Chapter Eight - Pure Unadulterated Plot...With Some Porn
"Buffy, you should be resting," Giles said as gently as he could. The doctors had let two people at a time in to see her, and at the moment, Dawn knelt by the side of the bed and kissed her sister's hand. She was crying uncontrollably.
"Dawnie…please don't…please…" Buffy said weakly, she tried to raise her hand to place it comfortingly on Dawn's head, but she couldn't.
She looked over at Giles for help.
"Erm, D-Dawn dear…" He went over to her and put his hands on her shoulders.
"I…she's…so…and Faith…"
"Faith is going to be fine, Dawn," Buffy said. "She has to be…" She trailed off and turned her head to shed a tear. "How is she Giles?" She asked with her head still turned.
"Faith?"
"Yes."
"Still in surgery, the last update we received was that they had to repair the extensive damage done to her abdomen…"
"How long has it been?"
"Forever!" Dawn said, dramatically.
Giles looked at her and wished he could take her aside to say a thing or two, but felt it wasn't his place. He just tried to stay calm and be the voice of reason.
He looked at his watch, "A little over eight hours."
"Eight hours?!" Buffy said startled, she tried to sit up and winced. Dawn held her arm and rubbed it soothingly.
"Buffy dear, please don't try to get up, you'll pull your stitches."
"Eight hours! How much did they have to repair?"
Giles looked reluctant to answer, but he knew she needed the truth, and he was worried Dawn would jump in and make it sound worse, "The bullet caused severe damage to her internal organs. That's all we know so far." He added quickly. "She's doing quite well the doctor said."
Dawn looked at him furtively and he gave her a pleading look not to say anything that she was thinking. He knew that Buffy might very well leap out of the bed and try to burst into the operating room if she knew Faith had to be brought back from flat lining twice early on in the operation.
"I want to see her…" Buffy said, her voice barely above a whisper.
"Once she's out of the operating room and in recovery, and only if you're up to it, we'll take you in." She started to protest and he cut her off, "No. Now Buffy, I know you're not a child, but I'm going to be very firm in this, let the doctors do their job and you'll be able to see her when she's out. The doctors have been given implicit instructions to keep us informed of her progress and the fact that you'll want to see her as soon as possible."
"I meant the baby, Giles."
"Oh, quite right, the baby," He smiled. "She's very beautiful."
`Like Faith, I hope.' Buffy thought, she still didn't know who the `father' was, but she didn't want to voice that question.
"I'll go see if they can bring you to her, or if…" Giles trailed off as he saw Buffy's eyes close.
Dawn saw it too and started to panic when Buffy didn't answer her.
"Dawn, please don't," Giles said quietly. "She's merely fallen asleep. I suspect it's from the morphine drip." He pointed to the machine that was hooked up to her hand that would administer a shot of morphine every few minutes.
Dawn sighed relieved.
"I don't know how much more I can take, Giles."
"Well, Dawn. Far be it from me to parent you, but I feel it's my duty to say that you simply have to be stronger. Buffy needs someone from her family she can look to for strength at this time. She'll panic if she sees you panicking. And we don't need that at all."
Dawn looked stricken for a moment then looked at Buffy and drew in a deep breath. Suddenly, she looked strong and ready for anything as she leaned over and placed a kiss on Buffy's forehead.
"I won't let you down," She said quietly and then sat up stiffly with her head high. "Come on Mr. Giles, let's give her some rest, we'll go talk to the doctors about how soon she can see the baby. I hope to have her in here for her when she wakes up."
"Very well," Giles said, impressed by her decision making and followed her out to the lobby.
Jana sighed relieved and hugged Chao after Wesley brought them news of Faith's successful operation. Chao had come to the hospital after almost having a breakdown because she wanted to be there with Jana and the others.
In the end, the operation took twelve hours, with an agonizing forty five of those minutes devoted to waiting for a specialist who would help them painstakingly repair her liver and kidneys. Her spleen had to be removed and they took out her appendix for good measure.
She was now in recovery, and Buffy had been anxious to see her, but the doctors said for Buffy's own health that she needed to rest a little more. Her C section had gone very well in comparison to Faith's ordeal on the operating table, but still, she had lost a lot of blood and was too weak to be moving around like she wanted to.
