Chapter Six

The back of Buffy’s head was resting comfortably on Faith’s stomach and Faith was sleeping soundly, all complete with a loud rumbling noise that soothed Buffy. The cave was warm, she wasn’t hungry, and yet Buffy couldn’t sleep. She should have been worn out; she and Faith had chased each other around for hours, wrestling playfully until they’d ended up having wild, passionate sex over and over again. They’d eventually worked their way back to the cave and gone to bed, yet sleep still eluded Buffy.

She felt strange, her senses on high alert. There seemed to be nothing wrong, yet she felt on edge and restless with the need to be on guard. She shifted and stared up at her mate, the sight making her smile happily.  She laid a soft kiss just below Faith’s breast and without waking, Faith’s hand came down to rest gently on Buffy’s head.

“B…”

And then all was quiet again and Buffy closed her eyes…which lasted for only a few seconds. She couldn’t relax and she got up noiselessly, making sure to cover Faith as she left. Faith rolled over but she didn’t awaken, and Buffy went to the opening of the cave.

They’d covered it with brush and Buffy peered through the branches, her eyes roaming as she searched for the source of her increasing anxiety. There was nothing, not even an animal stirred. The night was quiet, everything was just as it was supposed be and yet Buffy felt...

She jumped slightly as she felt the arms encircling her from behind:

“Buffy?”

She said nothing at first, uncertain how to explain as Faith nuzzled into her neck.

“B?”

“Buffy no sleep.”

“Buffy come.”

Faith tugged on her, trying to lead her back to their bed, but Buffy wasn’t budging:

“No. Buffy no like.”

Faith stopped pulling and let go of her, stepping up to stand next to her and peer out into the night. After a couple of minutes, Faith grunted and turned back to her:

“Night good. No bad.”

Buffy had to agree:

“…No bad.”

“Buffy come.”

Faith pulled again and after a moment’s hesitation, Buffy let herself be led back to their cozy bed, still looking worried:

“Buffy no like.”

Faith wiggled her eyebrows and grinned as she deliberately misunderstood:

“Buffy like. Faith make like.”

She fell back onto the bed, pulling Buffy down with her. They both made an ‘oofing” noise as they hit, the floor still hard despite the blankets and thick layer of clothing piled on top of the tent, but Buffy was smiling again by the time they’d settled.

“Faith stupidhead.”

Faith laughed:

“No.”

“Yes.”

“No.”

Buffy kissed her then, effectively silencing her as their tongues mingled. When they broke apart, Faith looked serious:

“Faith want Buffy.”

Buffy stared back at her:

“Buffy want Faith.”

“Buffy no go? Buffy stay?”

Buffy kissed her softly, then lifted her head to look Faith in the eye:

“Buffy stay…no go. Buffy want Faith.”

Faith searched her face intently:

“Buffy want Faith?”

“Yes.”

Faith’s smile lit up the shadowed cave:

“That good. Faith want Buffy.”

“Stupidhead.”

And then they sealed their vows.

It was several minutes before Giles even dared to speak:

“Willow?”

His whisper was barely audible.

“We’re okay, Giles. The concealment spell’s working just fine.”

“Good show, although I must admit that my heart sped up when Buffy appeared to be searching for something.”

Willow nodded as she began setting up some stuff:

“I think she was sensing me, my aura’s kind of out in the open.”

“Yes, well you girls have always been close. So how long before you feel we can…”

“At least a few hours. I’m not sure I can handle both of them, not without recharging, and I know I definitely need some sleep.”

Giles nodded as he turned to Xander and Kennedy:

“You both understand the plan?”

Kennedy rolled her eyes:

“No, could you go over it again? The part where we do nothing is really confusing me.”

“Kennedy, a civil answer would be most appreciated.”

“Getting to help in some way would be too.”

Xander stepped in:

“Ladies, ladies…Let’s not fight amongst ourselves. Let’s wait until Buffy and Faith kill us before we resort to fisticuffs.”

