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Everything Is Different Now	By : Declan Category: -Buffy the Vampire Slayer > FemmeSlash - Female/Female > Buffy/Faith Views: 7516 -:- Recommendations : 0 -:- Currently Reading : 1
Disclaimer: I do not own Buffy The Vampire Slayer Television Series. Joss Whedon does. This is done for simple fun, I'm not making any money from this.

Chapter List
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Betrayals: Part 1 (Good Intentions)

Silence stretched out between them. Buffy hesitated as she thought about how to begin, how to open delicate negotiations with the enemy who looked and sounded and even acted like the girl she loved.
Faith just stood there expectantly, dressed all in black, a band of pale skin showing between the bottom of her shirt and the top of her pants. Sultry red lips curled into a knowing smile, always confident and cocky, even if she’d done what Buffy had asked her to by coming here. She still had that air of utter certainty, while Buffy felt nothing but hesitation and self-doubt.
“So...” Buffy thought that it was important that she spoke first – although it would’ve helped if she had a good follow-up line.
Faith raised her eyebrows. “So,” she stated simply, whilst simultaneously making it sound slightly rebellious, like a petulant teenager sulking at her parents.
Buffy rubbed her hands together for lack of anything else to do with them. “Okay, I’ll start then... with the conversation thing.”
Faith gave a small, husky laugh. “Don’t you mean, ‘Now I’m gonna give you a lecture on the rights and wrongs of slayerness’? ‘Cause I gotta tell ya, B, had enough of those from you.” She shrugged casually and sighed. Reaching behind her back, she pulled out a knife, “Better if we just get down to it.”
Buffy tensed up as eyed the large blade in Faith’s hand, one edge razor sharp, the other serrated. Faith held it lightly as she looked around the mansion, almost expectant. Resisting the instinct to let the slayer part of her uncoil and go on the offensive, Buffy slowly held out a hand to calm the other slayer.
She kept her voice even. “I told you Faith, I’m here alone. Nobody’s going to jump out of the shadows if you start waving weapons about.” Buffy gestured with her hand, “So, you wanna put that thing away, please? I’m not here to fight.”
Faith didn’t put it away, but she did drop her arm down to her side. She shrugged. “You didn’t answer my question.”
Buffy was slightly confused by the change in tone, mild threats to conversational. “Huh? What question?”
Faith gestured at their surroundings. “About the last time we were both here. You remember? You and Angel giving me the big helpless act, playing the captive. So where is he?”
“H-He left, um, after graduation. I think he’s in LA now.” Buffy thought that that was a good place to begin her explanations, but first, “Do you want some food?” Without waiting for an answer Buffy hurried over to her backpack near the French windows and brought it closer to the fire.
Faith’s features were hard and suspicious. She watched closely as Buffy crouched by the fire, unzipped her bag and pulled out a few bottles of water.
“Here, take it. You must be thirsty.” Buffy held one out to her.
Faith gave her a knowing smile. “Let me guess; I take a nice, long drink and the mickey you put in it knocks me out. Then you deliver me to some stuffy Brits and get a shiny gold star.” Faith shook her head, “Or maybe a merit badge. Thanks, but I’ll pass.”
Buffy blinked in surprise and looked at the water. “I didn’t... Faith, it’s not drugged.” She took the water, unscrewed the cap and took a long drink before bringing the bottle away from her lips, “See, I’m not trying to ‘roofie’ you or anything.”
With that she sat the open bottle down between them and brought some foil-wrapped sandwiches out, setting them down carefully next to the water. “Besides, I don’t even work for the Watcher’s Council anymore.”
Faith, who’d been busily staring at the water like it was a snake, blinked when she heard that. “Huh?”
Buffy paused as she removed more food from the bag, and looked up at her. “I fired them, or refused to cooperate with them anymore, or something. Now it’s just me, and sometimes Giles.” She risked a small smile, “Like I said, things have changed.”
Faith raised a sceptical eyebrow, “So you just what, quit being the slayer?”
Buffy shook her head as she carefully placed more food on the ground between them, like it was an offering. “No. I mean, I still patrol, slay vampires and demons, the usual stuff. Even save the world on occasion. The Hellmouth still needs guarding.” Buffy stared at the other girl, “It still needs slayers.”
Faith ignored that last part, sneering at Buffy: “So, what happened with you and Soul-Boy? Got tired of the ‘no screwing’ rule and decided to dump him, is that it?”
Buffy took a shaky breath. “Actually, he, uh, dumped me. I-it happened a week or so after our midnight hostage exchange, remember? Angel... We broke up just before prom, way before graduation.”
Faith’s cold smile melted into a scowl as she stared hard at Buffy. “So you tried to kill me for a guy you weren’t even dating? He kicks you to the curb and you what, still try to get back with him?” Faith took a step forward, “Man, it must’ve burned your ass that even after you saved his life he still walked away, huh?” Faith tilted her head, “How’d you do that anyway? After your ‘turn Faith into a happy-snack’ plan went up the spout?”
Buffy stood, feeling a familiar anger rising in her. The anger that resulted from Faith mouthing off about complex, sensitive situations, poking at old wounds with a sharp stick to try and get a reaction; trying to upset her.
Buffy forced the hurt down and looked levelly at the other girl. “I came after you because I still loved Angel. Even if he didn’t want us to be together, it didn’t mean he deserved to die, slowly and in agony like you obviously wanted.” Buffy pretended to think about it, “And then there was the whole ‘trying to help the Mayor chow down on half of Sunnydale’ thing – I wasn’t really thrilled about that plan. Oh, and going after my friends and trying to kill them also pissed me off. There were many reasons why I did what I did.”
Faith’s eyes narrowed even as her lips curled into a smile and she took another step closer. Her voice took on a dangerous edge again, almost eager. “So, I guess we’re done talkin’...”
But Buffy wasn’t finished; she shook her head. “But it was still the wrong thing to do.” Buffy looked down at her hands. “As soon as I... stabbed you, felt the blade,” she shook her head, “I froze up, and my mind screamed at me to stop and undo it, but it was too late. I couldn’t take it back, even though I wanted to.”
Faith’s voice was rough with anger. “You think I came here lookin’ for a fucking apology, B? You took my life.” Faith stared hard at her, “And it doesn’t matter what you say, I’m here to dole out some payback.”
Buffy sighed sorrowfully. “Give me ten minutes Faith, that’s all I ask. Just listen to what I have to say,” she gestured at the food now piled at the Faith’s feet, “eat something, and afterwards…” She looked into the other girl’s eyes, “If you still want to fight... I won’t stop you. Do what you want.”
Faith seemed to weight up her words before giving a mild shrug. “Whatever.”
The dark haired girl watched Buffy move away a little before stooping to grab the bag of chips and leaning back against the side of the fireplace. Orange firelight glinted off her leather pants. “Go ahead, B. Time’s a-wastin’.”