The saddest thing for anyone to bear right now was the fact that Buffy seemed to be suffering from postpartum depression. She had asked to see the baby before she slipped back to sleep, but when she was finally brought into her room, she didn't ask to hold her and barely glanced at the basinet she was quietly sleeping in.
Giles had to pull the others aside and explain that what Buffy was experiencing was fairly typical of women after they have had a baby. He expressed his theory that it was probably just a case of the baby blues, and not the more severe diagnosis of clinical depression. He gave them instructions to not agitate her, but to treat everything as if it were normal, keeping a look out for any signs that Buffy wanted to harm herself or the baby. This shook everyone up, but he assured them that he only was saying it as a caution, not that he expected her to behave that way.
During the night, Buffy woke up to an empty room. Dawn had gotten up to go get something out of one of the vending machines, and at first she thought she was at home with Faith. But the room was cold, and the sheets were harder then she remembered the ones in their bed ever being and the antiseptic smell in the air did not remind her of Faith's perfume.
She started to cry, but then quickly pulled herself together, and with much pain and the feeling as if the contents of her abdomen were going to come spilling out of her incision she got up out of bed and wheeled her IV along with her out of the room.
The night nurse, and Giles were over near Faith's bed, talking in hushed tones and they didn't realize Buffy had come into the room.
She slowly shuffled her way near the bed and brought her hand sharply up to cover her mouth so that it would stop her from sobbing openly into the room.
"Buffy," Giles said in a loud whisper. "You should be resting." He immediately went over to her side to help her sit in the chair near the bed.
She didn't say anything, and with tears streaming down her cheeks she reached out with both hands and took one of Faith's.
"She can't die..." Buffy said, quietly. Her voice was eerily even and calm.
Giles looked at the nurse who looked back at him with concern in her eyes.
He shook his head to indicate not to say what she was thinking.
He spoke instead, "She won't, Buffy. She's very strong and she's fighting very hard for her life."
"Is she in a coma?"
The nurse spoke, "Just in a medical one. So her body has a better chance to heal."
"When can she wake up?"
"I would say in a few days, but we'll have to talk to the doctors tomorrow and see if they have a better indication."
"Buffy, wouldn't you like to go back and get some rest yourself?" Giles asked.
Buffy didn't answer him. The silence stretched out for a few minutes as she stared at Faith's face.
Quietly she asked, "Can you leave us alone for a bit?"
The nurse nodded at Giles and he said, "Of course, dear. Take as much time as you need."
"Well, I need to come back in ten minutes and check on her." The nurse said, almost apologetically.
"I just want to say some things."
"Very well. We'll be outside if you need us." Giles said with a positive smile and led the nurse out of the room.
His heart was breaking for Buffy, this reminded him of what he had to go through when he made the decision to switch off the machines that were keeping Diana alive.
"Don't fuckin' tell me that, Giles!"
"Faith, it's what she would have wanted. It's in her will."
"What she would have wanted?! What she would have wanted?!" Faith stalked up into his personal space. "What she would have wanted was to be here with us, bugging you about the shit you managed to get on your tie again and laughin' at how I'd tease you about wearin' a bib." Faith let out a laugh...it sounded anything but amused. "Fuck you and your: `What she would have wanted'!"
The look in her eyes was a murderous one, and though he felt like doing it, Giles didn't back away from her. Instead, he put his arms around her, lightly, trying not to make her feel trapped.
At first Faith let herself relax into his embrace, but then she saw a flash of red behind her eyes, she felt Giles was giving in too easily, so she pushed him off and turned away.
Giles just stood there, looking at her back, waiting for her next move. He could almost hear the thoughts going through her mind.
"Faith," He said tentatively, when he didn't hear a protest he kept talking. "The doctors have done all they can do for her, the machines…the machines are just breathing for her, keeping her alive but…"
"Giles, please shut the fuck up! Please!" She kept saying `please' over and over again, each time more quiet; she fell to her knees, and hugged her arms around herself.
Giles stepped forward when Faith went to her knees thinking she was fainting but then backed off slightly when she stayed in an upright position. He stood there, feeling helpless for a few moments, but then the thought of actually shutting off Diana's machines was starting to really sink in, and he dropped to his knees, and hugged Faith to himself. He kept hugging her until she stopped fighting it and took comfort in his embrace, tears coming from each of them.
