Chapter Eleven

The night passed quickly. At first they talked about just how grateful the Scoobies were, how much they appreciated what Faith had done, and it was clear that Faith was embarrassed by the praise. What was also crystal clear was that having their respect made her happier than Buffy had ever seen her.

Despite the severity of the situation, Faith looked like a giant weight had been lifted from her shoulders and she could not stop smiling. It was like she was on vacation at the world's best amusement park, and she looked just like an excited and joyful child. Buffy thought she was absolutely beautiful.

After a while, the conversation made its way back around to the business at hand. They stayed on the move as they talked, hoping that somehow, something would trigger Buffy's memory. They kept at it all night, searching for that elusive piece of information that would turn the tide in their favor. As the sunrise began approaching, they had to concede their failure, at least for now.

"So B, whaddya think?"

"I think we can stop. It's less than thirty minutes until sunrise so..."

"...it's pretty unlikely they'll be out this far."

Faith eased her down and began setting up their camp.

"Just gimme a sec and I'll have this bitch goin'. This is it for the lighter fluid, so we gotta score some more."

She squirted every last drop onto the pile of wood she'd gathered, tossed a match, and watched as the fire roared to life. She turned to face Buffy with a cocky grin:

"Am I fucking Grizzly Adams or what?"

"Hmm...Well since I can't recall you having sex since you've been here, I'm going to have to say ‘no'."

"Very funny, but ya might wanna start dishing out a little of the ass kissin' here. Last I checked, I'm holding all the important shit."

"You mean..."

"That's right baby, here's the shampoo and looks like I got the extra water too."

"What kind of shampoo is it?"

"Herbal Essence. Only the best for you."

"I don't really care, just as long as I get some of it."

Faith laughed as she began pulling supplies from their backpack.

"Tell ya B, those commercials were hot shit in the joint. The dykes went practically nuts whenever..."

"Faith, I..."

"...they came on. I thought it was stupid, but now..."

"...need to talk to you about..."

"...I'm seeing the appeal. In fact, kinda hoping maybe you can..."

"...when I...when I got caught."

"...put on a little show. Nothing too nuts, just...What B?"

"...I said I need to..."

"I heard you."

Faith put the provisions down and walked over to Buffy.

"Look ya don't gotta, not if it's too hard."

"No, I need to. I feel like I have to get it out, okay?"

"Yeah sure, that's fine with me. Whenever you're ready."

Faith sat down facing her and waited.

"Okay...Um..."

Buffy stood up and began pacing, then abruptly sat back down. She was obviously too sore and tired to walk and talk, but it didn't take a genius to see that she wanted to move.

"Right, okay...Boy, it sure seemed a lot easier to talk about in my head."

"Yeah, always that way. Just relax and take your time."

"......I guess I should start from the beginning."

Faith remained silent, she could see this was going to be bad. Buffy looked shaky, almost raw somehow, and Faith braced herself for what she was about to hear.
"So we raised the barrier. The plan was for me to stay out of sight as much as possible. It was a waiting game, but I still felt like I had to slay when I could, you know?"

"Course ya did."

Buffy exhaled loudly and a tremor ran through her small frame. She wrapped her arms around herself tightly and huddled into a tiny ball.

"So that night wasn't any different. I'd been moving around, dusting vamps whenever I could...Finally I decided to find someplace safe to wait for the sunrise. I'd seen plenty of action and it didn't seem smart to keep pushing my luck. Then I just sort of stumbled onto four vampires. Somehow they didn't notice me, so I started backing away as quietly as I could. Then I saw what had their attention...they had two people."

She laughed then, a laugh so filled with bitterness and pain, Faith felt a chill roll its way down her spine.

"They weren't in great shape, the woman was already dead. As for the man...I knew I couldn't save him, but he was still...and they were going to..."

"It's okay B, no hurry."

She was silent for a few long minutes, her gaze staring off into the darkness as if she longed to disappear into it. Her voice was soft and low as she picked up the story.

