Chapter Six

Buffy hadn't really expected anything else, but of course she'd been hoping. As ridiculous as it seemed and although she should have known way better by now, Buffy Summers was an optimist. Depressed at times, openly cynical at others, she was nonetheless an eternal optimist through and through.

There was nothing to be done about it, there was no way for her to shake free from its grasp, although she'd given it her best shot several times over the years. Buffy had long ago resigned herself to the truth that there was no getting clear of it, there was no chance of leaving it behind in the dust and the blood and the pain and the death.

She was the Slayer, there was no doubt about that, yet she was also "Buffy" and Buffy was never going to give in, not totally. She was too strong, she had too much belief in herself to ever truly let go of the things that somehow made her uniquely her. She'd managed to hang onto those things, she'd fought tooth and nail to keep them and she always would, right until the end.

Buffy Summers was one stubborn little bitch, and that's why even though she was outnumbered and just seconds away from her own death… again…she was calmly planning a way to turn things around. She was concerned that her arms were being held tightly behind her back and that her own Scythe was fast approaching her just about neck high, but she wasn't panicking. She wasn't anywhere near dead and she didn't intend on getting there any time soon.

She flipped herself backwards in a somersault, breaking the tight grip the two vampires pinning her arms had on her, dislocating her left shoulder as she went. She landed facing them, and despite the expected pain, she didn't waste a second of time.

Her good arm rammed a stake through one vampire's back to pierce his heart, and as the other vampire began to turn, Buffy leapt and kicked him through the swirling dust of his partner and smack dab into the one charging with the Scythe. They both went down in a tangle, giving Buffy time to scan her surroundings.

"Rona!"

Rona dusted her vamp and spun at the sound of Buffy's voice. She saw at a glance what the problem was and hurried to her side. Without a word exchanged between them, Buffy braced herself as Rona yanked her shoulder back into place. The pain blinded Buffy for a moment, but it rapidly improved until the adrenaline of the fight took it all away.

"Thanks."

With a nod Rona was gone, inserting herself into yet another skirmish and leaving Buffy smiling as she turned back to her own personal battle:

"You've got my Scythe."

His response could only be called "arrogant" brought about by the fact that he seemed to be holding all the best cards, as well as having quickly gained five new associates to back him up.

"Come and get it, Slayer. I am skilled with all weapons, especially ones as ancient as this, and our elders have surrounded it with…"

"4…3…2…1…"

The Scythe began glowing and the vampire's sneer disappeared into a howl of anguish as he flung the weapon away like the hot potato it now was…for him.

Buffy casually strolled over and lifted it from where it had landed. His hand was burned, hideously disfigured from the looks of it, and the other vampires looked confused, their stares bouncing from their buddy's charred appendage to the Scythe resting coolly in Buffy's firm, yet easy grasp.

She saw their confusion and decided to clear it up:

"So the thing is, this is the Slayer Scythe. It's `for her alone to wield', that means me, although it doesn't look like you guys let that slow you down too much."

He was clutching his hand, his face vamped out despite his shock:

"But…I've held it many times. Why didn't it…"

"You mean how come it didn't whammy you before now? Probably because that saying's just some weird mumbo-jumbo that doesn't really mean anything. But I've got other, better weapons on my side."

She gestured to Willow who was floating in mid-air several yards away, assisting where she could while she kept the vampires transmogrification abilities at bay.

"She's a lot better than some musty old saying that doesn't live up to its own hype, you know?"

Buffy hefted the Scythe and it was clear it belonged in her hands. Two of the vampires turned and ran and Buffy let them go. She knew someone else would take care of…Kennedy was already there, cutting off their escape.

"They were cowards, Slayer, but we will not run."

"Not very far, you won't."

******************************************

"So what did ya think it was gonna be? I'm not some little puppet you can just pull the strings on when…"

"Did I say that, Faith? No, I merely asked you if you could try to be a little more careful and not be so willing to get yourself killed!"

Faith slammed her glass down onto the table and the broken shards went flying everywhere.

"So I shoulda let Satsu get sliced in half? You know same as me she was dead `til I stepped in. Think I wanna watch some kid get killed even if she got to the goods first?"

