I wanna beat my breast like an ape man
I don't wanna comb my hair
I'll strip down to the waist
And up to the waist
And forget about the underwear
A-huk-a-luk-a-huk-a-luk-a-muck-muck
That's the way I wanna talk
So come on baby, get down on all fours
Let's walk!  Walk!  Walk!

I'm gonna take you to my
Bungalow
In the Jungle-o
We gonna make banana love
You'll sing a high C
Up in the swingin' tree
When we make banana love!

Buffy followed Faith as she ran through the jungle.  The sound of her sobs could be heard over the sounds of the two of them crashing through the underbrush. 

The light of the nearly full moon only penetrated the jungle canopy in patches.  Faith ran through the dark, leaves slapping her naked body, tears blurring her vision.  Her loud sobs allowed Buffy to follow her with ease.  And as she wiped the tears away, her hand blocking her vision even more, she ran headlong into a tree and fell on her ass.  She sat stunned for a few moments and then fell over on her side, a sobbing pathetic wreck.

Buffy slowed and stopped when she saw Faith laying on the ground.  She watched the despondent slayer, her head tilted and her face a mix of concern and exasperation.  Finally, she crouched down and gathered the crying girl in her arms.  Faith wrapped her arms around Buffy's shoulders and buried her face in her neck.

By the time Buffy made it back to her cave, Faith's sobs had reduced to sniffles and hiccups.  She set Faith on her feet and nudged her towards the tree.  Still sniffling, Faith climbed the tree, followed by Buffy.

"Faith sleep," she ordered when they ducked into the cave.  Faith whined mutinously.  Buffy gave her a no-nonsense glare and pointed at the nest.  With a hitching sigh, Faith crawled onto it and curled up, her cheek resting on her hands.

"Faith?  Buffy?"  A small voice came from the little black piece of plastic that had fallen out of Faith's ear.  "Are you there?  Can you hear me?"

"Buffy hears!"

"Buffy!  Is Faith with you?  Is she okay?"

Buffy frowned and looked at the other slayer who was still curled up and looking pitiful.  "Faith cry," she said finally.

"Is Faith injured, wounded?  Is she bleeding?" Giles asked, struggling to communicate with the intellectually stunted slayer.

"No blood."

"Buffy,  you and Faith stay where you are, okay?  Stay."

Buffy nodded.

When Giles heard nothing, he tried again.  "Buffy?  Do you understand?  Stay!"

"Buffy stay.  Faith stay."

"Good.  Good girl."

In the communications room, Dawn rolled her eyes.  "Giles, she's not a dog."

"Of course she isn't but we've got a two or three hour window to come up with a plan," he said as he removed his glasses and rubbed his forehead.  "Isn't that right, Xander?  The battery will last about that long?"

"Yep," Xander answered, his jaw set and grim.

"Yes.  Well then… Dawn?  Will you, and whoever else is on your team, find whatever you can about the Evil Unseen demon?"  When Dawn nodded, Giles turned to Willow.  "You said that this demon is somehow blocking you from seeing or teleporting."

Willow nodded and added, "All of my magic just bounces right off.  We can't even have any of our magically enhanced tech equipment in there.  It's gotten more powerful, too.  The radius of its domain has increased by a few hundred miles since we lost track of Buffy a month ago.  The only thing I can think of, is that it must be siphoning power from somewhere.  Like a hellmouth or something."

"Really?  That powerful?"  Willow nodded again.  "Bloody hell."

Xander piped in, "It has also been interfering with our regular communication equipment.  We can't triangulate the sat-phone, there's too much magical interference.  That's why we were gonna try the tracer.  It has a stronger, more focused signal."  Giles frowned thoughtfully.  Xander added, "If these natives are as smart as you say, then they must have some sort of plan already.  We just need to figure out how to help them."

"Well," said Willow, "I can't imagine two slayers with almost no cognitive reasoning being very useful.  So how do we dispel the magic banana?"

"What did we do last time?" asked Xander. 

Willow made a face and shrugged.  "We waited for it to wear off.  Buffy spent the whole next day flinging herself around the jungle gym at the park.  The kids loved her and I had a bunch of moms telling me what a great sister I was, taking care of Special Needs Buffy."

Giles frowned.  "One day?  Why has Buffy been in this condition for a month?"

Faith couldn't get comfortable.  She whined and huffed and finally sat up.  Buffy looked over her shoulder at Faith with a questioning brow. 

"Faith?" she queried, not moving from her perch at the cave's entrance.

Faith huffed out another sigh.  "Faith want," she said, her voice rough and husky.

"Want?"

"Wanna fuck."  She crawled over to Buffy on her knees and fists as Buffy watched her with wide, aroused eyes.  "Want B.  Wanna fuck B."

She pressed her nose and mouth against Buffy's bare shoulder and rubbed slowly back and forth, enjoying the texture of her skin as it dimpled into gooseflesh.  Buffy let out a slow, heated sigh as Faith dragged her mouth along Buffy's shoulder and up her neck to rest just under her ear.

"Want.  B," she said firmly, her hot breath making Buffy's bones melt.

Buffy spun and wrapped her arms around the dark slayer and rubbed her cheek against Faith's cheek like a cat.  Faith's breath went from deep to heavy pants.  Her hands gripped handfuls of Buffy's dreadlocked hair.  Buffy whimpered at the show of desperate domination. 