After thirty minutes, when they both had quieted down, Faith pulled back from the embrace and sat back on her haunches.
Giles sat fully on the floor and waited for her next move.
She stood up, looked down at him, waiting for what seemed like hours and finally said, "I can't be there when you do it."
"Faith…"
"I know, `it's what she would have wanted', but I just can't fucking do it, I can't."
Giles understood. He wished he didn't have to be there either, but he would. He would be there if only to be a comfort to his beloved while she took her last breath on this earth.
Faith left him there with no other touch or word.
Giles didn't see her for the next three days until she showed back up at the house she had shared with Diana on the morning of her funeral.
"Faith, dear…"
"Just came to get some stuff, I met someone and I'm gonna stay with her for a while."
Giles nodded and then added, "Today is Diana's memorial service."
Faith looked stunned, almost like she hadn't realized Diana was dead. Then she recovered and looked contrite.
"I can't—"
Giles cut her off, "I know, I was just informing you." He added softly, "She went quickly, the doctor said there was no pain."
Faith looked away from him, he could see there were tears falling unchecked from her eyes, although she made no sound.
After a few moments she cleared her throat and spoke.
"I'm…" Glad? Was that what she was supposed to say? Because she didn't feel very glad. "I'm gonna go get some more of my stuff upstairs. Be right back."
Giles sighed as he watched her go upstairs.
"Will I see you this Sunday?" He called up after her. It was their standing date for brunch. At least it was when Diana was alive.
"I'll call you," She answered.
"Right, then. I have to be at the church in thirty minutes. The burial will be back in London on Monday."
"Okay, I'll talk to you later." Even though she loved him and felt she could be open and honest with him, Faith wished he would just go. She felt a huge breakdown coming on and she didn't want him there in case there was any collateral damage.
She heard the door shut and then in a few moments his car started up and she let out a prolonged sigh.
After staring at nothing in particular for the better part of twenty minutes, she finally finished packing some of her clothes. She couldn't stand being in the house that she used to love, because the person who made it so special to her, was no longer a part of it.
She left with barely a glance back and hopped into a car that took her over to her new friend's house. She just hoped her girlfriend would understand.
As the morning of Diana's burial dawned, a pall hung over the inhabitants, of the house in Oxfordshire she used to live in with her parents.
Giles had gone there to stay with them, and this morning he was up early, making coffee and seeing to it that her father didn't stay out too long in the garden with his thoughts. Diana's mother had been worried about him. Cecil always had been prone to bouts of depression, especially before Diana was born. Since that time, he had learned to deal with those feelings of despair, and have a normal life with his wife and daughter who turned out to be a delight that he could barely imagine would be possible.
Except for her stubbornness in not wanting to go to the university he had so dedicated his life to, Oxford, she was a model child. He consoled himself by surmising that at least the man she had chosen as her mate was a distinguished former student of his. It made up for the feeling of being slighted by his only precious daughter who went to Cambridge and loved it.
After making two cups of the strong coffee that Cecil liked in the morning, something he learned to love while he was in the British Army, and saying good morning to Diana's mother, he went outside to bring him one of the cups and just sit there in his presence.
Cecil thanked Giles for the cup of coffee and continued to stare out at the pond that lay a short distance away from the bench they were sitting on.
Neither of them said a word for many long minutes. They watched the mist rise from the pond, and Giles sipped his coffee, grateful for its warmth. He was more of a tea drinker, but would endure coffee for Diana and her father. It was their "thing" and he was glad to be a part of it.
He thought of what Diana had once told him, "Tea makes me calm, I wish to be irritated." When he had asked why she preferred coffee at that particularly tense moment of her day.
"Beautiful, isn't she?" Cecil remarked quietly.
"Mmm?" Giles was brought out of his thoughts.
Cecil pointed to the pond with his cup. A duck had just settled in the water and was swiftly moving through it.
"Not a care in the world," Cecil continued.
"Mmm, I suppose," Giles said with a nod, taking a sip of his coffee, respectfully he added while looking down into the cup, "If you don't count getting eaten by foxes, shot by hunters or hunted out of the air by falcons."
Cecil laughed in spite of himself and his thoughts.
"Leave it to you to be so levelheaded about whether ducks have a care in the world or not, Rupert."
"We saw evidence to the contrary about their cares when we vacationed in the Cotswolds last spring."