Buffy stood up, her face scared and furious:

"And do you think I want to watch you get killed?! He missed severing your head by inches…just a few damn inches."

"Well sorry, Slayer,but that's pretty much always what it comes down to in our line of work."

"Don't you lecture me, I know what it comes down to! But it doesn't always have to be like that, and this time there were other ways to…"

Faith got to her feet quickly, her bad arm pulling awkwardly. She grimaced and a groan escaped as her wound tore open again. She swore loudly and yanked off her sling, tossing it to the floor.

"Faith, be careful. The doctor said…"

"Ya know what? Fuck this. Not gonna sit here while you run your mouth in some big nitpick `bout what I did. There was a sitch and I handled it the way I wanted to. We won, we made it out alive, so shut the hell up!"

Faith stormed out of the room, blood spreading across her bandage as she went. The door slammed with enough force to rattle the frame, and Buffy felt like throwing her own glass against the wall.

"Damn it!"

She turned to walk over to the bed, wishing now that she'd approached the topic with a little more calm. Because suddenly the bed? It was looking huge and cold…and lonely.

There wasn't going to be any victory sex, no victory snuggling, no victory taking care of her woman, no victory anything because she'd pissed Faith off…but damn it, Buffy knew she hadn't been wrong. Faith had thrown herself into a dangerous and deadly situation without hesitating, even though there had been other, safer ways to handle it.

It was just luck that right as the vampire had begun the swing to separate Faith's hard head from her stubborn ass, he'd slipped slightly, causing the blow to become much more of a glancing one instead of a killing one. Due to that good fortune, instead of cutting Faith's head off, the blade had sunk with sickening ease into her neck and shoulder, an ease that had Buffy screaming out in a panic:

"No!"

She had nearly taken flight, leaping over three vampires, punching and kicking and staking as she moved quickly to reach Faith's side. But before she could get there, Satsu had staggered to her feet, her normally warm eyes turned to ice and framed by the blood pouring down either side of her face.

She didn't waste time talking, her axe a blur as she stood tall between Faith, who was pushing down hard with blood spurting alarmingly high between her fingers, and the vampires that were anxious to finish the job. Satsu didn't spare Faith so much as a glance, and despite the fact that her foes numbered six, she never moved back an inch.

The vampires were snarling with frustration, unable to get past one tiny girl to the delicious Slayer blood they could smell for the taking. Buffy noticed Satsu perfectly executing a maneuver they'd gone over in training just the week before, and she wanted to praise her for her flawless technique, but it was hardly the time or the place.

She slammed into the pack, knocking three of the vampires into one another, and giving Satsu the opportunity to decapitate two of them before they knew what was happening. Buffy quickly staked two more, and the survivors were doing their best to put some room between themselves and the two deadly Slayers, but neither girl gave the slightest bit of ground.

They each pushed forward, keeping the two remaining demons pinned right where they were, and the vampires were dead in mere moments.

"Faith!"

Buffy slid on her knees to her, her face contorted with fear. Faith spoke calmly through her gritted teeth, but her voice was already faded, like she was drifting away:

"Paper cut, B."

"Shh…you're okay. Let me see…It's okay, you're okay."

Buffy used both of her hands to apply pressure as she yelled:

"Willow!!!"

Buffy's voice rang out above the battle and in just seconds she was there, her…

"Oh, Goddess!"

…sending a frisson of fear through Buffy.

Satsu was still guarding them against the occasional straggler, but the last of the ongoing battles were drifting further away from their location.

"Will?"

"It's okay, Buffy, ease off. Come on, let me see."

"I can't, Will. She's bleeding…"

"And I'm going to take care of that. Just move your hands and let me see."

Buffy nodded, looking like a small child as she slowly removed her hands and watched Willow examining Faith.

Willow's eyes closed and it didn't take her long to see exactly what the problem was:

"All right, Faith, this is going to hurt."

"Figures..."

Willow's hair was already turning white:

"Buffy, hold her down tight, keep her as still as possible. I've already used so much energy I won't have a lot of control, and it's going to get pretty painful."

Buffy tightened her grip, but it wasn't long before she almost couldn't hold her. At first Faith was just uncomfortable, but then she began sweating and screaming, her body rigid as she struggled to escape.

