My Sweet Prisoner
by Snoe
Rating: PG-13
Disclaimer: I don’t own Faith, Buffy or any of the other Scoobies. They belong
to Joss and the WB. I do, however, own Hope. She’s all mine.
Spoilers: Up to This Year's Girl, major Grad 1.
Author's Notes: This is an AU where the whole body switching thing never
happened, and Riley never ever existed either. This is definitely going to be
a longer story, and yes I have something big in store. Lots of thanks to Adam
for making this story so much better than it was :)
With slightly parted lips the girl turned around in a circle, then lifted her head to the dark sky. A sensuous smile crept upon her face as she tucked the wooden stake in her right hand into her back pocket, then raised her hands above her head.
"Wow, check this out B!" the girl exclaimed, her eyes never leaving the sky.
The blonde stood a few feet away, her arms crossed. She chuckled quietly at the other girl who was acting like a little kid in a candy store. She shook her head with a grin as the taller girl bounced over to her, grabbing her hand to drag her away from the roof of the old crypt she was standing under.
"Come on B! Look, look," the brunette squealed and pointed at the sky, while dragging her blonde friend by her arm.
Buffy Summers sighed with a smile and watched as the white flocks tumbled out of the black sky, hanging onto everything they could, soon covering a great part of their clothes and hair.
"Whoa you guys look! It’s snowing," the brunette girl exclaimed as soon as she entered the room and just received knowing smiles from the other occupants in the room. She threw her leather jacket and boots off then sat down on the windowsill, staring out at the dark that was slowly becoming more and more white.
"Yeah, I practically had to carry her home and away from all the white stuff. We had to stop patrolling since all Faith would do was catch the snowflakes in her mouth!" the blonde grinned, her tone mocking, but indulgent as she watched the brunette sitting at the window.
The other four teens in the room grinned as they turned their eyes back to the TV. Buffy’s eyes lingered on the red-head’s face for a few seconds and she smiled as the witch looked back at her. The blonde mouthed a silent ‘thanks’ to her friend and took a seat on the empty sofa after taking her jacket off as well. Willow nodded her head, mouthing back ‘no problem’ and giggled quietly at the show on TV. Buffy turned her head slightly so she could see the brunette at the window. She was amazed at how fascinated the younger slayer was at the white flocks that by now probably covered all of Sunnydale.
Over the past few weeks, when everyone else had been busy buying gifts and planning their family dinners, Faith had become so moody and depressed it even hurt Buffy to see.
While all of them were going to attend some sort of family dinner on Christmas Eve, Faith would probably be sitting in front of Giles' old TV all night playing video games. It wasn't really for the lack of concern from Giles, because he had voiced that to Buffy quite frequently over the past few days. Apparently the watcher wasn't a very Christmas-y person and he felt guilty for not being able to provide Faith with a better holiday, although the younger girl had shrugged it off with a 'I'm just glad you let me live here after I woke up G-man. I don't really need holidays either.'
But Buffy knew better than to believe Faith in a case like this and was still hoping to convince her mother to invite the younger girl for their dinner. On patrol a few nights ago Faith had mentioned to Buffy with a sad voice that she really missed the snow on Christmas that made it even more special. And obviously Willow had managed to cast the spell Buffy had secretly asked for, to give Sunnydale a white Christmas.
She looked up as Faith dropped into the cushions next to her with a big grin on her face. [I haven’t seen her this happy since...well for a long time anyway] Buffy thought and smiled back at the girl.
"Come on you guys, let’s go outside and make snow people!"
"Uhh no," Xander mumbled, shivering at the thought of being in the cold and edged closer to his girlfriend who didn’t seem to warm up to the idea either.
"Faith it’s cold outside. We could get frostbite or something. Frostbite is no good for slaying or spell casting," Willow muttered, but couldn’t suppress a grin.
Buffy shook her head as well, still feeling the cold go deep into her bones and stay there while they had made their way back. None of them were really used to snow during any time of the year, except for Faith who had spent her time growing up in Boston where you pretty much expected a white Christmas.
"Faith!" she sighed as the brunette started putting on her biggest pouting face and the blonde narrowed her eyes in disbelief.
"We’ll go build some tomorrow alright? I promise," Buffy sighed again, wondering how Faith was always able to make her give in. But the warm smile she received was definitely worth it as she leaned back upon the brunette’s silent request to put her legs across Buffy’s lap.
"Faith watch out!" the blonde yelled and dropped down behind the wall they had in front of them. Though she escaped the attack the brunette was not as lucky and she was hit square in the head.
"Oww..." Faith growled and looked at Buffy with an evil grin, as both girls nodded and got ready to fight back. They grabbed their weapons from the ground and glanced over the wall at the same time, then launched their attack.
Xander, Anya, Willow and Tara stood no chance as the two slayers bombarded them with snowballs.
"Do you surrender?" Faith yelled and growled again as she heard the negative reply from Xander. Buffy elbowed her gently and both of them grinned, then crawled out from behind their wall built out of snow towards their opponents snow ‘fort’. The two slayers pounced upon their friends, rubbing the frozen water into their faces while holding them down, forcing the four teens to give up eventually.
"Ah yes, the joy of being young," the man grunted and angrily brushed off the white flakes that settled on his dark jacket as he closed the car door. What was up with snow in Sunnydale anyway? This was California, he had agreed to go on assignment here to escape the freezing cold back home. Though the gray clouds that covered the horizon had one thing that helped them do their job. It blocked out the rays of the sun.
"What would you know about that anyway, you’re like a hundred and fifty," the young girl exclaimed next to him, wrinkling her nose in disgust as they watched the six teens in the yard play in the dirt like dogs. Looking down herself she growled quietly at the white clothes that covered her body. Her usual choice was black, but that didn’t seem to blend in too well with the snow, as her partner would find out for himself sooner or later.
"I was young too once you know," he mumbled, and she rolled her eyes at the hurt that was portrayed in his voice.
"Yeah, like I said, about 200 years ago," she replied with a casual tone, leaning forward to look out the almost iced over car window to get a better view of their target. The five girls and one boy were still throwing snow at each other, occasionally one being pinned down and ending up with fluffy white crystals shoved down their shirt. The blonde sighed and dropped back against her seat, wishing she could just go and do what they came to do already, instead of doing the whole stalker thing. It was more boring than anything she had ever done, and that meant a lot. After all, she had attended over eight years of public school.
"Good clean fun in the snow," Xander grinned and closed the heavy door to Giles’ apartment behind him. The gray-haired man stared at them, the sigh hanging in his throat as he saw the water dripping off them onto his freshly cleaned floor. The teens threw their wet ski jackets, ski pants and boots onto a wet, dripping pile on the floor and all rushed to the living room area to acquire a seat that was best suited for watching TV and reaching the snacks.
Xander immediately claimed the couch, mumbling something about guys being bigger and needing more space, until Anya pushed him over, settling in next to him. All that was left to Buffy was one of the big sofa seats, as Willow and Tara had occupied the other one, very obviously trying not to get too close to each other but yet wanting to. The blonde slayer dropped into her seat with a happy sigh and turned as Faith stepped out of the bathroom towards them.
"Faiiiith," Buffy drew out the brunette’s name, making it sound like she was telling a young child how to behave. The young girl’s head snapped up in puzzlement and she stared at Buffy, a questioning look in her face.
Buffy shook her head, pointing at the girl’s soaked, black jeans that she had insisted on wearing outside since Faith had been the only one without some sort of ski outfit stuffed in the back of her closet from some old family skiing trip. "Take them off Faith," she muttered in a low voice, hoping no one else would hear, but as soon as the words left her mouth five other pairs of eyes were staring at her.
"But Buffy...not now...not here," Faith smiled mischievously, then looked at Buffy pleadingly. "Come on, you really want me to run around in my underwear B?" The blonde shrugged, her stare showing Faith there was no getting around it and threw a blanket at the brunette.
"You have clothes upstairs, can't you wear those?"
"But these are my favorite," the younger girl tried again but was defeated by her girlfriend's stare.
"Just put them in the dryer. It won’t take long Faith, I promise," she drawled, watching with a grin as Faith slowly made her way up the stairs, coming back wearing pajama pants and a big blanket wrapped around her.
"So first you make me take my clothes off and now I have to sit on the floor? What kind of place are you running here G-man?" Faith grinned and she could see Giles cringe at that remark as he muttered something into his tea that none of them were sure they wanted to hear.
Buffy shook her head with a smile and opened her arms to invite Faith over to her seat. With a smug grin the brunette slid into her girlfriend's arms who immediately pulled her closer and Faith draped her legs across Buffy's. Stifling a yawn the older slayer leaned all the way back against the seat and looked at the brunette. Faith was practically glowing, her gaze fixed on the TV with such intensity it almost made Buffy laugh. Her hands wandered to the silver necklace around the younger girl's neck, the one Buffy had given her, out of habit and she started playing with it as she turned her head back towards the movie.
They all more or less kept their eyes on the TV as James Stewart was having a wonderful life. Well until they heard the high-pitched squeal coming from Buffy.
"Faith!" the blonde slayer hissed, though not being able to contain a grin and she blushed as her friends turned to look at them. The awkward level of the room rose a couple of feet as they all stared at Faith lying across Buffy’s lap and though the girl’s hands were hidden by the blanket all of them were sure they didn’t want to know where Faith’s hands had really wandered off to.
