Finding Her Way Home
by rebelrsr
Chapter 42
[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 and Lilly 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 sure got that Slayer stomach from B," Faith teased. She took Dawn's hand and pulled her off the path leading to the kitchen. "Come on, Old Timer. We need to greet the new arrivals before one of the Potentials or your girl tries to stake the Big Guy."
She grinned when Kirstan shot her a dark look. "The only good vampire is a dusted one."
"Told B that the first time I met her." Her senses sang again as Faith continued through the grass. "Don't think you want to make the same mistake. She may not be all moony over him like before, but Fang's got a big place in her heart. You push too hard, you may get another lesson in why B's the number one Slayer."
Dawn's breath tickled Faith's neck as she joined the conversation. "You don't think there'll be a problem? With the new Willow thing?"
Faith stopped abruptly. "Fuck. I didn't think of that." She flicked a glance at Kirstan. "Why don't you go inside and make sure nobody has a twitchy trigger finger? Me and D'll make sure the AI guys know the score."
Kirstan nodded slowly. "Should I...plan for anything else?"
"Like Red turning Angel into the only vamp frog?" Faith shook her head. "Nah. I'm pretty sure he'll be cool." A sudden knot in her stomach indicated the lie in that statement. Angel had been struggling recently. She remembered the nightmarish trip through his memories just a few days ago. Would Buffy and Willow — together — drive him back to that edge?
"Right." The mocking edge to Kirstan's voice indicated she wasn't convinced of Faith's belief. "I'll get Jenny," she met Faith's eyes, "and we'll be back in a few minutes. Talk fast, little girl. We don't need another major power expenditure right now. Melted rocks and landscape aside, Willow's powers should be focused on the First — not Buffy's ex-boyfriend."
Nodding tightly, Faith acknowledged the warning. "Let's pick up the pace, D. Cordy's gonna be whining about the drive and the new apocalypse. We have to get her to shut up long enough to deliver the news."
She maintained her grip on Dawn's hand as they sprinted the length of the large house and into the circular driveway. Three black panel vans lined the gravel.
"Did they bring an army?" Dawn whispered. "I thought it was just Cordy, Wes, and Angel."
Before Faith could answer, the passenger door to the nearest van popped open. "I'm not hauling all the supplies in myself, ladies. Grab a box or a crate. Just because I'm Angel's glorified secretary doesn't make me part of the moving crew." Cordelia slid out of the van and stretched. "And, just so we're clear, the next big emergency better be in LA. I swore I'd never come back to Sunnydale and this is way too close."
Faith laughed. "I was just telling D you'd be all happy and shit from the trip." Then she sobered, peering at the other vans. "Where's Fang? I got some news he needs to hear before the rest of the family shows up." Probably with stakes and spell books in hand.
She got a long look in response. "He's up front in the lead van. You know men. They have to feel like they're in charge." Cordelia spun on one sandaled heel and marched toward the first parked van.
"You want me to do this?" Dawn asked softly as they followed. "I mean, the last time Angel saw me, I was just a kid."
Faith had to bite her lip to keep from snorting at that. Dawn was still a kid.
"I'm sure he won't go all Evil Vampire on the cute little sister of his ex-girlfriend." Dawn's hand tightened around Faith's. "Right?"
Sighing, Faith shrugged. "I don't know, D. None of us put this in the equation when we called for help. Let me handle it, though," she warned, glaring up into Dawn's eyes. "Me and Fang — we got a connection."
Dawn's blue eyes narrowed.
"Fuck. Not like that, D. Me and Fang speak the same language, that's all." She brushed her lips over Dawn's almost pouting ones.
"Faith," Angel's quiet voice interrupted their kiss. "Is this the news you needed to share?"
Looking quickly up, Faith caught a hint of a smile on Angel's pale lips. He sat crouched in the back of his van, well away from the last few rays of evening sunlight. Faith wrapped her arm around Dawn and shook her head. "Wish it was, Big Guy. Me and Dawn are way down on the list."
"Buffy?" Angel probed, eyes suddenly intent. "I thought Willow wasn't telling us everything when she called."
Mentally cursing his intuition, Faith rocked on her heels and tried to come up with a good way to break the news.
She forgot about Dawn.
"Buffy's fine, Angel. Really." Slipping out of Faith's grasp, Dawn leaned against the heavy vehicle.
Faith grabbed at her. "D, what the fuck are you doing?" She tried not to sound panicked and kept a close eye on Angel and his forehead.
"I'm helping, Faith." Dawn didn't sound at all concerned.
Eyes intent and bouncing between them, Angel pressed for more. "Guys, will one of you just tell me what's going on?"
"Sure, Angel." Faith's use of his name alerted Angel to the seriousness of the conversation, and Faith flinched when he looked at her. "You..ahh...you just need to know there's been some changes in the Scooby groupings." Faith meant to just cut to the chase. The longer Angel looked at her, however, the harder it got to simply blurt it out.
Dimly, the sound of car doors opening and closing and footsteps moving in their direction filtered into her consciousness.