*~~*

Agent Lawson shifted his weight back on his haunches to keep himself from cramping up. He’d taken the best position available, behind a piece of musty, broken furniture in one of the far alcoves to the right. It provided plenty of cover but had an easily accessible escape route, a broken window high and to the left of him. He had settled there after he’d seen the dark-haired girl do a final sweep of the grounds and disappear inside. Then he’d followed after her, carefully avoiding the back entrance where a flashlight had been visibly flitting around, instead going in through a small side door while the girl was busy lighting a fire.
He’d told Stenwick to hold fast at the tree line and to only break position if Lawson gave the signal, but he hadn’t really expected any trouble. They’d followed Summers since Revello Drive and she’d been oblivious to their tailing her, and they hadn’t even been that discreet.
But after the midnight meeting had gotten started, Lawson had tensed up a little, intrigued despite himself: the girl Miss Summers was meeting with wasn’t an ally, or even an associate. This was a hostile negotiation... with another slayer no less.
Lawson had heard the rumours about the ‘slayer’, that this Summers woman was some kind of amateur monster-hunter, with no real training to speak of, but some serious natural – or supernatural – talent. She’s apparently put two whole patrol teams on their collective asses during a recent training exercise, all without breaking a sweat. She was something unique, an anomaly, somebody who could take down HSTs all by her lonesome.
But apparently, there was another one just like her.
He listened intently and noted down all the relevant information. It was clear that this Faith person was even more unstable than Summers herself. Whoever chose these girls really needed to give them a psyche evaluation first.
Lawson continued to sit and watch. Professor Walsh would want a full report.

