Loving Willow More
by Rin
7
[reviews]
A/N: Any ideas you guys have that could fill some gaps I'm missing? I won't tell the gaps b/c that gives stuff away...I like the secrecy.
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"Faith, for the last time, we're late for an appointment. Can you wait until later to drill us about our sex life?" Buffy was getting frustrated. For the fifth time in two weeks, Faith was trying to coax answers from the blonde. Not only did she find it frustrating, so did Willow, who was sending an unhealthy glare towards the darker slayer. She'd given up on blushing, and went straight to glaring. However, Faith was not giving in; the girl wanted the scoop but they weren't budging an inch.
"She'll see you later on patrol." Willow gripped Buffy's hand a little tighter, indicating that they needed to move a little faster if they were going to get to the Psych building on time. When she got back from her last class, Willow was bombarded with excited kisses. Buffy'd been nervous, and wasn't sure she could go through with the appointment she'd set up with Dr. Walsh. However, the redhead calmed her down the best way she knew how...(get your mind out of the gutter, they only had ten minutes to get there), so she accepted the kisses, and showered a few of her own upon her girlfriend. As soon as they stepped out of Stevenson Hall, Faith caught up with them. Willow decided that they really did need to find Faith something better to do during the day.
"Alright but I expect answers, blondie! None of this beatin' around the bush bullshit this time." Faith pointed a finger at them, not even breaking into a sweat, as they almost ran to the building.
"Fine. I'll answer SOME of your questions but we really are late. I'll see you tonight at home. Mom's making pot roast?" Buffy stopped when they got to the front of the building. If she timed the conversation, and extra travel time, then they had approximately 12 seconds to talk to Faith before moving again.
"Yeah. Ms. S said somethin' about a roast and potatoes. Said to invite Willow, too." Faith nodded her head towards the redhead.
"Okay. We'll see you tonight, then. Bye, Faith." Buffy waved, and pulled her girlfriend into the building with 5 seconds to spare before they were officially late for their appointment. Knocking on the door, she let Willow catch her breath for a second.
"Come in." Dr. Walsh was standing there, medical coat and stethoscope at the ready. When the girls walked in, she jotted something down on her clipboard, and moved to close and lock her door. After their first talk about the testing, Buffy and Willow had several more, until they decided that it wouldn't hurt anything to at least check it out. If anything, it was possible reconnaissance for a potential danger, since their former professor knew what a slayer was already. "Are you ready, Ms. Summer?"
"As I'll ever be." She let out an uncomfortable chuckle, and gripped Willow's hand tighter for some added comfort. The redhead just squeezed in compliance.
"This way then." Dr. Walsh motioned towards a wall in that back of her office, and the girls looked at each other, both thinking the woman had truly lost her mind. When the wall opened, and an elevator appeared, they wondered what exactly they had gotten themselves into this time. "First off, I have to go over some basic procedures." The two girls just nodded, feeling as though they were walking into Dante's inferno, ready to descend to Hell in a hidden elevator. "We're part of a government agency, whose main objective is to capture and study Hostile Sub terrestrials, or HST for short. We're called the Initiative, and we strive to understand the ways these HSTs work, and have even discovered ways to..."
"Neuter vampires." Buffy interrupted the doctor, and it was obvious she was annoyed by the interruption. It took a second listening to the scientist's spill but the slayer put two and two together. She looked over at her girlfriend, who had the same look of epiphany on her face.
"You always did interrupt me in class. I don't know why I would think it different in common conversation." Dr. Walsh had a hint of a smile but wouldn't let it grow fully. She really liked the blonde. "Anyways, here are your visitor's passes." She handed them both plastic badges with clips, and both proceeded to clip them to their shirts. The elevator door opens again, and they walk out onto a catwalk that overlooks the main chamber, where several people are walking around in lab coats and fatigues. The two girls scan the large, hangar-like area, and notice the huge swimming pool size cutout that leads to a place full of demons strapped to surgical tables, and people doing tests on them. Buffy turns her panicked eyes towards her girlfriend.
"This is...huge." Willow was concerned about what she saw, too. There was a whole other life in Sunnydale that captured monsters, and it was a big possibility that they had just become the monsters.
"So, you like our little operation?" Dr. Walsh allowed a cocky grin this time.
"Yeah. Yes, it's very...clean." Buffy wasn't sure what to say. She was the slayer; this huge government conspiracy should not have gone undetected in HER town.
"I've assembled some reading material to bring you up to speed." She handed the slayer a small stack of papers. Buffy immediately handed them to Willow, and the redhead started skimming them.
"Oh, and I thought I was never going to get homework from you again." Buffy was still a little shaken by the whole thing.