"Beautiful time that was," Cecil remarked.
Giles silently agreed, thinking of how beautiful Diana looked in the sun, when it graced them with their presence, and despite her protests at it being "kinda dull" there, that Faith had a splendid time.
They sat in silence again for another good while, just watching life in Diana's beloved childhood home go on.
They were both startled by a loud noise and watched as the duck flew up and into some of the tall vegetation strategically situated around the pond.
"What the bloody…" Giles started to ask.
"That'll be Faith."
"That noise is associated with Faith?"
"She said something about riding here on her new bike. I thought it was a British Eagle. I should have known," Cecil said wryly.
Giles stood up and went around to the driveway where Faith would most likely be pulling into. He was impressed by the sleek black motorcycle and marveled at the way the early morning sun was glinting off the shiny chrome parts. It reminded him of his days as "Ripper". He was also ecstatic at the fact that she was here, on this day, hopefully to honor Diana.
"G," Faith said as she walked through the gate to where he was. "S'up?"
"Just having some coffee. Would you like a cup?" He took care not to make a big deal out of the fact that she showed up.
"Love some," She affectionately tapped him on the shoulder. "Heya, Pops," She said with a sad smile to Cecil.
"Faith, lovely to see you," Cecil got up and made his way over to her. She grabbed him in a hug and didn't let go for several moments.
Giles almost sobbed out at the touching display of affection by these two people who could, at times, best be described as "closed off emotionally".
"I'll go get some more coffee," He finally managed to say without too much emotion evident in his voice.
"That was her I heard wasn't it?" Diana's mother, Alberta, said to Giles as he came into the kitchen of the house.
"Yes, it was her," He said with a smile. "She came."
"Oh thank goodness!" She said in relief.
"Bertie!" Cecil called to her. "Come see our Faith!"
"She's a dear girl for coming back."
"She is indeed," Giles agreed.
Alberta side-hugged him before going out back to welcome Faith back to their home.
He watched through the window at their tearful reunion and shed some of his own tears into his coffee cup for the person who would have loved this get together the most but couldn't be there because someone had killed her.
Buffy moved closer to the edge of Faith's bed and kept staring into her face. Almost as if she were willing her to live.
"Faith," She spoke in a whispered hush. "I'm here now, baby. If you…" Her voice broke as she spoke and some tears fell out of her eyes and onto her dressing gown. "If you need to leave, I'm with you…"
Buffy lifted her eyes to Faith's face, hoping that would have gotten some sort of reaction out of her, like her waking up and saying, "Not gonna get rid of me that easily, babe."
But apparently that only happened in fantasy, or the movies.
Another tear slipped out of her eye and she put her head down on the bed.
"Oh Faith, I really don't ask for much of you, but all I do ask is that you don't leave me. We need you here, we all need you here."
While Buffy was quietly sobbing into the bed, the nurse stepped into the room.
"I'm sorry Ms. Summers, I just have to check the monitors."
Buffy lifted her head and watched as the nurse went to each monitor, then wrote something down on Faith's chart.
"H-how's she doing?" Buffy asked after a minute.
"Quite well considering her injuries," She looked at Buffy and added. "Would you like to go back to your room now?"
"Could I stay for a little while longer?"
"My friend the neo-natal nurse said they were going to bring you your baby, so you could see about feeding her."
Buffy's heart jumped at that.
"Could they bring her in here?"
The nurse looked around for a moment, then looked at the bed with Faith in it.
"I'll have to check of course, but I don't see why not."
"Thank you," Buffy said gratefully.
After almost ten minutes, the neo-natal nurse wheeled in the baby and helped Buffy get situated. The nurse handed Buffy a bottle but she put it down shaking her head.
"I'm going to try breast feeding her," She said with a determined nod. The nurse smiled at her and showed her how to hold the baby so it wouldn't be uncomfortable on her incision.
The baby fussed for a little before calming once she was up against Buffy's body, and settled down to latch on for a meal. Buffy was amazed at how adept the little baby was at finding the right spot and how strong and powerful her sucking reflex was.
The neo-natal nurse was whispering the particulars of what it was called, "rooting" which was when the baby turned into the breast and got ready to feed and everything else she really probably should have been paying attention to, but wasn't, because at the moment, the anxious feeling she had been experiencing for the past couple of days went away and a smile took its place. She just couldn't help marveling at this bundle of joy in her arms.