*~~*

Buffy hugged herself as she collected her thoughts. “After you fell, I made my way back to... here, actually, where Angel was. And since the only cure was slayer blood I... made him bite me, drink from me.” Buffy looked at Faith, “And I almost died. But Angel took me to the hospital and that’s when we had our, uh, shared dream.”
Faith was busily munching on chips like she was watching a movie. She stopped and shook her head, bemused. “Huh?”
Buffy made a back and forth gesture in the air between them. “Our shared dream, Faith. We said, well there was a whole bunch of cryptic stuff and, uh, a cat – we were in your old apartment. You told me how to... You honestly don’t remember?”
Faith thought about it as she sucked some powdered cheese off her fingers. “Nope. Had a whole bunch of dreams with you in, B, but we didn’t do a whole bunch of talkin’ in them, y’know.”
Buffy felt her mouth go dry. “Uh, what did we do? In your dreams, I mean.”
Faith glared at her. “Whaddya think? We went at it; we scrapped. A big ol’ replay with me gettin’ the business end of a knife.”
Buffy felt a cold chill seep through her skin. Faith not remembering their shared dream was a genuine surprise to her; it was what had initially given Buffy hope about the other slayer.
‘But it was real; it had to be. Okay, so it’s buried under seven months of nightmares. But I can reach her, make her remember and realise what she is.’
Buffy spoke up softly. “I’m sorry about your dreams.”
Faith shook her head dismissively. “Yeah, yeah.”
Buffy frowned as she continued. “I did talk to you, during... while you were asleep. I visited as often as I could. I sat beside you, told you all my best jokes, I even read a few comic books to you.”
Faith smirked round the Oreo she was munching but didn’t comment further.
Buffy took a couple of steps towards Faith, “I thought that maybe you’d have heard something.” Faith’s blank look provided her answer, “And I left you those clothes for when you woke up.”
Faith finally spoke up, her voice unreadable. “So why? Why didja do all that shit?””
Buffy thought about it. “Because I didn’t want you to think I’d forgotten about you or that I wanted any of it to turn out the way it did.” She looked at Faith, “Because every day I regretted how things ended between us.”
“Is that a fact?” Faith pushed away from the wall and strode a little closer, “Little Miss Moral on shaky high ground? What brought that on, huh?”
Buffy ignored her jeering tone and pushed on. “I did a lot of thinking over the summer and I realised something. When I turned seventeen, the man I loved more than anything turned on me and tried to kill my friends.” She looked at Faith, “Most of the year before you arrived I was watching Angel terrorise everybody I cared about and I didn’t stop him.” Buffy bit her bottom lip as she forced herself to continue, “People died because of mistakes I made, because I wasn’t strong enough to stop him.”
Buffy gestured emphatically, “And then the next year rolls around and you come along. We get friendly and you make this genuine, tragic mistake, and I totally freak. And instead of trying to reach you, after the whole thing at the docks, I pull away. I make myself hard in case you decide to turn. And then you do and I... For part of me, it was almost a relief.” Buffy shook her head in disgust, “Because it made things simple: I could rationalise and say that you were just another Angelus, another monster to be stopped. I didn’t even have to try and help you or reason with you. You were just... the enemy.” Buffy blinked away tears and stared at Faith, “But you’re not my enemy, you’re a slayer and my friend and I don’t want to fight you anymore.”
Faith took this in, her jaw clenched as she thought about it. “Jeez, what the fuck happened to you, B.” She began to pace back and forth in front of the fireplace, agitated, “You think I buy this ‘Ghandi’ act for a second? You getting’ all teary and sorry, acting like we were some kinda best bud types? You wanted it this way, that’s how I remember it. Tow the Buffy-line or screw you – that’s how it was.”
Buffy shook her head. “Faith, that was never...”
“So I’m thinkin’ you’re either tryin’ ta play me, again, or,” Faith gave Buffy a measured look and jabbed a finger at her, “you’re scared ‘cause you know you can’t take me.” Faith nodded in satisfaction, evidently liking her theory, “Gotten all soft, playin’ at being college girl too long, so you’re trying to talk me down to save your own ass.”
Buffy gaped in disbelief. “You think I’m here, meeting with you in the middle of the night, alone, pouring my heart out to you because I’m afraid of you? Faith.” Buffy shook her head sadly, “I’m afraid for you. All the things that you’ve done, how terrible you must feel.”
Faith narrowed her eyes at Buffy. “And you wanna ‘save me’, is that it? Man, you’d love that wouldn’t you, Saint Buffy bringing home that poor, naughty slayer after showing her the error of her ways. Giles standing there all proud of you...”
“SHUT UP!” Buffy cried out in frustration, “God! Faith, this isn’t actually about me, at all. I told you that I have regrets, that I hated the ways things went down between us, that I hated hurting you and that I did everything I could think of to try and make it right afterwards.” Buffy looked searchingly at Faith, “And I know deep down that you feel the same way. You don’t want this, any of this. And if you could take it back you would.”
Faith sneered. “So you know me now, is that it?”
Buffy pointed at the other girl. “You’re the one who said we were the same, remember? On the docks, that night, you told me that the same things that are in you are in me too?” Buffy stepped closer, “Well that works both ways Faith. Not just the bad, not just those slayer impulses, but the good too. I know, deep down, that you don’t want to be like this, that you want things to be different. That you regret things, the people you’ve hurt...”
“Shut the hell up!” Faith yelled through clenched teeth.
“No, because you know I’m right.” Buffy felt her heart pounding; she saw the doubt in Faith’s face, her uncertainty, and the pain. “I’m standing here to tell you that it’s not too late. I’m telling you that more than anything I want you on my side again. Us, the chosen two, Faith.”
Faith backed up a step and turned as if to leave; she ran her free hand through her hair. “I tried it that and I ain’t you. I’m not... wanted.”
“I don’t want you to be me, Faith. I just want you.” Buffy flushed at the double meaning but pressed on, “To be you. To be more. To be the slayer you were meant to be, that I know you can.”
The dark haired girl gestured at Buffy with the knife. “Just stay back.” Faith turned her back on Buffy, staring into the fire, the knife clenched tightly in one fist, her body rigid with tension. Then, she seemed to deflate, shoulders slumping. “It’s too late, B. Ten minutes are up.”
She turned to Buffy, and for the first time her eyes were in turmoil, full of sadness and regret: “I-it’s too late.”
Buffy dared to step closer; if Faith raised her hand now she could easily jam the knife into Buffy’s stomach. “I told you Faith, I’m not going to fight you. I’m done, okay?” Tentatively, she reached out up and stroked a strand of hair away from the other girl’s face. “And the only people who decide if things are too late Faith, is us; not the police, or the Watcher’s Council, or even my friends. If we stop fighting now then we have a real chance to make things right, of starting over. Together, okay? I’m not going to abandon you. I never did.”
Faith stared into her eyes. The brunette’s expression went beyond sorrow; she seemed lost more than anything. Her unsure eyes searched Buffy’s for a sign that she could trust her.
Buffy swallowed and nodded. “Just hand me the knife, Faith. Then we can take it from there.”
Faith raised her hand hesitantly. Between them the knife glimmered white in the firelight. “B, I don’t know how t’... do this. I don’t think I...” she stammered.
Then the taser blast hit her.
The arc of energy struck Faith high in the shoulder and hurled her sideways, slamming her hard against the mantelpiece, which crumbled under the impact. Frozen, Buffy saw Faith tumble limply to the floor into a pile of wood chips, plaster and broken tiles. Faith groaned, holding the side of her head, she tried to push herself to her hands and knees. “Buffy.” She murmured groggily.
“No.” Buffy gasped.
But another two blasts struck Faith in the side; electric blue lines writhed through her as she shook with violent convulsion before she slumped, still, as wisps of smoke curled off her body.
Buffy turned, eyes wide in disbelief to see four commandos moving out of the shadows in formation, weapons pointed.
Riley was at their head.