"Come on you guys, I thought we made a deal?" Xander whined and tried to get the thought of the two slayers together out of his head.
"Aww, poor Xand, you getting turned on?" Faith mocked with a grin, knowing what she was saying didn’t need an answer because they already knew and received a light swat on the shoulder by Buffy.
"Come on Faith, don’t be mean to Xander. Later," Buffy smirked, blushing slightly as Willow and Tara’s eyes widened a little and Xander fell back against the cushions with a groan. Recently being with his best friends did nothing to keep his hormones low. Ever since Buffy and Faith first admitted to being together, though Xander had suspected that ever since Faith woke up from her coma and the two slayers ‘made up’ as they had put it. He was just glad that Willow and Tara seemed to be so shy around each other, or else he probably would have popped.
He groaned again as he saw Faith nibbling on Buffy’s earlobes and tried to keep his attention completely on the TV, before he would have to take Anya and go home to do things. And he really didn’t want to go out in the snow again.
The girl was fast, her movement slick and quicker than the eye of a normal human could capture. Following these two was no task for her and she felt herself lost in boredom once again. Her companion was following her quietly but slower, and if he had needed to breathe she probably would’ve been able to hear him panting. He reached her finally at the tree she was standing behind, watching the two slayers do their duty. Dust was settling everywhere and the girl shook her head every time one of the vampires lost their non-life.
"Well I’m glad you could finally join me Sam," the blonde girl remarked grimly as she turned towards him and he gave her that look again, the look that told her if she hadn't been their master’s primed possession he would've killed her. Though they both knew he would never be able to compete with her strength and skill, so he remained silent and turned to watch the slayers that were just about to stake the last two vamps in the graveyard.
"They are really good," he growled, hoping deep inside that the girls would not spot the two of them behind the bushes.
"Yeah well I can take them. After Faith is on our side we should have no problems getting rid of that Buffy chick," she shrugged and started walking again with soundless steps as the two slayers left the graveyard.
"What makes you so sure Faith will join us my dear?" Sam questioned, making sure that his voice sounded superior although he wasn’t.
"You’ll see Sammy-boy. Don’t worry," the blonde girl remarked and was gone out of his vision, which left him cursing quietly as he tried to keep up with her.
The brunette girl stood slowly, eyeing the group of people sitting at the table in front of her. Her body vibrated with the steady beat of the bass coming from the speakers and the pounding of feet against the floor echoed off the walls.
"You guys want anything?" she mumbled, hoping that it was quiet enough for them not to hear her.
"Get me a Diet Coke, will ya?" Buffy smiled lovingly and Faith couldn’t help but smile back as she nodded and turned to get the drinks.
"Hey Faith, get me some Mountain Dew okay?" she heard Xander’s voice from behind her and groaned, turning back around.
"Don’t you know that reduces sperm count Xand?" the slayer questioned innocently and turned again, walking towards the bar, leaving a puzzled Xander staring at the rest of the people at the table.
"No it doesn’t," he stated self-consciously and upon receiving grins from the four girls surrounding him his eyes widened. "Right?" he asked and his voice broke a little, which made it just so much harder for the four teenage girls to stop laughing.
Faith stood at the bar, waiting for the young pimply guy behind the counter to take notice of her and turned around slightly. Her eyes wandered over the dancing crowd and finally landed on the sight of the pretty blonde sitting at the table with a huge grin on her face. It was all that was needed to make the brunette slayer smile as well and she leaned back against the bar while watching her girlfriend.
Her head snapped up in an instant when someone bumped into her hard and her brown eyes locked on a young girl’s face. The blonde girl smirked and looked Faith up and down, then shook her hair back and her icy blue eyes met the slayer’s.
"Faith," she smiled, her head lifted to look into the brunette’s eyes who was a couple of inches taller.
"Hope?" the brunette questioned, narrowing her eyes to look at the girl in front of her closely.
"Hmm...yeah. Me, Hope," the blonde purred, studying the features of the dark slayer before her with great interest.
"But...you...you’re dead," Faith’s voice broke and her eyes darted around nervously, expecting the worst at any moment.
"Naw, if I was dead wouldn’t I be buried somewhere...Faith?" she drawled, tapping her index finger against the slayer’s collarbone.
"You were dead...they had a funeral...," Faith mumbled in utter confusion, wincing as the blonde girl’s cold finger touched her skin lightly.
"Ah...Faithie...always believing what someone else tells you, huh? Haven't you learned?" the girl named Hope sighed and drew her finger back, pushing some strands of stray hair behind her ears before continuing. "Just because they put six feet of dirt onto a wooden box in the ground doesn’t mean I’m dead Faith. All those months I was gone, you were the only one that believed I’d come back. How hurt you must’ve been, huh Faith? Did they ever find my kidnapper? Did they ever lock up the guy that supposedly killed me? Oh Faith...you always were so gullible," Hope smirked, shaking her head and lifted her eyes away from the brunette’s face at the other girl walking towards them.
"Faith? Everything alright?" Buffy whispered, her hand slowly moving up the brunette’s back and down again, her arm resting gently around Faith’s waist. The gesture was as loving as it was protective and Faith looked at the girl next to her with a half-hearted smile.
"So you’re Buffy?" Hope stated casually, looking at the blonde in front of her. Buffy nodded slowly, opening her mouth to respond with what Faith expected to be a pun but Hope cut her off. "Not driving stick anymore, huh Faith?" the girl smirked, her tone close to utter mockery and she had to try hard not to let her smile spread any wider as the blonde slayer blushed into oblivion, moving away from Faith.
Faith grimaced, both at the statement and Buffy moving away, then stared at Hope. "Why are you here Hope?"
"Faith!" the blonde girl exclaimed, her voice rich of fake shock. "I’ve missed you," she added with a soft voice, her finger trailing down the brunette’s bare arm. She could see Buffy contemplating whether to claim her territory but apparently decided against it and Hope drew her finger back once again. "Didn’t you miss me? Don’t you remember all those times we had together...as little kids...doing all that stuff we got yelled at for...Faith we were best friends for almost fifteen years! We haven’t seen each other in what...three years now and you ask me why I’m here?" Hope sniffed, a mask of sadness on her face and she did her best to have the tears running from her eyes.
This definitely was so much better than stalking the two slayers and their retard friends. Hope suppressed a grin as she looked at her former best friend with teary eyes. Faith might have been the slayer and she might have been a vampire, but one thing no other vampire knew was how easily Faith had always trusted her with every little thing. This time it would be no different.
"I...I didn’t mean it that way," Faith mumbled, her head lowered, "But you’re supposed to be dead Hope. Where have you been, what happened to you?"
Hope sighed, taking one of Faith’s hands into both of hers and looked into the brunette’s eyes. Eyes she had known so well. Eyes she had loved. The eyes of her best friend. And if there had been anything left inside of the real Hope this would have been the most joyous occasion in the two girls' lives, but the demon inside the body did not care one bit for past memories. All she cared about was fulfilling her master's wishes.
Buffy didn’t like the new girl. Not at all. Of course there was that possibility that this strong aversion was caused by jealousy, especially when the blonde reached out and took Faith's silver necklace into her hand, tracing her fingers along it. The shivers ran down Buffy's spine as she watched the girl grasp the necklace tightly and then smiled sweetly at Faith. It took her all she had not to growl and beat the stranger away from her girlfriend. Though Buffy had a feeling that jealousy wasn’t the main reason why she disliked Faith’s friend. There was something about her that just didn’t seem right. Something that told her this girl was pure evil. Something like the vamps she staked every night.
The slayer’s eyes widened and her eyes locked on the girl’s mouth. There was no trace of fangs, but of course the vampire girl did not have her game face on. Buffy’s hand reached out and she grabbed Faith’s black top tightly in her right hand, pulling on it as an indication for the brunette to follow her. But Faith did no such thing.
"What?" Faith hissed, and Buffy winced, the harsh tone penetrating her like a knife. [Like a knife. How ironic.]
"Faith, come on. Let’s go. I don’t feel well," she pleaded, resorting to a lie but she could forgive herself if it would save her girlfriend from becoming vampire dinner. But the brunette wouldn’t move, despite her plea.
"I bet one of the others will take you home. If you want I’ll come over later, alright?" Faith mumbled, her tone apologetic, but Buffy couldn’t believe what she was hearing. Any other time the brunette would have volunteered to carry her home if she just as much as scratched her finger, and now she wasn’t even willing to come along. The blonde slayer grimaced and slowly uncurled her fingers from the fabric she had still been clutching.
"Fine. I’ll be alright. I’ll see you tomorrow. Have fun," she whispered and turned to look at Faith again, hoping that her girlfriend would change her mind. But instead she nodded slowly, then looked at Hope who was as quick as the wind to throw her arms around the brunette’s neck, pressing her lips onto Faith’s for a split second and mumbling something that sounded like ‘I missed you so much.’
Buffy growled deeply, jealousy spreading through her body and feeding her every cell. She turned her back to the two girls after throwing a most devious glance at Hope, before walking back to their table. Now she really was ready to leave, having forgotten why she had wanted Faith to leave with her, in the first place.
"Yeah, it all went according to plan. I’m not stupid asshole," she hissed and laid back against the soft pillows of her bed. Her eyes wandered around the big studio apartment that their master had set up for them for the duration of their ‘assignment’. The blonde girl dug the remote out of the pile of blankets and switched the TV on.
