Getting Ahead of Myself
by sailor80
Twelve
[reviews]
A/N: Happy New Year to everyone. Here's hoping you have everything you need and some of what you want.
Many thanks to all of you who have commented.
// = dream
Buffy and Tara looked at each other. They hadn't heard the conversation, but had felt the emotional overload from their partners. Without saying anything, they separated, one going outside, the other upstairs.
Tara closed the screen door slowly so it wouldn't slam. "Everything all right?" she asked cautiously.
"She is the stubbornest, aargh!" Faith, fists clenched, turned to Tara. "I was trying to apologize, and she turned it into a crusade against me. Again."
"What did she say?"
"Trust me, you don't want to know." Faith lowered herself to the step and held her head in her hands. "B is gonna skin me this time."
"I doubt that." Tara sat beside Faith and put an arm around her.
"C'mon, Blondie, I just really pissed off her pregnant girlfriend while I was supposed to be making nice. Shit."
"It'll be all right," Tara said comfortingly.
Faith snorted. "Yup, and after that, I'll hit the freakin' Powerball." She sighed again.
Tara let them sit there for a few seconds before asking Faith, "What were you apologizing for?"
"Long story. Long, long story."
"I have time."
Faith groaned, then cut her eyes toward Tara. "Raincheck?"
"Not this time." Tara's tone was firm, and Faith sighed again.
"I told you about the mayor," she began.
Upstairs, Buffy opened the bedroom door cautiously. Willow was muttering and pacing, and Buffy let herself in and closed the door. "What was that about?"
"She doesn't get it. After all this time, she still doesn't get it."
"Who doesn't get what, Willow?"
"Faith." Willow stopped pacing and turned toward Buffy, who looked guiltily at the floor. Willow's eyes opened wide. "You." She took a step toward Buffy with each successive word, until the blonde was backed up to the door. "Put. Her. Up. To. It."
"Will, you're scaring me."
"What are you thinking? That it all goes away with some magic words?"
"No magic words. Just talking."
"It doesn't change anything, Buffy. Words don't change anything that she did or anything she could do. I know you guys worked out your stuff, and that's good, but I can't."
"Why not?"
"Buffy, it's Faith," Willow said, pouring all of her anger at every act into that single syllable.
"Yeah, it's Faith," Buffy agreed. "But she's different. We all grew up some. Give her a chance."
"What do you think I've been doing?"
They looked at each other, and Buffy finally asked the question she had avoided for so long. "What did she do to you?"
Willow's mouth opened and closed while she tried to formulate an answer that would leave everyone alive and Joyce's carpets blood free. Her eyes darkened while she recalled Faith's pleasure at hurting her, both physically and emotionally.
"Will?" Buffy asked gently.
"Nothing," Willow snapped.
"What did she do?" Buffy asked again, her voice harsher than she intended.
"She hurt me, Buffy," Willow said, and looked at the floor.
"You didn't tell me everything that night, did you?"
"No." Willow turned and crossed to the window. She wrapped her arms around herself and looked out.
A few moments later, Buffy followed. She stood behind Willow and circled her with her arms, but the redhead remained tense. "Are you going to?"
"Why?"
"Why?" Buffy repeated, puzzled.
"Why tell you? What will it change?"
Buffy gently turned Willow to face her. "It won't change anything. I love you, no matter what you tell me. Or don't tell me."
Willow studied Buffy's face for several long seconds, then rested her forehead on Buffy's shoulder. Buffy pulled her closer and waited, but Willow stayed silent.
"I guess this isn't a good time to tell you she's staying," Buffy said.
"I all ready figured that."
"You don't have to like her. Just get along, okay?" Buffy asked.
"Yeah."
They stood a little longer, until Willow said, "I'm gonna lay down for a while."
"Want company?"
"Not really."
"Oh." Buffy swallowed her disappointment and dropped her arms. "I'll check on you in a bit," she said, and left Willow standing in front of the window.
Buffy went in search of Faith, and found her talking with Tara in the back yard. She watched them for a few moments before clearing her throat and exiting the door. Faith looked up at her, then away. "What did you say to her?" Buffy demanded.
"I apologized."
"You had to say something else."
Tara tried to get up, but Faith maintained a strong grip on her hand, and Tara remained seated on the step beside her.
"I swear, B, I didn't say anything. All I did was tell her I'm sorry for being a jerk before."
"Like that?"
"Yeah."
"So why is she mad?"
"Cause she still thinks I'm a jerk?" Faith offered.
"You're not a jerk," Tara said softly.
Buffy drew a deep breath. She didn't like tension, or confrontation, except with demons, and didn't want to live among it if it could be avoided. "Fix it," she told Faith, and went back indoors.
Faith swore softly. "How am I gonna do that?" she asked Tara.
"Time."