Buffy straddled her, using her knees and every ounce of her Slayer strength to keep Faith pinned.

"Will?"

"Just one more…second…there!"

Faith jerked violently, then passed out and Buffy slowly let go as she examined the wound carefully:

"That scary, spurty bleeding has stopped and the regular bleeding has slowed way down."

Buffy turned to her best friend, her look a mixture of relief and gratitude:

"Is…"

"She'll be fine. Her carotid artery was nicked, but I fixed it. I didn't have enough left to close the cut all the way, so we need to keep her still for awhile and let that last blast of energy help her…" Willow stood, then staggered weakly. Buffy caught her and steadied her as she eased her down to sit on the ground.

"Stay right there."

"But Buffy, I should get back to…"

Buffy's voice was decisive and brooked no argument:

"Your part in this is done. Satsu, are you good to stay here and…" Satsu wiped the blood from her forehead and smiled, her eyes determined:

"Nobody's getting near them."

"Good. I'll be back when this is finished."

And then The Slayer returned to the battle, helping with the clean- up, turning the tide conclusively in the one remaining fight that still seemed to be up for grabs.

When it was finally over, there was nothing remaining except vamp dust, debris and the smell of Slayer blood and sweat. A cheer went up, congratulations and the war whoops of victory filled the air. Buffy grinned as she made her way back to where Faith, Willow, and Satsu waited.

Faith was awake and sitting up, her irritation plain to see:

"B, wanna tell Sabrina and her dykeservant I'm good to go?"

Buffy's relief was obvious:

"So you're feeling better?"

"Feelin' fine. `Sides, she's the one with blood still runnin' down her face."

Satsu looked embarrassed as she held a ripped off piece of her own shirt to her head. She leaned towards Faith with a scowl:

"I told you to shut up, Faith. I'm fine, Buffy, so…"

"Sit down."

"But Buffy…"

"Now!"

Satsu plopped down disgustedly, muttering under her breath, but loud enough to be heard:

"Great, so you're a baby and I have to get dragged into it? You suck, Faith."

Willow began to get to her feet, but Buffy's firm hand on her shoulder kept her sitting.

"And where do you think you're going?"

"I feel okay, I'm just going to see who I can patch up a little."

"Sorry, no. You're already weak and no one's that seriously injured."

"But Buffy, I…"

"Stay right there, all three of you!"

Three sets of eyes looked pissed, but no one moved under Buffy's glare. When she was satisfied, she called Xander:

"Xander, are you there?"

Buffy's com crackled loudly, then Xander's voice came in crystal clear:

"I copy. Good job, guys! We slaughtered them and grabbed back the Scythe! Mission accomplished with no casualties for the good guys!"

Buffy couldn't help but grin at the sound of his excitement until he finished his assessment with:

"I'd say we couldn't have done it any better."

"Well, most of us."

She met Faith's eyes as she said that last part, but Faith's gaze immediately shifted away.

"Xander, we're going to need an airlift for five, maybe six girls. We need to get them back to the infirmary, so can you…"

"Choppers are already in the air. ETA…when they get there."

Buffy laughed:

"Thanks for the precise estimate, Xander."

"My pleasure, Buffster. Hey hold on, Giles wants to talk to you."

Buffy tensed slightly, but made herself relax as much as she could:

"Yes, ah…Buffy?"

"Right here, Giles."

"It was quite something, we could see various aspects of the fight as it progressed."

"Yep, all we need now is `Smell-O-Vision' and it'll be just like you're there."

"A feature perhaps best not added. I wanted to tell you that I was immensely impressed with your leadership and skill during the battle. I'm extremely proud of the way you handled everything. Simply brilliant."

Buffy felt the warmth flowing through her and she felt the tears pooling in her eyes. It was a ridiculous reaction, she knew that, but it was how she felt and she went with it:

"Thanks…I…Thank you, Giles."

"You're quite welcome, the high praise is most deserved. We saw Faith go down…is she all right?"

Buffy glanced at the woman in question:

"She's fine, thanks to Willow's magic medicine."