“Guys?”

They all turned to look at Willow:

“Could you keep it down a little? I need to concentrate on this before I can start with the log sawing.”

Giles looked embarrassed:

“Yes, of course. Our apologies, Willow.”

“Well, I’m not apologizing. Sitting around doing nothing for hours on end is…”

“Kennedy, I’ve already explained the plan several times, and I must say your poor attitude is…”

“Ladies, ladies, let’s all admire the déjà vu-ness of this moment…again.”

Giles whipped off his glasses:

“I don’t believe this to be the time for your unique brand of humor, Xander. In no way can this matter be considered a laughing…”

“Whoa, Giles, don’t shoot the messenger! I’m just trying to…”

Kennedy interrupted loudly:

“Yeah, Giles, no shooting the messenger. Let’s beat him up, that’ll give us something to do that’ll last awhile.”

Hey, I resent that! I’m playing the part of ‘peacemaker’ and I’m getting…”

Willow calmly picked up her things and strode off a good distance:

“Never mind. I’ll just be over here for now.”

They didn’t notice.

The morning brought with it an overcast day. There was no rain, just the threat of it hanging heavy in the air, but neither Slayer seemed to mind. They had sex, then set out for the nearby river to perform their morning ablutions. They walked hand in hand, bumping each other playfully, stopping once to kiss and barely managing to pull back before they lapsed into another bout of lovemaking.

They did their thing, then emerged from the water glistening as they strode off into the woods. When it was certain that they were gone, the Scoobies materialized among the nearby bushes.

“Whew.”

“I hear you, Will and I raise your ‘whew’ with my own ‘hubba, hubba’.”

Giles ignored Xander’s commentary:

“Are you quite all right, Willow?”

She nodded, but looked a little shaky:

“Yep, just…that got a little tiring.”

Kennedy slipped up behind her, squeezing her shoulders just the way Willow liked and Willow leaned back into her with a sigh. She closed her eyes and gave in for a few moments, then reluctantly pulled away as she got back to business.

“Okay, I’ve got a little invisible tracker on them, but I think if you guys think, we should just do it back at the cave.”

Giles was already nodding:

“Yes, I believe they’ll be much more relaxed there and it should hopefully make them easier to capture.”

“Whatever you guys say. This one-eyed grunt’s willing to follow orders.”

“And so’s this two-eyed Slayer…just as long as I finally get to do something.”

Willow smiled at her:

“Sorry, but if this goes well, you still won’t get to do anything, sweetie.”

Her grin took some of the sting out of it, but Kennedy was nowhere near happy:

“Terrific, now I’m almost pulling for a big screw-up.”

Giles’ response was immediate:

“I believe we’ve already suffered through enough ‘screw-ups’ as it is. I, for one, much prefer an unexciting resolution to this unpleasant situation.”

No one argued with that as they headed back to the cave. When they arrived, they went inside and it was Xander who voiced what they were all thinking, his low whistle sounding out:

“Wow, this is really kinda cozy. Cave Slayers sure know how to make a place feel like home.”

Willow gingerly held up a shirt and a pair of jeans:

“Buff still isn’t big on making her bed though.”

Giles’ attention was riveted by one of the cave walls:

“This is all quite exciting from a strictly anthropological perspective. These cave drawings are most advanced and yet I can glean the antecedents of…”

Kennedy was looking over the large array of canned goods:

“Whoa, it looks like they’re ready for anything.”

Xander moseyed over holding a pillowcase full of rotting meat:

“Well, are they ready for being stunk out of house and cave, because this meat’s going bad with a serious flair for bad.”

Giles crouched in front of what appeared to be a shrine of some kind:

“It seems this cigarette lighter is in a place of worship for them, which makes complete sense, of course. It’s a bloody cornucopia of prehistoric behavior in here!”

