Finding Her Way Home
by rebelrsr
Chapter 26
[reviews]
Disclaimer: All things Buffy belong to Joss Whedon, Mutant Enemy, and lots of people in expensive suits. I'm not making any money here, just trying to create a happier Buffyverse for my favorite characters.
Spoilers, etc.: Pretty much everything after the Gift.
A/N: Character thoughts are enclosed by **. Flashbacks are enclosed by //. Thanks to Ivy, Malea, Zenithar, and Zigpal for the beta and encouragement! I couldn't do it without you.
Archiving: By permission only.
A/N2: I'm mixing parts of S6 and S7 with very little regard to canon. For purposes of the fic, Dawn is over the age of consent *wink*.
Willow didn't immediately answer. Instead, she bought some time, covering her face with her hands.
"Red?" Faith tried again. "I know you're tired and all, but you gotta help me out here." Her voice was rough with strain. "We've got history, you and me, but I'm all about trying to make up for the past. Let me help."
"Thanks." Willow dropped her hands, leaning her forearms on the cluttered table. "I just don't know where to start. This isn't my role, you know?" Freckles stood out against her pale face. "I'm Research Girl. Buffy's always been the one making the decisions."
"Yeah, but B's not up to that," Faith pointed out almost gently. "Hell, you don't look as bouncy as I remember. You need to curl up with your girl and get some sleep." Pushing a little harder, she tried again. "Before I change my mind and remember that I don't do charity, what do you need me to do?"
Giving in, Willow smiled tiredly. "Everything."
It was a start. "You wanna add a few details there, Red?" Faith leaned back, watching the redhead intently. She rolled her neck, tying to loosen the muscles.
"Sorry." Most of Willow's attention was focused on the bed and the Slayer behind her. It was hard to explain the situation to Faith. All she wanted to do was work on clearing their link, get Buffy back to normal. Still, that wasn't going to happen overnight. She had to be realistic. "Buffy's out of the game for now." The admission burned her throat, and Willow wiped at a tear. "That's a problem. We've got a house full of Scoobies, a big evil already in town, and a horde of teenagers soon to arrive." Willow forced herself to look away from Buffy. "I need you to fill in."
Eyes wide, Faith shook her head slowly. "Fill in...like be in charge?" She stood up abruptly. "No way, Willow. The Scoobies would never go for that, and I don't blame them."
"Just a minute ago, you offered to help." Willow's voice rose. "Was that a joke? Or did you just mean you'd hang around and kill things? You said it yourself. Buffy's not up to making decisions. Who did you think was going to replace her as the leader, Faith? Giles? He's a great Watcher, but he's useless in the field." Willow brought her voice down with effort. "Xander? Anya?" She rattled off names without pause, knowing Faith would eventually get her point.
"What about your parents?" Faith wrapped her arms around her waist, pacing. "They seem to know what's going on. I could, ya know, give technical advice or something, when they needed it." She was almost pleading by the end.
Willow considered that. "It's got merit." She hesitated, biting her lip, before groaning. "This so sucks."
"Like that's new." Faith dropped back down into the chair, legs bouncing up and down. "So, we're good on the parents thing, right?" she asked hopefully.
"Wrong." The red head dropped tiredly to the arms on the table. "Faith, lots of things have changed in the last week, and I don't have time to tell you all of it. You have to do this."
Half afraid Willow might fry her, Faith slid a hand across the table, covering the slender fingers with her own. "Try the Reader's Digest version, Red." Clearing her throat nervously, Faith continued, "If you and B aren't around to answer questions, I need at least the basics to get the gang through this alive."
"Wow." Willow dragged her head off the table and smiled wryly. "I didn't think you'd put on the General's helmet so fast." She squeezed Faith's hand when the Slayer started to pull away. "Don't. I'm not mad; you're right. I can't ask you do go out there and be all with the rousing speeches and strategy sessions if you don't know the facts." Fiddling with a fork resting on the table, she worked to figure out where to start. "I don't..."
Pushing aside her unease at the conversation, Faith tried to help. "Red, just start. If you forget something or whatever, at least I'll have more info than I've got now."
Nodding determinedly, Willow forged ahead. "Right. Just the highlights. I'm part of a prophecy, and the First is back because I cast the resurrection spell for Buffy." Her voice quavered at the end, tears threatening. "When I pulled Buffy out of He-Heaven, I opened a door, and the First hid out in my head for awhile, pretty much recharging from my magical reservoirs."
"It's gone, now, right?" Faith asked, eyes narrowed and focused on Willow. "No way am I telling B that we had to stake her new girlfriend while she was napping."
"No. The First is all gone. The fireball threat was all me." She met the intent stare. "Unfortunately, we have less than nothing on the prophecy. The Council was destroyed before Giles-" her voice thinned with stress, mentioning the older man. Clearing her throat, Willow tried again. "The Council was destroyed before Giles could track down anything else."
The stuff about the prophecy wasn't exactly riveting. Faith was more interested in Willow's sudden loss of focus over Giles. Shooting for casual, she looked over Willow's shoulder at a sleeping Buffy. "What's up with the G-man, anyway? Ain't never seen him so rumpled and shit, and he disappeared after your big talk."
"Giles had some bad news for me and Buffy." Willow's voice was flat, discouraging questions.