He cleared his throat, the worry easy to discern as he spoke:

"Yes, it was a bit on the scary side from here. Satsu was in serious trouble, I'm sure she knows she owes her life to Faith?"

"Yes, she does."

"Well, it was quite a heart stopping moment to be sure, and Faith was somewhat…"

Buffy knew exactly what Giles was trying to tell her:

"I'm on it, Giles. I saw it happen."

His voice, although still worried, sounded relieved that they were on the same page.

"I shall speak to her about it tomorrow, but for now I merely offer my congratulations and admiration for a campaign splendidly planned and executed."

"Thanks. I guess we'll see you then."

"Yes, you will. Giles, over and out."

And then all was quiet from headquarters.

Buffy firmly told her group of three to stay seated, then went to organize the other girls who would be catching a ride on the soon to arrive helicopters.

"Buffy!"

Buffy glanced up at her sister, then back at Rona:

"Rona, can you and Vi make sure that…"

"Got it, Boss!"

Satisfied that the evacuation plans were in good hands, Buffy turned back to Dawn.

"Nice work, Dawnie. Hey, you're bleeding! Are you…"

"They're just scratches and tiny punctures. They feel like mosquito bites…except they don't itch."

"Still, maybe you should get them looked at in case…"

Dawn rolled her eyes:

"Will you stop with the worry? I'm fine. A little gross from ripping vamp heads off and knocking down walls, but I feel great. I'm going to get going now, I've got a hot date with a pond."

"Yeah, that's probably a good idea, Will's way too weak to teleport you."

"Duh, Buffy. Hence my suggestion."

Now it was Buffy's turn to roll her eyes:

"Do you always have to be such a little smartass?"

But Dawn was already walking away, uttering her parting shot as she went:

"Yeah, my older sister's my role model."

Buffy smiled as she watched her go, a young woman now, yet still very much Buffy's baby sister. She supposed it would always be that way; they would always be in the roles they were born into, even when they were senior citizens. She could live with that; at least it meant she'd always be the "boss" of Dawn.

That thought made her smile as she headed back to her three patients, but her good humor evaporated instantly when she was greeted by the sight of Faith lighting up a cigarette. That anger quickly shifted to her best friend when she spotted her slowly edging away from the group:

"Willow Rosenberg!"

Willow's head turned and when she saw Buffy, she sat and ran at the same time, making her look like she was cringing away from a fireball being aimed her way.

"What did I just say to you?!"

"I know, but Buffy…"

"Fuck B, wanna lighten up? Not like we need…"

Buffy whirled, snatching the lit cigarette from Faith's mouth and pinning her in her gaze, a gaze that had had many a vampire backing up just minutes before.

"Shut up, Faith."

Faith opened her mouth to argue, but when her eyes met Buffy's, she immediately decided discretion was the better part of valor. Satsu had a smirk on her face as she looked from Faith to Buffy, only to have it wiped off almost instantly.

"What the hell are you grinning at? You almost got yourself killed, so if I were you, I'd keep it low-key until you get your head stitched up and your brain unscrambled. Now all of you stay seated and be quiet!"

She glared at each of them individually to make sure her point got through loud and clear, then called to Kennedy as the sound of the approaching choppers increased.

"Can you handle the drive home? I want to get these three on one of the choppers and I think I'd better ride along if I want any of them actually making it to Dr. Anderson."

Kennedy grinned over at the row of subdued fighters and wiped at the dried blood caked in the corner of her mouth:

"No problem, Buffy. We're about ready to load up. Do you need any help with them?"

"No, I think I've made it clear just what the rules are. How many do we have with serious injuries?"

"Nine, counting Faith and Satsu, and none life-threatening."

The helicopters were landing, and thankfully Xander had sent the large ones.

"Okay, let's get them in and we'll be on our way."

The loading took less than ten minutes, organized experience making every transfer a smoothly efficient one.

The medical treatment began before they'd even lifted off the ground. Pain injections, minor clean-ups, even some stitching took place. Satsu was given a proper compress to hold against her head and Faith's neck and shoulder were wrapped tightly by a serious young medic.

"You need a lot more than I've got the time to give you to close that up for good. We'll have to wait until we get back to home base, so keep as still as possible. The bleeding is slow, but we don't want to take a chance on it getting started again."