*~~*

“I think I did something bad”, Willow said unhappily. She lay on her back on Tara’s bed, hands clamped together on her stomach, her fingers twisting themselves in worry. A sure sign of guilt.
“Y-You did? What do you think you did wrong?” asked Tara. She was absently flipping through a stack of Tarot cards on the bed next to her, seemingly content with the silence while Willow’s head was all buzzy with accusatory voices.
“The whole Faith thing. It’s making my stomach all acidy.” Willow grouched, “And I told Riley about it even though I knew that he run off and form a posse and go after... Miss Black Hat.”
Tara thought about it. “You were just worried about Buffy, right? Like maybe she could use some help?”
Willow sat up. “Well, yeah. But Faith could hurt a commando person, or they might hurt her... and I don’t like how that last thought kind of makes me happy.” She looked pleadingly at Tara, “Am I, like, a bad person or something? For thinking like that?”
Tara shook her head. “I don’t think you’re a bad person, and Riley and these people, his friends, they don’t go around hurting people do they? Just monsters.” Tara looked down as she turned over another card, “You’re just looking out for your friend, that’s all. It’s better to be safe.”
Willow nodded a little at Tara’s comforting words. “I hope Buffy sees it that way. I’m not sure she’s gonna like that Riley got involved.” She gestured at the cards, “Any omen-y things in my future? Is it my fate to get royally spanked by an annoyed blonde girl?”
Tara hesitated in turning over the next card. She glanced up at Willow simultaneously smiling and blushing.
Willow’s eyes widened with realisation. “Oh! I didn’t mean... I meant bad spanking by Buffy. ‘Cause the other day there was a spanking reference, which you would have realised if I had told you that, but it wasn’t really an important conversation I had with Buffy, so I didn’t.” Willow paused and then began babbling again as she tried to clarify, “Not that, y’know, I’m entirely against the other kind...”
She stopped as she saw Tara frowning down at the cards she’d drawn.
Willow craned her neck to see one card with a starry sky and crescent moon over some hills, and another showing a stony, medieval tower.
“Um, Tara, is everything okay?”
Tara shook her head. “I’m not sure, these things have never really worked for me before, but now... I-it’s like they’re speaking to me, telling me a story.”
“Is it a nice story?” Willow asked hesitantly.
Tara looked up at Willow from under her curtain of hair. “It’s an omen.”
Willow didn’t like the sound of that.