The witch forgot, however, that Faith rarely responded to anything less than an outright threat. "What news?"
Squeezing her eyes shut, Willow fought to hold back the tears and the anger. Faith needed to know, and the younger girl was trying to do as Willow had asked. It wasn't her fault the information was personally painful. "I'm going to say this only one time. All at once." Her voice shook, and she sucked in a deep breath. "Don't interrupt. Just listen."
Sitting tensely in her chair, Faith responded to Willow's stress. "Gotcha. I'm all ears, Red. Just take it easy, alright?" Not sure how to help, she clumsily tried to give the other girl a new focus. "You freaking out ain't gonna help B."
"One day soon," Willow commented with a small smile, "we're going to talk about the kinder, gentler Faith." As quickly as it had appeared, the smile left, and Willow's lips pressed tightly together before she began a rapid-fire delivery of information. "The Council has been lying to all of us from the beginning. There are Slayers and Potential Slayers all over the place. Kirsten, the brunette in the house, is a retired Slayer. Jennifer is a witch. They're bonded. Married, because that's what Slayers and Witches do. Buffy and I are married."
Faith sucked in a breath, but bit back her response when Willow held up a hand.
"More about that another time. Like, after the First is history. My parents will be good resources, and can help with training the Potentials when they arrive. Don't expect much help with the big stuff, though. I haven't been here long, but I get the impression they never faced anything even close to what's been through Sunnydale." Finally running down, Willow rubbed her hands over her face. That hadn't been so bad. A few more times, and it wouldn't hurt at all. "Questions?"
A snort of laughter answered her query. "Fuck, yeah. Dozens." Standing and wandering over to stand at the foot of the bed, Faith stared at Buffy for a minute. When she turned back to Willow, her face was set, determined. "G-man knows all the stuff about the prophecy and the Council?"
Not sure where the questions were leading, Willow nodded slowly. "Yes."
"What about you and B? Who's in the know on that? Do you want me to tell the Scoobies?" Faith shoved her hands in her pockets, rocking on her heels.
"My parents know about the bond." Willow frowned. "And Giles," the named ground out. She was still angry at the Watcher. "The Scoobies don't need to know. Not yet. When Buffy's on her feet, we'll tell them."
"They may already be wondering, Red." Faith smirked. "Your little show with Junior was pretty eye-opening."
Chuckling, Willow stood and walked to the bed. "She's lucky it was just a show. Buffy was ready to tear her arms off." Crossing her arms, she lightly touched their link. Her wife's pain still blocked access. "Is there anything else, Faith?" she asked with an edge of impatience.
Faith had angled slightly, watching Willow study Buffy. "If something comes up, I'll ask the old people for advice." She needed to go. Fear held her back. Could she really do this? Hunching her shoulders, Faith took a step toward the door. "Take good care of her Red. B deserves some time off."
***
The walk back to the house hadn't helped with the fear. Faith stood in the hallway leading to the research room, wiping sweating palms on her jeans and fighting off nausea.
"Faith?"
She jerked around in surprise. "Damn it, D! Don't sneak up on me like that." The words came out harsh and angry. Panting from the adrenaline rush, Faith ran a hand through her hair, trying to calm down. She noticed how pale the teen looked and the tears hovering in her eyes. "Shit. I'm sorry." Not thinking, wanting to help, Faith pulled the taller girl into her arms. "You caught me off guard. That's never a good thing."
A sniffle sounded, and then Dawn said tremulously, "I d-didn't mean to do that. You just looked weird, standing there all stiff and stuff." Another sniff. "Is Buffy OK? Jennifer didn't tell us anything when she came back."
"She's asleep, D. Red's gonna stay with her until she wakes up." Faith pulled away, hands gently stroking Dawn's arms. "I just needed a minute, ya know?"
Dawn giggled at that, poking Faith in the side. "Really? I thought you were always bragging about your wicked skills and stamina."
Grabbing the poking finger and growling playfully, Faith smirked. "Yeah. Used to do that a lot. Couple a years in prison, though, kinda gives you a new way of looking at things." She grinned, dimples showing. "Feeling better now. Let's go on in. I've got some news for the gang."
"Cool. Good news?" Dawn skipped along beside her.
"Maybe." A little of Faith's nervousness returned, and she drew in a deep breath. "It all depends on the Scoobies."
Dawn tapped her on the back of the head. "Just do what Buffy does when she's having one of her freak outs."
"I don't think I can raid the mall right now, D," Faith commented dryly, rubbing the back of her head dramatically.
"Faith!" Dawn stamped her foot. "I'm serious. Buffy is so not good at pep talks, but she's the one everybody expects to do them. When she knows it's up to her to get everybody focused, she gets all," she frowned, "I don't know, cool and closed off. She doesn't listen to what anyone has to say or act like she's afraid. She just goes in and says 'this is what we're going to do,' and we all nod and do it."
Chuckling, Faith relaxed. It was nice to know Buffy wasn't always as confident as she appeared. "Alright, D. Time for me to address the troops." They moved down the hall, and, just before the crossed the threshold, Faith whispered, "Thanks, Dawnie."
A beaming smile answered her.
"Hey, guys," Faith called out to the bodies littering the room. "Got some stuff to pass on."