"What's this `we' shit? All I give a fuck about is that you stop jabbin' around in there. Christ, where'd ya get your degree: K- fuckin'-Mart?"

He looked completely nonplussed:

"I'm sorry, ma'am, I tried to be as gentle as I could be. Maybe another…"

Buffy interrupted:

"She's fine and you didn't hurt her. Don't worry about it."

He nodded as he headed to the front of the chopper to assist with the Slayer who had several broken ribs.

"What'd ya say that for? You don't know…"

Buffy turned in her seat to face Faith:

"He didn't hurt you, you were just taking out your…"

"Oh great, this the `analyze the psycho' part of the mission?"

"I don't know, Faith, do you want it to be?"

There wasn't a sound from Faith, and Buffy shook her head:

"Then just shut up until we get back home."

Faith leaned forward, wincing as her shoulder strap cut into her wound right through the wrap:

"What's up your ass, Princess?"

"Don't ask questions you know the answers to. I don't want to get into this here, but I will if you keep pushing me."

Faith glared at her, resisting the urge to rub her injury, then finally sat back.

"Fine, have it your way. Not like that's anything new."

Buffy didn't rise to the bait, but instead turned her head to stare out the window and wonder how she was going to resist slamming Faith's head into the side of the helicopter if she didn't stay quiet.

***************************************

Dr. Anderson made a pained face as she finished unwrapping the temporary bandage and got a look at Faith's wound.

"This is very deep, you're lucky to…"

"Yeah, yeah, I was there, I know."

"Willow, you did a lovely job with the…"

Faith was already squirming:

"Chitchat's a blast, but ya wanna sew me up and let me get the fuck outta here?"

The doctor reached for some supplies, tsking under her breath:

"I'm afraid it's not quite that simple. This is a serious cut and whilst Willow's field work is exemplary, stitches are…"

Faith sighed, irritated with all of the talking without any action:

"Great, whatever. Just fucking hurry it up."

Dr. Anderson looked at Buffy who was standing nearby, leaning against the wall with her arms folded across her chest.

"And Buffy, what about you? Is that blood on your shirt…"

Buffy smiled for the first time since she'd arrived at the infirmary and shook her head:

"It's not mine. I've just got some minor bumps and bruises…."

Satsu half sat up from her bed:

"And a shoulder that's still hurting her whenever she…"

When Buffy's eyes met hers, Satsu decided to lie back down and go radio silent. Willow, though, seemed oblivious to the danger and she was already up, standing next to Buffy and excitedly talking things over with Dr. Anderson:

"The spell I used could last her until her Slayer healing kicks in, as long as she's careful. The pain though, that's gonna be the big bad pretty soon. Hey, maybe I should try another…"

Willow was jerked back roughly, her arm firmly grasped in an angry Slayer's hand:

"Willow Rosenberg, I swear, if you don't stay down…"

Willow smiled her best smile as she eased back onto her bed:

"Okay, Buff, don't get mad. Look, I'm down and I'm staying down."

Buffy didn't have time to respond properly before she heard Faith inhale in pain as the doctor began stitching the gash all the way closed.

"I think this will take three, maybe four days to heal fully. No training or patrolling until I give you the medical `all clear'. Tonight you need to be extremely careful. Keep your arm as still as possible and when you go to bed, sleep with it propped up on a pillow."

It took several stitches until Dr. Anderson was satisfied and when she was done, she wrapped everything securely and taped down the ends to keep them from unraveling.

"Faith, if it begins bleeding again or if the pain becomes more than manageable, please return and let me or one of the other doctors have a look. Also, no showers for a few days. We need to keep it dry, so a bath is fine, just be careful not to get it wet. Let someone else wash your back for awhile."

An assistant brought Dr. Anderson a sling and she quickly had Faith's arm immobilized.

"I want you to wear this for the next couple of days, and make sure to stop by the pharmacy on your way out. They'll have your pain medication ready for you."

"Don't need it."

"Yes, you do. Willow's spell is beginning to wear off and..."

"Not takin' anything, so save it."

Dr Anderson wanted to push the issue, but she could tell she wasn't going to get anywhere.