"I saw the blonde slayer while I was outside. She seemed pretty damn pissed," the guy mumbled and threw his empty beer can in the corner with a loud clattering.
"Dammit idiot, throw your trash where it belongs. I’m no pig like all you other dirty vamps, I’m not living in filth, you hear me?" she yelled, shaking her head while he groaned in annoyance and threw his can away. "And yeah, I bet she was pissed. Raging jealous that chick. Faith just ignored her like she didn’t even know her. Shoulda been there, S. Quite a ride," Hope smiled and pulled her blankets up over her legs.
The vampire walked over to her, grimacing at the lack of her using his full name, and sat down on his own bed. The night was still young, at least young enough to get a snack. He had seen enough pretty girls while waiting for the vampiress outside of the club.
"I’m gonna get myself a snack. You coming?" he asked, deep inside hoping for a negative reply, and stood up.
"Nah, I had a big lunch," she replied and they both grinned at how true that statement was. He nodded and stepped outside into the fury of snowflakes that were so unlike California.
Hope sighed and stared at the TV blankly. Spending most of her night talking with Faith about old times had not been her idea of having fun. But it was after all what it took to get the slayer’s trust, which she felt wasn’t going to be too hard after all. If they could only pry her away long enough from the Buffy chick to change her.
"The Countess will be pleased with this information," the blonde vampire muttered to no one in particular and settled back into her pillows.
She couldn’t wait to kill Buffy Summers.
The grim mask she wore did not even come close to expressing the feelings that surrounded her heart. She stared up at the big house that was so very familiar to her and unlocked the door with a sigh. Since they were on Winter Break Buffy had moved in with her mom for the time being, needing to feel that special family bond during the Holidays.
"You guys wanna come in?" she questioned, turning to look at her best friend and the blonde girl next to her. Somehow she hoped they would want to, really not being in the mood to be alone, but then again it was easier to break stuff while she was alone.
"Nah, we gotta head back too. We’ll see you tomorrow?" Willow smiled and the slayer nodded weakly, vanishing inside the house.
She could not believe how mad and hurt Faith’s actions made her feel. Usually with everyone else she had ever dated she would’ve been pissed but not raging mad and in the mood to tear down the whole house like she was now. It went so much deeper with the brunette slayer. Too deep for their own good.
Buffy quietly went up to her room and lay back on her bed easily. If she could just get the thoughts of that strange girl that supposedly was Faith’s friend out of her mind. <If they really were that good of friends I wonder why Faith never mentioned her name.> The blonde kicked her shoes off and turned her head to her side, her eyes catching a glimpse of the two picture frames on her dresser. Grumbling lowly she sat up, reaching over and stared at the pictures intensely for a few seconds. On the first one Faith was smiling brightly, which was a rare occasion in itself, and had actually let someone take her picture, another rare occasion. The second one pictured Buffy standing behind the brunette with her arms wrapped around the other girl, her chin resting on Faith’s shoulder whilst Faith’s head was resting against Buffy’s. The blonde scoffed and flipped the frames over, then lay back on her pillows again.
Before she knew it, Buffy Summers had drifted off to a dreamless sleep.
The sound of quiet footsteps woke her up immediately and Buffy’s eyes opened with ease. She blinked and finally focused in on the figure standing in the middle of her room. Groaning slightly the blonde slayer brought a hand to her forehead, rubbing her eyes and sat up slowly, realizing she was still wearing the clothes from last night.
"Faith...What’re you doing here?" she croaked, swinging her legs over the edge of the bed.
"Well," mumbled the tall brunette and looked at her girlfriend, "I can go again if that’s what you want. But I told the others I’d come and see if you were alright, since you’re only about an hour late for our meeting."
Buffy sighed and groaned as she looked at the clock. She definitely had overslept. The blonde looked back at Faith and for the first time since she had woken up noticed the hurt look in the brunette slayer’s eyes. A hurt look that was so deep it could’ve only been caused by Buffy herself. She got up slowly and immediately was next to Faith who looked away from her quickly, holding the necklace Buffy had given her in her fingers and studying it with a sad, careful look..
"Faith? Hun, what’s wrong?" she asked quietly, cupping the brunette’s chin and turned her head back so Buffy could look her into the eyes. The blonde grimaced slightly as she saw Faith’s eyes brimming with tears and put her hands on her girlfriend’s shoulders, a questioning look in her face. Faith turned her head again, but Buffy could see the grimace on the brunette’s face as well and then those brown eyes locked with hers once again.
"You don’t want me anymore?" Faith whispered quietly and Buffy’s eyes opened wide, her mouth open in protest and question as to what would make her girlfriend think that, when she followed Faith’s hand-waving gesture towards her drawer and looked at the frames that were lying face down. The blonde closed her eyes, cursing herself for getting so worked up over what had happened last night.
"Faith," she mumbled, pulling the brunette with her to a sitting position on the bed, "of course I still ‘want’ you. Always and forever alright? They must’ve fallen over when my mom put my clothes away or something. Sorry." She intensely hoped that her face did not assume the shade of a tomato as she explained her actions with a lie. But apparently Faith bought it and wiped her eyes, smiling softly and moved to stand up.
"Sorry," the brunette whispered quietly, looking down to her feet, "I didn't mean...to...accuse you or anything."
Faith bit her lower lip, looking into Buffy's eyes with shame reflecting in her own and the blonde couldn't help but feel even more guilty after that. It was one thing to cover up her hurtful actions with a lie, but to make her girlfriend feel guilty about it was another. She sighed, deciding to change the topic away from the pictures, to something clouding her mind. She pulled Faith back down next to her, taking the brunette's hands into her own.
"So, who was that girl last night at the Bronze?" Buffy questioned, noticing Faith's somewhat shocked and hurt look.
"Uh...a friend...from a long time ago," Faith mumbled, looking away from Buffy intentionally.
The blonde slayer lifted Faith's eyes to meet hers again, her look telling the brunette that she better not stop at that. The younger girl sighed and rubbed her forehead slightly, before continuing.
"Hope and I...we...we were like best friends ever since we were little. She lived right across the street from me, and our dads worked together. The both of us got into so much trouble all the time, we ditched school, played pranks on teachers and other students when we did go, it was like we could never stop. Then, before I came to Sunnydale, even some months before I came a slayer, Hope didn't come back from wherever she was one night. Everyone thought she had run away, but I knew she wouldn't've done that. Not without telling me about it or taking me. Eventually the cops turned up evidence that some creep in a black trench-coat kidnapped her from an alley she had been in. They...they kept looking for her only for a few months, and then all of a sudden her parents had a funeral. I thought they had found her body, but apparently they hadn't. After she was dead, or well after her funeral, I became really...depressed. I...I wouldn't talk to anyone, I wouldn't come out of my room anymore."
Faith's voice broke slightly and she turned her face away once more. Buffy sighed, moving in closer to her girlfriend, her arms encircling the younger girl gently as Faith continued.
"My dad got so pissed at me. He said people were talking bad about him because he had...such a piece of shit as a daughter. Sometimes he beat me out of my room, just so he could force me to meet his business associates and pretend everything was alright. I was so close...to running away...when a woman came and took me away. Told my dad she was from Social Services. They all believed her, well so did I, but soon she told me all about the slayer deal and....well...you pretty much know the rest. It's just...that...I really loved Hope...not like you...but...she was my best friend, my only friend until I came here. I missed her so much and it just hurt all this time and all of a sudden she was there as if nothing had happened."
Buffy closed her eyes briefly as Faith leaned her head against the blonde's shoulder. She hated feeling so guilty, so bad, so ashamed of herself. She had been a total bitch, maybe not visible to Faith, but it could've ended worse, when all that was going on was Faith being upset over an old friend. Though there was still the issue over what Buffy thought could result in some serious injury to her girlfriend. She pushed Faith up and looked into her brown eyes.
"Faith...I'm really sorry about all that happened, but there's something really not right with 'Hope'. I think...I think she's a vampire," Buffy mumbled, watching for any reaction of the brunette. Faith grimaced slightly, then nodded and got up.
"Yeah, but…she's still Hope. She's got a soul Buffy," the brunette mumbled and the hopelessness in her girlfriend's voice made Buffy stand up as well.
"How do you know that?" the blonde questioned, the unsure feelings and worry making her head spin.
"She told me," Faith shrugged and turned to walk out the door.
Buffy stared at the brunette, not wanting to say it but decided to share her doubt before it was too late, "We can't trust her word on that."
Faith spun around quickly, lines of anger on her face as she snapped at the blonde, "Hello? How is Hope different to Angel?"
The older slayer cringed, wanting to reply but decided against it. She didn't want them to fight.
[Faith's a big girl, she knows what she's doing. And if I doubt her…I don't want her to think I don't trust her,] the blonde told herself and followed her girlfriend with a sigh.
"Come on, we're going to be so late for the meeting," Faith drawled, pulling on Buffy's hand.
She knew she was staring but it didn't really matter. She liked to call it observing anyway, maybe even stalking the prey. Just another way to pass time. To watch the dark-haired girl smile lovingly at the blonde next to her, to watch them interact with each other, to see the closeness of the two, the sickening sweetness they displayed made her nauseous however.
Hope grunted and stepped away from the small window she had been peeping through. Her eyes swept over the courtyard and then narrowed as they spotted Sam sitting on the steps looking as bored as ever. And besides looking extremely bored he looked like he had just fed off a rat, something that made her break out into a smug grin. The blonde vampire slowly swayed over to the other and stopped right in front of him.