The line of blue paint turned out to be the Sunnydale Water Department's most recent attempt to track water lines, Buffy learned after finding them all over town. She crossed that off her list of things to worry about, leaving it full of the regular things: Willow, the baby, her mother, the weekly vampire invasion, which had occurred on Friday this week.
Willow had glared at Faith when she deposited the dazed and bleeding blonde in the redhead's custody, and Faith had dropped her eyes and backed away without saying anything. After she got Buffy situated, Willow tore downstairs and found Faith waiting for her in the kitchen.
"Why did you let her get hurt?"
"Let her?" Faith answered indignantly, after removing an icepack from her face. "I did not let her get hurt!"
"That's why she has a concussion and four stitches," Willow said sarcastically.
"Look, Red, you want to be mad at me, fine, be mad. I don't give a shit." Faith put the ice back on her throbbing face. "Do your worse."
"Don't push me, Faith," Willow answered in a low voice.
"Whatever." Faith looked at Willow through her good eye. "You finished?"
Willow clenched her fists and spun on her heel. Faith's good night followed her out of the kitchen. She sat on the stairs for a minute to get her temper under control before returning to their room. Buffy was restless, and Willow hurried to get into bed so Buffy would sleep calmly.
Faith tried to be quiet, but her boots were loud on the stairs, and Tara was sitting on the bed waiting for her. When she saw that Faith was hurt, Tara maneuvered her to the bathroom to clean up. Afterwards, they went to bed. Faith held ice against her cheek and stared at the ceiling long after Tara settled against her into sleep.
Apart from a slight headache, Buffy was fine in the morning. She admired Faith's lingering shiner while they shared coffee in the back yard. This weekend's project was the nursery. They needed to paint and decorate before furniture could be moved in. So far, they had a crib and an old rocker, both of which Xander was refinishing.
Willow, at Buffy's insistence, went with Joyce to the gallery, and spent her time updating Joyce's computer software and tweaking the inventory control and bookkeeping programs. Her day passed quickly, and they returned home to find everyone, including Anya and Giles, hanging out in the kitchen while Tara and Faith prepared supper.
After eating and cleaning up, the Slayers left to patrol. Xander and Anya took off for the video store. Giles left, too, leaving Joyce and Tara reading, while Willow fiddled with her laptop. Willow went up to bed early, and was asleep when Buffy returned early from a routine and boring patrol. Buffy curled around Willow's back, with her hand resting on the redhead's growing belly, and fell quickly asleep.
// They were being chased by something Buffy didn't immediately recognize. The panicky fear she felt was nearly overwhelming, and she tried to hurry everyone along. The dark night, normally safe and comforting, made her feel worse. It meant she couldn't see it, or tell from which direction it would come.
They stopped to eat because Willow insisted. Dawn had been extraordinarily good, and they let her order whatever she wanted. Buffy looked across the street at the used vehicles and spotted something big enough for all of them. Maybe they could outrun it, or at least buy some time to come up with a better plan, and she left her exhausted family staring at the tabletop with bloodshot eyes while they waited for food.
She finally caught a bit of luck in the sales office. The manager recognized her, although she had no idea who he was or when she had saved him. He completed the paperwork as quickly as possible, while she fidgeted and the lot jockey gave it a once over and filled the tank. She had him move it to the diner parking lot, and rejoined the silent group. Buffy slid the keys to Xander, and wolfed down the two now cold meals Willow had ordered for her.
The van seemed crowded with all of them inside. Xander drove, with Anya riding shotgun. Joyce and Giles took the next seat; Buffy, Dawn and Willow the third; and Faith and Tara climbed into the back bench.
"Where to?" Xander asked in a scratchy voice.
"East," Buffy said. "As fast as we can go." She tried to keep her tone level, but everyone could tell how close to breaking she was when she added, "It's closer."
Xander nodded, and started the van. He eased it into traffic, and followed Buffy's instruction.
In the back, Tara began to whine, and Faith tried to quiet her. Dawn climbed over the seat, and sat beside Tara. She whispered something that made the blonde witch giggle. Faith smiled and mouthed thanks to the youngster.
Buffy, exhausted, lay against Willow and closed her eyes. She saw no way they could win, but they had to try. First, though, they needed to buy some time. //
Buffy's thrashing woke Willow. She tried to calm the Slayer without waking her, but finally had to shake Buffy. Buffy sat up, panting, and searched the room with wide eyes.
"What's wrong?" Willow asked softly.
Buffy turned to her, and breathed deeply in relief. "Bad dream," she answered.
"Lay down," Willow said. When Buffy did, she pulled her close. Buffy rested her head on Willow's shoulder and returned her hand to her partner's stomach. Their daughter was awake, too, and Buffy smiled. Willow stroked her hair until they both fell back to sleep.