"That's up to you, of course, but I strongly recommend that you take the pills. Do you have any questions?"

Faith scooted forward with a slight grimace:

"Nope. Thanks for the fix and go."

She stood and Buffy saw how shaky she was, even though she quickly covered it:

"I'm outta here, bitches."

Buffy watched her go, marveling at the sheer bravado on display before she returned her attention to Dr. Anderson:

"Karen, can you make sure Satsu spends the night? She got hit in the head…"

"I don't need to spend the night!"

Buffy never even looked her way:

"…pretty hard and I'd feel better if she was kept under observation."

Dr. Anderson smiled:

"We're already preparing a bed for her. Satsu, you've barely recovered from your last concussion, so it's only prudent..."

Satsu looked like she was going to leap to her feet, but then thought better of it when she noticed she was the recipient of the scary "Angry Buffy" look, complete with raised eyebrow. She settled instead for arguing from her nearly prone position:

"I don't have a concussion and I don't need…"

Dr. Anderson was already shining a light in her eyes:

"Sorry, I'm afraid you've been overruled."

Buffy patted Satsu's arm consolingly as she made her way to the door:

"And Willow needs to rest, so no letting let her assist you in any way."

Dr. Anderson was tsking again as she gently peeled off Satsu's bloody compress.

"Ow!"

"Based on the initial reports, no one's injuries are life threatening, so that shouldn't be a problem. In fact, the closest we had to a serious casualty was Miss Lehane, a situation Willow handled brilliantly."

Buffy's face hardened again:

"Yeah, I know just how close Miss Lehane came. Willow, no magic allowed."

Willow knew that look and nodded reassuringly and vigorously:

"No need to worry about me, I'm snug as a slug in a rug."

She gave Buffy her most innocent smile, and Buffy stared at her for a beat before turning back to Dr. Anderson:

"Okay, I want to be notified if Willow does any…"

"Buffy, come on!"

"…magic of any kind."

"You know how boring it is in here if I'm not helping!"

"You can talk to Satsu."

Dr. Anderson was busy preparing to treat her next patient:

"I'll alert the staff."

"Thank you."

Willow slumped back dejectedly.

"Bug."

Willow looked at Satsu, clearly puzzled:

"'Bug', what?"

Before Satsu could answer, she yelped as Dr. Anderson administered a numbing shot.

"Ow! Would you take it easy? It's `bug', Willow."

"Okay, so I'm bug as a slug in a rug. Wait, that doesn't make any sense...Is that right?"

Buffy made her way out into the hallway, but she could still hear them clearly:

"No, the `slug's'…OW! Is it supposed to hurt this much?"

Dr. Anderson's voice was still calm, but it was starting to fray around the edges:

"Somewhat. It should be tolerable though, now would you please hold still? For stitches in this area, I really should shave your hair, but I'm trying to…"

The last thing Buffy heard before she headed up the stairs was Willow's laughter and Satsu's angry reply:

"Shave my hair?! Over your dead body!"

It made Buffy smile, but that feeling didn't last long as she headed off to find Faith.

****************************************************

She was in Buffy's suite sitting at the kitchen table, and everything about her was radiating anger and hostility. There was an open bottle of whiskey in front of her and about a fourth of it was already gone when Buffy walked in.

"Got any for me?"

"Suit yourself."

Buffy got another glass from the cupboard and sat down across from her.

"Here."

She placed a bottle of pills down in front of Faith:

"I picked up your painkillers."

"Said I don't want'em."

"Faith, don't do this."

Faith poured them both a drink, then sat the bottle down with a little more force than was required.

"Don't what, drink? What's the difference `tween booze and pills?"

"That's not what I meant, and you know it. I don't want to fight."

"Yeah? I supposed to be a mind reader now?"

Buffy took a small sip of her drink:

"Oh I see, the best defense is a good offense."

"No clue what the fuck you're goin' on about, but…"

Buffy slammed her glass down:

"No. You do not get to do this, Faith. I'm the one who's mad, I'm the one who has a right to be mad. Don't you dare try to turn this around."

"What do ya want? Me to apologize? Say I did the wrong thing? Not gonna happen. Can't help it if you need all your lovers to die `fore you cut'em loose."