Willow held up a package of Ho-Hos with a look of relief:

“They’ve got all kinds of treats, so at least they’re not eating chipmunks. Because eating chipmunks? Buffy wouldn’t like that at all, not with that whole ‘crush since childhood’ thing she has on Alvin and Theodore. Never mind.”

Giles turned back to examine the walls of the cave:

“Now this is bloody fascinating! These drawings appear to have been done during the Upper Paleolithic era. As you know, it’s during the end of the Paleolithic that humans began producing art work that also contained certain shamanistic practices. These symbols here and here also seem to indicate different ethnic groups which were surprisingly…”

Kennedy’s voice interrupted his excited musings:

“And how great that’d be if any of us cared. Can we just get this moving along?”

It was clearly a struggle for him, but Giles managed to pull his attention back to the task at hand:

“What? Oh yes, quite right. Shall we?”

They went about their individual tasks and it didn’t take long before they were finished. When they were done, Willow did a quick double check:

“Okay, I think that’s it. Now we just hide and wait for the right time.”

“A task I’ve perfected to perfection over the years. Can I take the ho-hos?”

Giles smiled as he began steering them out of the cave:

“Sorry, Xander, I’m afraid we must leave those where we found them. Who knows if Buffy or Faith would miss them or not, and we certainly don’t wish to lose the element of surprise due to your craving for chemically laden pastries.”

Xander placed them back carefully:

“Okay, but they’re mighty tasty chemically laden pastries.”

“You’re most welcome to eat them when the situation’s resolved. Willow, are we still on schedule?”

They headed back to their mini-camp just inside the tree line and Willow answered him as they walked:

“Yep, all systems ready, except I’m still not totally recharged and I’m not going to be. This concealment spell’s really taking a lot out of me, and I’m going to need to be super close to have any chance of handling them both.”

Kennedy was at her side without delay:

“Baby, maybe you could…”

Willow patted her arm reassuringly:

“I’m okay, and we need to do it this way to make sure they don’t detect us ahead of time.”

Xander was busy checking the weapons and spared her a quick glance:

“So what’s the big, Will? I mean, why’s a simple concealment spell draining you so much? You can usually do them in your sleep, even when you’re exhausted.”

“True, but this isn’t a ‘simple’ spell. We’re not sure how developed their senses are, so I’m masking everything for all of us and it’s taking a bunch of energy. Factor in how depleted I was when I got here, well, let’s just say I can’t wait to get home and sleep for a year.”

Giles took the weapon Xander was finished with and handed it to Kennedy:

“I consider us lucky to have gotten hold of you when we did. Truth be told, without your magical expertise, we’d have no chance of catching them at all.”

“So any witch is a good witch, huh?”

Xander handed Giles the last tranq rifle as he slid a pistol into his hip holster:

“Except the ‘Wizard of Oz’ one, and I’m not all that crazy about Sabrina either. The TV one I mean, because the one in the comics? Daddy like.”

Kennedy snorted as she finished examining her own weapon:

“Yeah, Daddy like pretty much every woman. Daddy not very discriminating.”

“Hey! Daddy’s single, he can’t afford to ignore anyone.”

They all looked at him, and it took a beat before he realized exactly what he’d said:

“I meant, except for all of the taken women, all of the men, taken or otherwise, and Andrew, of course.”

Kennedy’s comment was instantaneous:

“But Xander, Andrew would love to be taken by you.”

“What?! Will, could you please control your crazy ‘taken’ woman?”

She smiled at him:

“She’s got a point, Xand. He does have a major crush on you.”

“Okay, stop! We’re talking about Andrew! I’d rather sleep with Giles.”

“Oh, Good Lord! As you children say: ‘Let’s not go there’.”

Willow tried to rein Kennedy in, but she wasn’t quite fast enough:

“Oh, so you’re saying you’re attracted to Giles, Xander? Well, that explains a lot.”