"You can't take that home. That's classified material. Highly sensitive. When you're through reading those pages, you'll have to eat them." She kept her demeanor, although inside she was chuckling at her little quip.
"Huh?" Willow looked up from her scanning, looked back down at the papers, then back to the professor.
"I'm joking." She grins, and leads them forward. "Don't worry; it doesn't happen often." They come to the stairs, and she motions for them to descend. "Shall we?" And they do. They continue to follow her, and stop when she does at the large hole in the ground. "Much of our hands-on research on the HSTs is performed here. We call this 'the Pit.'"
"And what do you call those?" Buffy pointed down, where two squid-like demons were being poked and prodded.
"Tough. It took our Alpha Squad 8 men to bring those two down but we'll have them under our control soon enough." She looks down towards a specific person. "Dr. Angelman!" A man in a lab coat looks up to acknowledge her with a nod, and returns to his conversation. "Head of our science team. He's a leader in the field of xenomorphic behavioral modification."
"Behavior modification?" Buffy was perplexed. Willow was still concentrating on the papers, allowing her girlfriend to lead her way by their entwined hands. She would glance up occasionally to listen to Dr. Walsh explain things, like now.
"We've made significant advances in reconditioning the sub terrestrials; bringing them to a point where they no longer pose a threat." Dr. Walsh kept them moving.
"So I've seen..." Buffy said under her breath but the scientist heard, so she had to cover quickly.
"...on the Discovery Channel. With gorillas and sharks. They...they made them all nice. You haven't seen it?" Buffy knew it sounded lame but at least they were moving again, even though it was obvious Dr. Walsh didn't buy it. "What's over there?" She points to a weapons cage that was guarded by a chain link fence, and starts walking towards it curiously, dragging her lover along.
"The armory. You'll have to be cleared for use on each of these weapons." Dr. Walsh leads the way again, and they come to a small area with table and monitors. Buffy walks away again, her attention lost on the scientist. It felt like she was in class again, and she was already being snoopy. Picking up a small device, she starts studying it curiously. She looks at it, and the monitors behind her show a close up of her eye. Dr. Walsh is still facing the armory. "The more advance arsenal can be complicated but I'm certain you'll pick that up." She turns around, noticing what Buffy is doing finally, and moves towards the girls. Willow is trying to suppress a chuckle when she sees the monitor. "Don't pick that up." The scientist takes the device from her, and places it back on the table.
"What is it?" Buffy asked curiously.
"About 20 thousand dollars." Getting the desired reaction from the two girls backing away from the table, Dr. Walsh pressed on further. "It's a prototype for a com-cam." She points to the monitors behind her, and Willow releases a small giggle. "Communications camera; soon to be standard issue. Gives the soldiers a direct comlink to Control when they're out in the field; also monitors the heart rate of the wearer. A valuable tool for research in stress in combat condition. If you'll follow me, I'll show you the HST containment area."
The girls followed the scientist, eyes wide in amazement. The place was surreal, and Buffy even recognized a few demons from earlier encounters from either their breed, or one or two that had managed to run away before she struck the final blow. When the tour was finally ended, Dr. Walsh had them in the main chamber again.
"What's in there?" Buffy pointed to a metal security door, where a man in a lab coat uses an ID card to enter. Dr. Walsh turns around to see, and turns back to the girls. By now, Willow was finished reading the material thoroughly, and was clutching the papers to her side.
"Research area. Very restricted for security reasons." She hands the girls two cards and beepers. "Here are your security cards and pagers."
"Been thinking about getting one of those." Buffy and Willow take the items.
"We're the only ones with the number, and it stays that way." She gave the girls her patented glare, and from the shivers they made, Dr. Walsh knew that they would follow the rules. They nodded. "Lose either one of those and there's hell to pay, and down here, we mean that literally."
"Well, thanks for the tour." Willow smiled sheepishly, not sure what to expect now.
"Thank you for the opportunity to study a slayer." She motioned for them to follow her towards the restricted research area. "If you'll follow me, we'll get started." The two girls nodded, and followed her into unknown territory.
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"Well, that was certainly interesting." Buffy plopped down on her bed with an audible bounce when her body hit. Willow just smiled at her, glad that it wasn't extremely dangerous...yet. She shut the door, and turned the table lamp on to give the room some dim light. After the bright lights in the Initiative, their eyes wanted some cool-down time.
"You can say that again." Willow placed her bag down on her desk.
"Well, that was certainly interesting." Buffy smiled, and Willow turned around to give her a mock admonishing glare. Then, she chuckled. The redhead kicked her shoes off, and placed them in her closet before joining her girlfriend on the bed.