Buffy couldn't believe what had just come out of Faith's mouth:

"Are you out of your goddamn mind? Do you hear yourself?"

Faith said nothing as she downed the contents of her glass and then refilled it, all the while refusing to look at Buffy.

"You can pull all of the crap you want to, Faith, it won't change anything. I saw what you did and…"

"What I did was my job, nothin' more, nothin' less."

"I'm not faulting what you did, I'm concerned about how you did it."

"Well Buffy, you're always `concerned' about somethin'. Wouldn't be right if you didn't have your nuts in some kinda uproar, `specially where I'm `concerned'."

Buffy stared at her and eventually Faith looked up. The silence continued until Buffy spoke quietly:

"You are being such a bitch."

"Oughta be used to it by now."

"Well, I'm not and I'm not appreciating it either. We're going to talk about what you did, so stop wasting our time and…"

Faith laughed:

"Man, you sure think you're the boss of everything, don't ya?"

"Based on what I saw out there, maybe I should be."

"You wanna talk so fuckin' bad? Talk."

Buffy didn't want the fight to escalate, but she was mad and she was scared, and nothing Faith was saying or doing was helping to diffuse the situation in the slightest.

"Faith, you almost got yourself killed and I'm not happy about it. You scared me and now you're acting like…"

"I'm acting like I act. This is me, so not sure where you have any kinda beef."

"I have a huge beef when the woman I love just throws herself into harm's way when there are other, better ways to handle the situation."

"Says you."

"No, `says' everyone who saw it."

Faith poured herself another drink and knocked it back in one swallow:

"Yeah, well what the fuck ever. There was a sitch, I reacted how I react, and that's it."

"Are you seriously going to sit there and tell me you didn't see any other way to…"

"No, I'm seriously going to sit here and tell you to butt the hell out of how I do my job. It's none of your business."

Buffy was all done with trying to keep the fight under control. She was mad and her voice came out loud and furious:

"So I don't have the right to ask the woman I love not to get herself needlessly killed?"

"Listen Twinkie, you got your way of doin' shit, I got mine. You can't handle that, it's your problem."

"No, it's our problem, especially when you get yourself killed. What were you doing jumping in like that?"

The look on Faith's face was all the warning Buffy needed:

"Savin' your special girl's ass. Ya know, probably shoulda spent more time trainin' her than fucking her."

"Is this you working on being more normal, Faith? You just say the first thing that pops into your head without a giving a damn how it makes me feel? Wow, you really are giving this relationship a hundred percent."

Faith had the decency to flush, but as her face darkened, so did her mood:

"Hey, you can't handle the facts, don't come cryin'…"

"Shut up! You want the facts? Well here they are: you fucked up, almost fatally. Is that plain enough for you? You almost died today because you didn't give a damn about yourself. You just charged in and put yourself at risk when you could have gotten the same results if you'd…"

"Oh I get it, this is about how I don't do things the `Buffy' way."

"No, you stupid idiot! This is because I thought you were dead! You're just lucky you're…"

"So what did ya think it was gonna be? I'm not some little puppet you can just pull the strings on when…"

And now she was alone, upset, worried, confused, and scared.

She took a shower to wash away the grime and blood, then fired up the Jacuzzi tub. She went into the kitchen where she ate a non-fat yogurt, then poured herself a glass of white wine. She gulped down half of it, then topped it off before carrying it back into the bathroom.

She slid gingerly into the warm water. Everywhere ached and her shoulder was killing her. It was all discolored and tender, but she knew it would be just fine by tomorrow, unlike her rib which she was pretty sure was only cracked, but hurt like hell every time she turned the wrong way.

Buffy stayed in the tub for almost an hour, her body appreciating the down time and pampering. Her mind raced the entire time as she went over the fight word by word, worrying about Faith, yet at the same time wanting to kill her.

There was a knock on the door and she decided to ignore it. The only person she wanted to see was Faith, and she knew that wouldn't be happening any time soon. Whoever it was could go bother Giles or Xander, they could even go bother Rona or Kennedy or Vi. Buffy didn't much care who they chose, just as long as it wasn't her. She was off duty.