"Sam are you miserable?" she questioned in a coy voice, leaning close to him.
He grunted something she didn't really understand and moved away from her, then stood up. Hope laughed out loud as she saw how wet his pants were from sitting in the snow and he snarled at her while walking over to the small apartment they had been watching.
"What are we doing here anyway, Hope? We're not going to turn the slayer today, you said so yourself. Can't we just go home, sleep and wake up tonight and go out to eat? Living humans are terribly boring," Sam complained, which only earned him an elbow in the ribs from the vampiress.
"The Countess wants us to investigate the subject so we're prepared, don't you ever listen Sammy boy?" the blonde sneered and walked back up to the apartment the blonde and brunette slayer had entered just a little while ago.
The older vampire rose as well and stood next to the shorter girl, a bored look on his face. "What does she want with the slayer anyway? Even if we kill her there'll just be another to take her place. What's the use?" he muttered and winced at Hope's sharp look that always made him feel like he had just announced the earth was flat in front of a bunch of geologists.
"God you idiot, think about it. The slayers are extremely strong, a slayer turned vampire would be twice as strong probably. And it would be kind of ironic, don't you think? On top of that the slayer blood has very regenerative qualities, the Countess will like that."
Sam shrugged and sighed, throwing a glance at the people sitting together in the watcher's living room and turned around. He truly hated having to do whatever Hope pleased just because she was a pretty young girl, the breed his master favored over guys like himself. The Countess had very strange and cruel plans usually and as much as he would've wished to perform them he always got stuck with making sure nothing happened to Hope. He grunted and watched as the blonde vampire turned around from her spot near the window and walked across the courtyard.
"Come on, we're done," she muttered and he followed her rolling his eyes.
"Why now all of a sudden?" he inquired with a hint of annoyance in his voice.
She shrugged. "I'm hungry."
"So are you guys coming to the Bronze after patrol tonight?" Xander asked, looking at the two girls from where he was standing without much waiting for an answer. They always hung out at Bronze each night, the question had basically been routine.
Before Buffy had time to nod like usual Faith stood up from her seat next to the blonde and cut her off, "Nah you guys go ahead. I have…something else to do."
The rest of the Scoobies cringed at the look that crossed Buffy's face while she stood up as well, staring at her girlfriend in disbelief. "Faith, we always go to the Bronze after we patrol. What do you have to do?"
It wasn't as much the fact that Faith maybe had something better to do than sit at the Bronze like always, it was the knowledge Buffy had that Faith would be together with Hope. And that knowledge sent the blonde reeling with jealousy once again, she even had to hold herself back from physically lashing out at something, or possibly someone.
"I just…I'm meeting someone," Faith mumbled, her voice barely louder than a whisper as she turned her head from her girlfriend, wiping her hands on her pants.
"Hope," Buffy stated and there was no question that she held a strong dislike for the girl.
Willow threw a worried look at Xander and Tara as the older slayer grabbed up her stuff angrily and headed over to them. "Let's go guys."
Faith looked at her girlfriend from where she was still standing, an unsure look on her face, "Buffy…"
But the blonde slayer headed for the door, followed by Willow who threw one last apologetic glance at Faith.
With a sigh Hope let herself fall onto the soft bed, clutching the receiver tightly in her hand.
"Yes Countess…I know…no I won't do anything stupid," the girl mumbled into the receiver while flipping through the various TV channels.
"I know how you young ones are, never thinking ahead," came the voice from the other end of the receiver and Hope rolled her eyes. She had heard this so many times it was getting more than annoying.
"Remember Hope, all I want you to do is convincing the dark slayer to work for us. Don't get carried away, I wouldn't want to lose my favorite girl."
The blonde vampire sat against the headboard with a thud and brushed some hair out of her face, "But you said I could kill the other slayer!"
"Now, now Hope. All will be done when the time comes," the female voice replied and Hope raised an eyebrow. She hated not knowing what the Countess was talking about.
"What?" the girl question slightly confused, switching off the TV.
"After I drain and turn the dark slayer, Faith, you can go kill the other slayer. I want you to have backup when facing the slayer, you're very good but I still don't want to risk anything. Do not try anything without my permission, do you hear me Hope?"
Rolling her eyes again Hope answered with an exasperated 'Yes' and hung up as she heard the dial tone in her ear. Before she had time to complain about how unfair all of this was she realized that if she wanted to meet Faith like promised she'd have to hurry.
With a low growl the young vampire jumped off the bed to get dressed.
She twirled the stake in her hand without much interest. Her mind wasn't where it should be, not at all. All she could think about was how much she wished Hope had never come to Sunnydale and she hadn't been so mean to Faith earlier. Once the initial anger and jealousy had blown over, much thanks to Willow for yelling at her, Buffy had gone back to Giles' to apologize. If Faith didn't want to hang out with her just one or two nights that was no reason to go totally ballistic and Buffy truly wanted everything to be alright between them before the younger girl met up with Hope. But when she had arrived at her watcher's house Faith had already been gone.
Now the guilty feeling in the pit of her stomach was making her feel very unhappy. She would go to the Bronze later to see her friends, without Faith there. Just when everything had been going so great for them something had to happen.
[Because it wasn't hard enough when she first woke up. She was so hurt and confused and it was all because of me. She didn't even believe me when I first told her I loved her, two days after she woke up. It took me so long to get her over those damn insecurities and instead of being there for her now I push her away. Good job Buffy] the slayer scolded herself and grunted, tightening the hold she had on her stake.
The guilty feeling only worsened when she remembered the story Faith had related to her about Hope and what had happened back in Boston. She couldn't believe she was getting so worked up over Faith's best friend. That would be like Faith getting jealous because Willow was around. Buffy had a feeling that she was so upset because with Hope around Faith might not need her as much as before. Scoffing at herself the blonde slayer shook her head. She knew she was being ridiculous. This had to stop right now.
Silently Buffy vowed to herself that next time she talked to Faith she would tell her how sorry she was and that she would accept Hope as Faith's friend. No matter how hard it would be for her. If she wanted to show Faith love and trust this was the only way to do it. And even if their time spent together would suffer some it was far better than feeling this miserable and lonely. Faith had been right, if Hope really had a soul the situation was no different than it had been with Angel and her, at least in the friendship department. Buffy had to accept that and not drive her girlfriend away like she had been doing the past two days.
She was just about to rehearse a speech when she heard laughter reach her ears and she stopped. Yes, it definitely sounded like the blonde vampire and Faith. Sighing Buffy pushed a strand of hair behind her ear and decided now was as good a time as any to talk to Faith, to show her she trusted her.
Moving with unconscious stealth, Buffy stalked through the bushes until she reached the edge of the cemetery where she saw the two girls standing in front of the gravestones, looking down at one of them while talking. Faith was laughing at something the vampiress said and started walking in Buffy's direction, Hope following her a few seconds and a few steps later.
The blonde was just about to step out of the bushes when she saw something that scared her deep into her bones.
"Man, I do remember that. We were wicked evil as kids, you know that?" Faith laughed and grinned at her before starting to walk again.
Hope smiled as well, those times she did remember, and was just about to follow the brunette who was a few steps ahead already when she felt something. Or someone. Not wanting to look too suspicious she moved her head only slightly but it was enough to spot the figure standing in the bushes. It was the other slayer.
The vampire chuckled quietly, this was working better than planned. Hope started walking, still a few steps behind the brunette and vamped into game-face.
Buffy gasped as the blonde's face contorted into a mask of pure evil with the fangs protruding from her mouth. Suddenly she had no doubts anymore. The slayer grasped the stake tightly in her hand and leapt out of the bushes, sprinting at the vampire.
Buffy covered the distance within two seconds, her right hand holding the stake poised exactly at the height of Hope's heart as she reached the two girls.
"Buffy!" came Faith's yell from her left but she was too concentrated on thrusting her stake home. She didn't realize what was happening until it was already too late.
It was as if the scene was playing in slow motion right in front of her eyes. She had no power to stop the stake as it was thrust forward by her hand. Her mind registered the switch in people in front of her a split-second too late. Faith pushed herself in front of Hope in an attempt to stop her girlfriend's attack.
Buffy tried to stop herself, but it was too late. The stake tore through tissue and muscle as it had done so often before. But this time, there was no familiar cloud of dust. Instead, the blonde slayer dimly heard a pained gasp, and found herself staring into the shocked, glazed over eyes of her brunette lover. Faith reached up to her bloodied chest, as if to touch the wound. Instead, her fingers snagged the silver necklace Buffy had bought for her birthday. The girl began to crumble to the ground at the very moment the thin chain snapped.
It took her mind a few seconds to even comprehend the scene before her eyes. Buffy let the stake drop to the ground, praying inside that this was all just a bad dream. It was as if she was deep under water, trying to fight her way to the top. Her surroundings were nothing but a blur, the shock and dull, throbbing pain starting in her chest blocking out everything around her. Until an angry, shocked voice pierced her ears.
"Faith! Oh my god…what'd you DO to her you fucking psycho?"
The blonde slayer blinked and snapped back to reality, immediately dropping to her knees next to her fallen girlfriend and stared at Hope with an evil glare.
"ME?! I wasn't the one in game-face here, you-" she snapped back, gently rolling Faith onto her back to see how much damage had been done.
