Genesis
by EPD
Rating: NC-17
Disclaimer: These characters are the property of Joss Whedon.
Spoilers: Season Seven of BTVS, post Chosen. But all up for grabs.
Feedback: Yes, Pleaseee.
All the scoobies stood at the edge of the crater formerly known as Sunnydale, or as it was better known to them The Hellmouth.
They had spent the best part of seven years of their lives fighting the good fight and now it seemed over, that was until Giles informed them that there was another hellmouth in Cleveland. A silence had fallen between them, all lost in their own thoughts at what they had witnessed.
Xander stood saying a last goodbye to Anya, the woman who he truly loved but for some reason could not give her what she deserved. He knew that there was nothing he could have done to save her and he also knew that she died the way she would have wanted, young and human. She had been his rock for so long and he had thrown it away with his own insecurities, he did not want them to end up like his parents and could not convince himself they would have had a happy ending. He said a silent prayer to whoever was there, thanking them for bringing her into his life and for showing him happiness and love where he thought there could be none.
Willow stood with a single tear running down her cheek, she was reliving her life in Sunnydale, the friendship she has had with Xander since they were in Kindergarten and remembered Oz and wondered where he was now. She remembered her time with Tara, the time they were together was the happiest of her life, and then it was all to end so suddenly. ‘I will always remember you’ she said to herself hoping that Tara, wherever she was could hear her.
Dawn looked at the crater and thought of her mother, she closed her eyes and played the memories of the happy times and she reflected on the bad. She remembered the day Buffy came to school to tell her that her mother had died, but not from any form of demon, but by a human condition, it made her feel somewhat relieved that her mother did not have to suffer at the hands of some demon or vampire, but she could not help but wish that the doctors could have done more.
Faith stood behind the rest with her head bowed as she remembered this town, it was to be her salvation from the life she had lived, but instead it had turned into the most terrifying time. She had spent many years in prison reliving the things she had done, not only to the people who stood in front of her, but the people who were no longer with them. She remembered Joyce and was saddened that she would never be able to apologise to the woman who had supported her and believed in her even at her most vicious time. She remembered the Mayor and that thought brought a small smile to her face, even though she knew he was evil and that she was happy that he did not succeed in his plans at the ascension, he had shown her in a very short time that there are people who care, ‘it’s a pity you were on the wrong side boss’ she said to herself.
Giles stood quietly watching the others, he had seen a great change in all of his ‘chen’ en’ as he thought of them. He looked at Xander and remembered how much of a bumbling idiot he had been when he had first met him, and now stood in front of him was the man he felt proud of, he had seen so much and he was no longer afraid of what the future or the world had to throw at him. He turned slowly to look at Willow and he could see in her now the potential of a powerful witch, but one who could now control the dark side. His eyes finally came to rest on the most precious of his children, the one who he had seen as a daughter for so long, she had battled longer than any other Slayer and once again had proven beyond all shadow of doubt that she was truly a wonderful woman. She had proven how strong she really was, in leadership, in friendship and within her family, she had truly been the rock for them all, even when she was drowning herself.
“So Buffy, what are we going to do now?” Willow said trying to break the silence.
Buffy turned to look at her best friend “Well first we need to check on all the girls make sure they're up for travelling, then we should head for LA and tell Angel and the LA crew that they can stand down.” With a chorus of “ok’s” and “yep’s” the gang slowly started to move back to the School Bus. “Faith, can I talk to you for a sec?” Buffy called to the dark slayer.
Faith turned slowly not knowing what was coming her heart was in her mouth as she replied “Sure B, what’s the what?”
“I just want to know what you’re planning?” Buffy said looking into her counterpart’s eyes.
“What do you mean Buffy? I’m not planning anything, I came to help that’s all” Faith said, upset that Buffy would think she was planning to hurt them again. Buffy was a little taken aback by Faith’s reaction, then she realised how it must have sounded to her.
“No, no, no that’s not what I meant, I mean are you planning to come with us now, or do you have plans of your own.”
Faith looked dumbfounded that Buffy was asking her to join them, well not actually asking but hinting at it. “I hadn’t thought about it B, I suppose if you don’t mind I’d like to come along for the ride if it’s ok with everyone, I’m not really sure that they would want me though after everything I put them through, and you know me not good with the persecution and stuff and well….”
“Slow down Faith when did you become such a good talker,” Buffy said slightly laughing at the way Faith was babbling. “Look Faith I know that I can’t speak for everyone on that bus, but I can tell you that I forgive you for everything you did years ago, if I’m being honest with you I forgave you a long time ago. I can’t say I understand all the reasons why you did what you did, but I can understand how hard it is to say no to the temptation the dark side offers. There are times when I look back and realise that you don’t deserve all the blame for what happened, we should have been there for you instead of just treating you like a tool that we could use and throw out when we didn’t need it anymore, for that I am truly sorry,” Buffy looked at the ground at this point as she did not want to look into Faith’s eyes at this revelation.
“Buffy look at me” with the use of her full name Buffy could only do as she was told, “Thank you, for forgiving me. But don’t think that if you had done anything different, things would have changed, I was going through a rough time and no matter what anyone did I saw it as some kind of threat, someone using me abusing me, so don’t ever blame yourself for what I did.”
Buffy looked at Faith with compassion, she had not seen this side of the dark slayer before, and was wondering where it had come from.
“Well are you coming with us or not” Buffy said, poking Faith slightly on the shoulder with a huge grin on her face.
“Only if you promise me that we can start over, no more of the past, no more blame, lets get to know each other properly this time, girl to girl not slayer to slayer,” Faith reached down and took Buffy’s hand in her own. “What d’you say Buff, it’s up to you.”
Buffy let out a breath she didn’t realise she had been holding, “Faith we will have to talk about the past at some time, but yeah I think we can get to know each other as girls not slayers, anyway there are too many slayers to get to know now” they both burst into laughter at this point, until Faith pulled Buffy into a fierce hug.
“Thank you” she whispered into Buffy’s ear. Buffy was a little taken back by the hug but quickly responded, they held each other tightly for a few moments until they broke apart both smiling at each other, and slowly they returned to the bus.
As they stepped onto the bus there was a sense of organisation. Those who were only slightly injured were all looking after those who had sustained more serious injuries. Buffy walked up to Willow who was putting a bandage around one of the girls’ arm.
“Hey Will.”
“Oh Hey Buff” Willow replied looking at the blond.
“So what’s the situation, is everyone ok to travel?” Buffy asked, hoping the answer would be yes.
“Well” Willow started “we’ve assessed nearly everyone and although some need hospital treatment, there’s no immediate danger to anyone, so yeah we can go” she smiled at Buffy knowing that the slayer would be happy that they weren’t going to lose anyone else.
Buffy returned the smile then walked to Giles “Giles can you drive this thing, only I don’t think Wood’s up to it.”
“Yes, yes of course Buffy, when do you want to leave?” Giles asked with concern. Buffy smiled at him knowing that he was worried about the girls on the bus.
“As soon as we have everyone a little more comfortable, I think” she replied.
“Ok then Buffy just let me know when I’m needed” he smiled “Oh Buffy, are you ok, do you want me to look at the stab wound?” he asked pointing to the now dried blood on her shirt.
“No it’s ok, it’s already healing.” She touched the spot gently with her hand and unconsciously looked at Faith ‘a matching pair’ she thought sadly to herself.
Faith had gone to check on Wood “Hey Robin, how you doin’” she asked as brightly as she could.
“I’ve been better,” he said with a small smile.
“Listen, I’m going up back with Buffy, we need to sort out what’s going to happen next.” She told him hoping he wouldn’t mind.
“No of course, she needs your help, in any case I don’t think I could stay awake long enough to help anyone at the moment” he replied moaning slightly.
“K, if you need anything just holler” she said and slowly stood and walked towards the back of the bus, to where the blond had settled herself.
As she approached the blond she could see she that she was crying, she went to turn away when she felt a hand on her arm, “No need to go” a small voice said from behind her, she turned her head to see Buffy smiling sadly at her.
“Ok, I just thought you’d want to be alone” she replied honestly.
“I’m Ok” Buffy assured her “I want you to sit here with us, we have a lot of planning to do and you are part of the Senior Scoobies so you should be here” Buffy said smiling.
Faith beamed at being included in the Senior Scoobies, she knew she had a long way to go before she would be known as Slayer on the right terms. Buffy moved to sit and patted the empty seat next to her, Faith without thinking jumped straight into it like a kid who’d never been on a bus before, Buffy laughed at her and then turned her attention back to the happenings on the bus.
As they were sitting quietly at the back of the bus Willow approached them. “That’s everyone Buffster, I think maybe we should start heading to LA. It’s a long drive and we need to get there soon.”
“Ok Will, and thanks.” Buffy replied while starting to stand to go to Giles, “Giles, it’s time, we need to start moving, is everyone back on the bus.”
Xander spoke from the front of the bus “I’ll go check, I’ll be back” he said while jumping the few steps to the ground. Xander returned after a few moments, “No one out there” he called from the front.
“Alright then” said Giles “That’s my cue.”
Giles moved towards the drivers seat as Buffy made her way more to the middle of the bus, she stood there for a few moments then cleared her head, “Hey, can I get everyone’s attention for a minute” everyone on the bus fell silent “Ok, thanks” she started “we have to start moving so everyone make yourselves as comfortable as you can, we are going to LA to a very good friend, we’ll probably stay there for a while, until everyone is healed. When the time comes, we’ll sort out what’s happening next, but until then, just concentrate on getting better.” She looked around at the faces that were looking at her expectantly.
Then Kennedy called from where she was sitting next to Willow “I don’t know about the rest, but I’m sorry for ever doubting you Buffy, and I want to thank you for saving our asses today, and to the rest of you for fighting when you didn’t have to.”
Buffy turned to Kennedy with tears in her eyes “no need to thank me, you all helped today and I hope that you will all become not only great slayers, but the great women that I’m sure you are.”
Then Xander called from his position next to Andrew “Well I say OH YEAH!! For the good guys” there was a slight pause then everyone on the bus shouted “OH YEAH”.
Giles started the bus as Buffy made her way back to her seat. It was going to be a long night.
They had been travelling for about an hour, everyone talking quietly to one another, allowing those who needed it the peace to sleep. At the back however it was a different story, Willow and Kennedy had snuggled closely together and were just revelling it the feel of each other, Buffy and Faith had leaned into one another for comfort and were sat staring into nothingness, Xander and Dawn sat in front of them, Xander had his arm protectively placed around Dawn and he was absentmindedly stroking her hair as she slept. Andrew was sat opposite them, with his knees curled up, he had quite a pained look on his face as he remembered Anya stepping in to save him but then losing sight of her as the battle went on.
Finally the once shy red head brought them out of their reverie. “So when we get to LA what are we going to do, we need to find a place to stay and stuff,” she said looking over at the Slayers.
“Well like I said Will, we’ll have to talk to Angel, perhaps he has somewhere we could stay, I mean we haven’t got the money for any swanky hotels have we” Buffy replied.
“Why don’t you call him? Let him know we’re coming that way we won't have to wait to get these kids into bed” Faith stated waving her arm around at the others on the bus.
“Yeah I think I will, we’ll have to make a stop somewhere I’ll call him from there” she smiled at the thought of speaking to Angel again, she had thought the last time she would have seen him was when he had given her the Talisman and the information he had brought. The picture of him walking away from her was still fresh in her mind, but she knew she had already let go of him.
“Hey Buff, what about the Council” Xander asked from his seat “I mean they’re no more, what happens to the money they had?” he finished turning around in his seat to face her. At this question they all seemed to straighten and become a little less down.
“He has a point” Faith said from the side “I mean they had to have money somewhere right, so what happens now, they worked in secret so where’s the money” she said while a thousand different scenarios played through her mind about off-shore accounts.
“I can probably locate it” Willow stated, “I mean not with a spell but with the computer, you know old hacker on the bus” she said sounding much like the old Willow she was back in college.
Buffy turned quickly to her best friend “I’m all for it maybe it will give us enough to let these girls live for a while before we really have to start worrying” she said smiling.
“Well as soon as I’ve caught up on a little bed action I’ll get on it” with this comment Xander’s head flew around to look at her, while Kennedy blushed a wonderful shade of crimson, Faith’s mouth was hanging open and all Buffy could do was blink and say “Huh!” At this reaction the red head quickly stated “I meant sleep you guys, I mean don’t you ever think of anything else.” After a slight pause everyone shouted “Hell NO” in unison, which made them all burst into fits of laughter.
After about five hours a few stops and a change of driver they finally pulled up to the hotel Angel had told them about. Xander pulled the bus into the car park and stopped the engine. He turned to face behind him to see Buffy already walking forward, he watched her as she became more confident with every step. He smiled at her as she walked past the bus. He held his hand up to the others on the bus knowing that Angel would be there to greet them and that Buffy would want a few minutes alone with him.
As she stepped from the bus, the familiar figure dressed in black slowly walked towards her, she felt her heart race as she began to run extending her arms to him. They caught each other and held each other for a long time not wanting the moment to end. Finally Buffy pulled back “Thank you Angel, I don’t know how I can repay you for everything.”
Angel held her face in his hands as he spoke “Buffy you know I will do anything for you, I’m so happy you’re alive, and here and well you know….” He trailed off.
