Chapter 15: Prelude
NEXT MORNING - BACKPORCH – SATURDAY - 5:57 AM
FAITH’S POV
The house is quiet as day slowly breaks. I close my eyes and do a mental ‘sweep’ of the neighborhood. Not feeling anything around, I figure all the nasties must be on their way home. I guess it was foolish of me to think Richard would come back and actually face me, the mother fucking coward.
“Hey,” B comes outside and joins me on the chair, crawling right onto my lap and wrapping herself around me. “Thought I’d try and convince you to come to bed.”
Leaning my head against her shoulder, I lay the 9mm on the table and pull her into a hug, “Sounds like a good idea,” I sigh, “Nicky’s still sleeping?”
“Yeah, she’s in our room, I left her cuddling Mr. Gordo.” She rests her head on mine, “How was Emma when she got back from her drive last night?”
I rub her back, “She didn’t.” Buffy immediately tenses then turns to me. Realizing what a stupid thing that was to say, I quickly add, “It’s ok, she hopped the last shuttle to Chicago that’s all. She called last night from Sophia’s to let us know she was ok.”
“Wow,” B rests her head back on mine.
Lacing my hands together, I pull her back into me, “I think she was really at a breaking point yesterday. She needs more than just us right now.”
“I know,” she sighs, “So much of what’s happening is hinging on her and Nicky. Richard must know a lot more about the prophecy than we do. That’s probably why he’s trying to keep them unnerved.”
I watch as the sun finally comes over the tree line, “She’s staying there till Monday.”
“Really?” Buffy pulls back and raises her eyebrows.
Nodding, “I think it’s a good idea, she needs a break from all this. It’s too fucking stressful for her here. And if Richard’s here and she’s in Chicago, then it’s all the better.” I smile, “Besides they need time together without all of us around.” I pause for a moment, think about it, then say it anyway, “Things are going to start happening fast, B, it might be the only chance they get.”
“Don’t,” she turns my head to face her, “we’ll figure this out and stop it.”
I shake my head, “I dunno, B. It’s been 3 years since I came back and sometimes I feel like we don’t know anything more now than we did then.”
“You know that’s not true,” her hands move to my shoulders and she rubs her thumbs along my neck, “We’ve been slow but steady. We’ll work it out, babe. It’s what we do, right?”
Nodding again, I’m not sure if I believe what she’s saying but I know if I don’t, I should just keep it to myself. I turn bringing her close for a kiss, “I won’t say another word, I promise.”
“Faith,” she groans as she gets up and pulls me up towards the door, “Come on, maybe you won’t be so doom and gloom after you get some rest.” As we make our way inside she turns to me, “Dawn thinks she was onto something last night. She and Andrew were pouring over the diaries again.”
Right, like they haven’t been doing that for a month, hmmm, I better settle for the neutral, “Cool.”
“I know you don’t mean that, so stop patronizing me,” she narrows her eyes at me.
Trying for my best innocent look, “What?”
“You could never lie to me Faith, never, even when we were kids...” she playfully swats at my arm.
Smirking, I can’t help my grin spread, “Yeah, I know.”
“There’s a ton of information to cover, so sometimes things just pop out at you even after you’ve read it a million times.” She looks at me imploringly, “You know this Faith, you know it as well as I do.” She pours a glass of water then hands it to me. “Let’s get some rest then check in with Dawn later on ok?”
I nod, then with one hand wrapped around my girl, the other around a pint of water, I go upstairs for a morning nap.
SOPHIA’S APARTMENT – 1:34 PM
EMMA’S POV
The ringing phone cuts through the silence and I cringe at the thought of getting out of bed. Pushing my face into the pillow I’m hugging, I inhale deeply then sigh as I realize where I am. Eyes still closed, I revel in just being here, surrounded by her scent, her presence, sound of her voice speaking to someone in Spanish. I hear her hang up then feel her coming closer. Rolling onto my back, I open my eyes to Sophia’s mane of dark brown hair and gorgeous green eyes moving toward me. “You are so beautiful,” my voice still raspy from sleep, I breathe out my discovery in amazement. It’s like I’m seeing her for the first time.
“You’re not so bad looking yourself,” she laughs as she sits next to me. “You sleep ok?