"I sensed someone nearby and thought it was a threat," Hope cut her off then glared at her and added, "and it looks like I was right!"
Buffy looked up slowly, the pain spreading across her features as she looked at her bloody hands, shaking her head, "I didn't mean…I…would never-"
"Well you DID. Now help me, we gotta get her to a hospital," the vampire hissed and pulled Faith's lifeless body up into her arms.
The slayer swallowed hard and stood up, following the vampire out of the cemetery and in direction of the hospital. Neither of them noticed the silver chain reflecting the moonlight as it rested in the snow.
Xander set down the bottle of water on the table and slumped back into the soft cushions of the sofa. He scanned the place once more after looking at his watch. Buffy was now definitely late and he knew he wasn't the only one starting to get worried.
Willow read his worry and placed a hand on his arm before sitting down next to her girlfriend, "Don't worry. Maybe she ran into Faith and her friend and decided to actually act like an adult and talk to them."
The boy nodded and took another swig of the bottle before looking at his two friends and girlfriend with a curious look on his face, "What's up with that Hope chick anyway?"
They all looked at him in confusion and Xander decided to continue, "I mean, just when Buffy and Faith were really getting close and Faith was starting to open up some. I remember I talked to Buff like a couple of weeks ago and she said that she was getting so frustrated because of all those walls Faith had built up and she was afraid she could never break them down. I think she was just starting to get through them."
The red-head grimaced and then sighed, leaning her head back against the sofa. After a few seconds she leaned back forward and spoke in a voice that left no one guessing about her doubts, "Well I talked to Buffy earlier, after they had that fight and she mentioned that Hope was like Faith's best friend for years back in Boston and then vanished but now she's a vampire."
At everyone's wide-eyed stares she shrugged and added, "With a soul."
All their mouths formed O's and Willow sighed again, rubbing her forehead. "I think Buffy is really jealous…of Hope. I don't know why she would think that, I mean Faith has never, well since they've been together, as much as looked at another girl. I'm just worried that she will hurt Faith's trust like this, you know how long it took them to just stop yelling at each other after she woke up because each of them was scared the other would do something to hurt them."
The Scoobies nodded in unison, pondering Willow's words and their slayer friends when suddenly the bartender walked up in front of them, pointing at the red-head and then towards the bar.
"Phone," he muttered and the Wiccan followed him with a shrug towards her friends.
The bartender handed her the phone and with a quiet 'thanks' Willow took a seat and picked up the receiver.
"Hello?"
"Will?" came the reply from the other end.
"Buffy? Where are you?" she asked with a worried tone in her voice.
"The…uh…I'm at the hospital," the slayer responded, her voice quiet and sad.
"What's wrong? What happened? Buffy are you alright?" Willow just about panicked every time she heard the word 'hospital'.
"Yeah, I'm fine. It's…Faith. She…she," Buffy trailed off before finishing her sentence but it was enough to let her best friend know help was needed.
"Don't worry Buffy, we'll be over as soon as we can alright? Just hang in there," the witch responded and hung up after hearing a weak 'okay'.
Sighing again she walked back over to her friends. This night had definitely taken a turn for the worse.
Fighting the tears from spilling over the blonde girl sat down in the hard, cold plastic chair, her arms wrapped tightly around her body as she watched the doors leading to the ER closely. It had been so long since those doctors had rushed her girlfriend through these doors.
Suddenly Buffy felt the rustling of clothes next to her and with angry eyes she looked at Hope, who was staring back with an intensity that matched hers completely.
"Why don't you go home Hope? Nothing you can do here," Buffy stated as calmly as possible between gritted teeth.
But the blonde vampire would have none of it and instead countered with a raised eyebrow, "Oh but you can right? Sitting around here all useless."
She had to keep her anger under control, she didn't want to make a scene and right now Faith was definitely more important than some blonde vampire bitch that deserved a stake through the heart.
"I'm her girlfriend, she needs me here," the slayer responded trying to stay composed.
"Why?"
"Because I love her."
Hope laughed, looking straight at Buffy with a glint in her eyes, "I loved her first. And I never stabbed her. Who do you think she needs now Summers?"
"I didn't MEAN to stab her," the slayer hissed, her voice growing colder.
"What about the first time?" Hope asked, getting closer to the other girl's face.
Buffy was just about to lash out physically at the vampire when she heard another voice reach her ears.
"Buffy!"
The blonde slayer turned her head and spotted her best friend running up to her, followed closely by Xander, Anya and Tara. Within second Buffy was enveloped in the red-head's arms who led them back towards the rows of chairs, looking at her friend worriedly.
"What happened Buffy? Is Faith okay?"
Before the slayer could respond however Hope stood up and softly smiled at the two girls, none of the malice from just seconds before visible on her face as she spoke, "Hey uh I think I should go. Sun's almost up. If she wakes up Buffy tell her I said hi and that I'll be back as soon as it's dark, alright?"
Offering a sad smile to Willow the vampire walked off, leaving a very confused and angry slayer, surrounded by her friends who immediately bombarded her with questions.
"That was Hope?"
The blonde nodded slowly and glanced up at the doors again sighing, "I can't believe that bitch."
The Scoobies stared at her perplexed and sat down in the sadly familiar chairs before demanding some answers from their friend.
"Ugh I can't believe that happened," Hope exclaimed and fell back onto her bed, exhausted. She had gotten back to the apartment in time to pick up one of the teens usually hanging around outside the place for a quick snack and made it inside just in time for the sunrise. Sam was sitting on one of the kitchen stools, watching her closely as she related the nights' happenings to him.
"Are you serious? She staked her girlfriend?" the older vampire inquired, the doubt audible in his voice.
"Yeah, probably only missed the heart by an inch or two. You should've seen her, she was a total wreck. If I hadn't had to make sure Faith didn't die I could've killed the blonde bitch right then and there and she wouldn't have even noticed," the girl smiled and turned to look at her partner.
"Well you seriously endangered the slayer, the Countess won't be pleased," Sam responded and the blonde rolled her eyes at his words.
"Whatever. I didn't think that Summers chick would come right and out try to stake me, I figured she'd only come and yell some. The bitch must be wicked in love. Anyway, Faith is gonna be fine and the plan is going to work out like it was intended to."
The man shrugged and walked into his bedroom, not wanting to deal anymore with the younger girl he had a hard time liking.
Hope scoffed and leaned over to pick up the phone. The bastard wasn't going to beat her to talking to the Countess about what had happened.
Slowly she sat on the plastic chair someone had placed next to the hospital bed and leaned closer to the unconscious girl, taking a cold hand into hers. She didn't want to be here, didn't want Faith to be here. Buffy wished they could just go back to this morning and avoid that stupid fight, then maybe they wouldn't be here right now. If Buffy hadn't been so rude to Faith she wouldn't have needed to apologize and seek the two girls at the cemetery.
Clutching her girlfriend's limp hand in her own the blonde took a deep breath and looked up at the doctor making some notes on a clipboard he stowed at the foot-end of the bed. He walked towards the other side of the bed, checking the various IVs and the heart-monitor that was the only sound surrounding her, then looked at Buffy with serious eyes.
"She was very lucky, if she had been stabbed just an inch higher she would be dead right now. We tried to fix up the damage as best as we could but she needs to be monitored here in the ICU for at least a day or two. She should wake up as soon as the anesthesia wears off, maybe half an hour. Did you talk to the cops?"
Buffy swallowed hard, it was getting more and more difficult to fight the tears, and nodded slowly. "Yeah…I…uh told them that we found her like this. I hope they catch the bastard that did this to her. Thank you so much doctor," she whispered, knowing her voice wouldn't cooperate if she tried to speak any louder. The curtain was drawn around the bed to give her some privacy and the slayer sighed.
The whole incident was still somewhat blurry to her, maybe due to the fact that her mind desperately was trying to block it out. She didn't want to remember the feeling of the stake driving through her lover's body, the pain and anguish in the girl's beautiful eyes. Buffy didn't even want to think about what was going to happen once the other girl woke up, how did you explain to your lover stabbing them through the heart with a wooden stake? It wasn't going to be easy, just when they had made such progress in their relationship.
Looking at her watch the blonde rubbed her forehead. The Scoobies had left right after Faith had been wheeled out of surgery and the doctor had allowed Buffy to see her. Willow had promised to call the blonde's mom and tell her of the circumstances so she wouldn't worry. Although Buffy was grateful for the support she received from her friends she really wanted to be alone right now. At least until Faith woke up.
Suddenly she felt movement and snapped out of her thoughts, watching with worried eyes as the brunette blinked a couple of times and turned her head with a groan.
"Hope?" the girl whispered, her voice dry and hoarse from the anesthesia. Buffy felt a pang of jealousy shoot through her body but decided to let it go, standing up and leaning over the bed.
"Faith…babe, wake up," the blonde whispered softly, pushing a strand of hair out of the brunette's face.
"Buffy?" the younger girl croaked, opening her eyes and squinting to look at her girlfriend.
"Hey," Buffy mumbled and looked closely at the other girl's face, who blinked and then focused in on her.
"What happened…Buffy? All I remember is Hope and I were walking and…," Faith broke off, staring at the blonde with a look of betrayal in her sad eyes, "you staked me."
Buffy moved back, not knowing what to say so instead she squeezed her girlfriend's hand tightly. Faith pulled her hand away from Buffy's and turned her head away from the other girl. Trying to fight the tears once again the blonde slayer opened her mouth to say something but was cut off.