The petite blond looked at him “I have to get the girls settled in, do you mind helping” she slowly stepped back allowing their arms to fall, but they still held onto each others hands. Angel looked at their hands and then back to Buffy and he slowly let go, he smiled and walked towards the bus.
As Angel stepped onto the bus there was a tense feeling, all of the girls were looking at him strangely, they had all felt a weird tingle as someone entered the bus. Faith realised quickly what was going on, and made her way towards Angel as fast as she could, when she got to the front she hugged him quickly “Hey how you doin’ Dead-boy” to this the girls nearest drew in sharp breaths. She turned to them “It’s ok girls he’s on our side” she said with a smile “Oh, by the way, that tingling sensation,” she said while pointing at the back of her neck “get used to it, that’s you’re first line of defence against Vampires.” They all looked at her confused “It’s one of the powers the Slayer possesses to enable her to hunt and kill the Vampires.” She explained. At that many of the new slayers looked quite happy that their Vamp-dar had gone off.
When they had entered the hotel there were twenty-six of them, they had to share between 14 rooms, this meant that both Giles and Wood got their own rooms which they were more than happy about.
The others paired up, of course Willow and Kennedy were already making their way to their room, Xander had offered that he and Andrew shared as he could see that Andrew was still blaming himself for Anya’s death, and he wanted to make sure that he would accept that he could have done nothing.
That left Dawn, Buffy and Faith, Dawn quickly pointed out that she did not want to share a room with her sister or there would definitely be a war if not the end of the world. So Dawn went to share with Vi while Buffy and Faith were left to a room together. Faith was a little apprehensive at first, not expecting to be sharing a room with the person that was once her biggest enemy. But as soon as they had entered the room and picked which bed they were going to sleep in she became a little more relaxed.
Buffy had offered Faith the use of the shower first, but when she refused saying that Buffy had to clean her wound Buffy had agreed and was now stood with her hands against the wall with the hot water pouring down her aching body. She had not realised how bad she felt until the water started to hit all the sore parts. She stood for a while, but remembered that she would need a shower just as much and quickly finished up and stepped out of the shower. She dried herself then put on one of the bathrobes that were hanging on the back of the door. She revelled in the feel, of the softness against her skin, it was as if she was feeling it for the first time.
Buffy returned to the room with her hair in a towel, she announced to the dark slayer that she has finished and watched as Faith walked passed her and into the bathroom.
She sat down slowly on her bed and looked around the room, ‘well it’s not so bad’ she thought to herself, then she noticed there was a bag set on the floor. She was curious as none of them had anything with them when they arrived, so she walked cautiously over to the bag and slowly bent to open it. Faith hadn’t closed the bathroom door tight and could see the blond slayers reaction to the bag, with a huge grin on her face she quietly went to the door, flung it open and shouted “BANG” at this Buffy flew back across the room and stared open mouthed at Faith who was bent over laughing hysterically.
Buffy scowled at Faith “That was NOT funny” she said matter of factly.
“Oh, B, you shoulda seen your face” Faith replied holding her side.
“Well, how would you have reacted miss funny” Faith calmed her breathing and held up her hands in surrender.
“Sorry B, it was just too easy to give up, there’s nothing funny with the bag, one of the hotel staff dropped it off when they knew who was staying where, there’s just some clothes and stuff for you. I’ve already sorted mine, and I must say that who-ever packed them sure knew their stuff” as she walked to the closet opening it to reveal all dark colours and a little leather.
Buffy moved to open the bag again, this time with a little more success, she brought out some of the clothes, and was happy to see a range of lightly coloured tops with a few pairs of pants, including leather.
Faith saw the leather pants and immediately frowned, “Since when are you into leather?” she asked mock horror in her voice.
“Big sister grew up,” Buffy answered with a sly grin.
Faith smiled back and headed back towards the bathroom.
Once they were both settled and ready for bed Buffy turned to Faith “So what’s the plan for tomorrow?”
“Not sure, I think we’ll have to call some sort of meeting, but we’ll let everyone sleep as long as they need, there’s no hurry at the moment and I think everyone could do with some alone time” Faith replied not taking her eyes from the ceiling.
Buffy looked at Faith and wondered when did she become so grown up. She really felt that Faith was trying to include herself in this and was beginning to look forward to having her sister slayer by her side through this.
“Not a bad idea, I think we’ll go with that, anyway I need sleep so goodnight Faith and thanks.”
Faith looked over at Buffy "what's that for" she asked.
“For coming back, you didn’t have to.” Buffy said looking straight into the dark slayer's eyes.
Faith smiled at Buffy “Goodnight B.”
“Good night Faith” Buffy said not realising how much she had missed the nickname.
She awoke as the morning sun shone through the semi-closed curtains, as she became more aware of her surroundings she felt a strong arm holding her close a warm naked body pressed up against her. She smiled remembering last night and how the celebration had started and how it had ended. She stretched slightly and felt movement from behind her.
“You awake baby,” she asked in a whisper.
“Yeah Will, I’m awake, I have been since dawn, I hope this isn’t something ‘slayery’ cos I need my sleep.” Kennedy said sighing.
“Well I know Buffy likes her sleep but I suppose you get used to the odd ‘slayer body,’” she said as she turned in her lover’s arms.
“You saying my body is odd” Kennedy asked with a sly grin.
“Oh no, quite the contrary, I think your body is perfect” the red head answered while leaning closer to the brunette.
Kennedy smiled and moved to catch the wonderful lips in front of her with her own, they kissed gently at first, just feeling each others’ lips as they warmed to the sensation. Willow slowly let her tongue pass over Kennedy’s bottom lip, then moved in and gently sucked and nibbled on it eliciting a quiet moan from the younger girl. The kiss became more heated with passion within moments and both were holding each other close. Willow felt Kennedy slowly tracing patterns on her back and could feel her moving higher until Kennedy’s hand was lost in the sea of red hair, pulling Willow closer to her. Willow moved her hand that was now resting on Kennedy’s side, she slowly moved her hand around and traced the underside of Kennedy’s left breast, even more slowly she cupped the perfect flesh and gently began to rub the nipple which seemed to be ready for her. Kennedy moaned again and quickly flipped them so she was now on top of Willow.
“I want you,” she stated in a deep voice.
Willow loved the sound of Kennedy’s voice when they were like this, so she looked into Kennedy’s eyes and replied “I need ……” KNOCK, KNOCK, came on the door. Both girls growled as they turned to look at the door.
“Willow, Kennedy are you awake?” came Dawn’s small voice from behind the door.
“NO” Kennedy shouted a little more hoarse than normal.
“Oh come on guys, it’s time for breakfast, no one else is awake yet and I’m starved” Dawn cried into the door.
“Alright Dawn, give us a sec ok” Willow replied from her position under Kennedy.
Kennedy just stared at her dumbfounded, “what are you crazy, you can not leave me like this” she stated almost begging.
“All the more fun for later then” Willow said sexily as she slid from under the frustrated brunette. “Oh come on Ken, it's not that bad” Willow said pulling on her pants.
Kennedy reluctantly got out of bed but came up behind Willow and placed her hands on the red head's breasts, she quickly pinched each nipple which earned a groan of desire from the woman in front of her, “Ok then, I suppose we can wait” she said laughing and running to the bathroom just in time to see the pillow fly past her head.
Willow quickly got dressed and went to open the door. “About time” Dawn said strutting into the room and noticing the slight disarray, she turned to the red head who was still at the door “Sorry Will, was I interrupting” she asked going a light shade of pink. Willow was stood with her mouth agape when she quickly shook her head.
“No, no, interrupting, there was nothing happening, just sleep, yep just sleep” Willow quickly said, Kennedy returned from the bathroom.
“Hey Dawn, sleep ok” she asked.
“I haven’t slept that well in ages” she smiled “it’s a lot easier when you’re only sharing with one other person.”
“Yeah I know how that feels,” Kennedy said winking at Willow who returned with a smile.
“So what’s for breakfast then Dawnie?” Willow asked as she picked up her jacket and led them to the door.
“I was hoping for pancakes” Dawn answered with a huge grin.
“Ok then let’s go.” Kennedy said as she waved the girls through the door.
All three walked down the corridor towards the elevators, once they arrived at the ground floor they exited the hotel and went across the street to a small diner.
“Hey, how we gonna pay?” Kennedy asked realising that they had no money.
“It’s ok, it’s on me.” Dawn answered.
“How? I mean where’d you get the money from?” Kennedy asked.
“Well, you know the bag of clothes Angel gave to all of us?” the other two nodded “well he put a hundred dollars in each bag, so we’d have some money for food and essentials.” Dawn explained to the two who were looking perplexed.
“Oh, I haven’t unpacked mine yet” Willow stated still stunned at the revelation.
“Wow, this Angel dude must be rich if he can just give everyone a hundred” Kennedy said in awe.
Dawn looked at Kennedy “He told Buffy something about a new business venture that had come good or something, I’m not sure you’d have to ask them.”
“Yeah I will” Willow spoke from behind.
They sat themselves in one of the booths and ordered large helpings of pancakes Dawn chose chocolate to the horror of Willow. “How can you eat that first thing in the morning” the red head asked in disgust.
“Look you lot keep calling me the kid, I just thought I’d be one for a change” Dawn grinned at her. Willow settled for syrup, and Kennedy had both chocolate and syrup.
Both Dawn and Willow looked strangely at Kennedy “What? I have slayer metabolism now, I can eat what I want” she said smirking at Willow who tried to hide her blush.
They sat quietly while they tucked in to the pancakes. “Hey you lot, how’d you sleep?” a husky voice asked.
“Morning Faith, I imagine the smell of food finally got you to move?” Willow asked with a smile. Faith sat and joined them at the table and ordered her own pancakes, but being Faith had to have fruit as well as the chocolate and syrup pancakes.
“See” Kennedy said pointing at Faith, “I have a long way to go before I get to Faith’s standard” Faith looked quizzically at Kennedy.
“Huh!”
“She means the eating habits of a slayer” Dawn explained.
“Oh, does she get the other half of the hungry Red?” Faith turned to the witch.
“Oh you’d better believe it” she replied before she could think.
“Hey, what’s the other half” Kennedy asked in confusion.
“Red’ll explain it to ya” Faith answered winking at the now once again red Willow.
“Hey Faith, where’s Buffy? Is she awake yet?” Dawn asked through a mouthful of pancake.
“Yeah, I told her I was coming over and that I’d take something back for her, she looked tired this morning, so I let her sleep for a bit.” Faith replied looking at Dawn.
“Is she ok, that knife did cut pretty deep” Dawn asked in a worried tone.
“She’s fine kiddo, nothing to worry about, she just hasn’t slept very well the last few nights, and needs rest.” Faith answered placing a calming hand on Dawn’s arm.
They sat quietly talking for the remainder of the meal, nothing more taxing than what Britney Spears had worn on the latest cover of Maxim, or not worn if you’d listened to Dawn.
“How can you say that a top no bigger than a handkerchief is wearing something?” Dawn asked with disgust.
“Well I thought she looked hot” Kennedy stated earning a poke in the ribs from her girlfriend. “What, she did look hot.” She leaned in to whisper in Willow’s ear “not as hot as you though babe” this earned her a slight shiver and the red head to turn once again a wonderful pink.
“Hey, lets go wake you sister up kid, and leave these love birds to it” Faith said standing.
“No need to leave Faith” Willow quickly said.
“It’s ok Red you deserve a little time alone, in any case if I don’t get this food to B soon she’ll start tearing up the place.” Faith giggled.
“Ok see you guys later” Willow called.
“Bye both” Dawn called back as she left the diner with Faith.
Back in the hotel the pair made their way to Buffy and Faith’s room. “So was Buffy ok last night” Dawn asked with concern.
“What d’you mean D?” Faith asked.
“Well was she ok, you know, Spike he didn’t make it and she did feel a lot for him. It may not have been love, but she felt something I know she did, even though she tried to hide it” Dawn stated worried about her sister who had lost yet another member of her surrogate family.
“She seemed ok last night D but it probably hasn’t sunk in yet, she’s been through more than any of us, and she pulled us through it. We just have to be there if and when she needs us” Faith replied honestly, placing an arm around the younger girl's shoulders.
Dawn smiled at Faith and continued the walk to the hotel room that was going to be their home for the next few days.
“Hey Buffy you awake” Dawn asked quietly as they entered the room.
“Yeah Dawn, morning. Did you see Fai..” she started to ask as the dark slayer came up behind Dawn.
“Yep, and we brought you some pancakes” Dawn answered as she bounced over to sit on the end of Buffy’s bed.
“Oh cool I’m starved” Buffy said the same time her stomach growled making all three laugh.
Faith handed Buffy the pancakes and turned to sit on her bed “So B how’d you sleep?”
“Not bad, I must have been exhausted, I don’t even remember falling asleep and then it was morning” Buffy smiled.
“Yeah I know how you feel” Dawn said looking at her sister.
They sat and chatted for a little while about the money and clothes that Angel had given them and how he had become head of some company. Faith nearly had a heart attack when she heard that the LA crew were basically running Wolfram and Hart. The same people who had hired her to kill Angel, the thought of that made her shudder with remorse. They decided that they would call the first official Scooby meeting later in the day, they had to try to plan what was to happen next, and they couldn’t stay in hotels indefinitely.