"At least you came out in one piece; that's a plus in my book." Willow cuddled next to her lover, and started absent-mindedly twirling her fingers around Buffy's sweatshirt strings.
"A definite plus." Buffy looked down at the redhead, and smiled. The tests were rather simple. After giving a few blood and urine samples (which were a little embarrassing but she was glad for the bathroom break), her vitals were tested: heart rate, blood pressure, etc. It was like the physicals she'd get before cheerleading started; only they went more in depth. After some minor tests, such as running on a treadmill on heart monitors, and lifting weights on a few machines, it was easy. They pitted her up against a single vampire that was still young and hadn't been in the behavioral modification program; there were soldiers standing by with taser rifles, too but just for safety caution. Afterwards, more blood and urine, and more vitals were taken. Willow was by her side the entire time; she was even allowed to stand on the side of the small training arena where Buffy fought the vampire. They were down in the Initiative for a total of 6 hours, and they were more than exhausted.
"What are you thinking?" Willow just continued playing with the strings.
"About how amazing you are, and how I can't believe this, us is really happening." Buffy's tone was sincere, and held a definite affinity to awe.
"Buffy..." Willow shifted slightly, and her entire body blushed. "I meant with the testing."
"I know but you're just what I'm always thinking about..." Buffy kissed the crown of Willow's head, and rested her arms around the redhead in a snuggled hold. "I want thinking about how easy it seemed. I mean, I know that's not all of the tests, and that I've just committed myself to something that could be a potential threat but I can't help but feel I've accomplished something, and not just for myself but for future slayers."
"After reading those papers, if she'd handed me a pen to sign my name, it would've felt like a scene in 'Doctor Faustus.'" Willow grumbled slightly.
"Dr. Who?" Buffy pondered for a moment. "Oh, the guy who signed away his soul to the devil. I remember that; I actually read half of it by myself." She beamed slightly, and Willow chuckled. "I know what you mean, though."
"I just don't want you to put the cart before the horse, Buffy. There's still too much we don't know about the Initiative. I mean, up until 6 hours ago, we didn't even know it existed." Willow leaned up on her elbow, causing Buffy to loosen her grip.
"And now we're card carrying members. I know, Will." Buffy motioned for her to snuggle again. "Besides, you're there with me, so if I do something crazy, you'll help me."
"Always." Willow acquiesced to the request, and snuggled again. She held her girlfriend's side this time, though, instead of playing with her sweatshirt strings. A few minutes of quiet contemplation passed, with Buffy just running her fingers through Willow's auburn locks, and Willow humming in approval. Then, Buffy looked at the clock, and a sudden thought caused her to jump out of bed without warning, smacking the redhead in the mouth in the process. When she realized what she'd done, she immediately went into apologetic, concerned girlfriend mode, and dabbed the blood from where Willow bit her lower lip.
"I'm sorry, Wills. I didn't mean to hit you, honestly." Buffy was panicking; she'd been careless.
"It's okay, Buffy. You didn't hurt me on purpose; you never would." Willow just smiled at her lover, and kissed her lightly, the coppery taste of her blood evident on her lips.
"I'm still sorry." She dabbed the blood one more time, and smiled sheepishly in apology. "I just looked at the clock, and noticed that I completely forgot patrol with Faith tonight. She and Giles are going to kill me." Buffy stood up, and threw the tissue away in the small trashcan. Willow just stood up, and wrapped her arms around her worried lover's waist.
"It's okay. Faith's been late or missed tons of times before; you're allowed to miss. Besides, it's not like you forgot really; you were just preoccupied." Willow pulled her back over to the bed. "That reminds me."
"What reminds you?" Buffy sat down, and pulled Willow onto her lap. The redhead straddled her hips, and wrapped her arms around the blonde's neck.
"What are we going to tell Giles? I mean, we have to tell him something." Willow kissed Buffy's neck slowly.
"Well, are you ready to tell them about us? I don't mind; it's just that I like having you all to myself. I'm liking this selfish bit." Buffy closed her eyes halfway, enjoying the attention she was getting.
"I mean about the Initiative. We've obviously discovered our soldier boy threat; we're just not sure if it's a threat now, or what?" Willow continued her slow, tantalizing kisses.
"Well, yeah. Dr. Walsh said that we weren't to tell anybody about their operation but it's the gang, you know?" Buffy wrapped her own arms around Willow's back, and made a trail up her back to her shoulders, where she played with the short red locks.