*~~*

“Gates. Taggart. Secure the prisoner for transport.” Riley made some sort of hand gesture and the other guys started forward towards Faith. Buffy moved into their way, eyes blazing at Riley.
“What the hell do you think you’re doing?”
Riley took a step towards her, his brow furrowed. “Buffy, it’s okay, we got this. We’ll take her into custody.”
“You’re not taking her anywhere.” Buffy’s voice cracked with anger, “Why... What are you even doing here?”
Riley’s frown deepened. “Willow said that you might be in trouble. That this –” he gestured to Faith’s unconscious body, “woman is dangerous.”
‘Willow. Willow told Riley, even though she knew that I didn’t want him involved. Oh, she and I are gonna have a very long talk...’
Buffy glanced warily at Taggart and Forrest, both of whom had removed their masks and were looking at Buffy with guarded hostility. She turned her focus back to Riley. “Faith is my business, not yours. You shouldn’t be here.”
Riley stepped a little closer, his voice was low and reasonable. “Buffy, c’mon, I’ve seen her police file okay, she’s a stone-cold murderer. I was worried about you.”Riley shook his head. “I don’t understand why you’d keep something like this from me. If she’s a threat to you...”
Buffy bristled at the hurt in his tone. “Oh, like you tell me everything? All of your military secrets? 314 and things like that? You have no problem keeping things from me.”
Riley shook his head. “That’s different. It’s classified information. Need to know only. Anyway, how do you even...?”
“Forget it. The point is, my life is all about threats. Every day.” Buffy kept her voice hard. “I’m the Slayer, Riley. I don’t need ‘rescuing’.”
“She’s a slayer too, isn’t she? And she had a knife...”
“I was talking her down.” Buffy interrupted harshly, “She wasn’t going to hurt me because she was putting her trust in me. Now she’s gonna think that I set her up!” Buffy stepped closer, trying to control the anger in her voice, “You had no right to come in here and blindside us like this.”
“Us?” Riley’s jaw tensed. “It’s my job to protect people from monsters. From what I’ve read, I’d say she definitely qualifies.”
Buffy narrowed her eyes. “She’s not some demon, Riley. She’s a slayer, and trust me, you know nothing about that.”
Forrest interrupted: “Enough of this. We’re taking her in. Now.”
Buffy’s voice was ice. “You can try. Wouldn’t recommend it though.”
Forrest half raised his rifle and glowered. “Was that a threat?”
Buffy felt her muscles flex under her skin as she tensed. “More like a promise.”
Riley shot out an arm and grabbed Buffy’s shoulder. “Buffy...”
She knocked it away angrily. “Let go of me!”
Buffy turned her gaze as she heard Forrest charge his taser gun. He raised it and pointed it at her.
Riley stepped between them. “THAT’S ENOUGH. Stand down soldier!” He looked at Buffy like she was crazy, “Buffy, listen – this is stupid. From what I saw that gal, who likes to stab people, was going to stab you.”
Buffy didn’t trust herself to say anything so she just glared. She’d been ready to attack Forrest with everything she had.
Riley softened his voice. “But if you say I made a mistake, then I guess I must’ve read the situation wrong here. I accept that and I’m sorry for it. But protocol says I’ve got to bring her in.”
Buffy looked sharply at him. “That’s not...”
Riley put up a pacifying hand. “Listen to me, she wakes up she’s gonna be pissed, right? It’s better for everybody if she’s somewhere secure when that happens. We’ll explain everything to Professor Walsh, together, first thing tomorrow. If she wants to change, like you say, then that’s great. The Initiative could use all the help it can get, really.”
Buffy saw some sense in what he was saying, but Faith waking up somewhere familiar would be better. Not in some jail cell. She shook her head. “I don’t know Riley...”
“Think about it: we bring her in, get her checked out and make sure she’s not too badly hurt. We’ll give her the full medical; fix her up while she sleeps. Then you can come and see her when she wakes up, explain everything to her.”
Buffy looked at him warily. “And then she can just leave, with me?”
Riley looked over at the unconscious girl. “If you can vouch for her with the professor, explain things properly, I’ll back you up. After that, I’m sure we can work something out, help her somehow. Point is; we’re not gonna just lock her up. We’ll listen to you.” Riley put a hand gently on Buffy’s shoulder, “We might even be able to help out with the police, at least pull the warrants that are out against her. Get them to back off for a while.”