It was about three in the afternoon when they finally got everyone together. They had managed to get the use of one of the small function rooms in the hotel and they were all gathered, slayers, the small assortment of humans and one witch.
“Hi everyone, I hope you’re all feeling a little better today.” Buffy started looking at the young faces around the room “There are no immediate plans at the moment, so I just wanted you all to relax and have a little fun, the others” she said pointing at the original Scooby members “and myself are going to be discussing some plans for the future and when we have more information or any good ideas we’ll let you all know.” She paused for a moment “I just want you all to know that I appreciate what you did the other day, you were all fantastic and even though we didn’t all survive we did save the world and allow the people out there to see another sun rise, so you should all feel proud of yourselves.” She finished smiling.
“What are we supposed to do now?” asked Vi.
“Well you could go see the sights, shopping, anything you want we have the hotel for another five days so treat it like a holiday.” Willow smiled enthusiastically.
“Oh, and if anyone has any problems I’m in room 433 if you need me for anything.” Giles reassured them.
“Ok that’s all for now, so go enjoy.” Buffy stated as she opened the door and waved her arm to show the girls they could leave.
Once all the ‘slayers in training’ had left the room Buffy turned to the rest.
“I think we did ok.” She said with a far away look in her eyes.
“We definitely did.” Xander replied as he placed his arm around the petite blond.
“So what’s the plan?” Willow asked from her position by the large window.
“Well we all need to make the decision of where we want to go from here?” Giles stated. He turned to look at each of them before he continued. “Now is the time for you to choose, the normal life or to continue in the fight and perhaps go to Cleveland and check out the other Hellmouth there.” He said.
“What you mean like going back to regular jobs and pretending all this doesn’t exist.” Xander said with a puzzled look.
“Well I suppose we can all use some time to think about this, I mean I’ve tried to live a normal life and I’ve always known about the things that go bump in the night, I don’t know if I could ever forget.” Wood offered from where he was seated.
“Yes, yes you're right Robin,” Giles replied “of course we have time to decide, but we have to decide soon.”
“We meet back at my room at ten tomorrow morning,” Buffy stated “well we can’t wait forever and I mean if we do decide Cleveland we’ll only have a few days to organise it.” She finished as a way of explanation to the short time given to them all to make such a big decision, one that could change their lives forever.
“Agreed” replied Giles. The others nodded in assent.
“Ok then lets get some relaxation time” Willow said as she walked towards the door with Kennedy following slowly behind.
Soon they were all drifting back to their rooms, Faith was walking down the hallway towards her room and was already thinking about her decision. ‘I came back to Sunnydale to fight’ she thought to herself but also realising that she could easily say no to that and try and live the normal life ‘my life’s never been normal’ she sighed.
“Hey Faith wait up.” A voice called from behind.
“Oh hey Robin, I didn’t hear you.” She replied still lost in thought.
“Ah I was wondering, that is if you weren’t doing anything, you’d take me up on that offer about not all men are worthless.” He said with his head slightly bowed.
“Huh!” Faith replied not knowing what he was talking about.
“I was wondering if you’d like to come out to dinner with me.” He said looking into her eyes. “Nothing fancy” he added quickly.
“I’m not sure Robin, we all have a big decision to make and I was going to just have a quiet night and weigh the options.” She replied honestly but also a little flattered that he was asking her out on a date, she hadn’t had many offers like this in the past and felt a little overwhelmed as the usual line would be ‘your place or mine’.
“That’s just the point,” he stated looking at her “how can you make a decision when you don’t give the ‘normal’ a try.” He offered.
Faith thought for a moment, ‘it couldn’t hurt’ she decided.
“Ok then what time?” she answered with a lopsided grin.
“I’ll pick you up at eight and then you’ll still have time later for your quiet contemplation” he offered smiling widely.
“Ok, I’ll see you then.” She smiled and turned continuing down the hall to her room.
Buffy had returned with Giles to his room. She sat on the chair at the desk while he busied himself trying to make himself a cup of tea. She looked at him and thought about how much she had missed him while he was back in England, he had been a father figure to her for so long it hurt to think of them going their separate ways again.
“So what are you going to do?” She asked.
“I’m not sure yet Buffy, it’s hard to think of a life without the demons, I’ve lived most of my life knowing that one day I’d become a watcher and that I would spend the remaining time helping to fight the evil that walks the earth.” He replied with a look of concern.
“Ya know, I spent the past seven years wanting this ‘slayer’ thing to go away and just give me a chance at being normal, I’ve wanted to be Buffy the girl so long and now that I have the opportunity to be her I don’t know if I can.” She looked at him with fear.
“Buffy this is something only you can decide, none of us can give you the answer, you have to work out now what is more important to you, not to the other’s in this world, but to you.” He said as he walked towards her. “You have spent so long only thinking about the safety of this world that it’s now time you think about yourself, what Buffy wants,” he told her as he placed a comforting hand on her shoulder. “Just remember you will always be my daughter whatever you decide.”
Buffy quickly stood and wrapped her arms around the man in front of her, “Thank you Giles, and you will always be my father” she replied with tears running down her face.
Faith stood and walked towards the open window of the hotel room, she took a cigarette out of the box and brought it to her lips in a slow deliberate movement, she took out her lighter and expertly lit the cigarette, took a long drag on it and slowly exhaled the smoke into the cool evening air. It was a little before eight and Wood was on his way to take her to dinner, she was a little apprehensive at first but once she had showered and was getting ready she relaxed a little ‘it’s just dinner’ she kept telling herself. There was a knock at the door and she threw the remaining cigarette out the window and went to answer it.
“Hey, wow, you look good.” Wood said eyeing her appreciatively, she wore blood red leather pants and a white halter-top, which was showing an ample amount of cleavage.
“Thanks” she replied coyly.
“Ok ready to go?” Wood asked.
“Yep, lets eat.” She replied as she exited the room and closed the door.
They made their way to a small restaurant about half a block from the hotel. There weren’t many people but they were playing soft music in the background, which only added to the ambiance.
They sat quietly while they looked over the menu, Wood had chosen some pasta dish with scallops and Faith settled for the steak with all the trimmings. They talked about the last few days and how they were relieved they had survived, they chatted about sports and the latest blockbuster movies, nothing too heavy, which they were both grateful for.
When they had finished the meal they sat silently finishing their coffees. Wood looked at Faith and took in all her beauty, her bright eyes that had a slight pain in them, her full ruby lips and her dark flowing hair. He could not think of anything to compare her to, she was just Faith.
“So would you like to come back to my room for a night cap?” he asked.
Faith looked at him and all she could see were signs of compassion, he was just asking her back for a drink and not expecting anything else. This surprised her a little, especially with her past experiences, but at that moment she realised something.
“Ah look Robin, I’ve enjoyed this evening and would love to have dinner with you again, but being here just trying to be normal, I’ve realised I don’t want that, I have to continue the fight whether the others go or not, I also have to figure out who I am, and I’m sorry but I have to do that alone.” She offered as way of explanation.
“Faith whatever you decide it’s up to you, but you know if you ever change your mind the offer of more than friends still applies” he said resting his hand on hers.
“Thanks Rob I’ll remember that, and thanks for understanding, I had to tell you now, cos I think you deserve more than to be led on, and that’s not who I am anymore I know that much.” She smiled.
“Ok then lets get you home” he said smiling, he was slightly saddened by Faith’s revelation but also knew that she was right, they all had to figure out who they were now.
It was just before ten and Buffy and Faith were lying on their beds in silence both staring at the ceiling. There was a knock at the door and Faith called from her position for the person to come in. First Giles walked in followed by Xander, Willow, Kennedy, Andrew and finally Wood.
“Good morning both.” Giles greeted them as he entered.
“Morning everyone.” Buffy replied as she moved on her bed to sit Indian style. Xander sat on the end of her bed and smiled at her gently. “Where’s Dawn?” Buffy asked.
“She told me to tell you that whatever decision you make she will be happy with, she told me she didn’t want to leave you again and said that she wanted to go where you went.” Willow replied softly to the blond slayer.
“She really said that.” Buffy looked stunned and happy at the same time. She didn’t think that Dawn would want to stay with her, not after everything, but she was relieved that she would have her sister with her.
“So has everyone decided what they want to do?” Wood asked from the corner.
Everyone turned and nodded with slightly sad expressions, no one knew what each had decided, sure they’d discussed options but the decision was left private.
“Ok then, we’re all just gonna say if we’re in or out, everyone agreed?” Faith spoke to everyone and once again they all nodded slowly.
“I’m in,” stated Xander.
“Me too.” Was Andrew’s reply.
Giles was next, “I have no choice, I’m in,” he smiled at Xander.
Willow looked at Kennedy and reached to hold her hand, “I’m in” she said softly.
“I go where she goes, I’m in” she said as she leaned forward to kiss Willow on the nose.
Wood cleared his throat “I’m in.”
That left just the two slayers, they both looked at each other and smiled, “I’m in” they said in unison.
Everyone seemed to relax a little, Xander stood and shook Giles’ hand he turned and hugged Willow and also pulled Kennedy into the embrace, before they knew it, everyone had moved to them and they stood in a group hug for a few minutes.
“Ok everyone, need to breath.” Came a small voice from the middle of the crush.
“Oh sorry Will.” Buffy said letting go of her position between Faith and Wood. They all broke apart and went to find a suitable place to sit.
“We have some organising to do.” Giles stated taking charge of the situation.
“Willow, can you see if you can find the Council’s records?” Buffy asked as she turned to face the hacker.
“Yep, just give me a computer and a phone line and I’m away,” the red head answered proudly.
“Ok I’ll talk to Angel, he must have some resources we can use” Buffy offered.
“We’ll have to check out what accommodation will be available when we get there, and we also need to know if all the SIT’s want to join us, or if they want the normal life.” Giles told them.
“Well we’ll call a meeting with them tell them the situation and give them time to decide.” Faith said already standing. “I’ll go rally them all and explain it to them, you lot keep working at the other stuff, I’ll give them two days.” She said with a shrug.
“Yeah that should be enough and it also gives us enough time to work out how many beds we need and stuff.” Buffy smiled at the brunette slayer, who turned to walk out of the room.
“I’ll come with.” Kennedy called.
Over the next couple of days they all worked to research everything they could. Angel had given Willow the freedom of the IT department at the office and she was amazed at the technology that was available, she had soon uncovered the ‘lost fund’s’ of the Council and was now trying to find every available property in the vicinity of the new Hellmouth, Kennedy was helping collate all the information.
Xander and Andrew had joined Giles in the extensive library of Wolfram and Hart, they, with Wesley’s help were researching all they could find on the Hellmouth in Cleveland. They stored any useful information including newspaper articles and other reports that stated anything that seemed paranormal.
Wood had spent most of his time contacting old colleagues to find out about the schools there as many of the SIT’s were only fifteen or sixteen and would still need to finish their education.
Both Buffy and Faith remained at the hotel offering council to the new slayers, they told them stories about being a slayer, what kind of life they would lead. That everything they did was a secret to the outside world and that they would probably never hear the thanks they deserved. They also told them about how it felt to be able to protect those who lived in their neighbourhood even if they weren’t aware of the danger that lurked outside at night.
They also explained the elation when a Big Bad had been defeated knowing that there was one less threat to the end of the world, as they know it. The hardest thing to explain was the loneliness that was felt, even when family and friends were so close, but they also stressed that now that there were hundreds possibly thousands of slayers across the world, that loneliness would soon fade, they had explained that when Faith first came to Sunnydale they worked as a team and the emptiness they had felt slowly started to dissolve. They didn’t go into details of Faith’s departure from Sunnydale but Faith told them that those who came with them would learn a valuable lesson from her on how to chose the right side.
The time came for everyone to decide what they were going to do. They called everyone to the meeting room and asked those who wanted to go to Cleveland to stand on the right side of the room and those who wanted ‘normal’ to stand on the left.
“Before you start to move, I just want everyone to know that we won't think any less of you if you decide to leave. It is a hard decision to make and I know many of you have family or friends that you miss and want to go back to, so don’t let anyone influence your decision.” Buffy spoke to the group of young girls in front of her, there was a look of relief on some of their faces.
“Ok everyone it’s time to make your decision, could you please move now.” Xander called in the tone of a game show host.
All the girls stood and moved slowly, some seemed hesitant at first but soon the decisions had been made. There were fourteen girls on the right and only three on the left. Buffy moved to the girls on the left and asked them to follow her. Once they had left the room Giles turned to the remaining girls.
“Thank you, that was a hard choice I know.” He started gently. “Now that your choice has been made we can put the final plans into action. We’re going to purchase a property in Cleveland and we will ensure that you are all trained in the ways of the slayer. Those of you who are still at high school age will be enrolled in the school there, those who are old enough for college will be given the opportunity.” They all looked stunned for a moment.
“So we’re still gonna have to go to school.” Rebe whined from the back.
“Well I am sorry Rebe but you have to understand that one day you may have to support yourselves, and being a slayer it is not easy to find a decent job that pays enough, and one that allows the freedom of being a slayer.” Giles replied indignantly.
With a few more grumbles from the crowd they were all dismissed and told to enjoy themselves for the rest of that and the next day and were told to be packed and ready to leave on Sunday.
