Simple Choices
by rebelrsr
Chapter 11
[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: This is basically an S4 rewrite beginning with "The I in Team." It's now very heavily AU.
A/N: Thanks to the best beta crew: Zigpal and Zenithar. There would be no writing without you guys.
"I'll get Ry back to base. Then," Graham smiled grimly, "I'll start unraveling the mystery of the drugged food. You girls gonna be OK on your own?" He looked questioningly at Faith.
"We're good, thanks," Buffy answered. The blonde gave her brunette counterpart a warning glare. "Leave a message at the dorms about what you find out on the drugging. Riley was scary aggressive earlier. I'm sure Giles and Will can help track down any side effects or whatever if you need our help."
The young Marine nodded and then he and the other two propped an unconscious Riley against them and began dragging him back toward campus.
Buffy smiled without humor. "OK. One good deed out of the way. Let's get out of here before the Metal Monster shows up and kicks our ass."
They started the long trek back through town, Faith staggering along in obvious distress. "What's the sitch then, B? I mean, you seem to have interesting friends these days, and Red, here, ain't the shy hacker I remember. The girl-lovin' aside, she wouldn't have been able to even make that threat about tying me up, let alone mean it like she did in the Bronze."
Before Buffy had a chance to answer, Willow stepped in. "It's been a very educational year, Faith." Her voice was quiet, but no less firm.
"Do tell, Red," the brunette mocked.
Unwisely, perhaps, given Adam's hunt for the Scoobies, the young witch reached for power and turned cobalt eyes on the second Slayer. "Well, there's this, for starters." A grin appeared when Faith stumbled back a step, brown eyes wide and shocked. The redhead grounded the power and resumed talking, eyes a normal green. "There's a military group in town called the Initiative. They were experimenting on demons and decided it would be fun to build their own Demon Doll. He's on the rampage right now; we're holed up in the Council safe house trying to find a way to beat him."
Buffy watched her oldest friend carefully. Willow was riding high on confidence and magic at the moment. She'd never faced Faith with so much control before. "Yeah, what she said, Faith. Only, she left out the part where Adam — the demon thing — kicked my ass the last time we met."
"Well, ain't never met anything that could beat the two of us together, B," the brunette commented. "Once I'm back to fighting trim, we'll have to take care of the introductions and all." By this time, they'd wandered by the movie theatre for the third time that night. "Man, SunnyD sucks. I mean, I'm outta commission for eight months and the same lame movie's playing. What's up with that?"
"When your population keeps getting killed or disappears, why waste money on something new?" Buffy's gallows humor fell flat.
Giving the senior Slayer a sharp look, Faith mumbled. "Can't save 'em all, B."
No one had a response to that. They completed the trip, each locked into their own private thoughts. Creeping back into the house, Buffy noted the rest of the gang seemed to be in exactly the same places. "Any luck with the hacking?" she asked the group at large.
Tara looked up and smiled. "I'm afraid not. All the computer does is make noise and then weird shapes and letters fill the screen. After a while, the letters go away and new ones pop up."
Willow hurried passed the two Slayers and plopped down in front of the laptop. Peering intently at the information displayed, she frowned. "Damn." Most of her attention focused on the problem of hacking into the Initiative system, she tossed over her shoulder, "Buffy, I'm going to have to hunt up some new algorithms. So far, I haven't made it around the first wave of security. Whoever found my hook last night repaired the damage and beefed this up." She typed rapidly for a minute. "Do you think Graham and his friends might have something that could help?"
"Probably not." Buffy stared at the intent hacker. "Ry was a pretty big name down there and even he couldn't get us anything better than a list of demons in the cells. Think you're on your own this time."
Faith watched the byplay from a position partially hidden in shadows. To say she was uncomfortable being back with the Scoobies ranked as the grossest of understatements. She listened to the conversation without understanding it, eyes restlessly scanning the room. Giles slouched uncharacteristically in an armchair, watching the three teens crowded around the computer. He hadn't noticed her entrance yet.
Joyce, however, was very aware of her presence. Brown eyes met hazel and then skittered away. She stiffened, trying to hide the unease and unaccustomed shyness that sprang up every time she met the elder Summers. Swallowing hard, the brunette took a half step back, hoping to disappear even more. Her run of bad luck continued. Joyce made a quiet comment to her daughter's Watcher and wandered into the shadowed kitchen.
"Hello, Faith. I'm glad you're back on your feet." The older woman leaned against a scarred and stained counter.
Stuffing her hands in her pockets, Faith hunched her shoulders. "Thanks." It wasn't much, but it was the best she could do. After her actions with the Mayor, she certainly didn't expect a hug and chocolate chip cookies from Buffy's mom.
Amusement sparked the warm hazel eyes. "Sweetie, Rupert and I won't bite. Come in and sit down." Tilting her head slightly, Mrs. Summers frowned. "You look so thin. Xander and I grabbed some supplies while Buffy and Willow went...um, looking for you. Would you like something to eat?"
Faith would have refused, but her stomach made the decision for her. Growling emanated throughout the dark kitchen. With a defeated sigh, the younger Slayer muttered, "Yeah. Whatever ya' got's fine." She shied away when a hand dropped to her shoulder.
