Finding Her Way Home
by rebelrsr
Chapter 31
[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 for the preread 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*.
"You've never heard of the Turok Han?" Anya was shocked. "I just...that's...Giles?" she asked in confusion.
He shook his head tiredly, and Faith realized for the first time how very old he looked. "No, my dear. I'm afraid not. Perhaps you could enlighten us?"
Nodding slowly, Anya peered around the room at her audience. "The Turok Han are old." For once, she wasn't bubbly at the attention. She hesitated. "They are the original vampires, actually. The ones today were mixed with human genes centuries ago."
"Same method of Slaying?" Faith asked. Anya was making her nervous. Xander's girlfriend didn't usually look so freaked. Twisting the cap on the marker in her hands, she watched the ex-demon closely.
"Not exactly." Anya didn't offer anything else, and Faith jumped off the table, too full of energy to sit any longer. However, Anya must have thought she was about to go Evil Faith. The blonde's eyes widened, and she started speaking quickly. "You can still stake them, and sunlight is always a plus."
Xander pulled his girlfriend close. "I'm sensing a but in there somewhere, An."
Nodding her agreement, Faith leaned back against the table, clutching it with her hands. "Me, too, Demon Girl. We ain't got time for sugar coating. Lay it all out for us."
She felt her heart pound as Anya looked at her and announced, "Two things, really. One, they're strong. Comparing, say, Angel to a Turok Han is like comparing my Xander to you, Faith."
"Hey, I do OK," Xander protested. "Vampires run screaming when I'm on the job."
Smiling and patting his hand, Anya agreed. "Yes, they do. As long as Buffy is standing right behind you."
Although the byplay had the rest of the room smiling, Faith's throat ached. It was hard to force her question out. "And the second thing?" This whole First thing just kept getting worse.
"I...I guess there are three things, really," Anya babbled. "Um, don't bother with the holy water." Recovering her usual perky personality, she grinned. "Holy water seems to run off these guys like they've been scotch-guarded." No one laughed, and she slumped. "OK, fine. Be that way. I was just trying to lighten the mood."
The pouting lasted until Giles cleared his throat. Sounding put upon, Anya continued, "They also have really strong sternums."
"And that means?" Faith growled. No one else said anything. All eyes locked onto the two women.
"Eat your Wheaties before you stake them." Anya smirked. "Stakes need a little something extra behind them to go through a Turok Han's chest."
Faith rubbed her neck. "So we need a better way to kill them. If it takes too much effort to dust them, we can't have the kids or the rest of you that up close and personal." Without really thinking about it, she mumbled, "Fuck. It was easier playing on the other side. We never worried about this shit."
She froze at the silence enveloping the room.
"There's always beheading," Kirstan commented, finally breaking the vocal lockdown. "Messy and it still means getting awfully close to the target, but even a 'normal' human can swing a sword or axe."
Still reeling from all the details and considerations, Faith spun away from the group, pretending to look at the notes scribbled on the white board behind her. Her stomach burned and twisted. There were too many things that needed to be the number one priority. They had too few people to get all the tasks done at once.
While she struggled to make some kind of plan, the Willow-clone next to Tara asked Anya, "If Mr. Giles doesn't know about these vampires, how do you?"
Faith heard the old Scooby gang laugh. "Have you ever heard of a demon named Anyanka?"
"Oddly enough, yes." More silence. Faith waited for the rest of the answer as a plan started to come together in her mind. "Willow said she brought some vampire version of her to Sunnydale once," the clone continued.
"Oh, that." Anya sounded dismissive. "That really didn't work out very well. That vampire was supposed to help me find my amulet, not turn into some fanged version..."
Faith slowly turned around. Her head pounded in time with her racing heart. How the hell did B do this all the time? She watched the gang, trying to feel out their morale, enjoying the byplay that was so much a part of Scooby life.
Head bowed and eyes closed in seeming pain, Xander muttered, "An, not now. Just please answer their questions, OK?"
"I did." Faith smirked as Anya stared at Xander in confusion. "They wanted to know how I knew about the Turok Han. I was in the process of explaining that when you interrupted me." She crossed her arms, glaring around the room. "Twelve hundred years. After all that time, I should understand you humans better. What more should I have said, Xander?"
"Twelve hundred years?" Willow's sister squeaked, eyes wide. "She's joking — right?" she pleaded with Xander.
He grinned and shook his head. "Nope." Pushing his chest out and thumping it with a fist, he declared, "I am a demon magnet. Incan mummies, vampire hotties — I've attracted them all." He grunted when Anya smack his arm.
"I told you, you're mine now. You shouldn't talk about your former girlfriends anymore," Anya informed him.
This was getting out of hand. It was time to get everyone back on track. Faith pushed away from the table. "Thanks for the info, Anya."
The blonde barely glanced at her, still busy glaring at Xander. Faith went on, "I guess we kinda forget you have a lot of info on the demon world." She was feeling her way. "You, uh, you mentioned the First needed to call these Uber Vamp guys. Does that mean we might have a chance of keeping them out of the fight?"