Faith ignored them and focused on telling Angel what he needed to know. "B's got a new love interest."
"Who?" Angel demanded brusquely. "Not that Riley character again."
"No," Faith rushed to explain. "Even B ain't that stupid."
***
Giles was the first to move. "Shall we carry the books to one of the tables, Buffy, or would you prefer to work here?"
"I'd prefer to leave you and the books here and go find Faith," Buffy muttered, climbing to her feet. She unbent enough to smile at his raised eyebrow. "Yeah, yeah. Like that's going to happen." Peering at the stacks of books made the decision easy. "We stay. Will and Anya go."
She held out her hand to help Willow off the couch.
Willow allowed the light tug and then retained a tight grip on her fingers once she was erect. "I'm going to recruit Mama and Tara for this. I know Faith has them working on the perimeter, but the perimeter is pointless if the First opens the Seal."
"Sounds good, Will." Buffy brushed her lips over Willow's cheek. Just that slight contact sent a warm current through the bond. They were going to be fine. Busy, scared, tired...and fine. "Let's pull in all the new kids, too. Kennedy can play messenger between the research groups. I don't want to find the same information more than once. Spread the rest of the Potentials and their Watchers out. Spike, the Scythe, anything on the First. All outside work and training is done until we have a game plan."
"Got it, sweetie." Willow gave a bright smile and hurried out of the room.
Buffy watched her go, only their link helping with the sudden feeling of loss. She pushed that back. It was time to get to work. "Where do we start, Drew?" Turning to the carbon copy of her wife, she got down to business.
"Here." Waving a hand at the books strewn on the couch and the floor, Drew met Buffy's eyes. "I can't remember which one."
That wasn't good. There were a lot of books, and they were running out of time. Grinding her teeth, Buffy held back a grumpy comment. Drew's eyes were heavily shadowed and dark bruises marred the skin under them. "It wouldn't be crunch time without a lot of bookwork. I'll take..." she grabbed the first book on the nearest pile and read the title, "Ancient Rituals of the Demon World." She dropped back to the floor.
Fanning the pages and examining the information with an experienced eye, Buffy quickly decided the book was useless. She set it aside and noted Giles was already working on his second tome. Drew was much slower. Buffy remembered those days — and the intent, worried look on the familiar face.
"You doing OK, Drew?" she inquired. Not wanting to spook Willow's sister, Buffy kept her eyes on the new book in her hands. More pages flipped by. More useless information was revealed.
"I'm good." Drew's words weren't reassuring. "I just...you know...Kinda freaky about the First and all the bad guys, and I...uh...well..."
God, the babble was genetic. Biting her lip and trying hard not to laugh, Buffy commented, "If you weren't...OK, I mean, we'd understand."
She saw Drew straighten from her slouch on the sofa. "We don't have time for me to be anything except fine, Buffy." Her voice, so eerily similar to Willow's, grew shrill. "There are things attacking the house and some vampire who you seem to know and care about is ready to open a gate into Hell."
Reaching out, Buffy put her hand on Drew's knee. She could feel the other girl trembling. "Drew, there are always things attacking. This house or someone else's; it doesn't matter. They are still there." She met the wide and wild green eyes above her. Those eyes...she remembered them. They'd often peered at her from across the research table in the old Sunnydale High School. They were Willow's eyes. "It's what we do. You're a Potential Slayer and a witch. This is your destiny, too. Watch and learn." Buffy hated having to be so cruel. Hated to do to Drew what Giles and the Council had done to her. They'd have to make the time for a gentler approach. Voice softer, she continued, "And when things get too much, you find one of the Scoobies and you vent."
Tears glimmered on Drew's face. "OK."
Still watching Drew, Buffy slowly exchanged books again.
A cold, cramping chill twisted her stomach.
Drew's head came up, and Buffy saw the awareness in her eyes as well.
"Giles, find Kirstan and Jenny. Angel's here." Buffy tossed the book aside and stood in one fluid move. "Hurry. I don't want him to get dusted when one of the new kids tries to get her first kill." She started for the door and saw Kirstan enter the room. "Never mind, Giles. Looks like Kirstan's on top of this."
Kirstan heard her. "Actually, Faith has us all beat. She's outside with Angel now." Buffy didn't like the intent look she received from the older Slayer. "She seems to think there might be trouble."
"Then let's get out there and keep it from happening." Buffy didn't bother looking for a weapon. She charged past Kirstan and out the door. When she exploded from the house, the large porch was already filled with people. Shoving her way through the gaping crowd, Buffy ended her journey next to Willow.
She peered over Willow's shoulder, automatically taking her hand. Thanks to her enhanced hearing, she picked up the soft conversation between Faith and Angel. What the hell was Faith doing, talking about the new Scooby pairs? Buffy took a step forward as Riley's name popped up in the exchange.
"No," Buffy heard Faith exclaim in response to Angel's question. "Even B ain't that stupid."
Still striding toward the van, Willow trailing behind, Buffy snapped, "Gee, Faith. Thanks for that."