"How could you not trust me Buffy? I told you Hope wasn't evil. What is wrong with you?" Faith's voice was accusing but what really hurt the blonde were the tears she could hear on the other girl's voice.
"Faith…I…I never meant to hurt you, you know I would never hurt you. But Hope…she was-"
"I don't wanna hear it B. If you don't trust me then tell me so, don't try to kill my friends!" the brunette stated, her voice quivering with tears Buffy desperately wanted to wipe away.
"Faith…," she tried again but her girlfriend turned her head even farther, sinking deep into the blankets with a pained hiss.
Buffy fell back into the chair heavily. She wasn't ready to leave and she hoped Faith wasn't ready to let her go.
Finally the tears started flowing.
Yawning softly the blonde girl turned a full 360-degrees and came face to face with a very hostile looking slayer. Removing her hand from her face Hope smiled and cocked her head slightly.
"Buffy. How nice to see that you made it back here," the vampire drawled, her voice as sweet and icy as possible in the same sentence.
The slayer decided to ignore the other blonde, figuring that it would be better for both of them and headed for the door the vampire was standing next to. But before she had a chance to turn the knob an icy hand on her shoulder held her back.
"B, Buffy, she's sleeping. No need to wake her up, she was pretty exhausted. Why don't you come back later and if she wakes up in the meanwhile I'll tell her you came by?" Hope told her and the sincerity in the girl's voice made Buffy decide it couldn't hurt to come back in a couple of hours.
Buffy stepped back and stared at the vampire a few seconds. She didn't trust this girl too much but Buffy figured Hope wouldn't hurt Faith. So she nodded slowly and looked at her watch, mentally making plans to stop by Giles for an update on the vamp/demon situation and maybe see Willow on her way there.
"Okay…if she wakes up tell her I'll be back in a couple of hours and that I love her, alright?" the slayer spoke clearly, her eyes fixed on the other girl's to make sure she heard her.
"Yep, five by five. I'll see ya later," Hope responded with a sweet smile and watched as Buffy walked down the corridor and out of the hospital. As soon as the blonde was gone her smile vanished and she rolled her eyes.
"Sucker," she hissed under her breath and walked over to the public phone. Throwing in a couple of coins the girl picked up the receiver and dialed a number.
"Sam? Listen…yeah the slayer is on her way. Probably going to see her watcher or something similar stupid…Just make sure she gets that list!…Yes I know you're an able fighter…whatever…just don't screw up, alright?" Hope ordered into the phone and hung up the receiver with an exasperated sigh.
The blonde vampire walked back towards the door she had been standing in front of, turned the knob and walked inside. With a smile she looked at her friend who was staring at her expectantly from the hospital bed.
"Sorry it took so long, had to make a phone call," Hope apologized and the brunette girl just answered with a soft smile of her own as the vampire took a seat next to her bed.
"Was Buffy here?" Faith asked, the hope in her voice making the other girl nauseous.
"Nope, didn't see her. And I was watching the doors the whole time. Sorry, F," the vampire shrugged and watched in satisfaction as the other girl's face fell slightly.
Faith nodded with a sigh and leaned her head back, her eyes grazing over her friend's face who went back to the conversation they had been having before.
The wind was colder than what she was used to and the blonde slayer wrapped her jacket tighter around herself. She really wondered how anyone could miss this snow anytime of the year. It made her very cold and very miserable. But if it made Faith happy it made her happy, too.
Buffy stepped off the sidewalk into the cemetery. Being a slayer had some advantages: she knew a whole lot of shortcuts through cemeteries, especially to the hospital. Throwing a quick glance at her watch she smiled. It had been almost five hours since she last left the hospital so Faith would definitely be awake by now. The blonde had visited Willow and they had talked some, even if that talk had contained Willow accusing her of being unfair concerning Hope. At least Giles had given her some good news, or no news at all, which was good news in her books. If there were major evil brewing she'd have no time to visit her girlfriend in the hospital.
Sighing in relief at Giles' non-news the girl crossed the path along the graves and was almost tackled by a vampire that jumped at her out of nowhere. She immediately jumped up in fighting stance, idly cursing herself for allowing vampires to be able to go out during the day with the snow, and then delivered a swift kick to the vamp's stomach. He was pushed back but quickly countered by launching himself at her, knocking her down and getting in a few good hits to her head before Buffy could knee him in the groin and throw him off of her.
The slayer was getting pissed. She so didn't have time for some stupid wanna-be Jackie Chan practicing his moves all day. Pulling out a stake from her jacket she blocked his attack and countered with a roundhouse to his head that sent him stumbling slightly. Buffy moved in for the quick kill but was surprisingly rewarded with the vampire catching her wrist in a strong grip, then flipping her over onto her back while still holding onto her. She groaned slightly at the impact but recovered quickly and yanked on his wrist as well, which sent the vampire tumbling to the ground. Jumping up quickly the slayer placed a foot on his back and was ready to drive the stake home when he somehow managed to kick her legs out from under her. It didn't make her fall, but the stumble it caused made her lose the upper hand. Buffy cursed and stepped back, ready to charge at him again.
The vampire gave a smug grin she found eerily familiar and then brushed the dirt off his jacket, waiting for her attack.
"You know before you grinned I was only slightly annoyed. Now I'm pissed off!" the slayer growled, running at him and immediately ducked to avoid his anticipated attack, then backhanded him with the stake hard as he recovered from his miss. Her hit left him slightly dazed and Buffy grabbed his jacket, yanking him towards her to stake him. But just as she drove the stake down he wriggled out of the jacket and ran away. Holding the jacket in her hand, watching the vampire sprint down the graves out of her sight Buffy didn't feel much like chasing him.
She was just about to drop the jacket to the ground when she noticed the yellow piece of paper sticking out of the front pocket and examined it. It seemed like a shopping list, but more for an ancient ritual than a family dinner. Buffy sighed as she pocketed the list. She'd have to go back to Giles' and see if it meant anything. She just hoped she would still be able to visit Faith.
"She got the list," he grumbled from his position on the recliner chair in front of the TV as soon as Hope entered the apartment.
The vampiress slowly stalked over to him and patted him on the head like a dog, before walking in front of the TV. "Do you want an award or something? Loser," the blonde shook her head and threw off her jacket onto the bed.
"Well excuse me, I just fought a slayer while you were wooing her girlfriend," Sam spit back and received a scoff from the younger vampire.
"It wasn't even a real fight, you were only supposed to make sure she got that list. And anyway, there's lots of vampires who have fought the slayer," Hope shrugged and sat lazily on the sofa.
"Not many live to tell the tale," the male vampire grunted, reaching for the remote but he was a second too slow as Hope snagged it away from him.
"Enough to make it nothing special that you did," Hope replied casually and switched the channels.
Sam groaned, knowing that now he'd be stuck watching teeny-soaps while being insulted by Hope. He truly hoped that the assignment wouldn't last much longer.
With a sigh the vampire got up and grabbed himself a beer from the fridge. At least it was something.
Faith blinked her eyes open slowly and was greeted with blinding sunlight. Groaning she turned her head away from the window, vaguely remembering Hope looking out the window last night before she left and moving the curtains. Glancing at the clock on the wall the brunette heaved a sighed. It was almost 3 pm and there was no sign that Buffy had been around at all since she had left yesterday afternoon. After Faith had told her to go home and get some sleep. She didn't think that the blonde wasn't going to come back until the next day when she had said that. Buffy loved her, Faith believed that.
With a heavy sigh she closed her eyes again and lifted the blanket over her head.
She stepped through the snow slowly, her eyes screwed to the ground. For over fifteen minutes now the blonde slayer had been basically wading through the snow, searching for something on the frozen ground.
Buffy shivered slightly and then crouched down. She studied the snow closely, then suddenly turned her head. She felt her stomach tighten as she saw the dark patches of grass shine through, where blood had melted away the snow. The blonde moved her hands across the snow and smiled softly as she found what she had been looking for. Standing up she pocketed the silver necklace just as the first of three demons attacked her.
"Buffy we just can't take the risk!" Giles argued and walked around his desk to pick up his tea-cup.
"But Giles I need to visit Faith. I promised her I'd be back yesterday and now it's almost 6 and I haven't seen her in over a day. Can't this wait?" the blonde whined, staring pleadingly at her watcher.
"I fear not. I went through the list you brought me last night and it seems as if someone is trying to open the Hellmouth. With those demons you said you encountered earlier I am not surprised. They are usually very passive and would not attack without some kind of unusual motivation," the Englishman responded, figuring that with his statement Buffy would be satisfied and calm down.
The slayer looked at him in disbelief. She had just been thrown around a graveyard by three huge demons before she could behead them and now her watcher had the nerve to tell her she couldn't go see her girlfriend. Unfortunately she knew that no matter what he asked her she wouldn't be able to say no. It was her duty after all.
"I want you to go back to that cemetery. It says here that to start the ritual the ingredients have to be mixed during a full moon. Tonight's a full moon and I believe that those demons you fought might be the ones initiating the ritual tonight."
"You want me to sit around at a graveyard all night waiting for some demons to bake pie?" Buffy groaned and rested her head in her hands as her watcher nodded.
Faith would understand if she didn't show up today.
"She didn't show up ALL day?" Hope questioned, looking disbelievingly at her friend.