"I knew I could take them and I couldn't just leave him there, not like that. I was worried there might be more of them nearby, but I was hoping to get in and out before anyone even knew I was there."

"Good plan, for sure."

"I jumped right in and staked two of them before they even knew what hit them. Two more came running up, but I had it under control. They weren't good fighters, and it wasn't long before there was only one left......That's when he called out to me."

"Slayer!"

"I turned around, and there he was. I knew I needed to get out of there, he always traveled with a lot of back-up. The most important thing was that I not get captured."

Buffy's eyes were closed and her slight tremor had turned into a constant shaking. She was breathing hard, and Faith wasn't sure if she could keep going.

"It was just him and the other vamp, but I knew I had to go. I picked up the man and turned to run...That's when...that's when I saw...I saw..."

"...Buffy?"

"He had...a little boy."

"Oh fuck."

"He was about seven or eight and he was crying for his mommy. There was blood...on his neck and his right arm was...it was..."

Buffy had gone completely white, her words fainter and fainter as she struggled to go on.

"I froze, it felt like my heart stopped beating. I decided to hell with the plan, I was going to kill that bastard right then and there...but just as I..."

"Now, now Slayer, none of that."

"He grabbed him by the neck and lifted him into the air. He started squeezing slowly...choking him. The boy was crying and then he saw his father...He kept asking...He wanted his dad to make the bad man stop hurting him."

"Christ."

"Spiran...Spiran was just laughing like it was the funniest thing ever...Then he offered me a deal."

"Slayer, if you surrender I'll let the boy go."

Tears were streaming down Buffy's face, but she didn't seem to notice them.

"Suddenly the man was conscious, and the next thing I knew he was standing up. I don't know how he did it, I mean he was literally dead on his feet...The boy yelled out, ‘Daddy!' and the man tried to go to him...I held him back and he collapsed in my arms. He pleaded with me to save his son...then he died."

Faith sat as still as she possibly could, afraid to move or make a sound.

"So there we all stood. Spiran began applying more pressure, and the little boy was turning purple. I told Spiran I'd surrender if he let him go...He eased up, but he didn't let go."

"And what makes you think I would trust you? You lay down your weapons and step forward, then I'll let him go."

"I knew if I moved forward my escape route would be gone, but what else could I do? I did what he told me to, except I stepped forward first, then put my weapons down. I put the handle of my axe on a little rock, and laid my stake across it. I was hoping I could flip them up into my hands when the time came."

"Okay, they're down. Now let him go."

"As you wish, Slayer."

"So he let him go, and the little boy ran over to me. I hugged him and told him it would be okay. By now there were about thirty vampires surrounding us. I knew they weren't going to let him go, and even if he somehow got away, I knew they'd just..."

"Shit."

"He asked me if his parents were okay, and I told him they were just sleeping...Spiran was laughing and talking about what he was going to do to him while he forced me to watch. The vampires were closing in...There were way too many for me to take..."

"B..."

"So I kissed him on the forehead and told him he was so brave. I told him his parents were really proud of him...I said he was going to be okay...and then...and then...I broke his neck."

"..."

"I fought them for a long time. They had to make sure they didn't kill me, so I had that going for me. I dusted about fifteen of them, but they just kept coming...Finally they took me down."

"..."

"So that's how I got captured."

"...Jesus B, there was nothing else you could have done."

"I know."

"At least he didn't suffer anymore."

"Yeah."

Buffy was completely shut down. Her face held all the expression of a brick wall.

"We're so gonna kill him, I promise you that B."

The sun was slowly peeking over the horizon.

"Okay, well I guess I'll go wash my hair now."

"B..."

"Unless you'd prefer to go first? It doesn't really matter to me, just as long as I get my turn."

Faith reached over to hug her.

"No, don't! Don't touch me!"

"Buffy..."

Buffy scooted back and tried to get to her feet, but Faith was too fast for her.

"I said ‘no'! I don't want to be touched! Get away from me!"

Faith pulled her in tight, her arms hanging on as Buffy struggled to break loose.

"Shhh, it's okay."