Reaching out, I lightly run my hand down her arm, “Yeah, better than I have in long time.” Stretching, I ask, “Thought you had work?”
“I did,” she smiles.
Narrowing my eyes at her then whipping my head to the clock-radio, I can’t believe... “No way is it 1:30! I did not sleep for 14 hours.” I look back at her disbelievingly, trying to rub the sleep from my eyes.
“Yeah, you kinda did,” she brushes her hand through my hair. “You were out cold when I got up at 6. And let me tell ya, it was a lot of fun getting out of the death grip you had on me without waking you,” she smiles teasingly at me.
Not really trying to hide my sheepish grin, I reach for her, “Yeah, I should have warned you about that.”
“It was nice,” she lets me pull her close so now she’s leaning over me, her arms scoop under my shoulders. She seems comfortable with the closeness, even relaxed as she trails her hand against my cheek, “You must be starving. How about some lunch? Well, I guess brunch for you.” Then she flips her hair to the side as only people who’ve had long hair all their lives can do so effortlessly. God damn, that was sexy.
Tightening my hold on her, I whisper, “Not just yet,” as I rise up a little to capture her lips. God, I think I’m becoming addicted to kissing her. I’m not sure if it’s because I’m still half asleep or because I can’t believe I’m really here with her, but this feels so dream-like: the softness of her lips, the bolts of electricity running though us, that slow ache spreading through my body.
This is not like last night’s kiss, no, not a chance. The trepidation is gone, leaving this overwhelming yearning in its wake. I pull her down, dragging the length of her body against mine. My hands move from her waist, slide up her back then I bury them in her hair. Hers slip through the straps of my tank, caressing my shoulders. Needing to feel more of her skin against mine, my fingers trail down and graze the hem of her shirt finding their way underneath to the smooth skin of her back. Her arms tighten around me as my hands creep up her back; her skin is so incredibly soft. She breaks away for a moment to trail kisses down my jaw and neck but thankfully returns to my lips quickly because now I know I’ve become addicted to kissing her.
Trying to get impossibly closer, I arch into her, my leg slowly rises between hers. She moans into my mouth as I grasp her shoulders, slowly moving her against me. I feel like, God, like I’m drowning in her, it’s so powerful, so completely consuming. It’s… euphoric, this feeling of my body and mind, my very soul, coming alive with hers. Yes, I hear my blood pounding through my veins and an overwhelming desire to make love to her is enveloping me, but there’s more than that. I feel the need to connect with her on so many levels. Sweet Goddess, Buffy was right, this is so much more than physical.
She pulls back with a start, gasping, eyes still closed, “I am never going to get used to this...”
“Never,” I pant out as I shake my head, trying to capture her lips once again.
Then, slowly opening her eyes, she rests her head on mine as she tries really hard to keep her voice steady, “I can’t, Em… I - I’m just not ready...”
“Shhh, it’s ok,” I take a few deep breaths as I caress her back, “it’s ok,” I try to sooth her. I don’t really care about keeping my voice steady; I’m too busy trying my very best just to calm down and get this want under control. Searching her eyes, I see my thoughts aren’t too far from hers, but I also see she’s uncertain and maybe just a little scared. Shit, too fast, ok, mental STOP sign... big, red, octagon... Then by the sheer force of my will, I lower my leg and command my arms to slide out from under her shirt and rest on her waist. Needing to get out of this position, this close proximity to her, I smile as I exhale, “Why don’t you let me take a shower and I’ll buy you brunch, ok?”
She traces her thumb down the side of my face to my bottom lip then nods as she swallows, “Yeah.” The look in her eyes is such a conundrum of feelings: desire, fear, and, yes, gratitude. She kisses me softy then smiles as she pulls away. Leaning up, I watch as she makes her way to the living room then fall back into bed. Yeah, so, slow is not gonna be easy. I shake my head then jump out of bed and find myself looking forward to a nice long shower.
My nice long shower becomes a 5 minute shower when Faith’s thoughts come crashing into my mind:
‘Hey, everything’s ok; Buffy just wants you to call.’
I send her back, ‘Will do, give me a few minutes, I’m in the shower.’
‘Alone?’ She responds.
I laugh, ‘Yes, alone, Jesus Faith!’
‘Not for long I’m sure, right?’ I can feel her smirk.