“What?! No! No, I’m not attracted to Giles! I just meant…”

Giles was furiously cleaning his glasses and staring off into the blurry distance:

“Normally I’m all for tormenting Xander, but not when the collateral damage involves myself, and most certainly not when it involves this most unsettling of topics.”

Kennedy snorted again, but with a look from Willow, she fell silent and Giles gratefully carried on:

“Right then, all that’s left for us to do now is wait. Hopefully they shan’t be too long.”

No one said anything for several beats until Xander spoke up:

“I’m definitely going back for those Ho-Hos when this is over. I’ve earned them, especially if I have to date Andrew and Giles.”

Buffy and Faith returned two hours later, each carrying two pillowcases stuffed with fruit, cheese, cookies and best of all, cans of beer. They’d hit the jackpot in the second house they’d broken into, finding several beers in the refrigerator as well as two six packs under the kitchen counter.

They’d had no trouble getting to the golden liquid inside, simply turning the cans upside down, then ramming their fingers through the smooth aluminum.  They’d also had no trouble drinking the contents contained in those cans, throwing their heads back and gulping down the fluid as fast as they could.

After they’d each had four beers they gathered up the remaining loose cans, stuffing them into the pillowcases along with their other treasures, and headed back home. It had been a good day, they’d even managed to find more of the meat sticks that Faith loved in one of the big cold boxes with the self-shutting doors.

Their plan was to have a big feast when they got home, followed by some wild sex and then a good long rest. Life was perfect and they were happy, until Buffy stopped in her tracks as they neared the cave.

She stood still, her head cocking from side to side as her eyes searched the surrounding area. Faith looked too, but saw nothing out of the ordinary. After a minute, she became impatient:

“What Buffy do?”

“Buffy…feel thing.”

“What Buffy feel? Buffy scared? Buffy hurt?”

Buffy shook her head as she dropped her pillowcases to the ground:

“Buffy no scared. Buffy strong.”

Faith didn’t look convinced:

“What wrong?”

Buffy continued to scan the area and then she smiled:

“Girl here.”

Faith instantly dropped her sacks and looked around:

“Ein-stein?”

No! Ein-stein bad!”

Faith wasn’t exactly listening; she just knew she didn’t like that smile on Buffy’s face when it was about anyone other than herself:

“Girl bad! Buffy no go!”

“Ein-stein bad. Faith no go!”

They looked at each other in total confusion, and it was Faith who spoke first:

“Faith no go. Faith stay. Faith with Buffy.”

“Buffy stay, no go.”

With that all settled, Faith skipped everything else and got right to the heart of the matter:

“Who girl?”

Buffy clasped hands with her and began looking around again:

“No Ein-stein. Girl good.”

Willow, after a brief consult with the other Scoobies, decided the time had come to go with Plan B and she made herself visible:

“Hi, guys.”

Both Slayers jumped at her sudden appearance, Faith growling as she did. Buffy’s hand squeezed Faith’s to calm her:

“Girl here.”

“Yep, I’m definitely here. How are you?””

Buffy used her free hand to smack her own chest:

“Buffy strong!”

“And boy, don’t I know it. Hi, Faith.”

Faith had stopped growling, but she still looked suspicious:

“Faith no high.”

Willow moved closer, one slow step at a time:

“So you guys look good, but uh…not like that. At least I don’t think you do. I’m strictly focused above the shoulders, because uh…nudity, it’s not for everybody, you know?”

“Girl make Buffy happy.”

“I try, Buff, but not ‘happy’ happy because Willow doesn’t want Faith to kill her.”

Faith’s head tilted in confusion:

“Faith no kill.”

Buffy plainly agreed:

“Faith no kill girl. Will-ow good.”

She let go of Faith and wrapped Willow tight in a hug that lifted her off her feet. When she let go, she was smiling:

“Faith, Will-ow good.”

Faith wasn’t happy with the hugging part, but she didn’t want to be left out or upset Buffy. She approached cautiously, then smacked Willow on her shoulder, knocking her to the ground with the force of the blow:

 “Good.”