"I'll see what I can throw together. Sit down, Faith. It's going to be a long night, I'm sure." The older woman brushed passed the teen, flicking on the range light before rustling through boxes and bags lining the counters.
Biting her lip, Faith slunk into the living room and took a seat on the couch. "Hey, G-man. Been a while."
"Indeed," came the cool reply. "Buffy hasn't explained your presence here. Perhaps you could fill us in?"
Rubbing damp palms on her borrowed jeans, the junior Slayer shrugged. "Met the girls in the Bronze after B cold cocked her ex. Got to talking and she asked me to maybe stick around and help out with this Adam dude."
Buffy had been listening to the conversation. "Faith's a bit banged up, Giles. Can you take a look? I'm thinking it's just the coma and all, but...I don't trust the Council not to have 'helped' with her recovery."
Her Watcher's eyebrows rose sharply behind his glasses. "Good Lord. You don't think...?"
Shrugging, Buffy faced him. "I don't know. It's right up their alley. And, she was looking really bad earlier." Eyeing the younger girl, she allowed, "She's seems OK, now, but we need to be sure."
Faith bristled at the talk going on around her. "Hey, B. What the fuck? Earlier, I thought you wanted my help. Maybe even wanted to do some bonding and shit. Sounds more like you just want to keep an eye on me in case the Council goons got me on the payroll."
"No, Faith, sorry." The blonde sounded apologetic. "Just, things rarely go smoothly and all of a sudden I started worrying you might be drugged or something."
The two stared at each other tensely until a new voice broke the standoff. "If y-you don't mi-mind, I can take a look."
"Tara?" Buffy asked in confusion.
A crooked smile tilted the older witch's lips. "My mother taught me a little of the healing Craft." Blue eyes met Faith's shyly. "But I won't do anything if you aren't comfortable with it."
Not sure who the new Scooby was, the brunette hesitated. However, when it came down to it, having the young blonde poking at her instead of Giles made the choice easier. "Whatever, Blondie. Got to admit I ain't happy thinking the Council's fucking with my head."
"Faith! Language!" Mrs. Summers came in, carrying a plate piled high with sandwiches and chips.
Rolling her eyes, Faith grabbed the food with a mumbled thanks and dug in. Despite the hunger twisting her insides, she found her appetite on the small side. "Sorry, Mrs. S. It was good and everything, just can't seem to finish." She realized everyone was staring at her. "What? Did I drop something on my shirt?"
Tara giggled. "No, sweetie, but Willow's complained about Buffy's appetite before. I think we're all a little confused."
Putting the plate down on floor at her feet, Faith nodded. "Yeah, after so long on just liquids, I figured I'd be an eating machine." She bit her lip, hesitating. "You think the Council did something, don't you?"
The blonde didn't answer. After an uncomfortable silence, Giles spoke. "I would put nothing past Quentin, my dears." He rubbed a hand over the back of his head. "Although it has not been apparent in their dealing in Sunnydale, the Council itself has never been about covert operations."
"Can we maybe just find out before we go all revenge-y on them?" The brunette Slayer's husky voice was made even rougher by exhaustion. "I'm all for kicking some uptight ass, but I ain't feeling so good." She waved a hand toward the hallway leading to the first floor bedrooms. "You wanna take this someplace else and get started, Blondie?"
Tara blushed at the innuendo-laden tone. Faith's aura showed only the faintest hint of sexual interest, but the voice...Shaking her head and stuttering more than normal, she said, "I c-c-can take a lo-look ri-right here."
"Um, don't you need to look at the knife wound or something?" Faith wanted to know.
Blue eyes snapped wide open. "Oh! No, I'm not a doctor or anything." A fiery blush stained the witch's face. "I can check your aura and look for any foreign substance in your blood."
Four sets of eyes looked at her in confusion.
"Oh, you don't know about auras?" Tara bit her lip.
Finally leaving her hunched position behind the computer, Willow wandered over. "I'm pretty much all the magic we have, Tara. Not so good with the auras and healing stuff. I seem to specialize in the blowing up of things."
"We're working on it, remember?" The blonde witch smiled sweetly at the redhead, and Buffy discovered she really didn't like it. Teeth grinding together, the blonde Slayer glared at the other girl. Tara was still smiling when she turned to Faith, but stopped at the molten hazel glare. "Buffy?"
"Concentrate on Faith, Tara. Just Faith."
"OK. Sure." The blonde witch gave the older Slayer a wide berth as she moved closer to the couch. "Just relax, Faith. You don't have to do anything for this to work." She frowned, catching the younger girl's unease. "Reading auras is a little invasive, sweetie, but it won't hurt or anything. I can look at you — or anyone — and get a surface image of what they are feeling. Imagine being surrounded by a colored shield. The color tells me what you are feeling. There's no way to hide it or disguise it."
The brunette looked back at her, face expressionless. "Go for it, Blondie."
Tara nodded. "That's the surface only, Faith. In order to check for drugs or magical tampering, I need to look farther. Not just how you feel now, but emotions you've hidden from everyone — even yourself."
No one missed Faith's flinch at that information. "Well, it's get in touch with my softer side or let the Council dope me up. Can't say I like the options, but you're a hell of a lot better than the Good Squad." Leaning back on the couch and closing her eyes, the brunette invited, "Do what you need to do, Blondie."