Buffy had taken the three girls back to her room she had wanted to find out that each of the girls had somewhere to go. She had been worried about the decision that they had to make but was pleased that most of them wanted to stay. After ensuring that each of the girls had family or friends to go to she explained to them that they could not talk about what they had been involved in, she told them that when the rest of them were settled she would contact each of them and give them a contact number, this would allow them to follow the rest if they decided that ‘normal’ wasn’t quite for them.
The next few days were spent finalising details, Giles had contacted the property agents and had arranged to view three possible houses. They wanted to make sure that the house they chose would be suitable for everyone.
Willow had managed to transfer the Council funds to a new account that was only accessible to Giles, Buffy and Willow, both Xander and Faith had refused saying that they were no good with money, Xander had joked about buying his own island, while Faith just talked dreamily about Harley Davidsons.
The time had come for them to leave LA, they had had a fairly busy few days and were all excited about the journey. They knew they would be on the road for a few more days but relished the thought of setting up a new home.
Angel and the rest of the LA crew had turned up to say goodbye to them all. Wesley was busy talking to Giles about some more information he had recovered on the Hellmouth. Faith and Gunn were arguing over which was the best weapon, Gunn was throwing himself around pretending to swing an axe to show how easily it flowed, Faith laughed at him while she walked up behind and proved how simple yet effective a knife could be, they finally agreed to disagree on the predicament or they would never give up.
Angel and Buffy were currently in Buffy’s room talking.
“So why the change of heart Buffy?” Angel asked.
“What d’you mean?” Buffy looked confused.
Angel stood to face Buffy “Outside the crypt that night you told me you were cookie dough waiting to be…ah eaten.” He smiled “I thought you would have given this up, I thought you wanted to find yourself or something, be Buffy not the Slayer.” He finished.
“I did, I mean when I was talking to you I honestly didn’t think I was going to survive, I felt that I hadn’t lived ‘my life’. But when it comes down to it, slaying IS my life. I realised that Buffy the girl doesn’t need to be found, she’s here inside me.” She stated pointing to herself. “The part of Buffy that is with me all the time, she’s that part that allows the feelings I have towards my friends without her I would be truly alone. When Willow brought me back I felt so empty, I couldn’t feel anything and that was because Buffy the girl could not handle the situation, Angel I was brought back from what I thought was heaven, I despised everything in this world, I wanted out, but now I know that my life would be incomplete without both Buffy the slayer AND Buffy the girl.” She moved forwards and placed her hand over his unbeating heart. “This world I hated is the world I have to protect, and I understand that now, the people I save everyday will never know who or what I am, I couldn’t live with myself knowing that every time I ignore the signs of a demon that someone will be killed, I have to do this.”
“I understand Buffy.” He said while he placed his hand over hers. “I hope you find the happiness you deserve, if this doesn’t work out I’m always here for you.”
“I know and thank you Angel.” She finished. “Ah listen I better get going the others are ready and waiting.” She stated moving to hold him.
“You’re still my girl right” he whispered into her ear while he returned the embrace.
Buffy pulled back and kissed him gently on the lips. “Always” she replied and moved away walking to the door, she left the room closed the door and never looked back. Angel waited until she had had time to leave the hotel then made his way to the basement where he took the sewer access back to the office.
Buffy stepped through the doors of the hotel and smiled at Xander who was sitting on the front steps watching the others as they ran around loading the bus with all the things they had bought, the clothes were packed and placed in the load space under the bus, while the food and drinks were carefully loaded onto the bus so they would be easily accessible, they both were amazed at how organised everyone was.
“We’ll make a good team,” Buffy said from behind Xander.
“Yep, I think we will” he said turning to smile widely at her.
“Come on, we have to get going” she told him as she moved toward the bus.
“Buff, are you ok? You know with Angel and stuff.” He asked concerned, knowing the relationship between Buffy and Angel was a delicate one.
“Yeah Xand, I’m good. It was good to see him again, but it’s time I moved on.” She answered smiling at him.
“Alrighty then, lets go,” he said with a cheerful voice.
Everyone got themselves settled on the bus. Wood had been elected to drive the first leg of the journey. Giles stood at the front and called for everyone’s attention.
“Ok then, um… we are going to start now, we’re looking at making good time if we stick to the duledule. Everyone make yourselves as comfortable as possible and we’ll try to stop when we can, but this journey is going to be tough on us all.”
With that Wood started the bus and pulled away. Fred, Gunn and Wesley waved at them from their position in front of the hotel, they waved goodbye to their friends.
Soon they had made their way through the streets of LA and now they were on the highway heading east. Everyone on the bus was talking excitedly about what was going to happen next.
The Scoobies had positioned themselves in a similar position to the time they had left Sunnydale, only this time Giles had joined them, he sat next to Andrew.
Dawn was kneeling on her seat facing Buffy and Faith who were sat behind her and Xander.
“So Buffy, what have you got planned for me when we get to Cleveland, I’m not a slayer so how do I fit into all of this?” she asked.
“Well Dawnie, I’ve been thinking and with Giles’ help I think you would make a good watcher.” She looked over at Giles for some kind of response but all he did was smile at her, with this she knew he did not object to the suggestion.
“Me a watcher,” Dawn stated with doubt “How could I be a watcher, I can’t make decisions and stuff, I don’t know anything about it.”
“Dawn you know more about being a Vampire Slayer than the rest of the girls on this bus, you’ve lived with one for a few years now remember.” Buffy reassured her.
“Yeah Dawnie, you know about magic and demons and all sorts of things that a watcher needs to know.” Willow stated emphatically from her position behind Giles and Andrew.
“Dawn may I say something?” Giles asked, Dawn nodded her head towards him and he continued. “No matter how many slayers we have they all need a watcher, you see a watcher isn’t only someone who tells the slayer about demons and about how to kill them and trying to decipher the many prophecies that occur, their job is to be there for the slayer as a companion and as a confidant. The watcher’s council started to lose sight of the role of the watcher, they had thought of themselves as the people who saved this world, they wanted control over the slayer instead of working along side her. I would like to change that, and I would be honoured to have you as a member of the higher council, if you like.” He told her.
“What you mean like start another watchers council?” Dawn asked with a serious tone.
“Well I don’t know if that’s what we’ll call it, but yes, we need to ensure that those slayers who are now alone in this world not knowing why they suddenly have this power and the heightened senses, have someone to turn to.” He answered.
“Come on D, you know you’d love it, telling all these girls the stories of the demons and shit.” Faith intervened.
“Alright then, but who else is gonna do this, it can’t just be me and you Giles.” Dawn agreed with a sigh.
“No of course Dawn, we already have too many slayers for the both of us to deal with,” Giles replied turning to face Xander. “Ah, um, Xander,” Xander turned to look at Giles “would you like to join us, I realise that you may not want the responsibility of this but you have fought well with Buffy over the years, and you have much experience at dealing with the underworld, I think I would be proud to work with you.”
Xander stunned at the request, looked from Giles to Willow to Buffy and then to Dawn who was smiling from ear to ear.
“Um, I…. ah…um, huh!” was all that Xander could say.
“Xander come on, imagine it, me and you telling all these girls when they have to train and how to train and stuff.” Dawn said cheerfully.
“Yeah X-man, imagine having to watch all those sweaty slayers and having to point out all their mistakes” Faith said with a sly grin.
“Ok, ok, I’ll do it.” Xander replied quickly, while turning a slight shade of red.
Andrew had been starring out of the window at this point, trying to ignore the conversation going on around him. He had the same thoughts as Dawn, what was he going to do when they got there, he wasn’t part of the Scooby gang, not really. He had killed his best friend, he had watched while another of the people he had been an enemy with stepped in and save his life. ‘It should have been me to die’ he thought to himself, ‘She was a good person, she helped others’ he kept saying to himself.
Faith caught Giles’ attention and pointed at Andrew, with a ‘go on’ expression. Giles turned in his seat and faced Andrew, he cleared his throat, “Ah, Andrew, I was um, wondering if you would like to also be um, a trainee watcher, you have great knowledge of the old languages and you have the ability to store information which would be a great help when fighting the demons.”
Andrew turned to face the rest of the Scoobies “I don’t deserve this,” he started “I killed my best friend, I watched helplessly as Anya saved me, how can I support anyone, I’m just a failure.” He replied dejectedly.
“Andrew, you have proved over the last few weeks that you have changed, you never really wanted to be evil, you just went along with it because that’s what your friends told you to. I believe that you would make a great watcher, and it would be my pleasure in having you on board.” Giles replied with concern for the young man in front of him, Giles knew that Andrew had been through a lot in the last year or so, and even though he tried to convince everyone he was evil, he could never actually achieve it, it was not in his nature.
“I want to help,” Andrew started “but I’m not ready for any kind of responsibility, I don’t think I could support them yet, I’ll be like a ‘potential trainee watcher’ I’ll watch the slayers while they train and I’ll help with research and stuff, but I don’t want anymore than that, not at the moment.”
“Ok then Andrew the newest member of the Scoobies you can be a ‘PTW’ if you want, but there must be other things we can find for you to do as well, I mean there’s the house budget and things, I can do a lot but I’m going to need a little help in calculating everything.” Willow added.
“Sure I can help with that, and I can like draw up rotas and stuff about cleaning and housekeeping and stuff.” He started to get excited about the prospect of being one of the leaders of this selection of slayers.
“Hey we have to have a new name or something, there’s too many of us to be the Scoobies now.” Xander chirped in.
“What you mean like ‘storm troopers’ or the X-men or something” Andrew interjected.
“No way am I going to be known as a storm trooper” Kennedy called from behind Willow.
“Well I think we should still be known as the Scoobies” Willow stated with a nod.
“But Xander’s right,” Faith agreed, “We can’t keep calling them ‘the slayers’ or the ‘SIT’s’. Think about it, when you’re out in public and say ‘the Scoobies’ no one takes any notice, and if the demons are listening they won't necessarily know who or what someone is talking about, you lot have always been known as the ‘slayers friends’ to the demon population and only as ‘the Scoobies’ to each other.”
“Faith you’re right, Xander what do you suggest” Buffy asked.
“I don’t know that’s why I asked you lot.” He stated with mock tone.
“Oh well we’ll have to think of something.” Dawn said. “We have to have a cool street name.” She said smiling.
“Ok then that’s the first assignment, we have to have a new name for everyone,” Buffy stated “we have a few day’s to think about it so I suppose we could come up with something.” They all agreed and a pleasant silence fell over them.
They had been travelling for about eight hours, they had stopped twice for bathroom breaks, and some had taken the opportunity of having a hot meal at the roadside diner they had come across. Many of the occupants of the bus were already sleeping and there was a calm about them.
“Thanks, for letting me stay B.” Faith said quietly to Buffy.
“Thanks for coming with F” Buffy replied with a smile.
“Do you want to know why I chose to come with you” Faith asked.
“Only if you want to tell me, you don’t have to explain anything to me.” Buffy stated.
“I want to Buffy.” Buffy noticed the full use of her name and knew that Faith was serious about this.
“Ok then, why did you decide to stay?” Buffy asked smiling slightly at the dark slayer.
“When I was in prison I had a lot of time to think about what I’d done, and more importantly the person I had become. B, I hated myself for everything that I’d done but I hated myself more because I coulda stopped it. I wanted to end it so many times, but I couldn’t, something always stopped me. I had to live, I had to make it better, I got my shit together B, and I want to help you, I want to help these girls.” Faith stated quietly.
“Faith we were both to blame back then, I didn’t want you around at first, I thought you were a better slayer than I was and I was jealous of you.” Buffy replied honestly.
“You jealous of me, Buffy I didn’t have anything.” Faith said.
“I don’t mean in the material sense Faith, I mean, I thought you were so strong when you first came to Sunnydale, you embraced the fact that you were a slayer, you lived for the hunt and the kill, I just wanted a normal life and was jealous that I couldn’t accept being a slayer.” Buffy replied moving her left hand over Faith’s right.
“But I didn’t accept it B, I was just like you at the time, I just learned to hide it.” Faith said slightly squeezing Buffy’s hand.
“And I realise that now, I was so wrapped up in what was happening to me, that I never thought to look past all those ‘five by fives’ you kept spouting out. I saw a little of you the time Kakistos came to town, but you hid her again so quickly that I forgot she was there.” Buffy accepted looking into Faith’s eyes. “Faith I missed you when you weren’t here, it's eating me up inside that you had betrayed me, but worse was the feeling that I had betrayed you. I want this time to be different, I want us to work together, I don’t want to be alone at the top anymore, I want you with me.” Buffy stated. “We’re the ‘Chosen Two’ remember ‘girlfriend’” she finished with a smile.
“We’re the chosen few hundred now B.” Faith said with a snigger.
“We’ll always be the chosen two to me” Buffy replied.
“You really want me beside you, I don’t deserve that Buffy, I mean after everything I did to you all, can you really trust me not to screw up, cos, at the moment I don’t think I can trust myself.” Faith began to babble.
“Slow down Faith, yeah, I trust you, you earned that when you had to lead them for a few days, you didn’t have to do that, but you did. You watched out for them, you tried to do what was right.” Buffy said.
“Yeah I screwed that up, I nearly had them all killed” Faith said with a huff.
“But you didn’t, you did what you thought was best at the time, god, Faith look at me, I’ve been killed twice, at least you’ve stayed alive longer than me.” Buffy replied smiling.