Evidently, trying someone else didn't occur to the idiot banging on her door at regular intervals. They just kept knocking steadily, and finally Buffy gave up and climbed out of the tub. As she slid her robe on and squeezed the excess water from her hair, she made herself a silent promise that she wasn't going to punch whoever it was right in the face.

It wasn't their fault that she was in love with Faith and it wasn't their fault that Faith was a big bitch who couldn't handle anything emotional, personal, or serious without spouting off the meanest things she could think of all in an attempt to avoid the real topic at hand because she was too afraid to face it.

Buffy opened the door fully prepared to punch somebody right in the face.

"B."

She was surprised, beyond surprised and she had to struggle to speak clearly:

"Fa…Faith."

"Can I come in?"

Buffy stepped back:

"Of course you can. Why were you knocking?"

"Figured you might not want me here after the shit I said."

"Well, I am mad, but I didn't want you to leave in the first place, so I'm glad you're back."

Faith looked around nervously, before settling her gaze on Buffy:

"Okay look, I guess maybe I did fuck up. But I didn't do it on purpose, no matter what you or Giles thinks. I wasn't trying to get myself killed and it wasn't about me not givin' a shit about myself. I saw Satsu was in trouble and I wanted to help her."

"I get that, Faith, and what you did was incredibly brave. You saved her life, there's no doubt about that, but there were safer ways to go about it."

"Yeah, guess maybe there were."

She was silent and Buffy stood there looking at her expectantly.

"B…"

"F…"

"I know we gotta talk about it, and I will. But for tonight, could we maybe just let it go? Can I just be here?"

It took a moment, but then with a sigh Buffy offered her hand and when Faith took it, she entwined their fingers together.

"Does your shoulder hurt?"

"Yeah, like a bitch. Had to get it sewed back up."

"I noticed the new sling. Your pills are in the kitchen, want me to get them?"

"I don't like drugs, B. If I gotta, I'll take'em, but I'd rather not."

"Okay, but they're there if you change your mind."

They stood quietly, letting their fingers glide and play.

"B, I'm sorry about the crap I was sayin' before."

"I know."

"I'm gonna try and stop doin' that."

"That'd be good."

"Yeah."

Faith moved closer, her breath tickling along Buffy's neck:

"So uh, what ya wearing under the robe?"

"Not a thing."

"Mmm…"

Faith's good hand opened Buffy's robe, and her fingers trailed lightly along her skin.

"Want me to help you out a little, Slayer?"

Buffy's response came out shakily:

"Maybe…I mean, maybe we shouldn't…you know, with your shoulder."

"What's this?"

Her fingertips grazed so softly over Buffy's bruised rib, Buffy could barely feel it.

"And this…"

Faith's lips whispered over all of the various cuts and bruises, her mouth pausing to kiss all around Buffy's breast while her tongue flicked out.

Buffy's hands clenched as she struggled not to grab onto Faith:

"Faith…We should probably…"

Faith's teeth latched on gently, her tongue and lips happy to go along for the ride. Her arm encircled Buffy's waist and easily pulled her closer. She was making it hard to even think, let alone speak, but Buffy kept trying:

"Your neck…"

"It'll be fine as long as I stop havin' tantrums."

Her mouth slid up Buffy's quivering body, stopping when she reached her discolored shoulder.

"Ouch. Want me to kiss it and make it all better?"

"Faith…I…I'm…"

Faith's lips delicately traced all around her bruise as she began walking Buffy backwards into the bedroom:

"You smell so good, B. Clean, like the ocean."

"My shampoo's…my shampoo is…something."

Faith sat her down on the edge of the bed, then carefully eased Buffy back until she was laying down.

"This is gonna be kinda tricky."

Buffy was struggling not to just reach down and haul Faith up to her:

"We shouldn't…You're hurt and…"

"…and so are you. Odds are one of us is always gonna be banged up. Might as well get used to it."

Faith laid tiny kisses on Buffy's thighs, slowly pushing her legs apart as she made her way to her destination.

"Hey, B?"

"Y…Yes?"

It took awhile, but when Faith finally lifted her head, the grin on her face said it all:

"Think I can hear the ocean."

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