After a few minutes, the nurses left her and the baby to bond.
As they walked out of the room they whispered to each other:
"Has she picked out a name yet?"
"She said she's not going to until Faith wakes, I guess they didn't have a name picked out yet."
"I just hope the doctor is right, he's going to try to bring her out of the coma tomorrow."
"But you said she might not ever wake up."
"We'll see what happens. She's lucky to be alive at all."
The nurses lamented Faith's state of health all the way back to their respective stations.
"But you said she'd be awake three days ago!" Buffy yelled at the doctor who quietly answered that they were doing all they could, and then excused himself from her room.
"Buffy dear…"
"No, Mom, don't okay?!"
Joyce didn't say anything else, but she didn't move away from her daughter, the look on her face was pure "mom".
Buffy visibly deflated and went over to the bassinet where the baby had started crying.
"It's just…I'm getting…I can't…"
"Dear, the doctors are doing all they can. Yes, Faith was supposed to wake up three days ago, but now it looks like she'll be out a little longer. They say her vital signs are doing well." Joyce tried to look on the bright side. "At least you can leave the hospital tomorrow."
Buffy looked at her mother like she just told her to go put a pillow over Faith's face.
"Why would I leave the hospital without Faith?"
Joyce knew she had to tread lightly here, she knew how headstrong Buffy could be, especially when her loved one's well being was at stake.
"Mom, seriously, I know what you're gonna say, but I need you to be on my side a little here."
"Buffy darling, I'm always on your side..."
Their attention was drawn by the little baby's mighty cries. Joyce's heart melted for her little grandchild, and she moved to pick her up.
"She's hungry, Mom."
"That sounded like a gassy cry if I ever heard one," Joyce said, authoritatively.
Buffy smirked at her mother and watched as she tried to burp the child, who wouldn't be mollified by that action. Joyce then cradled the baby in the crook of her arm and smiled triumphantly when she calmed down instantly.
"See?" She said, with a smirk of her own aimed at her daughter.
Buffy's smile deepened as she watched her daughter turn into Joyce's breast and try to latch onto her nipple through the material of her blouse.
Dawn laughed, "Good one, Mom. You sure showed Buffy." She rescued her mother from making a further fool of herself, by taking the baby out of her arms.
The little one put up a mild protest at being ripped from her grandmother's arms but Dawn set her straight.
"No, no baby, you don't want those, they're dry." She kissed the top of her niece's head gently as she waited for Buffy to get comfortably into position on her chair.
"You see? Those are all ripe and juicy," She whispered loud enough for her mom and sister to hear.
"Dawn!" Buffy and Joyce scolded at the same time.
Buffy finally was ready and held her arms out for her daughter. Dawn gently handed the little girl over and then sat on the arm of the chair to watch dinner time for the baby take place.
Neither Buffy nor Dawn would have ever thought that this would become a routine for them, but Buffy was grateful to have her sister's company, and Dawn couldn't get enough of watching the baby eat mightily.
After a few minutes of watching her baby drink from her breast, Buffy let out a contented sigh.
When she spoke again, it was with a lighthearted lilt, "I understand that they're only doing their jobs, Mother, but can I ask that they execute their intentions better?"
"You've been spending way too much time with Giles," Dawn remarked without thinking.
Whether Buffy heard her sister's comment or not, she didn't let on, but kept speaking to her mother in the lighthearted tone.
"I wish they would just tell me she's not going to wake up for weeks, rather than keep giving me false hopes every day."
Joyce nodded her head in understanding and sympathy.
"You're right dear. You're absolutely right. But the problem with that is they really don't know. It could be one day or a hundred and one days. As the doctor said, she'll wake up when she's ready."
"She's ready," Gunn popped his head in the room and then knocked on the door frame. He had obviously heard what Joyce had just said.
Buffy almost lost the cool she was so desperately trying to hold onto.
"She's...she's..."
He beamed a smile at her and finished the sentence for her, "She's awake, and asking for you as a matter of fact."
Buffy looked down at their daughter, and gently pulled her nipple out of her mouth. Thankfully, she didn't protest at losing the source of her meal because she had already started to fall back to sleep. Gunn helped Buffy out by taking the baby from her and waiting while she re-situated her dressing gown and checked her hair in the mirror.