Buffy, in spite of herself, raised a hopeful eyebrow. “You could do that?”
Riley nodded. “Easily. If you vouch for her.” Riley relaxed a little and ventured a smile, “She’ll probably have to take a couple of dozen psyche tests as well, but that can wait awhile.”
Buffy was torn: the full medical and getting the police off Faith’s back sounded great in theory. Faith fitting smoothly into the rest of Buffy’s life sounded even better. And yet...
“First thing tomorrow.” Buffy nodded firmly, “And Riley? Could you, like, supervise all the stuff with Faith? I mean personally. Keep an eye on her?” Off the back of his questioning look she added, “Faith worked with me, she was a good friend before all the badness. I owe her, you understand?”
Riley nodded in sympathy. “Okay. I get that. Trust me, Buffy. Everything’s going to be okay.”
He gestured to the other soldiers and they moved swiftly to grab Faith, lifting her off the ground and taking her outside.
Buffy felt suddenly drained. All that tension and emotional worry dissipated, leaving her completely wrung out. She watched passively as the soldiers carted Faith off.
‘It’s only for tonight. I’ll see her tomorrow, to apologise and explain. Everything will be alright.’
This way she could at least check in with Giles and the gang, tell them all what had happened. That she had actually managed to get Faith to listen to reason. And if she could get to talk to her again soon and explain this whole misunderstanding, she’d just have to explain to Faith about the Initiative, and how this wasn’t some stupid psych-out like before...
And then maybe, with the cops out of the way, Faith could stay somewhere close, with Giles, and then at Mom’s if everything went okay. Buffy remembered all of the opening up Faith had done around her Mom, all that bonding. Faith could have that again. She could go back to being the slayer.
Buffy felt Riley’s hand on her arm and she turned to him. He looked at her with concern. “I guess you two must really have a history.”
She felt herself colour with embarrassment and tried to cover it. “I’m sorry for freaking at you, okay. I know that you thought that I was in trouble and that, uh, you thought you were helping. I shouldn’t have gone off on you like that.” She looked up into his eyes, “It’s just the whole slayer-thing is usually a ‘one girl’ only deal. It makes Faith and me...”
“Complicated? Unique?” Riley’s hands moved up to Buffy’s shoulders and gave them a comforting squeeze, “You can give me the full run down tomorrow, okay? Tonight I’m on guard duty, not to mention explaining this all to Professor Walsh.”
“She doesn’t know?”
A slight shake of his head. “I went off book on this one, sort of like a Black-Op.”
Buffy sighed. “That’s just great. Your boss already thinks I’m a bad influence.”
“I think she’ll see that it was for a good cause.” Riley allowed a small smile, “Besides, doesn’t breaking the rules make me just a little bit dangerous?”
Buffy gave him a rueful shake of her head. “Please, don’t even go there. I have enough danger in my life.” She offered a shy smile and said softly, “I’d prefer somebody I can depend on.”
Riley looked thoughtful before gently pulling her close and kissing her deeply. Buffy responded, tilting her head back and feeling the strong pull of his body. She sighed contentedly into his mouth.
Somebody coughed. “Hostile secured for transport.” Forrest spoke up, his voice edged with annoyance. “Sir.”
Riley pulled back. “Sorry, I guess I’m still on the clock. But tomorrow...” He hesitated, “Are we good?”
Buffy nodded and tried for a smile that would reassure him. “We’re good. I’ll come by the Initiative after I talk with the gang.” She dropped her arms away from around his neck and clasped her hands together, “Good luck with the whole debrief thing.”
Riley nodded before reluctantly turning to leave. Buffy watched him go, watched Forrest give her a cold stare before following Riley out.
‘He’s just feels threatened by strong women or maybe just women who take away from his ‘man-time’ with Riley.’
Buffy sighed; it would be nice if she didn’t alienate every single member of the Initiative other than her boyfriend. Still, as confrontations go that could’ve been a lot worse. Gratuitous violence or strong language or worse... Instead she’d just watch them haul off her ex-girlfriend to throw her in a teeny cell somewhere. Buffy shuddered at that realisation, Faith as a prisoner.

