Getting Ahead of Myself
by sailor80
Fifteen
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Once it was dark, Buffy and Faith left to patrol. Willow had been uncharacteristically grouchy and restless all day, and Buffy was glad for the brief respite from the house, although she felt vaguely guilty about it.
While they walked, Faith related the part of her conversation with Giles that concerned the vampires. At the end of their block, a group of three waited. The Slayers, conscious of Giles' request for information, waited for the demons to make a move.
The one appearing youngest stepped forward, hands held out appeasingly. "Please listen to what we have to say before you stake us."
Buffy and Faith looked at each other. Buffy crossed her arms over her chest, and Faith glared, but waited. When the vampire realized that the Slayers agreed, she began talking quickly.
"Someone is assembling brigades of vampires and setting them against you. You have killed whole clans because of this."
"So?" Faith said.
"You would never encounter them except for these men. Most of them are from far away. Nearly all the vampires here have fled."
"And you're staying why?" Buffy asked.
"It's my home. I've been here my entire life. I like it here."
"You're fuckin' crazy, you know that, right?" Faith said.
"Be that as it may, we are asking you for help. If I meet you in a fair fight and you win, fine. But if I am compelled to march to my death for no reason of my own, that's wrong."
Buffy and Faith looked at each other before Buffy answered. "All right, here's the deal. You need to talk to a friend of ours before anybody makes any decisions. We'll meet you at the Espresso Pump in an hour. Just you three, no one else. And we're still going to stake any vampire we run across."
"Fine," the demon answered, and backed up without looking. When it reached its friends, all three of them took off in different directions.
Buffy and Faith walked quickly to Giles' condo and shared recent events. When they finished, he nodded and told them, "I'll meet you there."
The Slayers swept through two cemeteries before setting off for downtown. Buffy snagged a corner table while Faith got in line for drinks. When Giles arrived, they were waiting for him. Less than a minute later, the same three vampires entered. Two of them headed directly for the corner booth, while one got drinks.
The vampires were forced into the corners, and all of them fiddled with napkins while Giles studied them. He correctly identified their leader, and addressed her. "I am disinclined to make deals with demons."
"Goes both ways," she said curtly.
"What exactly do you want from us?" Giles asked.
"Someone is capturing vampires, importing them and causing fledges to be made so they can be sent against the Slayers."
"Why is this our concern?"
"They bring in dozens each week. One night, this numerical advantage will be your undoing."
"Why do you care?" Faith asked impatiently. "Without us, this town is yours."
"Without humans, we have nothing."
Giles brought the conversation back on track. "You told them that men are doing this."
"Yes. English, like you."
"Damn it, Giles," Buffy swore. "I told you the Council being here is trouble."
He ignored her. "How many?"
"Half a dozen. Maybe more."
"Where?"
"All around. There are at least two in Sunnydale all the time."
"Where are they keeping the vampires?"
"In the sewers. By force and by magic." She shuddered. "I got away, as did a few other older ones. The others have no chance." She paused. "They are gathering now, many, many more than before. They have magic users to break your spells."
Giles removed his glasses and began polishing them while he thought. "Where in the sewers? And where do you stay?"
"We sleep somewhere different every day."
"Where in the sewers?" Giles repeated.
"Where the Master stayed. The young ones are drawn there."
"I bet," Buffy muttered.
"We have twenty others who will fight with you to make them leave," the vampire offered finally.
"And then turn on us," Faith answered.
"No," the demon answered evenly. "A truce until this is finished. As I said before, if I lose to you in a fair fight, so be it."
Everyone looked at Giles. He looked at the tabletop, the cloth moving from one lens to the other as he considered everything. "A truce," he agreed finally, and began laying out the terms. "No one other than you three may contact us. Any information you get about those responsible, you bring to us immediately. If you are able to overpower one of them and bring him to me, it will be a huge help. Buffy and Faith will not engage you unless you attack. You will stay away from them except to exchange information. Agreed?"
"Agreed," everyone said in unison, but no one offered to shake hands.
"Tomorrow night," she warned, and the demons got up and left.
Buffy jumped Giles immediately. "If the Council is behind this, they're gonna get worse than pushed around a little."
"It could be someone else," Giles said unconvincingly.
"Oh, yeah, right, there are other limeys here who mess with vampires," Faith answered sarcastically.