Faith bowed her head hearing Buffy speak a her her dying, Angel had come to tell her about it, she felt guilty all over again, she thought that she would never see the blond slayer again, and that there were now another two people she would not be able to apologise to. When the news that Buffy was alive had reached her, she felt somewhat happy and sad at the same time, she was happy that her chance to apologise was back, but she was sad because she could feel a change in her sister slayer, she could not tell what it was but she knew that Buffy was suffering at the time, their slayer connection had never been severed, even when Buffy had died Faith could still feel her. When Faith meditated in prison she would reach out for Buffy as if trying to communicate with her, she always felt at peace when she felt the other slayer near, but when Buffy had been brought back that peace had been lost.
“Faith are you ok,” Buffy asked noticing the brunette’s expression.
“Yeah B, I’m ok, just tired I guess.” Faith replied.
“Me too, I think we should try and get some sleep.” Buffy agreed. They both settled themselves into a reasonably comfortable position ready to sleep.
“Goodnight B.”
“Goodnight F.”
They were still holding hands as they drifted off to sleep.
Kennedy woke the next morning with her arms wrapped around the red head they had managed to get themselves into a fairly comfortable position to sleep. Kennedy had leaned against the side of the window of the bus and Willow had sat between her legs and leaned her back against the brunette with her head on her shoulder, Kennedy had instinctively wrapped her arms around the witch as if to protect her while she slept.
“Hey baby you awake” Kennedy whispered not wanting to disturb the others still sleeping around them.
“Yeah, I was thinking how good it feels to wake up in your arms.” Willow admitted while turning slightly to look at her lover.
Kennedy moved to kiss Willow, it started out as a slow ‘good morning’ kiss but soon started to heat up, Willow quickly pulled away which elicited a slight groan from the younger woman.
“Ken, we can’t there’s too many people here remember.” Willow stated.
“I know, but I want you.” Kennedy whined.
“Well, leave it to me, I’ll sort something out, cos, trust me there’s nothing I want more than to get you naked at the moment.” Willow replied in a husky tone.
Willow kissed her once more and turn to get comfortable again, she glanced over at the slayers who were still sleeping, as she watched them she noticed that they were holding hands.
“Hey babe, look at those two.” Willow pointed at the chosen two.
“Hey are they holding hands?” Kennedy asked.
“Yep, seems like they’ve sorted some things out.” The red head stated looking quizzically at the other two.
“But they’re just friends though right.” Kennedy sort of stated but wasn’t sure.
“Yeah they are,” Willow started “but they have a connection that none of us will ever understand, I think it goes beyond friendship, it’s something to do with their slayer connection, I never understood that years ago, but I think I do now. They have a bond that no matter what, it will never go away.” She finished.
“What do you mean ‘never’ go away?” the younger woman asked.
“Well, when I brought Faith back from LA we were talking about some things on the journey, she told me that even when Buffy died she could still feel her presence, it was as if she was with her all the time. She told me that when she meditated she could almost sense Buffy’s soul.” Willow answered still watching the two slayers.
“Wow, I mean their connection must be really strong.” Kennedy stated.
“Yeah it is, and if my feelings are right then it’s only gonna get stronger the more they’re together and the closer they become.” Willow said.
It was about an hour later and nearly all of the occupants of the bus were awake and talking quietly with one another. Vi had started to distribute some snacks and drinks to everyone, as they were not going to stop for a while.
Buffy and Faith had also woken but were quietly watching the scene in front of them, neither had let go of the others hand. Buffy turned to Faith and smiled.
“I think we need a motel for tonight, my neck is killing me.” The blond stated.
“Yeah mine too” Faith said removing her hand from Buffy’s to rub her neck and shoulders.
As soon as Faith had removed her hand Buffy felt strange, yet she couldn’t place what it was. She knew that they had held each other all night and was surprised yet comforted to have woken in the same position they had fallen asleep.
“Hey Xander how long till the next stop?” Faith asked.
“About another 30 minutes, there should be a diner around here somewhere. I can’t wait I can already taste the bacon and hash browns.” He said with a grin.
Faith’s stomach growled at the mention of food, and soon Buffy’s joined in the chorus, which made everyone at the back laugh.
“What, a girl's gotta eat.” Buffy said.
“Well I don’t know about the rest of you, but I could go a whole load of chocolate pancakes at the moment.” Dawn said turning to face her sister.
"Oh and everything else on the menu, the way my stomach feels at the moment" Faith agreed rubbing her belly.
“Hey Will, how about organising a hotel or something for tonight, I don’t think my neck could take two nights sleeping on this bus.” Buffy asked the red head.
“I’ve already thought about it Buff,” Willow stated, but her reasons were different. “I think we should look over the schedule when we stop for food and work out the best place to stay, we can tell the others when it’s all sorted.” She finished.
“Cool, I’ll ask Giles to bring the map and stuff with him then.” Buffy replied.
Soon they were at a small diner eating breakfast and drinking coffee. The Scoobies were trying to organise where the best place was for them to stop to find a hotel. They finally agreed that a motel stop about another four hundred miles away would do for the night.
The rest of the day was pretty uneventful. They arrived at the small roadside motel, Willow and Andrew had gone to organise rooms, while the others tried to get the things they needed for the night, once they had been allocated rooms they all started to settle as best they could.
Xander and Andrew were once again paired up, while Giles and Wood had to share this time. The SIT’s were paired up again, Willow and Kennedy of course had their own room while Buffy, Faith and Dawn were all placed together.
Dawn had run to the bathroom first to shower. “Don’t be too long Dawn,” Buffy shouted from the bedroom “we all need to freshen up a little.”
“Ok Buff, I’ll be as quick as I can.” Dawn called back.
“Which side do you want Faith?” Buffy asked looking at the double bed in front of them.
“It’s ok, I’ll take the cot.” Faith replied pointing at the cot on the other side of the room.
“Faith trust me, you do not want to sleep on that cot, Dawn can have it, believe me neither of us want to share with her, she’s all arms and legs when she sleeps. We’d never get any peace.” Buffy said smiling at Faith.
“Ok then, but what side do you prefer, only I haven’t really had much of an opportunity to share a bed with someone, I guess I’m used to my own space.” Faith said in a low tone.
Buffy tried to ignore the guilty feeling that washed over her at hearing Faith’s words, she realised that she was the reason Faith had spent so many nights alone, for it was she who had made Faith go to prison.
“Um, ah, look maybe we could flip a coin or something.” Buffy said trying to hide feeling inside.
“Yeah ok then, I’ll say heads left and tails right.” Faith said taking a coin out of her pocket and flipping it into the air.
“Ok you’re on the left.” Buffy stated after focusing on the coin that had landed just under the bed.
Once all the sleeping arrangements had been made all three settled in for what they hoped would be a peaceful night.
Willow and Kennedy entered their room and Kennedy was quick to pull the red head into a passionate kiss she pushed her against the back of the closed door, they kissed until the lack of oxygen finally made them pull apart.
“In a hurry much.” Willow said breathlessly while the brunette continued to place small kisses along her jaw line to her ear.
“Need you, want you, going to have you.” Kennedy stated in a husky whisper.
Willow’s breath caught in her throat as the younger woman said this she pushed her back against the door which gained her enough leverage to push the brunette back towards the bedroom. Kennedy realised what the witch was doing and quickly moved direction, which made Willow stumble slightly, Kennedy quickly picked up the woman in front of her and carried her towards the bathroom.
“I need a shower.” Kennedy stated with a wink.
They burst into the bathroom, Kennedy gently placed Willow back on her feet while she went and turned on the shower. She turned slowly and looked at the woman in front of her, she started to move her hands slowly up through her hair, then she moved her right hand down her neck and slowly continued its path across her right breast and to the top of her pants. Willow stood and watched the show in front of her, she was so aroused at the sight that she hadn’t realised her breath had quickened.
Kennedy continued her assault, she could see the arousal in the older woman’s eyes. She slowly moved her left hand to follow a similar path to her right, her both hands were on the hem of her shirt, with one easy movement she lifted her arms and took her top off and tossed it to the side. Willow gasped at the sight of the toned body in front of her. Kennedy took a step closer to the red head, she slowly placed her hands on the front of her pants, with another quick movement she undid the fasteners, slowly she started to remove her pants while turning her back to Willow, she leaned forward and pushed her pants down to her ankles, she glanced over her shoulder and licked her lips seductively at the woman watching her every move, she stood and kicked of the pants in the same direction as her top.
Willow stared at Kennedy who was now stood in her panties and bra, she moved forward so there was little space between them, slowly she lifted her own top over her head, only breaking eye contact as the material drifted between them. Kennedy took a small step closing the remaining space between them and caught the red head’s bottom lip, she gently sucked and nibbled it causing Willow to moan. Willow moved her arms around the young woman and slowly unclasped the bra, she placed her fingers gently under each of the straps and moved them down Kennedy’s arms, she gently pulled her mouth from the brunette and stood back a little admiring the sight in front of her, the perfect breasts seemed to be calling to her, gently she dipped her head and placed small kisses around but not on the left nipple, she continued to place the gentle kisses along the path to the right, every now and again allowing her tongue to taste the sweet skin.
Kennedy’s breath had started to become shallow as her lover continued to tease her. She groaned deep in her throat as the red head took the pulsing nub into her mouth, she felt shivers down her spine as Willow sucked gently then nipped at her with her teeth. Kennedy placed her hand in the witch’s hair holding her there while she lavished all her attention on her. Willow moved her hands so they were resting on the top of Kennedy’s panties she slowly slipped one finger of each hand under the waste band and began to lower them all the while continuing her assault on the young woman’s breasts.
“I think we need to get wet.” Kennedy stated breathlessly.
“I think you already are.” Willow replied placing her hand between the brunette’s legs and smiling shyly.
“Uh, ha,” was all Kennedy could reply.
Willow quickly moved Kennedy backwards so she was just inches away from the shower, she stepped back and in one fluid movement removed her pants and panties, left only with her bra she walked towards the younger woman she moved her hands to the front of her bra and undid the clasp, Kennedy watched as the two perfect mounds bounced slightly as they were released, she watched as the deep pink nipples became hard as the air hit them, before she could react Willow had pushed her the final step and was now stood under the streaming water.
Willow stepped into the shower and pushed Kennedy against the corner, they kissed passionately once again while the water cascaded off their bodies, Willow continued to kiss along Kennedy’s jaw then started to move down her neck, she stopped at the pulse point and nibbled and sucked gently on it. She continued her downward movement paying little attention to the breasts she was awed by moments earlier she licked, nibbled and sucked any new skin she came across. Soon she reached the younger girl's thighs, she placed gentle kisses along the length of each slowly spreading them to gain better access to her goal, she gently lifted the brunette's left leg placed it over her shoulder and quickly dipped her head forward and slid her tongue along the young woman’s dripping sex. She sucked on the small bundle of nerves and smiled to herself when she heard the sharp intake of breath from above her.
Kennedy stood balanced on one leg while the other was around the back of her lover, she felt Willow suck on her clit and she couldn’t stop the sharp breath, she started to quiver and could barely stand, she felt the red head move slightly and then felt as an expert tongue entered her setting a quick rhythm. Kennedy moved her hips involuntary against her lover's face, Willow moved to suck on her clit once again but this time she entered two fingers into the brunette, she sucked and fucked to the same rhythm never once missing a beat, soon she felt Kennedy’s inner walls start to contract and pulse with her every movement, she replaced her fingers with her tongue once more and gently squeezed Kennedy’s clit, this action was enough to send the young woman over the edge, Willow continued to lick and suck the brunette until Kennedy moved and pulled her up kissing her passionately.
Kennedy kissed Willow with all she had, she was so aroused at watching the red head on her knees and could taste herself in Willow's mouth as their tongues battled for supremacy, she moved her hands around the red head and placed them on her butt squeezing the firm cheeks then she moved so she stood behind the red head. She moved her hands up Willow’s sides gently caressing the soft skin she rested her chin on the shoulder in front of her and looked down at the naked body, she watched as the water bounced on the firm breasts and moved her hands to follow the drips as they washed down from her lover’s red hair, she lightly traced the lines of water down across the firm mounds and lower across the deceptively muscular abdomen.
Willow leaned her weight against the brunette as she concentrated on the feeling of the fingers tracing random patterns across her body. She gasped as she felt Kennedy’s fingers gently open her lower lips, she shivered as she felt the hot water pulse on her now exposed clit, she felt her knees weaken as Kennedntlyntly pinched at her swollen nub.
Kennedy placed her arm around Willow to support her while she continued her movements with the other. She traced her fingers along the length of Willow’s slit front to back and thrusting two fingers inside her lover she started a slow and deliberate pace working the red head until she was begging for release.
“Ken … plea … se bse baby …. I …. I … can’t take …a …a…a …anymore.” Willow stuttered with a shaky breath. On hearing this Kennedy quickened her pace feeling her lover’s juices flowing over her fingers and mingle with the water of the shower, with one last thrust Willow came screaming Kennedy’s name.
Kennedy held Willow until she came down from her high, placing light kisses along her shoulder.
“I love you.” Kennedy said softly. Willow was shocked at hearing these words, the last time she heard them it had been Tara’s voice that was behind them, she turned slowly to the brunette and put her fingers under her chin and lifted her face so she could look into her eyes.