Now it’s my turn to laugh, but instead, I stay silent, just to piss her off.
‘Aw, come on, if it was anyone else...’
I cut her off, ‘It’s NOT anyone else.’
‘I know,’ she answers seriously, ‘So how you feel? You ok?’
‘Yeah, I slept for ages so I’m doing a lot better.’
‘Good, call B then relax already.’ Then she’s gone.
I walk into the living room in my standard uniform: blue jeans and a T-shirt. I towel dried my hair and am now “brushing” it with my fingers. I’m starving but I know I have to phone Buffy first. Looking over to Sophia who’s on the couch going through the SCBB, I ask, “Do you mind if I call Buffy real quick before we go? Faith just told me she wants to talk to me.”
She shakes her head, “Sure, go ahead.” Then she laughs, “I’ll never get over the fact you guys can do that.” She stops then looks back up at me, “Wait, is everything ok? Is Nicky ok?”
“Yeah, Faith just said Buffy wanted to talk for a minute.” Picking up the phone I punch in the speed dial then punch in Buffy’s extension.
“This is Dawn Summers. How can I help you?”
That’s weird, I coulda swore… “Hey Dawn, it’s Emma, I’m sorry, I thought I put in Buffy’s extension. Can you transfer me?”
“She forwarded her calls here, Em. Hang on a sec.”
I hear some rustling then, “Hey Em, how you feeling?”
“Good,” I look over to Sophia, “A lot better actually.”
There’s a pause, “Everything going ok so far?”
“Yeah, we were just going to go to brunch.” I’m getting a bad feeling. “What’s wrong Buff?”
I hear her take a breath, “Nicky was really freaked when she couldn’t find you this morning. Faith tried to tell her you were ok, but she was inconsolable. I know you need to chill out over there, but can you just talk to her for a little bit?”
“Shit,” Sophia looks up at the tone of my voice, “of course, put her on.” I mouth ‘Nicky’s upset.’ She nods and gives me a look of encouragement.
More rustling now, then, “Emma? Are you ok? You weren’t here, I went to your room and you were gone, and I knew you didn’t have work and I thought, I thought…”
“Whoa, whoa, I’m fine, hot stuff, I’m just taking your advice from yesterday and went to Chicago last night to see a special lady,” I wink at Sophia as I walk around the room.
Nicky gasps then lowers her voice, “You told her you want her to be your girlfriend?”
“Yes, I did,” I can’t help but laugh, she’s so excited. Looking up, I see Sophia is smiling as she reads, shaking her head.
The kid can barely control herself, “And???”
“Well, I told her,” I walk over to where Sophia is sitting and stand behind her. Running my hand though her hair, she leans her head back, resting against my stomach as she continues to read, “then I said I wanted her to think about it before she answers me.”
Nicky sighs, “How long are you gonna wait?”
“Well,” moving her head back further so she’s looking up at me, “I’ll wait as long as it takes.” Holding Sophia’s eyes to mine, I let my words wash over her. She smiles as I trace the outline of her jaw, “You want to know a secret, Nick?”
“Well, yeah,” she says as if I’m an utter moron.
“I think I have a pretty good shot.” Sophia slowly nods as she mouths ‘me too’. I can’t stop the tremendous grin from forming on my face.
I hear Nicky take a deep breath, “When are you coming home, Em?”
“I’ll be back Monday afternoon. Is that ok?” I’m starting to get a little worried about her, “Do you need me to come back sooner?” Sophia cocks her head then shoots me a concerned look.
Nicky rushes out her words, “No, no, no, you should be with Sophia. I’m ok; I just wanted to talk to you. Him giving me that picture scared me. Then Faith told me he gave you one too, then you weren’t here, then I called your cell and it’s here – you never forget your cell. Faith told me you where there but - .”
“I understand. But you don’t have to worry; Sophia is taking very good care of me, I promise,” Then, on cue, Sophia clasps my hand, and it immediately soothes me. “You sure you’re alright, Nick?”
I can almost see her pouting, “Yeah, I didn’t mean to be a big baby.”
“You’re not a big baby, there’s a lot of really messed up stuff going on. Stay close to Faith and Buffy, they’ll take care of you. Then I’ll be back on Monday and we can hang out ok?” I mindlessly trace the back of Sophia’s hand, “Some foosball maybe?”