Willow got back to her feet, rubbing her shoulder and trying to keep her smile in place:

“Yep, Willow good. So um, guys, where’ve you been staying?”

Buffy bent down to retrieve her supplies and motioned with her head for Willow to follow:

“Cave good.”

They filed into the cave with Buffy in the lead and Faith bringing up the rear. Buffy seemed to trust her completely, but Faith didn’t want to turn her back on Willow.

Once they were inside, Buffy placed her bags down, took Faith’s and began sorting out their latest haul. She gestured at Willow to sit as she worked and by the time she was done, Faith had finished adjusting the brush in front of the cave opening.

The Slayers joined Willow, sitting down around the fire, and Buffy gave them each a can of beer. Willow smiled and took it, she didn’t want to be disrespectful and was still hoping for a peaceful end to this whole thing. Refusing to drink the beer would probably be seen as a major insult, and although she’d never been one to handle alcohol very well, well at least she’d never turned into a cavewoman either.

She smiled what she hoped was a grateful smile and casually popped the top open to take a tiny sip. When she looked up it was to see the Slayers staring at her with awe.

“What Will-ow do?”

Willow didn’t know how to answer Buffy:

“Me? I… uh…How do you open them?”

Faith gave her a demonstration, smashing her fingers into the can and then draining the contents in one go. She hurled the empty off into the darkness at the back of the cave:

“Beer good!”

Buffy was holding out her can to Willow:

“Will-ow do.”

Willow took the can and opened it slowly, step by step. When she pulled the tab up, Buffy jerked back at the fizzy noise, then with a delighted giggle, she leaned forward. She was grinning like a little kid when she turned to look at Faith:

“Will-ow open!”

Faith excitedly leapt to her feet and raced over to bring all of the beer back to where they were gathered:

“More!”

Willow couldn’t help but laugh at their excitement over something so simple, and when Buffy started trying to open cans the “Willow” way, they all began giggling like crazy people at her unsuccessful attempts.

She finally managed to get one open and pounded her chest with pride:

“Buffy strong!”

She took a long swig, then gave it to Willow. She drank some before handing the half empty can to Faith, who almost polished it off before remembering to give it back to Buffy.

They quickly went through all of the beer, and while the Slayers were obviously happy, they didn’t show any signs of being drunk. Willow on the other hand, couldn’t say the same thing about herself. She didn’t feel drunk exactly, but she definitely felt tipsy and now wasn’t the time and place for tipsy.

Because tipsy? It so didn’t mix well with spell casting.

“Does anybody hear me?”

Both Slayers answered her at the same time as they tossed a can back and forth between them:

“Will-ow loud.”

“Loud and clear, Will.”

Willow smiled reassuringly:

“Not you guys.”

Xander’s voice was confused in her earpiece:

“Didn’t you just call in?”

“No Buffy? No Faith?”

She shook her head at Buffy and answered Xander at the same time:

“No, not you, you.”

Buffy laughed:

“Will-ow stupid.”

She then returned to her game and Willow pretended to turn away to examine an empty can of beer. 

“Sorry, kinda WUI here.”

“‘WUI’?”

“Yep, I’m witching under the influence.”

Xander laughed:

“Yeah, ya big boozer you. You must have drunk a whole can by now.”

“Laugh all you want, but I prefer to think of myself as a teetotaler who drinks now and…”

“What Will-ow do?”

Buffy was crouched next to her, looking at Willow with a still friendly expression, but there was now a wariness that hadn’t been there before.

“Huh? Me? Nothing! I was just reading this can!”

Faith was up now, looking around suspiciously as she headed to the entrance of the cave:

“Who talk?”

”Who talk? No one talk…well except me and you. Buffy talk too, but then you probably already knew that! Hahaha!!!...Um, guys? I think we’d better do this now, I’m all nervous, ‘Babble Girl’.”

