pull away from Willow's grasp.
"Buffy?" Willow said softly.
"Are you real?" Buffy asked hoarsely.
"Yes, my love, " Willow leaned over and kissed her forehead. Buffy's eyes closed again, and Willow saw the tears leaking from them. She left the chair and sat on the side of the bed, stroking Buffy's hair with her free hand. "It's all right, sweetheart," she crooned.
Buffy stayed frozen in place. She was physically, emotionally, and mentally exhausted. She couldn't believe Willow was really there. Even the redhead's scent could be memory or wishful thinking. Buffy didn't care which it was as long as the lights stayed low and she was left alone. Her body would heal with time; she felt the warm flush of its beginning, and fell into that familiar darkness again.
The next time she woke, Willow was still sitting beside her on the mattress. "Will?" Buffy croaked.
Willow looked at her. She couldn't hide her worry. Buffy had been asleep, motionless except for slow, heavy breathing, for 11 hours. Willow had never known Buffy to sleep that long. "I'm here, Buffy," she answered.
"Where are we?"
"My parents'," Willow said. "Can you sit up?"
Buffy tried, and succeeded, but it exhausted her again. Willow offered a glass with a straw, and Buffy eagerly sucked down cool water. "Thanks," she said while Willow put the empty glass on the bedside table. Buffy yawned hugely. "Sleep now," she said, and slid back into the sheets.
This time, she slept normally, snoring and twitching, and Willow felt she could risk leaving for a few moments to check on her friends in the next room. She met Tara in the hallway. "How's Faith?"
"Still sleeping," Tara reported. "Buffy?"
"Sleeping," Willow said. "Thanks for doing this," she said after a few moments of silence.
"You're welcome," Tara answered absently.
"Okay," Willow said, nodding. "I'm going back."
Tara nodded, and when Willow turned, Tara went back into the bedroom and returned to the chair from which she had been watching Faith.
Buffy woke again six hours later. She stretched before opening her eyes, and sat up, looking around, when she realized she was alone in bed. She was swinging her feet to the floor when Willow said, "I'm here, Buffy."
Willow took the few steps from the chair in which she had been reading to the bedside. Buffy met her, and pulled her into a crushing hug. "I knew you'd come," she said.
Willow, relieved, held onto Buffy with all her strength. They stayed like that for several minutes before Buffy pulled back enough to see Willow. "Any chance I could get something to eat?"
"Sure. You want to shower now or later?"
"Now, please," Buffy answered, then kissed Willow's cheek. "Thank you."
Willow nodded and let Buffy go.
She met Tara in the hall again. "Faith's waking up."
"Okay," Willow said slowly. "I'll talk to her. Could you fix them something to eat?"
"Sure."
"Xander can help you find what you need. And whatever you fix, make a lot."
"Okay," Tara answered, and headed toward the stairs.
Willow drew a deep breath and went into the guest room. Faith was sitting up in the bed. She didn't look surprised to see Willow, and said calmly, "Red."
"Faith," Willow answered, and stopped a few feet from the bed. "Truce?"
Faith nodded.
"Are you hungry?" Willow asked.
"Starved. Plus, I really need a shower."
"Tara's fixing something. The shower's there." Willow pointed at one of the doors. "I'll get you some sweats to put on."
Faith nodded again, and Willow left. She returned shortly with sweatpants, a shirt, and socks. Faith was sitting on the bedside.
"You okay?" Willow asked.
"Five by five."
Willow nodded, and put the clothes on the chair Tara had been using. She still didn't trust Faith enough to get within her reach. "See you downstairs," she said while backing away.
The tension in the dining room was almost palpable. Tara had emptied the refrigerator, and the Slayers made appreciative noises while they ate. While they were eating, the doorbell rang, and Xander let Riley in.
They sat around the table silently while the Slayers finished everything Tara prepared. When they pushed their empty plates away, there was an awkward silence. Willow broke it. "What did they do?"
"It's more a question of what didn't they do?" Buffy answered. "They have all this stuff, Will." Buffy shuddered. "And they're making super monsters. Putting parts of different demons together."
Faith pushed away from the table. "I'm not sticking around to see what else they come up with."
"Just sit tight for now, Faith," Xander said. "Every cop in Sunnydale is looking for you."
"Fuck," Faith swore, and slumped into the chair. She glared at Buffy. "I'd be long gone if it wasn't for you."
"I'm not stopping you," Buffy answered in an overly sweet tone.
"Cut it out," Willow said sharply. She turned to Buffy. "What do you mean, super monsters?"
"What I said, Will. They're taking pieces of different demons and putting them together. They were testing them out on us. There's one they keep talking about, that wasn't done, and they were really looking forward to turning him loose on us."
"Adam," Faith said in a low voice. They all looked at her. "That's what they called it. And I definitely don't want to see it."
"I think we have to," Buffy said. She looked directly at Faith. "You in?"
"Do I have a choice?" Faith asked sarcastically.
"Sure," Buffy answered. "You can go directly to jail, do not pass go, do not collect 200 dollars."
"Why should I trust you?" Faith glared at Buffy.
"You're here aren't you? They could have called the Council, or the police, or left you there, but they didn't." Buffy softened her tone. "Everybody made mistakes, Faith. Don't make another one."
Faith sighed hugely. "I'm gonna regret this later."
"Probably," Buffy agreed. She turned to Willow. "We need to go in there again."
"Um, no. And no again," Willow answered.
"I second her no, and raise a no way," Xander added.
Buffy ignored them and looked at Riley. "What's 314?"
"Classified," he answered. "I don't know."
"Can you find out? If they're cooking up something bigger than Adam, we need to know."
"I'll try." Riley paused. "Professor Walsh is really mad that you're gone. She wants somebody's head."
"She can get one from her spare parts closet," Faith cracked.
Buffy snickered, but the others just stared at Faith.
"What? You guys aren't the only ones allowed to laugh in fate's general direction, you know," Faith said. "And how about some introductions? I'm Faith. You are?" she asked, pointing at Tara.
"T-t-t-tara Maclay," she stammered, silently cursing her inarticulateness. Faith looked her over for a moment, and Tara surprised herself by keeping the Slayer's gaze. "Thanks for the grub, Blondie."
"Y-you're welcome."
Faith nodded, then looked at Riley. "You."
"Riley Finn."
"You one of those soldiers?"
He nodded.
"Why're you here?" Faith demanded.
"Willow asked me to help."
Faith shrugged. "Heard worse reasons." She yawned without covering her mouth, and stretched. "Dibs on the tv," she said, and pushed her chair away from the table. She left the room without saying anything more.
Tara got up and began clearing the table. Xander and Willow hurried to help her, but Tara sent Willow back in to sit with Buffy. She and Riley were talking in low voices, and continued. Buffy reached without looking for Willow's hand, and how tightly she held it was the only sign of stress to show.