“Ken, I can’t say that yet, I want to I really do, but I have to be sure, I care too much for you to lie.” She stated honestly.
“Will, I don’t want … I don’t need you to say anything to me, I love you, I wanted you to know.” Kennedy replied, “I’ll wait forever if I have to, to hear those words, I know you’re not ready for this yet but I wanted to tell you.”
Willow moved forward and kissed Kennedy gently on the lips, it was so gentle that Kennedy wasn’nt even sure it happened.
“Arrhhhhh!” Willow screamed as ice cold water hit her from behind.
“What? What?” Kennedy was panicking.
“Cccc…cold water.” Willow replied jumping out of the shower, which left Kennedy exposed to the water. She quickly moved and turned off the water. They started to laugh, as they were now both stood in the bathroom dripping from head to foot and shivering from the recent exposure to the ice water.
“I think we need to get dry and into bed.” Willow said moving to the towel rail and tossing a towel at the younger girl.
Soon they were snuggled in bed, Willow was spooned around Kennedy.
“I love you, in my way” she said softly.
Kennedy turned a little, just enough to kiss Willow on the nose.
“I love you, in my way” she returned the sentiment.
“Night Ken” Willow smiled.
“Night baby” Kennedy replied.
She woke the next morning with no feeling in her left arm something heavy was leaning on it. She slowly opened her eyes to see a petite blond snuggled closely to her with her head resting on her upper arm. A small smile spread across her face as she watched the older slayer as she slept. She wondered to herself how they could be lying there so peacefully when a few years ago this situation would never have been possible.
"Morning Faith.” A voice called from the end of the bed drawing Faith’s attention away from the blond.
“Morning Dawn, you sleep ok?” She replied quietly not wanting to wake Buffy.
“Better than on that bus, but I can’t wait to get a proper bed again.” Dawn answered rubbing her neck.
“Me too.” Buffy mumbled into Faith. “Oh sorry.” She said quickly when she realised her position.
“It’s ok B, you were keeping me warm.” Faith stated with a smile.
Buffy turned and stepped out of bed, she walked around and moved to the bathroom. She walked in and looked in the mirror ‘Shit I look rough’ she thought to herself. She could still feel the warmth from the brunette's body, she wondered to herself why she had moved so that she was practically hugging the other girl in her sleep, ‘Cold I suppose’ she thought lamely to herself.
“So what we having for breakfast” Dawn asked Faith breaking the silence that had fallen on the bedroom after Buffy had stepped into the bathroom.
“I don’t know kiddo, what do you want?” Faith asked “And NO pancakes” she added quickly.
“No I was thinking more bacon, eggs, toast hash bro..”
“I’m in” Faith interrupted running to the bathroom door she started to bang on it. “B come on, there’s a queue.” She called at the locked door.
“Shit Faith what’s the hurry.” Buffy said as she opened the door.
“I mentioned bacon and eggs.” Dawn said with a shrug and a smile.
“Oh.” Was all Buffy said when she realised.
“Come on guys get ready, we gotta eat.” Faith shouted from the bathroom.
“Come on Dawn, we can’t keep the hungry slayer waiting.” Buffy said with a grin.
Soon they were ready and they were walking towards the diner at the side of the motel, well Buffy and Dawn were walking while Faith was almost skipping.
“I can’t believe she gets this excited about food.” Dawn stated confused.
“I know it’s cute really.” Buffy replied with a huge smile.
“Hey I’m not cute, I’m a bad ass.” Faith turned pouting.
“Oh and she pouts.” Dawn said in a motherly tone.
“Hey fuck off D, I’m not cute and do NOT pout.” Faith said crossing her arms across her chest defiantly.
“Oh is she sulking again.” Willow called from behind laughing slightly.
“Red don’t you start.” Faith turned to the red head.
“Oh come on F, let’s feed you before you turn into a puddle of mush.” Buffy said while linking her arm through the brunette's and dragging her towards the diner, when they had passed the others Faith turned and mock scowled at them behind her.
“She is definitely weird.” Kennedy said to no one in particular.
“Yep.” Was the joint reply from Willow and Dawn.
Soon everyone had eaten breakfast and had started to pack to continue their journey. Giles and Wood had checked that everyone was holding up ok and made sure that everyone had a decent breakfast as they would not be stopping for Lunch.
At nine everyone was once again seated on the bus, it was Xander’s turn to drive so Giles did the head count to ensure they weren’t going to leave anyone behind.
“Ok Xander, we’re all here.” Giles called from the middle of the bus.
“Okey dokey.” Xander called back starting the bus.
Once again they were heading east and towards the unknown.
The next few days went smoothly, they had slept on the bus and had stopped once more in a motel. They were about a day away from their destination.
Giles and Willow were discussing the budget for the property. Andrew was talking to Buffy and Xander about setting an allowance for each of the new SIT’s. Faith, Dawn and Kennedy were talking animatedly about comic books and cartoons.
“No way is Spiderman better than the X-men.” Kennedy said to Dawn.
“Spiderman’s cool, isn’t that right Faith.” Dawn turned to the once rogue slayer.
“Well kiddo I have to agree with K here, the X-men totally are” she replied high fiving Kennedy.
“No way, hey Buffy they’re ganging up on me.” Dawn pouted.
“Now, now girls no ganging up on the little ones.” Buffy said smiling.
“What do you mean LITTLE?" Dawn stood showing everyone how much taller than Buffy she was.
“Yeah B, if anyone little.” Faith started pointing up on down at Buffy’s petite form.
“Hey stop picking on me.” Buffy joined her sister in a pout.
“Ok, ok we give in, just don’t do the famous puppy dog eyes.” Kennedy held up her hand in mock surrender.
“What puppy dog eyes, don’t do puppy dog eyes.” Buffy replied with a pout and the famous puppy dog eyes.
“See, them, that’s them, she did it.” Faith called pointing at Buffy once again. “They’re like Red and her resolve face, ya just can’t say no.” She finished.
“Hey you starting on me now.” Willow joined in, showing said resolve face.
Everyone turned to look at Willow and burst out laughing, even Giles joined in.
“Oh Will that’s the first time anyone’s ever laughed at that face.” Xander said between fits of laughter. “I don’t think I’ll ever take it seriously again.” He added.
Willow turned her gaze directly at Xander and once again used her resolve face. “Is that right Xander.” She stated as if a matter of fact.
“No, no I’m serious, I’ll always bow down to you oh masterful one.” He replied quickly with a lop sided grin noticing once again how good his best friend's resolve could actually be.
The bus slowed and came to a stop which brought them all back to reality, both Kennedy and Faith turned to look at the reason for the stop and both their stomachs’ growled loudly at the sight of the diner that had caught their attention. Once again the back of the bus erupted in laughter.
“What?” they both asked at the same time.
“Will, I think you got your hands full with that one.” Buffy stated to her best friend pointing at Kennedy.
“Yeah and that one.” Faith said pointing at Kennedy’s left breast as she ran down the front of the bus leaving a bemused Buffy and a very red witch.
“She doesn’t change.” Giles stated while he cleaned his glasses on his shirt.
“You got that right Giles.” Xander said in response.
They all stared at Faith’s retreating form then all stood and raced each other to the front of the bus.
Everyone had ordered their food and they were waiting for it to arrive.
“So have we any idea what kind of place we’re gonna get?” Dawn asked.
“Well it has to be big enough for all of us, and have room for expansion.” Giles started “I think we’ll take a look at a couple of disused mansions that are in the property guide that Willow printed.”
“Wow a mansion.” Dawn said dreamily.
“Well we already need room for 23 of us, there’s fourteen slayers and us lot. We have to have somewhere big enough so we can train and start a library and do research as well as live.” Giles stated looking at the others on the table.
“Giles, always with the practical.” Buffy said smiling at him.
“Thank you Buffy.” Giles replied, “I think” he said to himself.
“Well how many do we have to choose from?” Faith asked.
“Well there are three that seem to meet our criteria.” Giles answered.
“Me and Giles are gonna check them out as soon as we get some rest.” Xander added.
“Why you two? I thought Giles and Wood were gonna do that.” Buffy asked he friend.
"Well let me ask you this, how much do our two book worms here actually know about construction?” Looking at the blank faces Xander continued. “Well we were talking and realised that whatever property we buy, it’s still gonna need some alterations to be able to fit everything we got planned, and me being construction worker guy I know a little about it so we decided that I would have a say in whether the place would be suitable or not.” He finished.
“Cool, so does this mean we can have like secret passages and like secret rooms and stuff where we do all our battle plans.” Andrew joined excitedly from the corner. Everyone looked at him as Xander turned to answer him.
“We’ll see.” He said smiling at his new friend. “It’s not a bad idea to have a war room though, I quite like that, so not anyone can see our plans until the last minute.” Xander started to drift into his own world.
“Earth to Xander.” Willow snapped her fingers in front of Xander’s face to bring him back to earth and to alert him that the food had arrived.
Once everyone had eaten and taken the opportunity to use the bathroom facilities they settled once again on the bus. This would hopefully be the last night they would have to sleep on this thing they were all tired and sore at being cramped up for so long.
They awoke in a similar position to the last few days, Faith was leaning against the window with Buffy positioned between her legs and resting her back against her, Faith had her arms placed protectively around the smaller slayer. Again neither of them knew at what point they had moved into this position, but once again they woke linked together in some way.
“Morning B.” Faith whispered to the blond.
“Mmm..” Buffy replied snuggling into the embrace.
“D’you sleep ok?” Faith asked while running her fingers through the long golden hair.
“Yeah, I did, what about you?” She answered but didn’t move from her position.
“Not bad.” Faith spoke as she turned slightly to look out of the window.
“Where are we?” Buffy questioned.
“Hell if I know.” The brunette replied honestly.
Buffy looked at the others still sleeping at the back, she noticed that Willow and Kennedy had settled in a similar position to herself and Faith.
“Don’t they look cute.” Buffy stated while subconsciously drawing light patterns on the young slayer's hands.
“Yeah, they do. Red seems a lot more comfortable with them being together now.” Faith replied.
“Ya know it looks like she’s finally letting go of Tara, I know she’ll always love her, shit we all will, but I’m happy that she’s happy.” Buffy said while resting her head back on Faith’s shoulder.
She leaned her face against the older woman’s hair and breathed in the scent she had woken to every morning since they left Sunnydale.
“Are you scared?” Faith asked quietly.
“Scared? Of what, Willow and Kennedy.” Buffy asked a little confused at the question.
“No, I meant are you scared of never finding someone to share those things with, ya know that special someone.” The brunette explained.
“All the time.” Buffy replied in a whisper.
“Me too.” Added Faith. Buffy turned her head slightly to look into the deep brown eyes in front of her, she was a little taken aback by Faith’s statement.
“Not still the ‘get some, get gone’ girl anymore then huh.” Buffy smiled.
“I don’t know, my head tells me to, but my heart seems to be saying something different. I never thought I’d want anything more, but I used to dream when I was inside that I would some-day have the house and the kids, it sort of helped me through the day, gave me something to believe in.” She answered not once breaking eye contact hoping to show in her eyes that she had changed and that she wasn’t going to screw up again.
“Well ya never know, maybe we’ll both have your dream.” Buffy smiled and once again lowered her head onto the brunette’s shoulder, she was stunned at the revelation from her dark counterpart, she smiled to herself realising she was no longer completely alone and that the woman who was holding her was also feeling like she was.
Slowly the other occupants had woken but Buffy and Faith made no effort to move from their warm embrace, both relishing in the feel of the contact. Giles had gone to find out where they were and how much longer they would have to be travelling.
“Robin says we should be at the hotel in Cleveland in about an hour.” He relayed the message from Wood who was driving the last part of the journey.
“Cool, I can’t wait to take a shower.” Dawn stated.
“Me too.” Said Willow looking seductively at the brunette in front of her. Kennedy blushed a little before lowering her face hoping that her hair would hide it.
“When are you and Xander going to check out the properties?” Andrew asked Giles.
“Well, I think we should rest a little in the hotel and then maybe we could start looking this afternoon.” Giles replied.
“I’ll book the viewing appointments for you, it’ll sound more professional if you have your ‘secretary’ call for you.” Willow added to a bemused watcher.
“Um .. yes of course, we can’t just turn up and buy one of these properties for cash and not have the proper protocols in place.” Giles stated in a much too English accent.
“I was thinking of saying you were an Earl or something, ya know with the British accent an everything, I think it should work and Xander can be your nephew or something, cos he doesn’t look like you and….”
“Yes, yes ok Willow you do that.” Giles interrupted the red head’s babble.
“Ok I’ll make the calls as soon as we get to the hotel.” Willow finished.
It was another hour and a half before the bus finally pulled into the car park at the hotel. Everyone cheered as they knew now that they had made the journey in good time and everyone was still in good spirits.
Willow and Andrew went to organise the rooms while the others started to unpack the necessary items off the bus. This time they had chosen a very good hotel the SIT’s were paired up and shown to their rooms, they were all shocked at the size of them. All the rooms had a huge bathroom with a Jacuzzi style bath, the bedrooms themselves were huge and had two double beds in them they had a mini bar, TV and a Hi-fi system.
The original Scoobies once again paired off, Willow and Kennedy were quick to make it to their room. Giles and Wood walked slowly to the elevator followed by Xander and Andrew, Buffy and Faith.
“D come on.” Faith called at the young girl.