“So we hear and see, but who can blame you with the Buffster that close and looking at you like you’re Judas?”

“Oh, then the new cameras work?”

“Even better than we…What? Okay…Giles says we can talk about it later.”

Willow had to agree as Buffy was uncomfortably close to her and still waiting for an explanation:

“Later would be best, I think.”

“Roger that.”

There was a muffled explosion in the cave and then smoke began billowing out from the back. The Slayers didn’t seem too agitated by the situation, they surprised Willow with their calmness. Buffy grabbed her stick, Faith snatched up the lighter and they pointed at the exit to the cave:

“Will-ow go.”

“I’ll help you carry stuff, Buff.”

“Will-ow go!”

“I’d rather wait for you guys, so…”

Buffy pushed her forward gently, but with a steady, implacable force.

“Buffy say go. Will-ow go!”

She staggered out into the wide-open outside, gulping in the clean air and waiting for the Slayers to emerge from the cave. It wasn’t that long before they did, although it was long enough to worry Willow. Just as she’d decided to go back in to help them, they emerged dragging their tent behind them with all of their possessions wrapped safely inside.

They both coughed a bit and looked mystified as to what had happened, but Buffy’s biggest concern was Willow:

“Will-ow?”

Her hands were running all over Willow’s body as she checked for any physical sign that something was wrong. She was totally focused on her task with no regard for personal, non-touchy places, and Faith stood off to the side growling softly at Buffy’s actions. Still she made no move to stop her, even though she didn’t like it.

“I’m fine, Buff. A little smoky, but good.”

“Will-ow good?”

“Yep, Willow fine.”

Buffy smiled and smacked her hard on the shoulder:

“Will-ow good! Faith good! Buffy good!”

Buffy pounded her own chest and let out a weird yell, culminating in a loud:

“Buffy strong!”

She then shoved Faith and Faith shoved her back. They began grappling, their arm muscles flexing as they began trying to throw each other.

“Hey, guys? Um…Buffy? Faith?”

Faith went sailing past Willow, the dust from the ground puffing into the air. There was a trademark grin on her face as she flipped to her feet:

“Buffy bad.”

Buffy was standing at the ready, one of her eyebrows crooked smugly as she smiled at Faith:

“Buffy strong. Faith bad.”

Willow tried to butt in, but Faith moved way too fast, heading for Buffy with a speed that seemed almost impossible, and Willow was well used to Slayer speed.

They collided, Buffy hitting the ground and taking Faith with her. They rolled over and over, laughing and yelling as they struggled for control.

“Hey, guys? Buffy? Faith?”

Xander’s voice crackled in her ear:

“Will, should we try to take a shot now while they’re distracted?”

“Maybe, but I’ll have to take the spell off first.”

“Giles says to tell you if we don’t move now, we’re going to lose whatever’s left of the surprise advantage…only he used a lot more words.”

“I know. Okay, get ready.”

She moved closer, relieved that the Slayers had stopped fighting, only to feel her face go red as she saw that they were now kissing and heading on to other things.

“Buffy Anne Summers, you stop that right this second!”

Surprisingly the Slayers stopped, staring up at Willow like they’d been caught with their hands in the cookie jar…or in other places they shouldn’t be.

“Sorry, I didn’t mean to yell.”

“Giles says to tell you ‘Bloody hell, Willow!’…Oh, never mind, he was just yelling at you.”

“I know, I just blew our best chance, but I’m tipsy and they were getting ready to…to go for it! It just sort of came out before I could stop myself.”

Buffy got off of Faith and stood, extending her hand to pull Faith upright. When they were both on their feet, Willow said a little prayer and went with the back-up back-up plan:

“Hey guys, guess what? There are some other good people here who’d like to talk to you.”

Both Slayers took a step back, their eyes darting around the area as they searched for these other “good” people. Faith’s growling was back and nearly continuous and Buffy although quieter, was clearly not of the happy.