"Will you just come on!" Dawn cried. "You know you could look like Hagatha the old hag from Hagsville and Faith would think you were a beautiful angel that just came down from heaven who gave really excellent blow..."
"Dawn!" Buffy and her mother scolded again.
"That's pretty accurate," Gunn offered his opinion.
Buffy shot him daggers before walking with him to Faith's room.
It was curious, but she actually felt a little nervous. Even after all the time they had spent together not to mention intimately, she didn't know how Faith would react to the baby and it was making her feel apprehensive.
The nurses were fluttering around Faith and the doctor was just finishing up her vitals when Buffy and Gunn came into the room.
Faith had been awake for about an hour, and in that time they had preliminarily determined that she didn't have any brain damage, although the long term affects of losing that much blood would remain to be seen.
"Doc, I'm fine, can you move so I can see my family?"
The doctor apologized quickly and moved out of the way, Faith's smile faltered slightly when she saw Gunn carrying the baby. He had a huge smile on his face, and Buffy was next to him looking scared.
`Fuck, it's his,' She thought. `Oh well, suck it up, you knew that might be a possibility.'
"Hey baby," Faith said to Buffy and held out her hand. A more confident smile broke out on Buffy's face and she rushed over to the bed and kissed Faith.
"Ooh, be careful, sweetheart. My…" She thought about what hurt, and concluded it would be easier if she tried to figure out what didn't hurt. "…everything hurts."
The doctor spoke, "We'll give you more pain medicine shortly, we've set you up on a drip."
Faith patted Buffy's hand and smiled into her face, "I've got all the pain medicine I need right here."
Just then Gunn stepped closer to the bed and gently handed the baby over to Buffy, it was the first time Faith would see the baby's face.
"Congratulations, Dad." He said and gently touched her shoulder with his fist.
Faith sat there stunned, looking into the face of her child. It was like looking at the old worn photo she had of her grandmother holding her when she was just days old. She could definitely see a resemblance.
Tears welled up in her eyes and she put her arms out, not caring about the pain, she just wanted to hold her baby.
Buffy too had tears in her eyes and as she handed over the child, she sobbingly gave instructions on supporting the head and to watch out because she had just eaten.
"It's a girl?" Faith managed to rasp out. Her throat was hurting from being unused, but also from the emotions she was feeling.
"Yes," Buffy answered.
Faith made some movements with her mouth, but the words didn't seem to want to come out.
"Name?" She finally was able to ask.
"We didn't pick one out yet, remember?"
Faith nodded, she looked down into the baby's face.
"Isabelle…" She said after a few moments.
"Y-you…really Faith?"
Faith nodded again, she couldn't really speak, the overwhelming emotions of the moment, and the fact that she had just woken up from a coma were catching up with her. Buffy could see this and took the baby into her arms to support her, she still left her next to Faith so they would be close.
"That's a beautiful name," Joyce said, moved to tears. She was standing over by the door and the nod of her head showed she approved of her Hollywood starlet mother's name being used for her first born grandchild.
"I hate to make you all leave, but we still need to examine Faith a little further, and she needs some more rest."
Everyone except Buffy immediately agreed to leave, and were already dispersing.
Faith looked like she wanted to say something, so Buffy stayed with the baby for a little longer.
"Does…" Faith said with great difficulty, her tiredness was overwhelming her most likely as a result of the pain medication the doctor had mention.
"Does what Faith?"
Faith tried to speak, again in vain and then brought her arm up to pantomime what she wanted to ask.
She made a loose fist and gestured with a quick slanted up and down movement.
Buffy's cheeks reddened at the recognition of the motion Faith was making, she quickly looked around to the nurses and the doctor and then moved closer to the bed.
"I can't do that for you right now, baby…"
It was Faith's turn to be puzzled, then realized what her gesture might have looked like. She shook her head and struggled to speak.
"No…does she…have…" Faith then indicated toward her crotch area.
Realization dawned on Buffy's face, and she let out a small laugh, "Nope, ten fingers, ten toes, one vagina."
Faith visibly relaxed and a content smile etched its way across her lips.
"Miss Summers," The doctor approached Buffy. "You're welcome to stay, but perhaps, you can come back in a few minutes, after you've finished feeding your baby."
Buffy looked down and realized the baby was again trying to suckle nourishment through clothing, she smiled at her.