Dawn quickly caught up with them just in time as the elevator doors were closing.
Everyone exited the elevator on the same floor, Giles and Xander made the arrangements of what time to meet in the lobby for their property search.
Soon everyone was inside the rooms, Buffy, Faith and Dawn had a suite, which contained two bedrooms. Dawn was quick and took the one room with one huge bed and left the two slayers the room with two beds. When they entered the room they both looked perplexed, it would be the first time either of them had slept alone since leaving Sunnydale.
Buffy quickly unpacked her clothes and decided to put some of her things in the bathroom, she stood in awe at the size of the bathroom, huge, was an understatement.
‘You could fit five people in that bath’ she thought to herself, she turned and looked at the shower which had about seven heads all at different levels and all round so which ever way you turned you would have jets of water hitting you.
“Wow.” Faith said opened mouthed as she entered the bathroom.
“Uh huh.” Was all the Buffy could say while she still stared at the magnificent sight, the floor and vanity unit were both marble and the sink was carved out of it.
“Fuck, this is bigger than the last motel room we had.” Faith stated.
“Shit, imagine what you could do in that bath.” Buffy said aloud.
This time all Faith could say was “Uh huh.”
“Hey, what are you two doi..WOW!” Dawn called as she walked in behind the slayers. “Oh wow, oh my god look at that shower, right out you two I’m first.” She stated as she started to push the slayers out of the room.
They both stood stunned for a moment, Buffy shook her head slightly to try to clear it and looked over at Faith.
“That’s the first time she’s ever been so keen to shower," she laughed.
“I think I’ll use the bath, with loads of bubbles.” Faith smiled in response.
Giles was in the bar of the hotel waiting for Xander, he had ordered a beer and was quietly sipping it from the bottle.
“Hey G-man you ready to go?” Xander asked as he walked up to the older man.
“Please don’t call me that.” Giles asked while he removed his glasses and began cleaning them on his shirt.
“Sorry Giles.” Xander said sheepishly.
“We have our first appointment in fifteen minutes, we better get a move on.” Giles said standing.
“Lead on oh wise one.” Xander smiled and bowed at Giles.
They arrived at the first of the properties, it was an old mansion that had been empty for a few years, they checked around but it wasn’t big enough, there were no real grounds to speak of and no chance of expansion in any direction, so they moved on to the next.
This was a larger property, the ground surrounding the house were lined with trees and beyond them there was a high wall. The mansion itself however was amazing, it had period features and very little work would be needed, they surveyed the rooms, the kitchen was huge it was fitted with modern stainless steel appliances and contained plenty of food storage, the dining room was a little small, they would have to eat in two maybe three sittings. The sitting room was large and had a built in flareenreen which Xander stared at for ages. There were fifteen bedrooms on the first floor and the loft space had been converted into two rooms, which could be used as dorm rooms.
“I like it.” Giles stated as they were on their way to the third property.
“Yeah me too, there’s room for expansion and we could move in almost immediately.” Xander agreed.
The Limousine they had hired for the day pulled up to the last property, in front of them stood the most elegantly designed electric gates, they both turned to look at each other as the Limo moved through them and started its journey on the long driveway.
They stepped out of the Limo and stared open mouthed at the building in front of them, the front doors were made of solid wood and stood at least twelve foot high they both had ornate carvings in the centre that almost looked like warriors on chariots. They entered into a large reception area the stairway rose from one side and there was an elevator next to it. The ceiling was high and was decorated with intricate designs and patterns.
To their left was the first sitting room, this was again huge, there was enough room for at least six sofas and even then it would have plenty of space left. To the back of this room was another doorway which lead into a library, Giles stared at the large amount of stacks it was almost as big as the school library back in Sunnydale. He would be able to store every book he would ever need here and still have shelves left over, there was a large oak table in the centre and some other comfortable chairs dotted here and there. They moved out of the library and surveyed a few smaller rooms, these would be good as TV rooms as there would be much arguing about what to watch.
They moved to the other side of the house and into a smaller sitting room, not much smaller though, it would still easily house six sofas but there would be less space to play with. At the back of this room was the dining room, it too had a large oak table and there were at least twenty maybe twenty-five chairs around it. To the left of the dining room was the kitchen, this was very much like the second house they had viewed but this one also contained its own walk in freezer, and a cooker that any chef would kill to have. Again there were a couple of smaller rooms that they thought would be good for studying and stuff.
They walked through the door at the rear of the building and entered the huge conservatory that overlooked the gardens that seemed to stretch as far as the eye could see. There was the perfect area for training directly behind the hotel as there was a large expanse of grass that seemed level in all directions.
They moved to look on the first floor, there were sixteen rooms in all each with its own bathroom, they were good-sized rooms, they would easily fit a bed a desk and a wardrobe. They moved to the second and third floors, they were the same as the first.
Then they took the elevator up to the fourth floor, there were only six rooms on this floor three facing the front and three facing the back of the property, originally there had been ten rooms that were the original hotel suites however the developers had redesigned them and now they were all apartment style, they all had their open plan living and kitchen areas, the bathrooms all contained large ornate baths and large walk in showers, the bedrooms had four poster beds and a walk-in wardrobes.
The two rooms in the centre had a small balcony from these you could access the roof, Giles and Xander made their way onto the roof and looked around the expanse of the property.
“Giles, this is the place, it has to be the place. It’s awesome, look there’s even a garage that’ll hold ten cars Giles this place is perfect.” Xander stated excitedly.
“I have to agree it is wonderful, there’s also a basement we haven’t looked at yet.” He stated.
“Ok then shall we just do it or get the others to ok it first?” Xander asked.
“Well I don’t think they would have any problems with the place, but I’ll have to ask Willow to check we’re not on sacred ground or something, the last thing we need is to be haunted.” Giles replied.
“Well Giles I think we’ve hit the jackpot.” Xander said cheerfully as he made his way back inside.
Buffy, Faith and Dawn were all sitting in their hotel suite waiting for the other Scooby members to arrive Giles had called ahead to arrange the meeting. They had all taken advantage of the luxurious bathroom both Buffy and Dawn had opted for the shower while Faith and pampered herself for nearly an hour in the bath. There was a knock at the door and Dawn jumped up to answer it.
“Hi Will, hi Ken.” She said cheerfully.
“Hey Dawnie, what’s the what?” Willow replied as she entered closely followed by her lover.
“Hey.” Kennedy waved to them all as she entered the room.
“Hey both.” Buffy called. “You wanna drink or something.” She asked pointing to the bar.
“I’ll have a beer.” Willow answered to everyone’s surprise. “What, I’m taking advantage, I’m allowed to pamper myself, I did find this hotel.” She stated with a nod.
“I’ll join you.” Buffy smiled.
“I thought you didn’t drink anymore.” Dawn spoke to her sister.
“Well you thought wrong Dawnie,” Buffy replied turning to Faith. “You want one Faith?” She asked the brunette.
“Hell yeah, you ever heard me turn down a drink.” She answered with a lopsided grin.
“Can I have one?” Dawn asked.
“No you’re too young.” Buffy answered quickly.
“Aw come on B let her have the one, it won’t hurt.” Faith interrupted.
“Ok then but just ONE.” Buffy relented.
“Yey.” Dawn yelped, while Buffy rolled her eyes.
“Ken, do you want anything?” The blond asked the young girl.
“Ah, I’ll have a coke thanks.” Kennedy replied.
“You can have a beer if you want, there’s plenty.” Buffy offered.
“No it’s ok, I’m not really used to drinking, and with all these changes that see be be happening to me at the moment I’d like to keep a clear head.” Kennedy answered in response.
There was another knock at the door but this time Kennedy answered it as she was closest. Xander, Andrew, Giles and Wood all entered talking animatedly about the property that Giles had made an offer on.
“Hi guys.” Willow called interrupting their conversation.
“Oh, hello Willow, everyone.” Giles replied turning and nodding to the others in the room.
“I have some good news, I have made an offer on a property this afternoon and it has been accepted. We can move in, in a day or two when the paperwork is all signed." He offered as explanation.
“Wait, what, you’ve bought something, where, how.” Willow started to question.
“Well it’s an old Hotel that was closed down, a new developer bought and renovated it in the hope of using it. Their company went into liquidation and the hotel is being sold at half the value its worth.” Giles explained. Xander took over the explanation of the property with wide arm gestures trying to show how big everything was. He explained that there was a garage and that there were spacious grounds surrounding it, he explained the electric gates and the fourteen foot wall that had been constructed around the whole property which gave them the added security and privacy that they would need.
Everyone listened intently at the description of the house. “When can we see it?” Buffy asked.
“Well I’ve arranged another viewing for us all tomorrow, in the meantime Willow can you check for any strange happenings related to the property, we don’t want to end up with the aftermath of some horror on our hands.” Giles stated.
”I’ll get right on it.” She stood to make her way back to her room.
“Oh and Willow, tomorrow I’ll need you to try to sense any danger on the land, you know things like bodies buried or tunnels used by demons running under the house.” Giles told her.
“No problem Giles, I’ll tune to the earth tomorrow.” She answered with a wink. “Hey babe, you coming with?” She asked turning to Kennedy.
“Yeah I’m coming.” The young brunette answered standing and waving the other in the room.
“See you guys later.” Xander called from his position on sofa.
“Yeah we’ll all meet and have dinner together.” Dawn offered.
“Ok we’ll see you in an hour or something.” Willow replied nodding at the young girl.
After Willow and Kennedy had left, everyone started talking about how they were going to move in and what things they needed. Andrew was charged with the food shopping which Faith offered to help, stating that someone had to make sure they had something edible in the house. Xander had decided to buy some tools ready for any work that may need doing. Giles and Wood had agreed to contact as many of their sources as they could to start the new book collection for the library. Buffy and Dawn were going to be responsible for the SIT’s they would have to ensure that all the girls had the necessary clothing and personal items that they would need, they didn’t mind this cause it meant shopping.
“Oh shit I know what we haven’t done.” Buffy caught everyone’s attention.
“What, I think we’ve got it all covered.” Faith asked bemused.
“Faith it’s you, we haven’t sorted you yet.” Buffy answered as if by explanation.
“Sorry if I sound like I’m missing something here but huh.” Faith looked at the blond confused.
“You’re a fugitive remember, I’ll call Willow and ask her if she can do anything with your files.” Buffy offered.
“Oh” was all Faith could say, in the last few days she hadn’t thought about how she got out of prison only that she was out.
“Yes Buffy, good idea.” Giles added. Buffy stood and went to the phone she dialled the red head’s room. Once she had finished explaining to Willow she hung up and smiled at the others.
“She said no probs, on on it and something about the good old days.” Buffy said smiling.
“What she can do that, just make files disappear.” Faith asked in awe.
“Well she doesn’t delete them or anything she just looses them somewhere and no-one can find them.” Buffy answered with a shrug.
Everything had been agreed for the next days’ itinerary, and everyone left the girls to get ready for their dinner date.
Willow and Kennedy were the first to arrive at the bar in the hotel, they ordered drinks and were sat chatting quietly when Xander and Andrew arrived.
“Ladies, my I say how gorgeous you both look this fine evening.” Xander greeted them slowly bowing his head.
“Thanks Xander.” Willow replied. “Where are the others?” She asked.
“They’re all on their way, said for us to get a table.” Andrew answered the red head.
“Ok then let’s go.” Kennedy said standing.
They had been sat at the table for about ten minutes when the others joined them. They all talked about anything and everything and had way too much to eat. At the end of the meal they made their way back to their rooms.
Willow and Kennedy stepped out of the elevator. They turned quickly to wave goodbye at the others and started to walk towards their room.
“Hey Red wait up!” Faith called as she pushed through the semi closed elevator doors.
Willow turned to see Faith stumble through the doors and almost straight into a potted plant in the hallway.
“Are you ok?” Willow asked walking back towards her one time enemy.
“Yeah Will, I’m fine, I ah,” the brunette started “I just wanted to thank you, ya know for the police records and shit, ya didn’t have to do that. But thanks.” Faith finished looking at the floor.
“Faith, look at me.” Willow answered softly while closing the space between them. Faith raised her head a little to look at the red head. “You’re right, I didn’t have to do it, I wanted to, Faith we were all wrong back then but this time, we stick together.” She smiled brightly.
Faith couldn’t help but smile back she closed the remaining space between them and quickly hugged the woman in front of her. “Thanks Red, I promise you this, I won't mess up this time. I know it’s gonna be hard but I have changed, I’m not that teenage girl anymore, I understand more now than I ever did, I want this to work, I want to help, but I also want you to help me.” She took a small step and looked at the red head in front of her.
“I know you’ve changed Faith, cos the old ‘Psycho Slayer’ wouldn’t ask for help, and you’ve stayed around a lot longer that she would have, Faith I can never forget what happened but I was wrong then too, and well I forgave you a long time ago, Faith I want you as my friend and not as someone I call when the demons get too big.” Willow finished looking into the tearful eyes in front of her.
“I, I, don’t know what to say.” Faith mumbled.
“Say nothing Faith, now get to your room and get some rest young lady you have work to do tomorrow.” Willow chided.
“Yes Mom.” Faith answered with a lopsided grin.
“Night Faith.” Willow said softly to the slayer.
“Yeah night Red, night Ken.” Faith waved at the younger woman.