“Where people?”

“Um…okay, let’s all try not to freak out.”

“Out now! Where people?!”

Buffy quickly grabbed her stick and tossed a couple of cans to Faith. They both took aggressive stances, more than ready to attack the first thing that moved.

“Hey, no, guys! No fighting needed, okay? It’s just us.”

“Buffy no like. Stop!”

Willow held up her hands as if in surrender:

“Okay, stopping. Everybody stop!”

“Where people?!”

Buffy was mad, and she and Faith went back to back as their eyes frantically searched the area.

“Buffy, it’s me, okay? Trust Willow, no matter how bad it looks.”

Buffy’s eyes narrowed and her voice came out quiet and deadly:

“Where…people?”

“They’re right here. I’ll show you.”

One by one they appeared as Willow ended the spell: first Giles, then Xander, and then Kennedy bringing up the rear.

Before Kennedy had even a second to get used to being visible again, Buffy snatched a can from Faith’s grasp and bonked her right upside the head. Kennedy dropped like a sack of potatoes, out cold and out of the fight.

Buffy looked at Willow with hurt and anger:

“Girl bad!”

Willow stood her ground until Faith bared her teeth at her. She began backing up then, her smile and voice becoming increasingly shaky:

“I know it looks bad, but we don’t need snarling and scary Slayer stares. We’re not going to hurt you, we just need to…”

“Will-ow bad!”

“No Buffy, Willow good, honest. Remember how I opened all of the beer? Mmm…beer good, tree pretty! Fire bad. Fire good? Buff?”

“No talk! Go now! Buffy hurt people!”

Faith stopped growling long enough to back Buffy’s play:

“Faith strong! Faith hurt people.”

Willow tried one last time:

“I know it seems bad, but we just want to talk to…”

“No talk! Go!”

No one moved, and then finally Buffy did. She advanced on Willow quickly, her eyes angry and scary and all Slayer. Willow raised her hand and stopped Buffy’s forward progress when she was just a foot away.

Buffy struggled to move but couldn’t, and she shouted out a warning to Faith:

“Will-ow strong! Will-ow do ma…mag…Will-ow bad! Buffy no go!”

The distress in her voice sent Faith into action.

She threw her can at Giles, knocking the tranq gun from his hands just as he raised it and she headed for Willow. Xander got off two quick shots, one flying past harmlessly, the other nicking Faith as she dodged. She closed the distance to Willow all too quickly, and Willow called out more than a little nervously:

“A little help here would be good!”

She wanted to zap Faith, but it was taking almost all of the energy she had to keep a powerfully strong, still struggling Buffy under control.

And Buffy was a lot more powerful than Willow had planned on her being. It was like she was still Buffy, familiar and strong, tough and determined, but ten times squared. Couple that with her desire to protect Faith, well Willow was already sweating and shaking to hang on. She couldn’t spare any magic for Faith.

Giles didn’t bother trying to retrieve his own weapon. He bent and grabbed Kennedy’s, firing just as quickly as he could. Faith evaded the first dart, but the second one hit her right in the middle of her thigh. It didn’t slow her in the slightest.

Faith grabbed Willow by the neck, lifting her high into the air. Willow fought to keep control of Buffy, but her concentration understandably wavered and Buffy began moving slightly as she yelled:

“Faith! No hurt Will-ow!”

Faith didn’t want to hurt Willow, but she wanted Willow to stop doing whatever she was doing to Buffy. She began squeezing slightly and Buffy’s movement increased. Just a little bit more and…

Xander landed on Faith’s back, his arms and legs wrapped around her. He grabbed her in a chokehold and tried to pull her hand loose from Willow, but Faith didn’t even seem to notice him. Her attention was focused on Willow and her voice rang out loudly with more than just a touch of pleading in it:

“Will-ow stop!”