I feel a smile creep to her face, “You mean just you and me? Like old times?”
“It’s a date. I’ll see you then, ok?” I walk back to the telephone table in the corner.
She murmurs, “Uh huh, oh, and please be careful. And say hello to Sophia for me? I really like her Em, I like her for you. I think you guys are perfect together.”
“Will do, and so do I,” I’m about to say goodbye when something occurs to me, “Nick, you can always use telepathy to reach me if you ever need me.”
She sighs, “But my Mom always said not to, that it’s an intrusion.”
“Not if you don’t abuse it. I’m telling you now; if you ever need me you can contact me that way. Faith and I do it when we need to; well, and sometimes when we’re just lazy.”
“Ok, I’ll think about it, see you Monday.”
“See you,” I put the phone back in its cradle then sit down next to Sophia.
She rests her hand on my thigh, “She ok?”
“Yeah, Faith told her Richard gave me a picture with a note too then she freaked I wasn’t there even though Faith told her I was here.” Running my hand over hers, I look up and smile, “she told me to say ‘hi’ for her. She likes you.”
Nodding, she grins, “She’s a good kid, precocious as all hell though.” She turns thoughtful, “I guess that’s from not really being around kids her age. She was just with her parents those first 8 years then with you guys these last 3.” She shakes her head, “It must so hard for her, being surrounded by all of this so young, seeing her parents killed, then knowing she plays a major role in some crazy prophecy written thousands of years ago.”
“It’s not so bad,” I say a little flat, looking at our intertwined hands, not really knowing if I’m talking for Nicky or me.
I feel her hand on my chin, turning me to face her, “I’m so sorry, I didn’t even think.” Shit, she looks upset.
“Hey,” I lean into her, “It’s ok. It’s sorta like, how can you miss what you never had, right? So if you never had a normal life, you can’t really know what it is you’re missing.” Shrugging, I continue, “It’s just how I feel. Well, how both of us feel, we’ve talked about it a lot. We’re like our own support group.” I coax out a small smile, so I go for broke, “The only one we’re missing is Faith to complete the whole rotten-childhood-surrounded-by-crazy-mojo chat sessions.”
She shakes her head, “I can’t believe you can make jokes about it.” She smiles at me then rubs her thumb against my cheek, “You’re amazing.”
“Yeah, amazingly hungry, let’s go get something to eat,” I lean into her hand, “come on, I’ll tell you some funny stories about the doctors in Durban.”
WIILOW’S OFFICE – 3:59 PM
DAWN’S POV
“Here it is Will, from Ian’s later diary: ‘He tells me he’s been called to guarantee the assembly of the mongrels who will desecrate the Heavens with their mortality.’ And then he goes on to say: ‘I fear for his sanity as well as his soul. What demons are these that turn men into predators, craving blood for life? Surely the promise of immortality in exchange for an eternity in darkness must be the work of devils not gods.’”
Willow takes the book from me, “I still don’t get how Richard goes from Miller’s son to the gopher of the gods. Why was he chosen to be sure they get to Nibiru? We are so missing a couple of pieces of the puzzle.”
“We’ll get there,” I say as I read over her shoulder.
We’ve been pouring over the diaries since Vi sent them, but this new one was just found in Scotland. It had been hidden in the family estate of one of Ian Macgregor’s relatives. Now we know why.
Willow looks up at me, “So Richard not only spared the Pastor, but sought his council?” She sits back in her chair, “That is so bizarre; I mean Angel and Spike killed everyone they knew once they were turned, they didn’t befriend them.”
“Actually Buffy once told me that Spike turned his mom because she was sick, he adored her.” I think for a moment about Spike, there are so many feelings his name stirs up, from anger to love. Then I laugh to myself, he really was part of our dysfunctional family, huh? I shake my head and look at Will, “So maybe it’s not uncommon for a vamp to ‘haunt’ if you will, a friend from their time of living?
She nods in agreement. Then she picks up the diary again, “The Anunnaki created vampires to safeguard their return… that is absolutely amazing.” Looking over to me, “How many more of the later diaries are there?”