Faith turned and headed back to the elevators. Willow felt two strong arms circle her from behind.
“You did good.” Kennedy whispered in her ear. They stood in the embrace until Faith’s elevator doors had closed.
“It’s gonna be ok, I can feel it,” Willow started while turning to face her lover. “Now, I know we fed you, so you can’t be hungry, so how else are you feeling.” Willow said seductively to the young woman.
“I think I need to get to bed.” Kennedy answered wide-eyed, quickly she turned and ran down the corridor to open the door of their room. Willow stared at her girlfriend's ass as she ran away from her, ‘wow’ she thought to herself, she shook her head and started to run after the younger woman. She entered the room and closed the door behind her.
Dawn had just said goodnight to Buffy and was making her way to her bedroom when Faith entered.
“Hey D you goin to bed?” The dark slayer asked.
“Yeah, we’ve got lots of shopping to do tomorrow, and me being without the slayer stamina need the rest.” She smirked.
“Hey you’re worse than me.” Buffy called from the sofa.
“Goodnight Kiddo.” Faith smiled.
“Night Faith.” Dawn answered as she entered her bedroom and closed the door behind her.
“Hey you wanna beer.” Buffy called over to Faith.
“Oh yeah.” She answered jumping on the other side of the sofa.
Buffy handed Faith an open beer and held her own up, “Here’s to the Future, ‘Slayers United’” she called.
“Wait, wait.” Faith stopped her as she was about to drink. “And here’s to you Buffy,” she lifted her bottle. “Cos without you, none of us would be here.” She smiled brightly at the blond. They both raised their bottles and took a long drink.
They sat up for at least another two hours finishing most of the contents of the mini bar and were now rather drunk. Realising the time they decided it was time to go to bed.
“Which side were you having?” Faith slurred.
“I dunno.” Buffy giggled.
Soon they were both laughing at each other, Faith could barely stand and Buffy kept hiccupping. They both crashed onto the one bed, they were still giggling to themselves.
“Night B.” Faith said turning over on her side.
“Night F.” Buffy replied. No sooner than they had said this they both passed out.
Buffy woke again in Faith’s arms, at some point in the night they had both moved under the covers and were now snuggled into each other.
“Hey.” A husky voice whispered from above her.
Buffy lifted her head slightly and opened one eye, she winced at the pain in her head. “Sssshhh not so loud.” She replied.
“How much did we drink last night.” Faith asked rubbing her head.
“Urrgh I don’t know, but remind me not to do it again, my head hurts.” She whined.
Faith leaned down and gently kissed Buffy on the forehead, she looked down at the blond and smiled. “There I kissed it better for you.”
“Mmmm.” Buffy replied smiling and buried her head back onto Faith’s shoulder.
“BUFFY, FAITH, are you up yet?” Dawn yelled from outside while banging on the door.
“GO AWAY!” Buffy screamed. Dawn opened the bedroom door and smiled at the two slayers, they hadn’t moved and she thought they looked cute all curled up and in obvious pain.
“Well I can see why the mini bars empty now.” Dawn stated while crossing her arms.
“Empty, we didn’t, Faith we didn’t drink the lot did we?” Buffy asked confused, she was sure they hadn’t drunk that much.
“Ooops.” Faith replied with a smile and shrugged her shoulders a little.
“Fuck I feel like shit.” Buffy said, standing she grabbed her bathrobe and made her way out of the bedroom and into the bathroom. She closed the door and leaned her back against it she glanced at the mirror that was in front of her. “Fuck I look like shit.” She said aloud.
Faith and Dawn were waiting in the sitting area as Buffy came out of the bathroom looking decidedly more human.
“I am never drinking again.” She spoke as she walked in to the bedroom and closed the door behind her.
“I’ve heard that before.” Dawn replied rolling her eyes at the retreating form of her sister.
“I know how she feels.” Faith whined as she placed her head in her hands.
“I think you need a shower, you stink.” Dawn laughed as she threw a cushion at her.
“Ok, ok I’m going.” Faith replied and stumbled towards the bathroom.
Soon they were all ready to leave, they made their way down into the hotel lobby to meet the others. When they arrived Willow, Kennedy, Xander and Andrew were already there.
“Hi guys.” The red head greeted brightly.
“Urgh.” Faith replied.
“Double Urgh.” Buffy concurred.
“What’s up with them.” Willow turned to Dawn, looking puzzled at the response from the slayers.
“They emptied the mini bar last night, they may be slayers but the amount they drank, we could have all had a party.” Dawn stated rolling her eyes at the two slayers.
“Oh.” Willow replied.
“So what’s the plan? And where’s Giles?” Buffy asked.
“He said that he and Wood will stay here and make some calls, we,” Xander continued pointing to the group, “have to do everything we discussed last night, that means I have to go buy tools and I suppose that leaves the rest of you to get everything for the SIT’s, we can’t get food yet we don’t have anywhere to put it.” He finished.
“Oh great that means shopping malls.” Faith whinged.
“You could come with me if you like.” Xander offered.
Faith smiled widely at him, “Cool.” She said relieved, if there was one thing she hated it was shopping malls, only when she had to did she ever venture inside one, and then that was only one or maybe two shops she would run in buy what she wanted and then run straight back out, she hated them.
“Can I come?” Kennedy asked.
“Sure, don’t like malls either huh?” Xander answered.
“Nope I hate ’em.” Kennedy stated defiantly.
“Ok then, that’s all sorted. Giles asked us to be back by three and he’ll take us back to the house, so we can all get a good look round and stuff.” Andrew informed everyone.
With everything arranged the two groups split up, Xander, Kennedy and Faith headed out to find Xander his tools, and the others made their way back upstairs to get the SIT’s to go shopping, it was going to be a long day.
It was close to three when all the SIT’s and the four members of the Scoobies returned looking dishevelled, Buffy instructed all the younger girls to take their new things up to their rooms and explained that the Scooby gang would be back in a few hours.
The nine members left and made their way to what was going to be their new home. The mini bus they were in pulled up to the big iron gates at the front they stared in awe as they entered and drove up the long driveway.
“Wow.” Willow exclaimed.
“I second that ‘wow’ and raise you a ‘holy shit.” Faith added.
They pulled up outside and stepped from the vehicle, Giles made his way to the front doors and opened them, he gestured to the rest to follow. Once they were all inside he directed them through the hotel showing them the different features. They had finally reached the roof and were looking amazed at the grounds that the property was in.
“This place must have been pretty exclusive in its time.” Andrew spoke aloud.
“Yeah I mean look we have our own golf course.” Dawn stated pointing to the large expanse of grass at the back of the property.
They had been stood for a while trying to process what they had seen, the hotel was huge there was no disputing that.
“Well we’ll have plenty of room here.” Buffy stated.
“Yeah but whose gonna sleep where, I mean can I have my own apartment, please Buffy please.” Dawn whined.
“Well there were six big rooms and there’s eight of us, perhaps we should draw straws.” Xander offered.
“Ah, there’s nine.” Faith offered quickly counting everyone.
“Physically yes I would agree, but can you see them two sleeping in different rooms.” Xander finished pointing at Willow and Kennedy.
“Oh yeah, forgot ‘bout that.” Faith said smirking.
“If I might make a suggestion.” Wood spoke to the group. “There are six of you that have been together a long time, it was you who brought us all together so I think that the ‘original’ Scoobies should get the apartments, me and Andrew can take a room on the other two float lat least then we can keep an eye on the SIT’s.” He suggested.
“Robin that is very kind of you.” Giles replied.
“I can always knock two of those rooms into one and give you your own suites if you like, it’s not as if we haven’t got the space.” Xander offered.
“Ok then who gets which apartment?” Dawn asked smiling.
“Well I think that should be up to Buffy and Faith, it’s through them that we have gotten this far, they should have first choice.” Giles smiled to the original chosen two.
“B, you choose first.” Faith offered.
“Nope I want you to choose, it’s as much your right as mine.” Buffy smiled at her counterpart.
“Ok,” Faith started. “I’ll take the middle one in the front.”
“Good choice.” Buffy winked. “Cos I wanted the middle back.” She laughed.
“Ok then what about the rest of you?” Faith asked turning to the others.
“Back right.” Willow called.
“As you look at it or as you look from it?” Xander asked.
Willow thought for a moment. “From it.” She answered.
“I’ll have the back left then.” He stated.
“Well Dawn it leaves you and I to choose.” Giles stated to the teen.
“I’ll go opposite Willow cos I lost track of which is left and right.” Dawn looked confused.
“Ok then that leaves me opposite Xander.” Giles clarified his position.
Once had had confirmed the rooms Wood and Andrew were asked to choose which floor and which rooms they wanted. Wood chose the first floor which left Andrew on the second, they both chose rooms and Xander quickly surveyed the possibility of converting two rooms into one, with this confirmed they all made their way back to the hotel.
They had called a meeting with the SIT to to explain that they had purchased a property for everyone and they explained that they would be moving in a few days. They were told that in those few days they would be enrolled in to the high school ready for the new semester when the summer would be over.
The next few days were spent organising the move, the SIT’s had been enrolled in high school. Everyone was busy packing everything they didn’t need and moved them into their designated rooms in their new home. Willow had been and purchased a computer system that would be set up in the library but could be accessed anywhere in the house.
Xander had started the alterations to Wood and Andrew’s rooms, Faith had been helping him with it, as she couldn’t deal with all the excited teenagers. Buffy and Kennedy had been and purchased the different home entertainment equipment for the communal TV rooms. Andrew had been busy checking out everyone’s dietary needs and compiling the relevant shop lists. Everyone else was busy tidying things and putting things in their allotted spaces.
The day had come when they were ready to move in, Xander hadn’t finished the construction work so Wood and Andrew chose temporary rooms.
Giles drove the school bus once more, this time they were headed for their final destination well at least for a while. All the SIT’s had loaded their remaining belongings and were excited about their first night in their new home.
Giles pulled the bus up to the front and the SIT’s were greeted by the Scooby gang and a banner which had ‘Welcome Home’ written on it. Everyone was in high spirits.
“Ok can I get everyone’s attention for a sec.” Faith call from the front doors, when everyone quietened down she continued. “Thanks, it’s our first night here so we decided that we could all do with some fun, so we’re gonna have a party.” She smiled.
Everyone cheered, they hadn’t had time to relax since they couldn’t remember when, and now they could party.
The Scoobies had run around all day making sure everything was ready for the party, Faith and Andrew had cooked up an amazing selection of food, they had surprised everyone. Xander and Willow had supplied the drinks, they allowed a little alcohol for the SIT’s but not enough to cause any real problems, they also hid the real stuff for the ‘adults’ well they deserved to party to.
Dawn was busy with Giles, Wood and Kennedy moving all the furniture so they could create a decent sized dance floor. They had put about fifteen different CD’s into the new home entertainment system and were ready to start.
Willow tried the new pager system that was connected to the computer. She typed in a few commands and a pager in each room would sound, it worked a bit like an intercom system but she could manipulate the sound, so they could have different call signs to use.
Soon each of the SIT’s were making their way to the ground floor, Dawn hit the playback on the stereo and music began to pump through the speakers. Xander held out drinks for everyone, the party had begun.
Andrew and Willow started the dancing, Faith was busy eating and talking to Kennedy, they were both munching on chicken wings when Angela one of the SIT’s came over to join them.
“How you liking your room Ang?” Faith asked with a mouthful of chicken.
“It is good, I like it.” She stated in italian accent. “Is the food good?” She asked.
“Well I made it and I’m eating it so yeah the foods good.” Faith replied with a smile.
“Hey Faith come and dance.” Dawn called from the dance area of the room.
“Later D I’m eating.” She replied.
“God when don’t you eat.” Dawn replied in a huff.
“You better go.” Kennedy pushed Faith.
“Ok ok I’ll dance.” She replied as she walked over to the youngest of the Summers' girls.
Once Faith started to dance she felt the music take her, she really loved to dance, it was her release, her senses were tuned as one with the music, she felt every beat, every sound, every lyric, she lost herself in the music. It had been so long since she had felt this free and this relaxed. She turned and opened her eyes, she looked around the room at the others, she smiled to herself watching the different members of her new family. She watched as some of the younger girls winced at their first taste of alcohol, she watched as others tried some of the exotic food that she had prepared, some were nodding enthusiastically about something and others were turning up their noses. ‘We gotta right bunch here.’ She smiled to herself.
She watched as Willow and Kennedy were slowly dancing in the corner of the room, even though the music that was playing was anything but slow. She looked at Xander and saw him talking to Wood and Andrew, she looked around the rest of the room and spotted Giles stood off to one side, he was holding a glass of Scotch and he had a small smile that lit up his face, Faith couldn’t remember the last time any of them had actually been this relaxed, the problem with ‘The First’ seemed to have taken a lot out of everyone.
It was way past midnight when some of the SIT’s started to make their way to bed, many of them were a little drunk and some had to be helped by the more sober ones. There were only a couple of SIT’s left with the Scooby gang who were now into full party mode, they were all rather drunk and dancing in the middle of the room, none of them seemed to be dancing to the same song but never the less they danced. Giles and Wood made their excuses and left the rest, soon Xander Andrew and Dawn followed along with the remaining SIT’s, which left Willow, Kennedy, Faith and Buffy.
They turned the music down and changed the CD for a more mellow sound. Buffy and Willow s