Faith looked down at the sheets, shaking her head slowly. Somewhere deep in her mind something told her that Hope was right about this. About Buffy not being here for a reason other than being held up.
"And you don't care at all?" the vampire's voice got louder.
The brunette turned her head, smiling softly as she answered, "I love her and I know she loves me back."
Hope fell back into her chair with a groan, rolling her eyes. "You know, if she really loved you wouldn't she have come by to see you? To see the girlfriend in the hospital that SHE put there?"
"So…maybe she got held up with slaying stuff. It happens," Faith mumbled, avoiding her friend's intense eyes.
The blonde leaned forward, grasping the slayer's hands in her one and spoke calmly, "Faith, if I were a slayer I'd still find time to come see you in the hospital, no matter how busy I was. I'm telling you, Buffy, this is her way of telling you she doesn't love you anymore. I mean it's all obvious and everything, come on."
"But…Buffy…she loves me…I…I'm sure," Faith whispered quietly, her gaze fixed to her hands.
Hope fell back in the chair with her eyebrow raised, exhaling deeply.
"Faith?" the girl asked quietly, her voice unsure and quivering.
The brunette girl opened her eyes slowly and smiled softly at her friend standing next to her bed.
"Willow, hey. Where's Buffy?" Faith questioned, her voice rough and hoarse from too much sleep.
The red-head smiled shyly and brushed some hair out of her face, "Well see, that's kind of why I'm here."
"What happened? Is she okay?" the slayer worriedly asked and sat up, immediately falling back into the pillows with a pained hiss.
"Oh, oh careful, don't hurt yourself. Buffy's fine, she's as fine as a slayer can be. She wanted me to tell you that she'll come visit you later on today. Giles made her demon-watch all night so now she's taking a nap," Willow explained and smiled at her friend.
"So that's why she didn't come to see me yesterday?"
The witch nodded quickly, not wanting to hurt Faith by saying something not thought through, "She was all held up with slaying stuff. But she really wanted to see you."
Faith leaned her head back with a soft smile, she had known B wouldn't just stand her up for anything. She looked at Willow gratefully.
"You got some time Red?"
The witch nodded slowly and pulled up the plastic chair the brunette slayer was pointing at.
It was getting a little warmer, in her opinion. Maybe it was just the sun's rays bouncing off her coat, or maybe it was the thought that she'd finally get to see Faith after over 48 hours without her girlfriend. It would have to be a short visit, but nevertheless. The demons hadn't performed their ritual, so Giles had asked her to spend another night in the cemetery just to make sure nothing would happen. She had gone to his apartment right after she had gotten some sleep and reported the happenings of the night. Nothing but a few baby vamps.
Buffy walked across the street to avoid the cemetery. She didn't need any unexpected surprises today, she'd have enough time to do her duty tonight. The blonde hoped that Willow had remembered to go to the hospital and make sure Faith wasn't all by herself while Buffy took a nap. She had asked the witch to tell Faith she'd be stopping by later.
Just as she walked past one of Sunnydale's many alleys, she heard a sound that made her stop. Buffy walked into the alley and sighed as she saw some demons trying to obtain a human sacrifice. Making sure she had enough weaponry in her coat she stepped up to them, a quick glance at her watch and hoped it'd be quick.
"Hey," she yelled and the four demons stopped, the hostage escaping and all their attention was focused on her.
"Great," Buffy mumbled to herself as the first demon grabbed her and threw her against the nearest wall.
"Why don't you listen to me Faith?" Hope sighed, looking at the sad face of her once best-friend.
"Because I know she loves me. She does Hope, she told me she does," Faith whispered, trying not to cry in front of the other girl.
"Oh yeah, when was that? Last century? Has she told you today that she loves you?" the blonde asked harshly, secretly receiving pleasure from watching the other girl be so miserable.
When Faith didn't answer the vampire continued, "Oh right, she couldn't have! She wasn't here like she promised. Just like yesterday. Look what this girl is doing to you!"
The brunette sniffed and looked at her friend with narrowed eyes, "Willow said she'd come here before patrol. Maybe something came up."
Hope scoffed and shook her head, "Yeah I'd say. Probably some hunky beefstick. She's found herself a new boytoy, you gotta get over her Faith."
"But she's with me. She'd never do that Hope," the slayer responded softly, looking at the vampire's face pleadingly.
"Let me tell you Faith, from what I've seen it doesn't look like she loves you very much."
The brunette looked down at her hands, mumbling so quietly that Hope could barely hear it, "She loves me. I know she does."
She groaned quietly as the old man limped away from the counter to the doorway behind a curtain. This was taking forever. She had to hurry and get to the hospital to see Faith. Buffy couldn't believe what had happened yesterday. On her way to the hospital those stupid demons had attacked her. Although she had managed to slay them all she hadn't come out of the fight unscathed. So by the time she'd gotten to Giles and had him fix her up it was time to go sit in the cemetery again all night.
She smiled at the man softly as he handed her the silver chain and she gave him the money. Studying the necklace she was satisfied with the repairs the man had done and put it in her pocket. Faith would be happy to see that she had it fixed for her.
Buffy stepped out of the small shop onto the street and froze in her tracks as she saw the vampire quickly walking past her towards the cemetery. He was the same one she had gotten that list from. Should she follow? The blonde wanted to see Faith more than anything, but what good would it do them both if the Hellmouth were opened? Maybe the vampire could provide her with some information they desperately needed.
Cursing quietly she started after the vampire, hoping that Faith would understand if she ran a little late today.
"Faith honey, I'm so sorry," the girl mumbled and sat on the edge of the hospital bed, "if you had just listened to me you wouldn't be so disappointed."
The brunette looked away and crossed her arms in a defensive posture, "Why didn't she come Hope?"
The blonde vampire sighed, brushing some strands of dark hair out of her friend's face, "Faith I told you. Buffy doesn't love you. You've been in here like four days and she hasn't come to visit you once since you told her to go home and sleep. What kind of love is that?"
Faith shrugged softly and looked away. Somehow Hope's words just seemed so much more realistic today. Today after Buffy hadn't visited her again.
Hope sighed again and looked at the clock on the wall. She had to fight hard against the grin that wanted to spread across her lips. Apparently Sam had actually managed to do something like planned. She had ordered him earlier to make sure the blonde slayer saw him and then fight her until it was too late for her to visit.
"But she told me she loved me?" Faith mumbled quietly and the vampire directed her attention back towards the girl.
"She hasn't told you in quite some time. Trust me, this is her way of telling you she doesn't love you. Today she didn't even send one of her lackeys to lie for her. Faith if the girl loved you she'd be here right now, don't you think?"
And to Hope's surprise Faith nodded slowly.
"Yeah…I think you're right."
Buffy swallowed hard and pushed the door fully open. She couldn't believe what she had just heard, the words that made her stomach tighten in guilt and anger. With narrowed, icy eyes she threw only a cursory glance at the blonde girl who stared back at her in surprise at first, then complete anger. But she didn't care much at the moment, her eyes searching for the familiar brown ones of her girlfriend.
"B…Buffy," Faith mumbled finally, a huge grin spreading across her face, "you came."
The blonde slayer smiled back lovingly and walked around the hospital bed, ignoring Hope who was throwing icy stares in her direction, and placed a gentle kiss on the brunette's cheek.
"I told you I would. I'm sorry it took so long, I sorta got held up," Buffy responded, hoping that Faith would still understand.
"Don't worry 'bout it B. Hope was here to keep me company."
The older slayer grunted, "Yeah, I heard. Thanks Hope. And Faith, you know I love you, right?"
Faith nodded slowly, avoiding Buffy's eyes as Hope stepped forward and replied with a slightly annoyed voice, "Well gosh Buffy you weren't showing up and I didn't like seeing her hurt. I just figured it'd be better for her if she weren't full of hope when you let her fall."
The older girl scoffed and shook her head, deciding to ignore the vampire and turned her attention back to Faith. "I brought ya something."
With lit up eyes the brunette looked at her expectantly and with a small chuckle Buffy opened her hand to show her girlfriend the necklace she held.
"You got me a new necklace?" Faith seemed somehow to be both happy and disappointed at the same time.
"No," Buffy shook her head "This is the same necklace. I searched until I found it and then I got it fixed. It took like half an hour of crawling around in the snow, but I wanted to give it back to you."
The brunette girl looked up at her with complete awe and love, before whispering "Thanks Buffy. I was so afraid I had lost it."
The blonde slayer smiled and placed a sweet kiss on her girlfriend's lips in reply before sitting down on the edge of the bed. "Faith baby, can I talk to ya alone for a few?"
Faith nodded with a smile and turned to look at Hope pleadingly who gave an exasperated scoff before walking to the door and closed the door behind her a little too harshly. The brunette just hoped she hadn't pissed off her friend after she had been there for Faith the whole time. But she really wanted to be alone with Buffy for now.
"Hun…," Buffy started and the younger slayer immediately knew something was up. There was an uneasiness surrounding her girlfriend and she definitely didn't like it.
"What is it B?"
"Faith I know I reacted badly when Hope first came to town, I'll even admit that I was somewhat jealous and angry. You asked me to trust you, and Faith believe me, I really do trust you with all my heart. And if you want me to be nice to Hope I will do what you ask of me because I love you, Faith," Buffy whispered the last part and kissed the brunette on the lips before standing up.