“A bunch, Vi is having them copied then sent here as they’re completed. The family won’t part with them, but they’re allowing us to make the copies so Austin and his team are there now.” I shake my head, “I’m amazed she found them. They were at the bottom of a trunk in the freaking Highlands of Scotland. How they stayed preserved all these years is beyond me.”
Will, just looks at me with her eyebrows raised.
“Right, there’s no such thing as coincidence,” I sigh, “Ever get the feeling we’re just marionettes for the Gods to play with?”
I can tell Willow is about to make a witty retort then she suddenly furrows her brow, “Wait, if the Anunnaki created vampires, were the shadow men who created the first Slayer Anunnaki too?”
“That would make a hell of a lot of sense.” I get up and begin to pace, “Even at the last showdown with the Gods, there was some power struggle going on between them.”
Will nods, “The balance between Good and Evil. There always needs to a balance or else the cosmic factors in the universe are upset. It’s simple physics: every action must have an equal and opposite reaction.
Running my hands through my hair, I shake it out then turn to Willow, “Do you think we can get Faith or Emma to contact Ereshkigal? She might give them some answers.” Then I think better of it, “Nah, even if they did, she won’t tell them anything. She’s just like the damn PtB, talking in riddles.”
She thinks for a moment then shakes her head, “Faith once said ‘They tell us as much as they can, the tricky part is trying to figure out what they’re saying.’”
“Yeah, it would probably break some ‘God-pact’ to actually tell us something useful that we would also understand, huh?” I laugh to myself, “You think they have a secret handshake?”
Her eyes fly open as she stares at me incredulously, “Hang on, ‘Use the tools of your time to break the ancient vow.’ The ancient vow is for the Anunnaki to return right?”
“I guess, at least, that’s what we’ve been going with,” I narrow my eyes at her, trying to catch whatever feverish notion she’s has, “What are you thinking?”
Will looks almost too excited to speak, then she takes a very deep breath. “Ok, let’s just say that husband of yours finds a way to knock Nibiru off its elliptical orbit so it doesn’t come into our solar system. Wouldn’t that be ‘using the tools of our time’?”
“Holy crap,” I sit down, “Do you really think he can do that?”
She raises her eyebrows at me.
“Yeah, right, if you tell him I said that, I’ll make sure he never cooks for you again”
Willow smiles, “Deal.”
“He’ll find a way I know it. But I think even if he does, Buffy, Faith and the girls will still have to go to Nibiru. I mean, Nicky saw them all there, so it’s pretty much a done deal, right?”
She nods, “Yeah, but I think this time we’re going to need something beyond magic and Slayer strength this time; science might be just the weapon we need.”
“Let me get Andrew,” I think Willow’s right and I just hope to the Gods he can do this.
HIGH ON THE HELLMOUTH – DEMON BAR – 11:49 PM
KENNEDY’S POV
We’ve been here for a couple of hours and Willy is trying his very best to get us loaded. Faith said it was a game they would play in Sunnydale before everything went down with the First. Buffy would have kicked her ass back then if she knew Faith had snuck out every night and was getting tanked with the handful of friendly demons left. She only copped to it a couple of years ago and that’s because Willy slipped up one night when we were all here. Surprising us all, Buffy just laughed. She said Willy was like an older brother to Faith, so it didn’t shock her.
Willy pours us double shots of Jim Beam and sets down 2 fresh pints of Bass with a wink. We’ve taken him up on his challenge because we really don’t want to go home right now. My girl has the rest of the house discussing astronomy and physics so when Faith and I had enough, we headed for the bar. I’m waiting for Buffy to show any second because I know, doctorate or not, she can’t put the ‘geek on’ like Will, Andrew and Dawn. Even poor Nicky threw her hands in the air saying she couldn’t stand it anymore and went to bed early.
As if she read my mind, Buffy comes though the door then sighs when she sees us. Shaking her head, she grabs a barstool and sits next to Faith, “Hey guys.”
“Have they managed to fold time and space yet?” I ask with a grin.
Buffy laughs, “Not yet, but they’re on it. God, I had to get out of there.”
“You think they can really do it, B?” Faith asks as she makes a circle motion with her hand to Willy so he knows to bring the same for Buffy.
