What I Am
by sailor80
Nineteen
[reviews]
Voices from outside startled Faith awake. Tara looked up from what she was doing as the door opened quickly. Giles snarled and got to his feet, knocking the chair to the floor in the process.
Spike pushed Ethan Rayne through the door. He took one last drag from his cigarette before tossing it onto the concrete patio. Then he shoved Ethan again, stepped inside and closed the door. Giles rumbled steadily, and when he paused for breath, Spike told him, "That's what I thought, mate." He shook Ethan. "Where's the antidote?"
"Ripper," Ethan said with all his considerable charm. "What's a prank between old friends?"
Giles took a step forward, rumbling threateningly. Ethan tried to back up, but Spike held him in place. Ethan held his hands up. "All right, all right," he said. "No need to get physical. It's in my luggage."
"Which is where?" Spike asked.
"Sunnydale Arms," Ethan sighed. "Room 14."
"Right, then. Slayer, you'll have to go around and collect it."
"Why me?" Faith said sulkily.
"Sun's comin' up, so I'm out." Spike shook Ethan a little. "Not letting this one out of sight, and well." Spike gestured toward Giles. "He can't go, now, can he?" Spike reached into Ethan's coat pocket and pulled out keys. He tossed them to Faith. "Take his car so you get back before sundown."
Giles rumbled. Faith caught the keys and snickered. "C'mon, Blondie, we'll get breakfast."
Tara got to her feet and stretched. "We won't be long," she told Giles, and followed Faith around Spike and out the door.
"I bet you boys have lots of things to talk about," Spike said gleefully. He shoved Ethan away.
Giles let him fall to the floor, and spat on him.
"Awww," Ethan whined, "You ruined my coat. Over a joke."
Giles rumbled. Spike started to translate, but Ethan answered Giles immediately, so Spike sat back to watch the show.
Faith and Tara returned within an hour. Faith carried two bags. She dropped them in front of Ethan, who was sulking on the couch. "Get it," she ordered.
"What is it with Americans? Would it kill you to say please?"
"Get it," Faith repeated.
Ethan rolled his eyes and leaned over the smaller bag. He held out a small vial of dark glass. Faith took it.
"He has to drink it," Ethan said.
Faith crossed the room to Giles. He lowered himself and tilted back his head so Faith could pour the liquid into his mouth. Then he moved rapidly to his second floor bedroom. Forty-five minutes later, he appeared downstairs, showered, shaved and dressed. He looked tired, but otherwise unharmed, and went immediately to Ethan. "You know I hate anise," he said with a glare.
"It was a joke," Ethan began.
"Just shut up," Giles said in a low voice, and Ethan did.
Willow answered the phone. When she heard Faith on the other end, she started with a stream of questions.
"Giles says just come over, Red."
"I can't. I need to see Buffy."
"Visiting hours don't start until 11," Faith said. "C'mon, and then we can all go see B."
"All right," Willow answered.
When she arrived half an hour later, Ethan was still sulking on the couch. Spike dozed on one side of him, and Faith sat on the other, with Tara squeezed in beside Faith. Willow and Giles sat at the dining room table and filled each other in.
"What're you going to do with him?" Willow asked.
"I thought your soldier friend might be interested in him."
Willow's eyes widened. "Wow, you really don't like him."
Giles looked at Ethan with disgust. "No, I truly don't."
When they left, Spike remained to keep an eye on Ethan, who was chained and gagged in the bathtub. Both Xander and Riley were in the waiting room when they arrived. "Mrs. Summers is in with the doctor," Xander reported.
Willow nodded and broke away. She entered Buffy's room as the doctor held x-ray films toward the light, gesturing with the other hand. Joyce watched, frowning, but Buffy was out. Willow stood at Buffy's bedside and listened to the conversation. She sighed with relief at the final decision that Buffy could go home today see a specialist after the swelling went down.
Both Joyce and Willow listened as the doctor explained the discharge papers, Willow from Buffy's bedside, where she gently rubbed Buffy's hand. After the doctor left, Willow tried to wake Buffy.
"They just gave her a shot," Joyce said. "It'll be a few hours." She smiled at both girls and smoothed Buffy's hair. "Call me when you're ready," she told Willow. Then she kissed Buffy's forehead and left the room.
They swarmed her when Joyce tried to pass the waiting room. She took a few seconds to answer their questions before heading off to work. After that, they took turns sitting with Willow while Buffy slept. Faith and Tara leaned against each other and dozed while Giles, Riley, and Xander saw for themselves that Buffy wasn't mortally wounded. Then, Tara and Faith went together to Buffy's room.
"You guys look awful," Willow observed.
"We love you, too, Red," Faith answered. Tara yawned and immediately apologized.
"Go home and get some sleep," Willow urged. "There isn't a lot you can do now, and we'll be there soon."
Tara tried to hold back a yawn while she nodded her agreement. Faith smiled. "Ok," she said. "See you later,"
Xander was the first to arrive at the Summers home late that afternoon. Buffy was installed on the couch, and Willow was rarely out of her reach. He heard the shower start upstairs and knew that Tara and Faith would be down soon.
Joyce pulled into the driveway before it was dark. A second car swung in behind her, and Giles held the door for Joyce as they entered. Spike followed. "I was bored," he shrugged at Faith when she glared at him.
The flurry of activity woke Buffy fully for a few minutes, but she soon slid back into a light sleep. The doorbell woke her again, but once she verified that it was Riley, she slept again. Willow sat beside her on the couch, held in place by Buffy's arm around her waist.