"I know. I don't like keeping secrets from Xander." Willow started a trail up Buffy's neck to the sensitive spot behind her ear. It earned her a deep-throated moan; she grinned cockily. That spot always worked charms on the blonde. "I understand the 'us' secret, and I like being selfish, too but they're over there researching nonstop, trying to find information on the soldiers, and here we have firsthand knowledge. We've been to their base of operations, and met their coordinators."
"I know. I've never let Faith down before, and I hate this feeling." Buffy moved one hand to Willow's head, urging her forward but the redhead stopped, and looked at her with a panicked expression. It dawned on Buffy how what she just said must have sounded. "No, not that. I definitely liked the way that was feeling. I meant I hate the way standing up Faith, letting her down makes me feel. Please continue with what you were doing."
"I think that can be arranged." Willow did as she was asked, and made a trail of hot, wet kisses along Buffy's jaw line, earning her more low moans from the slayer.
"I should call Giles, and mom." Buffy just enjoyed the feeling of Willow's kisses again for another few seconds before she tensed again, and stopped the redhead. "Oh, no! Mom!" She rushed to the phone, and dialed home. After the third ring, her mother answered, somewhat out of breath.
"Hello?" Joyce sounded troubled.
"Mom?" Buffy tentatively replied. She sat down on the bed, and Willow cradled her legs behind her. The blonde placed the receiver in position where they both could hear.
"Buffy, thank God. Where are you? What's happened? Where's Willow? Is everything okay? Have you been attacked?" Joyce was shooting out questions feverishly, and the slayer needed to stop her worried mother fast before she blew a gasket.
"Mom, mom!" Finally, her mother stopped. "We're okay. Willow's with me; we're at the dorm. We got held up here on campus." She looked over at her girlfriend, who nodded her assurance. "There's nothing to worry about; we're both fine. I'm sorry we missed dinner. Mom roast beast sounded great." She looked over at Willow, and saw her tongue sticking out slightly at the side. "Willow agrees; she even has her yummy face on right now."
"Thank goodness. We were all worried. Rupert was calling every ten minutes, and Faith came back early, thinking that you would be here. I'm so glad you're both okay." Joyce sounded relieved, and that made Buffy relax slightly. "What happened?" Now came the tough questions.
"We just got held up here at school. We were working on a..." She looked over at Willow, and narrowed her eyes in concentration. Buffy hated lying to her mom but she didn't want to breach the trust Dr. Walsh gave them. "...project for extra curricular. It lasted longer than we thought, and we just got back to the room about twenty-five minutes ago. We would've called then but we needed to sit down for a minute, and collect our thoughts."
"As long as you're both okay. A mother worries about these things, you know." Joyce let out a deep breath. "When Faith came home, she was unusually quiet and detached. Now I know why; time for a motherly chat."
"Don't press too hard, or she won't talk." Buffy didn't want her sister slayer to lose trust in her. "Actually, let me talk to her for a minute."
"Sure, Buffy. Hold on a second." Joyce called up to the dark slayer to pick up the phone, and seconds later, there was a gruffy voice on the other line, and a click indicating that the older Summers woman had hung up her end.
"Yeah?" Faith WAS unusually quiet.
"Hey, Faith." Buffy wanted to take it one step at a time.
"Hey, B." There was no indication of anything; her mood was hard to read.
"Did I wake you?" She decided on the straight approach. There was sense in beating around the bush. "I'm sorry I couldn't make it tonight. We were held up on campus; actually, I would've liked to patrol with you again. It feels like forever since I have; synchronized slaying." She chuckled under her breath, hoping to lose some tension but it didn't work. "How about I come help tomorrow night? I know it's my night off, and all but I'd like to hang out, maybe afterwards we could grab some coffee?"
"You hittin' on me, Blondie? I thought you and Red..." Faith was coming back to herself. It was obvious in her playful tone.
"We are. I meant that in a purely platonic way. Maybe the whole gang can get together after patrol; Bronze it?" Buffy had a hopeful tone. She and Willow hadn't seen Xander in a couple of days, only talked to him over the phone at night before bedtime. It hurt Willow, she could tell but she helped her come out of that depression quick with lots of smoochies and cuddling.
"Yeah, sure. I'll see if they're up to it tomorrow afternoon at Giles's. We're still on the soldier boys; they're givin' us a helluva time, that's for sure." Faith must've missed the quiet wince the girls gave. "Anyways, Cordy's emailed Xan, and the LA crew hasn't found nothin', neither. We're zero and O on this one, B. What about your front?"
"Um..." There was hesitation. That was dangerous because Faith was really good at reading her. "We've mostly been focused on school work, and well..."