Anya nodded, finally backing off the glare. "Yes."
Sagging in relief, Faith rubbed the back of her neck. "Alright, gang. I know we keep changing things up. Let's add one more item to the to do list: keeping the First from calling up the Turok Han."
"I believe I can help with that," Giles offered. "Anya mentioned a ritual. Perhaps she and I could research that and the possible locations of the Seal."
"Good enough." Faith grinned, energized by the ex-Watcher's return to full duty. "Here's the new assignment list. T, you and Red's mom do the beacon thing. Kirstan, you work with the kids and start getting them ready for the fight." No one moved. This was old news. "Giles, you and Anya work on stopping this ritual. Xan — we're going to wait on the bunk beds. I need some kind of plan for the perimeter watch, and..." Faith hesitated, unable to remember Willow's sister's name.
A familiar quirky grin flashed. "Drew."
"Right. Drew. You're now in charge of the Hospitality Suite. Nothing fancy. Blankets and sleeping bags on the floor. It's going to be one big indoor camping trip for whoever shows up." This was it. Show time. Faith swallowed hard, hoping she hadn't forgotten anything. Watching the gang break up and start on their tasks, she went over her plan again, poking at it, looking for holes.
A quiet voice interrupted her mental scrambling. "Should we leave Buffy and Willow out in the guest house?"
Dawn. Damn. Faith's hands clenched, and she sucked in a deep breath before turning to face the younger girl. "They said they needed a break." She couldn't quite meet Dawn's piercing blue eyes. Heart pounding, Faith struggled with an unusual hesitancy. Feeling awkward and almost shy, she mumbled, "It's going to be crowded and busy in here. Don't think that's what the girls had in mind when they decided on a mini-vacation."
She jerked when a warm hand caught her arm. "Faith, what if the First sends more of those 'Bringers? Buffy and Willow don't even know about them. They need to come in with the rest of us," Dawn elaborated. Her voice was impatient, and Faith flushed. She hadn't thought of that.
"Oh." What else had she overlooked? Faith wrapped her arms around herself. "Good point." Clearing her throat, she looked at Dawn. Those deep blue eyes left warmth wherever they touched. Muscles she hadn't even realized were tense relaxed. "I guess I need to go give them the news, then."
Dawn shook her head. "No. We'll go talk to them. I think you and I have some things to discuss after the big meeting, and I don't want you to disappear."
***
Groaning, Buffy tossed her head from side to side. "Will," she gasped, "please-"
"Please what, baby?" A triumphant smile on her lips, Willow leaned forward and blew a gentle breath over Buffy's exposed clit. The smile mutated into a smirk at the hoarse shout the action garnered.
She waited. Buffy remained quiet — if you discounted the desperate sounding panting. Narrowing her eyes in concentration, Willow decided it was time to get serious. Obviously, she wasn't working hard enough. Using just the tip of her tongue, she traced a teasing trail from the blonde's clit through her wet folds. When she reached her target, Willow firmed up her tongue and thrust it as deeply as she could into her lover.
Strong hands gripped her hair as she lashed both sides of Buffy's clenching inner walls. The body beneath her stiffened and stilled for a second then shuddered before finally collapsing back to the bed.
"Oh my God," Willow heard as she crawled up the bed. "Will, where...how...oh my God."
"You said that already, Buffy." Laughing gently, Willow pulled Buffy into her arms, kissing her softly. "So, it was OK for you?"
Hazy hazel eyes stared at her. "Yeah. OK." The eyes rolled and then closed. "If it got anymore OK'er, I'd been a puddle of Slayer goo."
Giggling, Willow rested her cheek on Buffy's hair. "Hmmm, good. Although, next time I'm pushing for the goo." She drifted for a while, basking in the feel of Buffy in her arms.
A low rumble interrupted her fugue state.
"Hungry, Buffy?" She peered down, noting the slight blush on Buffy's face.
"Maybe just a little," her wife mumbled seconds before a louder growl sounded. Buffy cleared her throat. "Or a lot."
Willow rolled off the bed. "Shower time for you, then. I'll see what's in the kitchen." She held out her hand. "Move it, Slayer. I don't want that beast in your stomach to get angry." Buffy's pout made her lips twitch, but Willow stayed firm. "Don't make me magic your ass into the bathroom, Buffy."
***
Hands covered in soapy water, Willow looked at Buffy. "You know, for a supposedly warded and private cabin, we get a lot of guests."
"Not your sister again?" Buffy grumped, rinsing off the last of their breakfast dishes.
"Worse." Willow frowned fiercely. "Faith and Dawn." She built a door in the warding, keeping it open only long enough for the pair to walk through before sealing them off again. "Next time, we're taking a vacation in another dimension." Unease knotted her stomach. Already, Buffy looked tense, lines bracketing her mouth and eyes.
Shrugging, Buffy dropped the dish towel on the counter. "Like you told me earlier — let's get through this latest Apocalypse. Then we explore our options."
Hand in hand, they trudged into the living room, dropping into chairs at the table. Seconds later, a sharp knock sounded at the door. "Here we go," Willow grimly announced.