"She's always hungry," She then looked over at Faith who obviously heard that statement and was nodding in the affirmative. "I'll just finish feeding her, sweetheart and then come back right away, okay?"
Faith puckered her lips and Buffy leaned down for a gentle kiss, the electricity that passed between them, even for a moment startled Buffy and she had the urge to deepen it, but realized she was in a room full of people and she was currently squishing the baby between them.
"I'll be back," She whispered and watched Faith turn her head towards her, smiling.
"Buffy, what's the deal with you forgetting how to put on a diaper?" Dawn said as she watched Buffy fumble with her daughter's diaper. Just then Faith swooped in and had the diaper fastened like an expert and spirited the little girl away to the deck area.
Buffy, still holding her hands in the same position she had them in while trying to put on the diaper, let out a sigh.
"You see why? She doesn't let me do anything. It's always, `I got this, B. You go rest.' or `You do too much, baby, let me handle this.'"
Dawn looked at her sister in mock sympathy, "Yeah, that's so terrible."
"Hey, you girls gonna get your butts out here or what?" Faith said from the entrance of the French doors. She was gently patting the baby's back and occasionally placing a soft kiss on her cheek.
"What's so important that can't…" Buffy started to ask as she made her way out to the deck.
"Look," Faith pointed to the banner that was above the deck and the balloons she had blown up with the helium pump and were tied all around the railing.
"Oh, Faith! He's gonna to love it!" Buffy said excitedly.
"You gotta help me out though, make sure he doesn't come out here."
"Definitely," Buffy agreed and Dawn nodded her head as well.
"It's gonna be hard though," Dawn said.
"It'll only have to be until two, his mom's plane gets in at twelve and she's gonna go get freshened up at Olie's then she's gonna come right here."
"She's doing okay?" Buffy asked, skeptical.
"Better than she ever has, Gunn's been talking to her again, and they worked out an agreement about Ben."
"She's not gonna be all `Mistress Glory' out here is she?" Dawn said, a little catty.
"D…" Faith said in a warning tone.
"I know, I know, it's just that…"
"You have problems with her lifestyle and you think she's coming here to take Ben away from us. It's not like that, D."
On and off for the past six weeks, Ben had lived with them. Before Gunn would have to go off and do a movie, he would ask his son if he wanted to go with him or not. Ben would always look like he was weighing the options and then let out a huge laugh and a smile as he said he would stay with the girls. Then he would give his father a contrite look and say, "You know I love you Daddy, but my bike is here." And Gunn would smile and give him a hug and a kiss and tell him he'd call him as soon as he got to wherever he was going.
They knew eventually when Gunn went back to the States permanently, that they'd have to deal with the fact that they'd see him and Ben less, but they weren't worrying about that right now. Gunn had just signed a contract with a company in Germany to do a lot of "Blacks Uber Alles Blondes" movies, so they'd have at least a couple of more months until that time came.
Isabelle yawned and Buffy said she was going to put her down for a nap. Faith started to protest but then remembered that Buffy had complained about not getting to do anything for her daughter anymore, so she handed her over to her. Dawn winked at Faith and Faith gave her the thumbs up sign and followed Buffy up to their room.
Once inside she stood behind Buffy and watched as Isabelle yawned again, and succumbed to a peaceful sleep.
Faith started placing kisses on the exposed skin of Buffy's shoulder, and Buffy had to stifle a moan. She quickly and deftly moved out of Faith's grasp and made to leave the room but Faith pulled her back.
"Faith…"
"C'mon baby…it's been so long…just come and have a nap with me while the baby sleeps."
"Somehow I don't think you're gonna be happy with just napping."
Faith's bottom lip came out and Buffy melted.
"Oh, God. I can't compete with that!" She whispered loudly.
"I don't know why you try…" Faith pulled Buffy over to the bed and made her lay down, then spooned her from behind.
"B, I love you, and I just wanna be with you a little."
"Not with the baby here."
"She's all the way over on the other side of the room, how's she gonna know anything? She's sleeping."
"You're right and I don't want to wake her up."
"Buffy, is this about…"
"No!" She said too loudly and then lowered her voice. "It's not that, Faith. I just…"
"I'll pull out I swear."