"Yo, it's cool. I get it. Red's comin' down from the whole Fred deal, and you guys are tryin' to...do whatever it is you're doin', which by the way, we're still havin' the talk." Faith had that tone of voice that told Buffy the other girl would press until she got some answers. At least it felt good to tell 'somebody' that she was with Willow. She hoped that they would be comfortable enough to tell the others. Xander was going to be really difficult because they were trying to ease him into the whole ordeal. A sudden thought struck Buffy, and she decided to mention it to her girlfriend after they finished the phone conversations needed for the night.
"Are we alright?" She sounded vulnerable. Buffy hated being vulnerable, especially to Faith.
"Five by five." That was always hard to decipher but at least it was something.
"I need to call Giles; let him know we're okay. I'll see you tomorrow on patrol. Restfield at 9?" Buffy was eager to finish. Willow had started rubbing tiny circles on her stomach absent-mindedly but it was causing her slayer libido to rise tremendously.
"Yeah, that's my plan. See ya, B." With that, they hung up, and Buffy dialed Giles's phone. After one ring, the watcher answered in his clipped British tones that indicated his worry and anger.
"Giles?" She was tentative. There was no telling what was to come; it was either a lecture, or a 'dear lord.'
"Dear lord, Buffy. Where have you been? We've been trying to call you for hours, and Faith said you missed your patrol with her. That's not like you to miss. Is something wrong? Has something happened? Where's Willow?" Dear lord it was, then.
"Calm down, Giles. Everything is okay. Willow and I just got detained here on campus doing some extra-curricular work, and we lost track of time." Buffy needed this conversation to be short. Willow had started kissing her shoulder again, and was exceptionally close to her pulse point. If Giles heard her growl deep in her throat, or moan even, there was no telling how the banter would go from there.
"Thank goodness." He let out a deep breath. "What in the world were you two doing that caused you to miss your patrol?"
"We were with Dr. Walsh doing some Psych studies. It's not a big deal." She shrugged, knowing that it really was a big deal. Her breathing was starting to pick up, and she knew her girlfriend was doing this on purpose. She narrowed her eyes, thinking of a revenge plot.
"Yes, well. Next time, could you inform us of your plans? That way we can schedule accordingly, and Faith won't be left unattended." He was starting to go into lecture mode. She needed to diffuse the situation fast.
"She's a big girl now; I'm sure she handled things fine." Just a few more centimeters, and Giles would be cleaning his glasses feverishly on the other end of the line; that she knew for sure, since Willow had started nipping and sucking her way to that one spot that made her weak in the knees, especially when the redhead was there.
"That's beside the point, Buffy, and you know it. If you would come around more often, then we could get further on this soldier business. Have you any information to relay, or are you too busy with that blasted woman to bother with your duties as the slayer?" Giles was getting angry, and she was getting horny. This was not a good combination.
"Look, Giles. Dr. Walsh isn't all that bad, and I'm not ignoring my duties. You have nothing to worry about but Willow and I need to get off the phone." She was having a hard time suppressing her moan but her eyes were rolling back in her head, and Willow's hands started to knead her breasts outside of her UCSD sweatshirt.
"That's fine but I expect you to forego your duties more seriously, Buffy. I did attend university in the Mesozoic era. I do remember what it's like, and I know the thrall it has over a person. I just don't want you to forget your sacred duty." He was in full Watcher mode.
"Yeah." Her voice turned husky, since Willow had started sucking on her pulse point. "I mean, I'm not forgetting. I'm still patrolling on schedule. It was one night, Giles. Faith's missed before, and you don't drill her."
"Yes but I expect more from you." She could hear the disappoint in his voice, and she let out a deep breath of regret. Buffy hated to disappoint Giles.
"Okay, Giles. I'm sorry." That's when Willow started making her way under Buffy's sweatshirt, and skin contacted skin. "Look, it's late, and we have class in the morning. Talk to you tomorrow." She hung up without saying goodbye, or acknowledging the fact that it was Saturday, and there definitely weren't any classes. Buffy tackled Willow to the bed, and stripped them quickly, needing to feel that skin on skin. Their moans and sounds of ecstasy filled the room, and in an underground lab, Dr. Walsh watched them on her monitor, taking notes on every single thing she could on the slayer. She wouldn't admit to actually enjoying the show, instead chalking it up to scientific research. It never hurts to enjoy what one does for a living.
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A/N: What do you think of Dr. Walsh? What do you think of the Initiative as the good guys/bad guys? What do you think of each character thus far? Where do you think they are going at this point (any character or plot)? I want to know, so I know if I'm getting across what I mean to be; it helps me, I find. I'm more than grateful. Even a simple smily face, or frowny face will suffice.