"Let go of me! Goddamn you, let me go!"

"It's okay B, just get it out."

"Let me go...I can't...Faith, I can't..."

And then Buffy was sobbing and Faith held on, murmuring words of comfort that really had no meaning.

Buffy cried for a long time, shedding more tears than it seemed possible for the human body to contain. There was nothing Faith could do except be there, so she stayed right where she was.

Eventually Buffy's sobs dwindled away, and she fell into an exhausted sleep. Faith waited until she was positive that Buffy was totally out of it, and then she let her own tears fall silently. She felt like her heart was broken.

What a thing to have to live with. It wasn't fair, and as Faith sat there, she cursed whoever was in charge. She didn't care if it was God, The Powers That Be, or who the fuck ever, she cursed them with everything that she had.

She hoped one day she would come face to face with them so she could beat them to a bloody pulp. She'd spit on them with her last breath, she'd hate them all the way down on her ride to Hell. They were motherfucking bastards and she would never forgive them for letting this happen to Buffy.

She sat there a long time as she fought to regain control of her emotions. When she finally did, she looked down at what she held in her lap. Buffy was sleeping on her, something they hadn't had to do for days. Faith gently kissed the top of her head, then lightly stroked her hair.

The woman she held was so incredible. She was such a hero, such a powerful force of goodness. How she could be so strong, so brave, so noble, so goddamn amazing was just anybody's guess. What wasn't a guess was that she was every inch The Slayer, and Faith knew there had never been a better one and there never would be.

Buffy slept for about two hours and when she began to stir, Faith had to admit she was relieved. The position she'd been sitting in hadn't exactly been the most comfortable, and the left side of her body had gone numb. Still, Buffy squirming around on top of her was always a positive.

"Faith?"

"Hey B."

"I guess I nodded off."

"Coupla hours ago."

"I'm sorry, I didn't mean to..."

"Shut up, I don't care. Be your bed anytime ya want."

Buffy smiled and snuggled in a little closer.

"You are kind of comfy."

"Yeah?"

"Uh-huh."

"Are you, ya know...feeling better?"

"Surprisingly, yes I am. I guess it really does help to get things out."

"That's what they say."

"I'm not so sure about the insane, out of control crying part though."

"Think that's a big part of it, least it was for me."

Buffy's hand was absently tracing random patterns on Faith's forearm.

"When was this?"

"...Long time ago."

"Faith, you just saw me have a total meltdown. I think you can at least tell me when you cried."

"...With Angel...after I...after I hurt Wesley."

"Oh."

"Kept asking him, begging him to kill me. Obviously, no dice."

They were silent for a few moments, and then Buffy piped up:

"God, we're a lot of fun, aren't we?"

Faith laughed:

"Yeah, them good times is just rollin' with us."

"For sure."

They sat quietly, lost in their thoughts of each other.

"Thank you."

"For what?"

"For holding on."

"...I'll always hold onto you B. Nothing anywhere that could ever stop me."

Buffy smiled and lifted Faith's hand to her lips.

"Who knew you could be so sweet?"

"News to me too. Guess you're making a real wimp outta me."

"Oh so it's my fault, is it?"

"Hell yeah! Not like I act like this with anybody else."

"Uh-huh. I'll bet you've always been a secret softy."

"Have not! I'm one tough fucking bad ass, and you know it!"

"Whatever you say...Faithy Poo."

"Take it back!"

"Aw, is your itty bitty feelings hurt?"

"That's it!"

Faith began tickling her, and in her struggle to escape, Buffy ended up trapped. She was still on Faith's lap, but now she was facing away from her, held in place by Faith's unyielding arms.

"Better take it back, Blondie."

"What are you going to do about it if I don't?"

Faith didn't answer, at least not with words. She merely tightened her hold and blew softly into Buffy's ear. The squirming began instantly.

"Hey!"

"Yeah?"

"That tickles!"

"Bet it does."

Faith blew again.

"Faith, stop!"

"Not ‘til you take it back."