Buffy had to laugh at that, she knew Faith was referring to the fact that the doctor told them that it was safe for both of them to have sex now in terms of their respective incisions, but that they should use protection or some other sort of birth control, because even though Buffy was nursing, she still could become pregnant.
"Faith, that's fine, I just feel weird with her in the room. What if I get loud?"
"You're not gonna, you'll just have to be quiet. `Sides, who said we're gonna do it? I just wanted to cuddle…naked."
Buffy let out another short laugh.
As Faith picked up where she had left off, kissing and nibbling on her neck and shoulders, Buffy had forgotten why it was that she wanted to wait. She let a moan escape her lips, and then felt herself divested of her clothes with the expertise and efficiency Faith had shown putting on Isabelle's diaper.
Within moments, she was biting her bottom lip as Faith's fingers found her swollen clit and started up their familiar rhythm. Faith's other hand had snaked around her torso and cupped her engorged left breast. Taking care not to maul or mash it and it's distended nipple, but only to caress it gently, to slowly fan the flames of lust.
After a few minutes of gentle probing and prodding of her sensitive area's by Faith, Buffy felt herself become incredibly wet, and when she felt Faith's bulbous head at her opening she welcomed it and pushed back slightly.
It took them more than a minute for it to slip slowly passed the inner ring of her vaginal opening, presumably because they hadn't had sex in over eight weeks. But once it was inside, and Faith had started up a slow and steady rhythm, it became easier. Buffy was startled at how badly she had missed this kind of contact between her and Faith, and she whispered that she needed more.
Faith quickly switched their position so she was above Buffy, pinning her down to the mattress with her body and grinding her hard cock into her wet, grasping pussy. They kissed deeply as they fucked each other, in an effort to stifle their moans. Faith knew she couldn't exert too much energy or she'd be wiped for the rest of the day, plus she still had some stitches in her abdomen, so she couldn't get too crazy or she'd pop a couple. But Buffy's pussy was just too good and she wanted to power into it hard.
Sensing this, Buffy pulled Faith's hips down into her, and locked her ankles around her back. Faith, being the weaker one at the moment, couldn't move too fast or too hard and let Buffy take over the action, which was mostly played out in the inner depths of her pussy. She squeezed and pulled at Faith's dick while simultaneously sucking on her tongue like she was giving it head.
And Faith was done for. Not keeping her promise of pulling out, she came deeply inside Buffy's vagina, pulling her mouth of hers and letting out a loud grunt. Faith's grunts always affected Buffy in the way that a sexy stare or a caress would, it shot her pleasure up tenfold and she too was soon coming after a few more short sharp strokes from Faith that buried her still flowing semen deep inside her.
"Oh Jesus, Buffy, I'm sorry," Faith gasped when she was able to talk.
"Don't worry," Buffy breathed out, her orgasm still coursing through her veins. "What's the worst that could happen?"
Faith let out a snort and pulled herself up a little so she could see into Buffy's face.
"You really wanna be pregnant so soon after having Belle?"
"If they're yours I don't care how many we have, apparently I don't have to change diapers anymore."
Faith smiled broadly and pushed her hips sharply into Buffy, making her moan with pleasure since her dick was still semi-hard and deep inside of her still-pulsating-with-pleasure walls.
She gave her a wink and dipped her head to place a kiss and a bite on the side of Buffy's neck.
"Mmmm, I wish we could stay here all day, but I know you gotta shower and get ready before the party, and I also know how long you take."
"I love you, Faith."
"Love you too, baby. Now go get ready."
Buffy gave one last squeeze to Faith's semi-hardness and then slipped out from under her to take a shower. She had to help Jana with the cooking and Faith said she'd take care of Isabelle while they did that.
Faith basked in the afterglow, and thought about what she was going to do to Buffy that night. After a few minutes her phone buzzed an alert that she had a text message. She had wished she hadn't looked at the display after she read what it said.
[Need to speak with you about C.C. case, found out some information. ~Anya Jenkins]
She texted back, [I'll call you tomorrow, Ben's party is this afternoon.]
[Oh good, I'll see you then. I'm in town. xoxo ~Anya Jenkins]
Faith laughed at the `xoxo', she knew Anya was just doing that to be funny, because usually she was all business, and she knew Faith would hate to have to talk about Cordelia when she just wanted to have a good time at a party.
She sighed and concluded that she'd just have to grin and bear it, especially if it was something really important.