But she had to trust in Riley to look out for Faith. A big nap and some major first aid, not interrogation and behaviour modification.
‘Oh, god, could they even do that? Stick a chip in Faith like they did with Spike? Because that would be horrible, she’s a human being. They couldn’t just...’
Except she’d be seeing Faith tomorrow, and Buffy was fairly certain that invasive brain surgery took a lot longer to organise than ‘immediately’. There was equipment and operating tables to set up and gowns and masks to put on – anyway it always looked very complicated to Buffy, and not the sort of thing that you rushed into in the middle of the night.
Speaking of, Buffy looked at her watch; it was well after one o’clock. She wasn’t too keen on the idea of walking all the way back to campus. Then she’d have to confront Willow, and she didn’t feel like yet another emotional fraught argument this late at night. Save something for tomorrow.
Buffy started packing up the remains of the food she’d brought for Faith. She’d head back to her house; talk with her Mom in the morning. Have a nice, normal breakfast chat before heading over to Giles and facing things head on.
Buffy wondered vaguely if her life would ever get any simpler.

*~~*

The cowled figure watched dispassionately as the slayer picked over her leavings and readied to depart. Events could not have gone better; the two slayers had argued and fought, emotions had curled off of them like smoke – so much anger and passion and guilt. All of those feelings were ultimately necessary for what was required. And now they were separated. For the moment, Faith would be confined in the embrace of a high security government cell somewhere, which was good, at least until preparations for the next stage were made ready.
The figure turned away from the Summers girl and walked directly to where the man who had spied on the whole exchange had hidden, watched as he crept backwards, slipped over to a nearby shadow and hauled himself silently through a broken window arch. The figure followed after him, passing through the solid stone wall and stepping out into the night. The spy met with his cohort a few meters away from the building, their low, breathless exchanges seemed louder against the quiet of the night.
“What happened?” the lookout asked the spy, “I saw one of our squads enter. Then what sounded like fighting?”
The spy shook his head. “Not much of a fight. An ambush; commando raided them, brought a dark-haired girl down, took her in.”
The lookout shook his head. “What is Walsh playing at? Sending us in blind like that. The situation could’ve gone sideways.”
“Wasn’t an authorised op, from what I could hear.” The spy’s voice was flat with contempt, “It was Walsh’s golden boy, Finn. He was leading them, keeping a close eye on his girl.”
The other guy seemed to grimace in disgust as he though it over. “So now what?”
“I’ll head back and report to Walsh. You continue shadowing the Summers girl just in case she tries anything, now that her girlfriend’s been grabbed.”
The other man chuckled dryly. “Girlfriend, huh? No wonder Riley shot her.”
“Just stay sharp, keep watch and check in at 0800 hours.” Without another word the spy departed, leaving his fellow behind.
The man sighed and pulled some sort of hand held device out of his pocket, staring at its illuminated display. “So where are you heading cutie, huh? Any other secrets you’d care to...” He stopped when he noticed the cloaked form in front of him, out of nowhere. “What the…?”
The figure made a simple gesture with one hand. “Somnus.”
The man fell to the ground as if pole-axed, threads of reddish energy danced around his forehead as he slipped into unconsciousness.
The figure stood and listened, but heard nothing. The altercation had gone unnoticed.
Looking down at the unknown man, the figure reasoned (not for the first time) that not everybody in this world was a pawn to be manipulated and then discarded.
Some were simply bargaining chips.