The next time the doorbell rang, it was a small oriental man with both arms full of bags. Faith inhaled deeply and relieved him of the bags. "More in car," he told her, and she hurried to put the bags on the table. Giles was all ready at the door when she returned, and again Faith relieved the delivery man of his bags while Giles paid the driver, including a generous tip. He felt that buying dinner was the least he could do since he had effectively transferred Slayer central from his dining room to Joyce's home.
They used the table as a buffet, and arranged themselves around the living room to eat and talk. Buffy woke up and moved to a sitting position. Willow got up and got food for both of them. Joyce and Giles smiled at each other across the mass of young adults, all of them laughing and talking while they ate.
After the food was cleaned up, the mood shifted. Riley produced a half dozen more disks and handed them to Willow. He told them about morale and conditions in the Initiative. Neither were good, and Faith couldn't help but smirk.
"What about Ethan Rayne?" Willow asked.
"He's going to a secure facility in the desert," Riley reported. "For testing."
"So now we wait for Adam to make his next move," Buffy said.
"Pretty much," Riley answered. "We're still patrolling, but it was quiet last night after you ran into him."
They looked at each other, until Xander spoke up. "Waiting sucks," he said. "I vote for videos. All in favor?"
A round of ayes answered him, and he went to start the movie.
* * * *
A week passed quickly. Willow, Buffy, and Tara returned to classes. Joyce drove them to campus each morning, and picked them up in the afternoon. Faith stayed in the vehicle and went with Joyce to the gallery. Although Buffy was injured, Faith knew Willow was resourceful enough to protect them. She worried about Tara being by herself, but Riley assured her that he was keeping an eye on all of them. Joyce, on the other hand, couldn't protect herself as well as the others, so Buffy insisted Faith stay with her.
By the end of the week, Buffy was off crutches, but still in the knee splint. She grumbled about it constantly. In addition to being awkward and uncomfortable, it was hot. Plus, it interfered with her ongoing explorations of Willow's body, and Buffy was looking forward to it being gone.
The five women settled into a routine. Tara and Joyce took turns cooking, while the rest of them cleaned up. After dinner but before starting her school work, Tara and Faith went for a walk. Sometimes, Tara thought with amusement, Faith reminded her of a puppy crazed with joy to see its owner at the end of the day. She was eager to be outside in the dark, even if she couldn't hunt, and their walks gave her some time to unwind. Buffy's neighborhood was safe, Faith knew. Only the stupidest demons came looking for trouble, and they were the easiest to contend with.
Joyce watched over all of them. Of the four young women, only Buffy had anything approaching what Joyce considered a normal upbringing. They had fights, and Buffy ran away the summer between her junior and senior years, but once Joyce accepted the Slaying, they got along fine. Willow was independent - not orphaned like Tara, but abandoned, like Faith - but Joyce knew she still needed mothering. So did Tara, whom Joyce liked immensely, and Faith, who more and more appeared without the bravado she used as a barrier to others. While the others studied, Faith sat near Tara and read. She quickly went through all the books in the house, and went to the library for lunch one day to get new ones.
Giles, Riley, and Xander, sometimes with Anya in tow, checked in regularly. One evening, Riley came over, and he and Willow spent the evening at the computer, discussing what Willow found on the disks. Adam was nowhere to be found, and there were no reports of random mayhem anywhere nearby. Spike and Riley made an agreement that made Riley uneasy, but he saw other choice. Besides, as long as the chip remained, Spike couldn't harm any humans, so Riley justified his ongoing freedom as a field examination of the technology. Still, both he and Faith were uneasy around him and kept an eye on him whenever Spike was around.
At noon on Friday, Joyce called Faith to her office and gave her $100. Faith tried to give it back, but Joyce insisted Faith had earned it by helping in the gallery all week. Joyce suggested that Faith use some of the money to take Tara out, and Faith looked at her. "Like on a date?"
"Yes." Joyce smiled. "I'm sure she'd accept."
"I don't know anything about dating," Faith said.
"Go to the movies. Get a pizza. Do something fun. No Slaying," Joyce emphasized. "I don't care what you say, walking through the cemetery looking for vampires does not count."
"Can I borrow the Jeep?"
"Do you have a driver's license?" Joyce asked.
"Well, no. But I can drive."
"I'm sure you can. But my insurance is high enough." Joyce paused for a moment. "We'll see what we can do about getting your license," she offered.
Faith's eyes widened. "Wow, thanks!" She looked again at the money, then at Joyce. "I appreciate everything," she said, and fled without waiting for an answer. She avoided Joyce for the rest of the afternoon, but at 3:30, Joyce found her in the back room.
"Tara's last class lets out at 4. It's in Sullivan Hall, near the library." Joyce shooed Faith toward the door. "Have fun."
Faith turned and gave her a quick hug. The she darted out the door and walked quickly toward UCS. Joyce watched her go, and smiled. She was having dinner with two other businesswomen, so Willow and Buffy would have time alone. Buffy had asked her the night before for help, and she agreed to get the other girls out of the house for a few hours.
At five, she locked the doors and went to pick up Buffy and Willow. Willow helped Buffy into the back seat before claiming the passenger seat for herself. Joyce dropped them off, and Buffy reminded her mother to be careful.
"Scout's honor," Joyce promised solemnly, and Buffy groaned. She knew what was coming next.
"That reminds me," Willow said.
"Bye, Mom!" Buffy interrupted, and Joyce took the hint. She put the wagon into gear and backed away.
"It's just a matter of time," Willow told her with a grin. "I'll see those pictures."
"Not tonight," Buffy told her, and started for the house.