Faith was conflicted, that much was clear, but she wasn’t stopping and Xander became desperate. He jammed his fingers into her nose, even though he knew going for her eyes would have been the more effective option. But deliberately poking someone in the eye, especially someone he loved? Xander Harris could understandably go nowhere near there.

It didn’t hurt, but Faith didn’t exactly like it either. She leaned back, her grip on Willow loosening slightly, and then Xander upped the ante. He hooked one of Faith’s nostrils with two of his fingers, forcing her head to turn and Faith had had enough.

She let go of Willow and grabbed Xander’s arm, yanking his fingers clear. She continued with the momentum, flinging him up and over her shoulder. He didn’t stop flying until he crashed into a clump of bushes, his groan and the snapping of numerous twigs audible to everyone as he landed.

Willow didn’t waste time, she focused on restraining an almost loose Buffy. Faith whirled back to her, took two steps and then staggered as she closed the distance. She kept moving but dropped quickly, falling to one knee at Willow’s feet:

“Will-ow…bad…B…”

Faith took a feeble swing at Willow as she collapsed all the way to the ground, the tranquilizers finally taking effect.

“Faith! No hurt Faith!!!”

Buffy’s voice bellowed out and Willow tried to reassure her:

“Buffy, she’s not hurt, I promise! It’s okay, calm down, she’s just sleeping.”

Xander extricated himself from the bushes, sporting numerous scratches, but that seemed to be the extent of the wear and tear he’d suffered. Giles retrieved his gun from the bushes and headed over to Willow:

“Good show, Willow. I’m sorry we let Faith…”

“It’s okay, she didn’t really hurt me, just scared me a little…Okay, a lot.”

Buffy was staring daggers at Willow, her anger, hurt, and betrayal more than obvious.

“I’m sorry, Buffy, but it’s for your own good.”

Giles walked behind the last Slayer standing and took careful aim at her backside.

“My apologies, Buffy, but I believe this will be less painful in the long run.”

He fired two quick shots, one in each cheek, and Buffy winced and began growling.

Xander called over from where Kennedy was still sprawled out cold:

“Kennedy’s okay, just sleeping the sleep of the unconscious...again.”

They stood waiting and it took awhile before Buffy finally began feeling the effects of the sedative. Willow gradually relaxed her hold on her and by the time Buffy was fully unconscious, she’d been lowered gently to the ground.

The Scoobies stood looking down at the Slayers, relief mingling with affection. The adrenaline rush they’d been running on had suddenly left them, and they were all feeling exhausted.

“I must say, I could have done without these last few days. I’m totally knackered.”

Willow smiled tiredly:

“I’m totally of the knackered too, plus my throat kind of hurts.”

“Well, I believe your job to be over. We simply need to request a ride to…”

“Evac already requested and on its way.”

“Splendid,  Xander. Might I ask that you bring three blankets from our campsite?”

It only took him a minute and he handed them to Willow. She bent down and covered the sleeping Slayers as Giles checked their pulse rates. Satisfied that they were as they should be, he took the last blanket and headed over to Kennedy:

“Whilst I attend to Kennedy, perhaps you two could go to the cave and…”

“And grab the Ho-Hos! On it, G-Man!”

“…gather some clothing that might fit Buffy and Faith.”

“Oh yeah, right...I can still get the Ho-Hos though?”

Giles shook his head and wondered at how this boy’s mind worked:

“Yes Xander, you well deserve them. And do not call me ‘G-Man’.”

“Yeah, but you let Faith…”

Willow was already dragging him away:

“Xander, give it up, okay?”

“Well I’d just like to know why Faith can get away with all kinds of stuff and I…”

“Because she’s Faith, and that’s all there is to it. Now come on, let’s hurry. I need to be there when Kennedy wakes up.”

Giles watched them fondly until they disappeared inside the cave, then crouched down to smooth the hair from Buffy’s face:

“Thank God we got to you before you were hurt.”

He patted Faith’s shoulder as he stood:

“Now let’s get you girls back home where you belong.”