"B…," Faith whispered, smiling softly and instead of answering reached up, pulling her girlfriend closer, "I love you too, Buffy."
The blonde slayer smiled, kissed Faith on the lips and pulled back, "I really gotta get going and patrol the graveyard - Giles' still got me on demon duty. He thinks the world is going to end. I'm soooo sorry Faith, but I promise I'll be back as soon as possible."
Faith nodded sadly but smiled and watched as her girlfriend left through the doors, which were opened only a few minutes later and Hope stepped back in the room with a grim expression on her face. The younger slayer sighed, hoping she hadn't offended her friend.
"Hope, what's wrong?"
The vampire walked over to Faith's bedside, her arms crossed and she narrowed her eyes, "I can't believe that after everything she's done to you, you fall back into her arms at her mere presence. She's stabbed you, staked you, attacked me after you told her I wasn't evil, failed to visit you in the hospital for almost a week after she put you there…Faith I don't know what's up with you. Can't you see she's just using you? This isn't love for god's sake!"
The brunette stared in disbelief at her friend's angry face and pulled herself up, "Hope, I know Buffy loves me. She told me so and I believe her. Why are you so mad?"
The vampire scoffed and threw her hands up, grabbing her jacket from the chair and turned to face her friend, "Faith I love you and I will prove to you that she doesn't once and for all."
Before the slayer had a chance to respond Hope had already left the room, leaving Faith in confusion and worry.
The slayer kicked the gravel in front of her without much enthusiasm. She really didn't want to be here at all, she'd rather be tucked away in a warm bed with her girlfriend in her arms. But her situation didn't allow that, almost never did. Being the slayer just didn't allow for too much nightly snuggle time, but Buffy could deal with it usually, either with Faith right by her side or waiting for her in bed when she got back. But this time Giles had instructed her to wait all night in case the demons performed the ritual tonight. In fact, he had mentioned that this was the last night they would be able to perform the ritual.
Buffy sighed and walked up the path to the cemetery she had encountered the demons the first time. As she reached the top of the hill she felt a presence in the trees beside her, definitely a vampire. Her hand resting on the stake in her back pocket she slowly turned to be ready for a possible attack. It didn't come. The blonde rolled her eyes and turned to where she knew the vampire was hiding.
"Alright I know you're there, just come out already."
She watched closely as the bushes parted and a blonde girl stepped out, walking up to her slowly. Buffy grunted as she recognized the vampire and moved her hand from the stake.
"What are you doing here?" she questioned, trying to sound the least hostile that was possible for her.
Hope shrugged and stepped up next to the slayer with an innocent smile, "I was just walking home and taking a short-cut through here."
"You left Faith already?" Buffy questioned, starting to walk up the gravel path, knowing that Hope was following.
"Yeah well I can't be there all the time. But you should know, you're her girlfriend and you haven't been there but two times in the past week. Faith isn't that important, right?" Hope walked up next to her, hands hidden in the pockets of her jacket.
Buffy closed her eyes tightly and realized it'd be harder to keep her promise to Faith than she had thought.
Besides fatigue and exhaustion she now saw something else in his eyes. Maybe it was anger, maybe worry or maybe just utter frustration, but at least he didn't look half dead anymore. No matter what though, she wasn't going to change her mind.
"Miss, listen you are in no condition to leave here. Even though your healing process has been above average you are still very weak and could risk infection, re-opening of the wound or some other kind of relapse. If you leave now it'd be against my advice."
Faith sighed and nodded again, rolling her eyes before taking the clipboard from the doctor. Shaking his head he handed her a pen to let her sign the release papers then wished her 'good luck' as the girl slowly made her way out of the hospital.
The brunette grunted as pain spread through her lower body and took a deep breath. What Hope had said back in her room had scared her, it hadn't been like the old Hope she had known. But Faith didn't know what to think. She didn't know who to believe anymore. And she had to find out.
She shook her head and decided to ignore the other girl. She really had more important things to do right now. Like stop a couple of demons from ending the world. Too bad those demons weren't actually there and Buffy was stuck listening to Hope tell her that Faith wasn't right for her. She really was reaching the last straw now.
"I really love Faith and I wouldn't do anything to purposely hurt her. If you really were her friend and loved her like you claim you do you'd see that as well," Buffy finally squeezed out, and immediately felt bad for being so harsh.
She went to apologize but before she could even open her mouth she tripped over someone else's leg. Buffy caught herself and jumped back to her feet, throwing a malicious glance at Hope who mouthed a fake 'sorry'. The slayer turned to the vampire, not knowing whether the tripping had really been intentional when Hope cut into her thoughts.
"You know what Buffy, you really are a bad influence on Faith. She used to trust me so blindly and now…now she can't even see that you don't really love her," Hope stated calmly and stepped up to the blonde.
Suddenly and without warning the blonde's fist connected with Buffy's jaw and the slayer spun around, stunned. She had promised Faith to be nice, to trust Hope. And now the girl she had pegged to be evil for the longest time was proving her point, but with her bad luck Faith would think she didn't trust her if she fought Hope. Before she could finish her thoughts another punch connected with her shoulder and stomach. Buffy could feel that Hope definitely wasn't giving all she had, something that unnerved the slayer. But before the vampire got another hit in on her face Buffy caught the punch with her left hand and delivered a harsh blow to the girl's face. While Hope recovered from the hit, the slayer dealt a round-house kick to the girl's upper torso.
Both girls readied themselves for another round when they heard soft footsteps behind them on the gravel path and spun around, only to spot Faith walking towards them with a slight limp. Buffy almost sprinted to her side but she remembered Hope's presence behind her and instead settled for taking a slow step towards her girlfriend.
"Faith? What are you doing? You're supposed to be tucked away in a hospital bed," Buffy questioned, looking worriedly at the brunette who stopped in front of the two girls.
"I was worried, but then I saw you guys fighting," the younger slayer replied and looked from girl to girl.
Hope stepped forward, reaching a hand to Faith's shoulder and mumbled in mock shock, "She attacked me, Faith. Oh my god I still can't believe it. I was just walking with her to get home and she tripped me and started hitting me, saying that I'm trying to steal you away or something."
Buffy's eyes widened. What was she going to say now? Anything she could say would make her seem like a liar.
"Faith, I told you I'd prove it to you. She doesn't trust you. She attacked me twice after you told her I wasn't evil. What kind of love is that?" Hope continued and it seemed as if Faith was really buying into it.
Buffy saw her chances slipping away, her girlfriend drawn into a net of lies and she reached out, taking a hold of Faith's arm gently, "Faith…I love you. I want you to know that I'd never do anything to hurt you intentionally. Faith you have to believe me."
The brunette looked at the two girls in front of her with a pained expression on her face and stepped away from both of their hands.
The pain in her body had subsided to a dull ache but her heart was on fire. And she was confused. Faith stepped back, her hands in the pockets of her jacket holding tightly onto the stake she had stored there before the accident. Both Buffy and Hope were staring at her pleadingly, begging her to believe.
Faith knew what she had to do, choose. And she knew what the right choice was, but she didn't want to know. She wished it didn't have to be like this.
"One of you is lying," she mumbled, fighting back the tears she felt threatening to spill over.
"Faith, don't you trust me? I've always loved you, she's a liar, she's using you," Hope said in a gentle voice, looking at the brunette pleadingly.
"I don't know what's going on Faith but I want you to know that I love and I trust you completely. I just don't want to see you hurt, no matter what happens," the blonde slayer sighed, watching sadly as her girlfriend stepped closer to Hope with a soft smile on her lips.
"Hope," the brunette began and the vampire smiled triumphantly, "I really loved you…" Hope's face fell slightly but before she had time to realize what was going on the slayer finished with a stake through her heart, "…but you're not Hope."
The vampire's face froze in shock before she crumbled to dust and the stake silently hit the floor. Faith's eyes searched for Buffy's, her face contorted in pain as she looked at her girlfriend.
"B…?" she whispered barely audible before crumpling, but strong arms caught her and pulled her close.
"Faith," the blonde mumbled into the shaking girl's ear, pulling her as close as possible.
"I killed her B," Faith whispered, wrapping her arms around the other girl's waist tightly, "I killed Hope."
Buffy ran her hand through dark hair, trying to soothe her girlfriend, "You didn't kill her Faith. She was a vampire, it wasn't the real her. You didn't do anything wrong."
She got up slowly, pulling the brunette up with her, placing a sweet kiss on the girl's soft lips.
"I love you Faith," she whispered in her lover's ear, tightening her hold around the brunette's waist.
"I love you, too Buffy," Faith replied softly and rested her head on the older girl's shoulder.
She had done the right thing and Faith knew everything would be alright.
"The slayer killed her?!" the voice boomed through the hall and he tried hard to keep from putting his hands over his ears. No matter how many times he talked to the woman she creeped him out more and more every time.
"Unexpectedly, yes. Faith staked Hope and left with the other slayer. What shall we do now?" Sam questioned, readying himself for another dangerous assignment.
The Countess grunted and sat down in her seat carefully before looking at him. She picked up her glass, staring intently at the red liquid inside before taking a sip.
"We wait until we have a plan and the ability to back it up. I never should have sent a girl to do a woman's job," she stated calmly and took another sip.
Sam continued to watch her finish the glass, his mouth watering at the thought of the blood and swallowed as she stood again, walking over to him.
"Those slayers don't know what's awaiting them."
...continued in Waiting for the Barbarians