She leans on the bar, propping her head up with one hand, “I think so. Andrew even called one of his D&D buddies at NORAD to run some stuff by him. For one day on it, they’re impressively close. It’s just the minor detail of what is going to happen to us if we don’t get back here in time that has me a little worried.”
“If anyone can figure it out, those three can Buff,” I say as we raise our shot glasses, look at each other, then drink.
Buffy puts her glass down and shakes her head, “Bleh, how you guys drink bourbon is totally beyond me.” She flags Willy down, “Hey Willy.”
“Slayer,” he nods his hello. He’s never gotten over the beatings she used to give him back in Sunnydale, but he’s polite for Faith’s sake.
She turns on her smile, “Can I have another beer and these two lushes probably want another full round?” She looks at us and we nod to her then Willy.
“You got it,” he turns and fills her order.
Faith puts her hand on Buffy’s to get her attention, “Did Jen come by after patrol?”
“Yeah, she also brought Liz and Claudine, so we’re covered on the ‘just in case’ front.” She stops then narrows her eyes at Faith, “Do you really think I’d leave the house if there weren’t a couple of Slayers there to protect Nicky?” Oh shit, now she looks half hurt and half pissed off.
Faith bows her head, “I didn’t mean it like that B. Come on…”
After giving Faith a semi-evil glare, Buffy turns to me, “I think we should talk to Sophia about coming out.”
“WHAT?” Faith and I both answer unbelievably.
Buffy pulls back from our reaction and tilts her head in confusion, “What?” Then her eyes widen, “Oh, oh! NO!” Now she laughs, “Jesus, you guys are too much. I meant coming out here when we go to Nibiru. The last time proved we needed a doctor in the house. We need backup in case Emma gets injured.” She chuckles again as she sips her beer.
“Oh, right,” I nod, “Yeah, makes a lot of sense. I’ll call her on Monday, you know, once Em is back.” Smirking, I think, I can’t wait to tease Sophia, ha, the cradle robber!
They both nod then Faith drains her beer, “You know, I think the Goddess messed up her stealthy, cryptic-ness.”
“How?” I ask.
Faith looks at Buffy then me, “She make it very obvious that she approved of Sophia, the whole ‘you’ve chosen well’ and ‘good match’ thing. I think it’s her subliminal way of telling Emma she’s going to make it out of what ever we have to do.”
“Ohhh, tricky, you might have something there.” I nod slowly, “Buff, what do you think?”
She takes a deep breath, “I agree; there’s been a few of those hints, right Faith?”
“What are you talking about?” I ask as I notice Faith furrow her brow.
A sad smile comes to Buffy’s lips, “In Martin’s letter, he said Faith was the one who will bring Nicky to adulthood so if you follow that reasoning, Faith and Nicky are going to make it too.”
“But what about you?” I question. She doesn’t reply, instead she looks at Faith who is now looking down, resting her chin on her chest.
Buffy turns to me, “His letter didn’t mention me at all, so I’m thinking this is probably a one way ticket for me, Ken.”
Shocked by her words I look to Faith, for an explanation, for sense, for something.
“We talked about this, Buffy, it doesn’t have to mean that,” Faith says as she puts an arm around her, “It just means it’s uncertain.” Leaning into Faith’s touch, Buffy slips off her stool and nestles into her. “We’ll just be real careful, that’s all,” she says as she slides back, making room for the Blonde to sit on her stood in front of her. Then she pulls Buffy up and wraps her arms around her waist.
How the fuck can they be so calm about this? “I... you... wait a sec...” I can’t seem to be able to form sentences at the moment so I take a deep breath. “How long have you known this?”
“Right after Emma read Martin’s letter,” Buffy’s voice is incredibly resigned.
Looking from one to the other, “But, why didn’t you tell us? I mean sooner?”
“Because,” Buff smiles, “there are more important things to think about than me here.”
Shaking my head I ask, “Does Emma know? Did she realize?”
“We don’t know,” Faith answers resting her chin on Buffy’s shoulder, “we’ve never talked about it with her. She had and has enough going on you know?”
I run my hands through my hair, “Jesus Christ guys.”
“Yeah,” Buffy sighs out, then calls for Willy, “Hey, can we get 3 more beers?” She pauses then shrugs, “And Willy? Make it 3 more shots too, ok?”
He nods as he gathers the glasses, “Coming right up.”