"I don't think I can just...Faith!"

"Yeah B?"

"Stop it!"

"Sorry, can't hear ya."

"Apparently you can't stand to hear the truth either."

"Fine, have it your way."

"No! Okay, I take it back. You're not a big softy."

"And?"

"God...Okay, you're a real bad ass. In fact, you're the toughest, meanest, baddest bad ass ever..."

"Now that's more like it."

"...to have such a soft squishy inside!"

"Buffy Summers! I oughta..."

Buffy turned her head and captured Faith's lips. Faith's hold loosened almost immediately, allowing Buffy to turn and face her. When they pulled apart, they were both smiling and laughing.

"Not sure, but I kinda think that's cheating."

"Oh it absolutely is."

"And you're okay with that?"

"I absolutely am, especially when it gets me what I want."

"Good to know."

Buffy tucked her head underneath Faith's chin and snuggled in again.

"So have I ever told you just how much I like a soft squishy inside?"

"No, but I sorta noticed."

"I love the whole bad ass thing too...Gee, I wish I could just find someone who was both of those things."

"Might be in luck ‘cause I'm thinking when it comes to you, I can maybe pull it off."

"Really?"

"Yep, but just for you."

"Hmm...that sounds enticing."

Faith grinned and wiggled her eyebrows:

"That's me, all about the enticement."

"Does that mean you'll help me wash my hair?"

"If ya want."

"Oh, I want. I most definitely want."

"Hey, who's doing the enticing here?"

"It's kind of hard to tell. I'd call it a draw."

"...Can call it what ya want, but if you keep moving like that..."

"What?"

"Gonna find out it's dangerous to entice an enticer."

Buffy's eyes darkened as her smile grew:

"Is it really?"

"Absolutely."

"Promise?"

Faith's breathing had become ragged.

"...B..."

"Yes?"

"..."

"Wow, I sure hope you're not one of those ‘all talk' kind of bad asses."

"...Never been much of a talker."

"And yet that seems to be all you're doing."

"This going where I think it's going?"

"Well, I'm sure doing my best to take it there. You on the other hand, seem to be holding it back."

"Buffy...are you sure about this?"

"I very much am."

"Oh fuck."

"Why don't we start with a washing of the hair, and then see where that takes us?"

Faith's smile started off slowly, but it soon took over her entire face.

"Works for me. Which hair ya wanna lead-off with?"

"Faith!"

"What?"

"You know what."

"Hey, just meant ‘mine or yours'. Geez B, gotcha a mind like a sailor."

"I think the expression's ‘a mouth like a sailor'."

"Whatever. Point's the same."

"I suppose that's true. Speaking of mouths, have I ever told you that you have the most beautiful mouth I've ever seen?"

"Nope."

"Are you sure?"

"Trust me, I'd remember that."

"Well you have the most beautiful mouth I've ever seen."

"Yeah?"

"Oh yeah."

"Should see what I can do with it."

"Faith!'
"What?"

"You know what."

"Just sayin' I can play the harmonica and whistle ‘Dixie'. What'd ya think I was gettin' at?"

"I know exactly what you're getting at."

"Ya do, do ya?"

"Oh, I absolutely do."

"Always a plus."

"Can we heat some water first?"

Faith smiled happily:

"Sure, don't see why the water should get left outta this."

Faith started to get up, but Buffy held her in place. She looked at Buffy, clearly puzzled.

"Uh, B? Ya wanted the water heated up."

Buffy traced her finger along the grooves of Faith's dimples.

"Um, gonna need to get up if I'm gonna..."

"God, you have the best dimples ever. Did I ever tell you that?"

"Nope."

"Are you sure?"

"Trust me, I'd definitely remember that too."

"Oh. Well you have the best dimples I've ever seen."

"Yeah?"

"Yeah, they make your cheeks..."

"Which ones?"

"Faith!"

"What?"

"You know what."

"Guess I do. Best if ya just accept it B. Gotcha a real bad ass on your hands."

"That works for me."

"Yeah?"

"Oh yeah."

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