"I'll make some calls," Giles answered slowly. "We'll meet tomorrow afternoon at your house. Load up on weapons and get Tara to reinforce the spells. Call Xander and get him there or make certain he understands to stay indoors. I suggest you both go home and get some sleep."
"All right," Buffy said. She stood up and picked up her drink. "We'll see you tomorrow."
"Later," Faith echoed, and they left.
A few moments later, Giles followed.
Between 5:30 and 6 pm, the Scoobies assembled at 1630 Revello Drive. Giles was the first to arrive. Willow opened the door, and he handed her a stack of books. She took them to the living room while he returned to the car. This time, he balanced two bottles of wine, a bunch of cut flowers, and a huge salad bowl.
Willow took the salad and led Giles to the kitchen, where Buffy washed dishes as fast as her mother dirtied them. Willow made room in the refrigerator for the salad, and Buffy got a brief reprieve from the sink to find a vase for the flowers.
Giles was summarily shooed from the kitchen, and Willow followed him back to the living room. "Tara and Faith should be back soon," she said, and maneuvered herself into the most comfortable chair.
"Good."
"What's going on? Buffy's acting weird."
"We'll discuss it when everyone is here. How are you feeling?"
"Tired, mostly. And really uncomfortable. Thank the goddess for air conditioning."
"Buffy said you have a name for the baby."
"Dawn Marie," Willow said with a smile.
"Lovely," Giles said, smiling.
The doorbell rang, and the door opened before either could rise to get it. Xander and Anya entered. Xander had two grocery bags in one hand, and after he greeted Willow and Giles, he took them to the kitchen. Anya took a seat on the couch and groaned when she saw the pile of books. "Research or prophecy?" she demanded.
"We will discuss it after dinner."
"Prophecy," Anya decided. "Decent of you to let the condemned have a last meal."
"Anya, no one is condemned," Giles said evenly.
Anya ignored him and turned to Willow. "Five bucks says it has to do with the kid."
"Anya, that's quite enough," Giles barked.
"Fine," Anya huffed, and rose. She went to the kitchen.
A few minutes later, Faith and Tara came in. Faith looked uncomfortably from Giles to Willow while Tara reported what they had done to fortify the spells. Giles and Tara talked for a few moments while Faith shifted from foot to foot. When they finished, Tara pulled Faith from the room.
Willow frowned at their backs, wondering why Faith was so antsy. The baby shifted, her movement drawing Willow's attention. Willow sighed, then pushed herself up. "Excuse me," she said to Giles, and walked toward the bathroom.
There was a knock on the door as they finished dinner. Faith jumped up to answer it, and led Liz to the dining room. Buffy jumped up. "Crap. I totally forgot it's Thursday."
"We can do this tomorrow," Liz suggested.
"No, you're here, we're here." Buffy helped Willow up, and the three of them went into the living room.
Buffy was conscious of the quiet from the dining room, and tried to ignore it as they went through the ritual measuring and checking in. She paid attention to Willow while the redhead complained just a little about her constant backache.
The visit was brief, and Buffy went, as always, to make sure Liz got to her car. When she opened the door, she saw three vampires on the sidewalk across the street, and pulled Liz back inside. "Sorry," Buffy said as she closed the door.
Buffy pushed Liz back into the living room. "Have a seat," she told the confused midwife, and called Tara.
Tara rushed in, Faith and Giles on her heels. "There are three of them across the street," Buffy said, careful not to name the creatures.
Tara frowned. "They shouldn't be able to get that close."
"Well, they are." Buffy snapped, and apologized. "Sorry, don't mean to bark."
"Buffy, what's going on?" Liz asked.
"Vampires," Buffy sighed. "Lots of vampires. You're going to be here a while, so you may as well get comfortable."
Liz looked at Tara. "Is there anything I can do to help?"
"I d-don't know," Tara answered. After a few seconds, she asked, "Have you eaten?"
"Not yet."
"Come get some dinner, then. We're going to be very busy soon."
Everyone went back to the dining room, where Joyce, Anya, and Xander were still seated. Xander jumped up and went to get another chair. Faith went into the kitchen and came out with a plate, glass, utensils and napkin, which she squeezed in beside Tara's place.
After introductions, they finished dinner in silence, and Faith, Tara, and Anya cleared the table. Anya, surprisingly, didn't make a big deal of helping, and the job went smoothly.
Once the table was clear, Giles asked Xander to help him. They went to the living room and returned with the books.