*~~*
Riley stood in Walsh’s office as the older woman digested his explanation. She’d apparently been working late at the facility when the call had come in. Riley had hoped that he’d have a few hours to get the hostile... the slayer, situated and secured before offering up any excuses to his boss.
“So, let’s see if I grasp this correctly. At the request of one of the slayer’s associates, you, on nothing but your own authority, commandeer a patrol team and went off grid, inserting yourself into a situation you knew nothing about, with zero intel or backup?” Walsh rounded on Riley as he stood rigidly to attention, “Would that be a correct summation of events?”
Riley stared straight ahead as he tried to explain. “Yes, Ma’am. But there was a limited time frame in which to act, so I made a judgement call...”
“A judgement call?” Walsh’s voice snapped, “I had hoped that this was an impulsive act, but if you’re saying that you judged the situation practically, then perhaps this state of affairs is more serious than I realised.”
Riley frowned at that. “The mission was a success. The other slayer was, um, contained until we could ascertain her threat status. And we were undetected.”
“This is a secret organisation, Agent Finn.” Walsh replied dryly, “Going undetected is one of our mission statements, not a happy accident.” She paused, mulling over the situation. “So, another slayer?”
Riley felt he was on more firm footing and nodded. “Affirmative. She’s being processed now.” Riley felt a pang of irritation that he wasn’t there to supervise it himself. Buffy had put her trust in him and it was clear that this girl... mattered to her. Another slayer, somebody like Buffy – but not.
He knew Buffy was special, and part of what made her special was the fact that she’d been fighting demons since about the time that Riley had been tackled his first assault course. And now there was this Faith person, who had been giving those same powers but had, somewhere along the line, decided to kill people and, “Side with the bad guys”, as Willow had put it. Vague, but there it was.
Riley wondered why Buffy hadn’t told him about any of this previously. A dangerous vampire ex? Some brooding bad boy who’d hurt Buffy in the past, sure no problem, she’d told him that. That couldn’t have been easy, but Riley had accepted the strangeness and intensity of what had gone before. Buffy had obviously dealt with it and moved on.
Maybe there was some slayer connection he was missing, he thought about how angry and intense Buffy had gotten, the way she’d flared up in defence of the other girl. He didn’t mind admitting that it had made him a little uneasy.
Walsh flicked though the report that Riley had obtained from the police department. “Well, I agree that this seems to be a... special case. I’ll have Dr. Angleman see to her medical needs, and then you can keep an eye on her. You and your whole squad are off the patrol roster for the foreseeable future. Do I make myself clear?”
‘Great. So I’m grounded.’
“Yes, Ma’am.” Riley felt himself relax a little. It could’ve been worse – he still had his skin intact after all.
Without looking up, Walsh said with finality, “Dismissed agent.”

Walsh watched him go.
Just as she was getting to grips with one unpredictable factor, another two turn up. Riley... Agent Finn’s erratic behaviour seemed to be getting worse and now there was this other girl. The girl seemed to share a history with Buffy Summers, as well as having a colourful criminal past of her own.
Another slayer. Another loose canon.
But at least this one was contained, where she could be analysed and controlled. But Walsh needed more information about her before she settled on the next course of action. A further background check was needed.
Her phone rang. Walsh picked it up and listened. “Send him in.”
Agent Lawson entered. He was one of the handful of marines that had been brought in at the request of Col. McNamara, who’d wanted the army to have more oversight. Walsh had found their competence and professionalism useful on occasion, but their loyalty to those higher up had made her wary of trusting them too much. They knew as much as they needed to about the project, about the weapons they were developing, but nothing about her further plans.
She looked at him levelly. “Give your report.”
He did, in precise detail, and Walsh was content that it mostly backed up Riley’s version of events. There were a few more details about the nature of what was said – the history between the two girls that Riley had missed – but otherwise, it was identical.
Except for one small part.
Walsh stopped him. “You’re sure she said that? Those words?”
“Yes, Ma’am. She said them pretty loudly. Their argument was pretty heated by that point.”
Walsh took this in, weighing up his words. “That will be all.”
Agent Lawson frowned since he hadn’t finished his report, but nodded and left silently.
‘So, she knows about the project. The question is how much does she know, and how does she know it? The silly little slip of a girl had just become a liability. She clearly thought that just because she was involved with one of their agents had the right to question the Initiative’s methods.’
Walsh needed to talk to Dr Angleman; the situation was escalating rapidly. It wouldn’t be long before Riley Finn started questioning his loyalty. It seemed like it was already divided.
So they would have to move to the contingency scenario, as quickly as possible.
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