Keeping their fierce clinch, they shuffled and rolled to the back of the cave until they reached the nest of clothes.  Faith grappled until she won the top position.  She jammed her knee into Buffy crotch, growling at the wet heat there.  She reveled in Buffy's wild grunt of lust and thrust against her until she tensed, quickened, and came.

She then went limp in Faith's arms, her eyes far away and river-green. 

Faith settled her body on Buffy's and proceeded to bestow soft, tender kisses upon her face and neck.  Buffy sighed a soft contented sigh and lifted her tired arms to embrace her Faith. 

The soft kisses fell upon Buffy's lips and then shifted to a hard, desperate kiss.  Faith moaned and jammed her tongue into Buffy's mouth.  They both started to breathe heavy.  Buffy opened her mouth wide, surrendering to Faith's desperation in an effort to reassure her. 

Faith kept kissing her until their lips were swollen and bruised.  Buffy thrust her hand between Faith's legs and grabbed her pussy, digging her fingers into soft, wet, hot flesh.  Faith answered with her teeth, biting Buffy's lips and sucking on her tongue.

Buffy dug around until she found Faith's clit.  She pinched it… hard… and Faith's head rocked back as she bellowed in pain and pleasure, coming and coming until her vision grayed and dimmed and then went black.

Buffy was curled around a sleeping Faith, stroking her now dreadlocked hair.  She heard chanting on the ground below.  Buffy sat up and listened to The Medicine Man as he sang and rattled his noisemakers.  "Faith."  She shook her shoulder.  "Faith, wake up."

"Huh?"  She turned over and looked at the blond.  Her hazel eyes had a far-away look even as they gleamed fiercely.

Then Buffy pulled her gaze back to Faith's.  She grinned a feral, bloodthirsty grin and Faith felt her skin heat and her blood rush.

"We slay," hissed Buffy.

The Medicine Man stood at the base of the tree and looked up at the slayers' cave entrance as he chanted.  The time had come.  Now that the other slayer was ready, the time had come to kill the Earth Eater.

He had waited and waited for this day.  He had been so angry that only one slayer had been sent.  Didn't they know it would take at least two?

But then, what else could you expect from the white people?  They stumbled through life, senses dulled and brains shut down.

He continued to chant and shake his gourd.  Soon, two figures appeared, silhouetted in the firelight.  They climbed down the tree with inhuman dexterity.

They stood before him and stared with wild, eager eyes.  Buffy held her machete and Faith had a long, wicked knife.  The Medicine Man turned and walked into the jungle with the slayers following closely behind.

As Giles, Xander and Willow discussed their options, Dawn came running up.  "Omigod!" she said excitedly.  "I think I know what's gonna happen!"  She paused and took a breath.  "The bananas and the whole cave-slayer thing is part of the ritual to see the Evil Unseen!"

"What?!" the three Scoobies said together.

She opened the book and showed Giles.  "Look.  It says right here that `it hides from intellect and cowers before instinct.'  And if you read the account of the battle preparation, it says that the shamans shapeshifted into animals and the warriors dressed up and acted like animals after the ritual."

Xander and Giles were frowning with concentration.  "Soooo…," ventured Xander, "if you're smart, you can't see it?"

"Exactly!" confirmed Dawn.

Buffy and Faith thrummed with anticipation.  They could smell the beast.  It smelled like smog and brimstone.  Toxic sewage. 

The Medicine Man led the slayers to a roaring waterfall.  The fetid stench seeped from behind the cascading water.  The slayers looked at each other and then stepped ahead of The Medicine Man and walked into the waterfall to enter the cave that hid behind it.  The Medicine Man followed, chanting and gesturing.

At first it was pitch black and the girls stopped and waited for their eyes to adjust.  An almost imperceptible glow slowly appeared about fifty feet ahead of them.  Grinning with anticipation, the primitive slayers crouched and crept forward.  The Medicine Man had, by now, fallen silent.  He stayed well behind the slayers, knowing that if something happened to him, all was lost.

The closer they got to the glow the brighter and hotter it became.  The stench got so thick, it coated their throats and tongues.  The battle hungry slayers stepped into an enormous cavern filled with twenty and thirty foot quartz crystal towers.  The heat was tremendous, quickly evaporating the dampness from the waterfall.  The slayers were already sweating and panting.

The roar of the waterfall had faded and a new sound took its place.  It was a rusty, wet sound and as the slayers approached it they found the source of the noise.  A large, black blob that smelled of death and rot and raw sewage sat on the cavern floor and was eating a large spear of clear quartz, making a loud crunching noise as it chewed.  It was covered with a thick, tarry sludge that gleamed wetly in the light of the glowing crystals.

The Medicine Man began to sing a deep, growling note.  It made the crystals vibrate and hum back.  The beast jumped to its feet and spat out the suddenly bitter crystal.  It whipped around and its black, sludgy eyes fixed on the crouching slayers.  Standing on two misshapen legs, it was a good fifteen feet tall.  It ran at them with great loping strides and the two slayers immediately split and ran in opposite directions, flanking the demon. 

It turned and charged Faith.  Buffy ran behind it and slashed at it's heels.  Sparks flew as the metal blade of her machete struck what seemed to be stony hide.  It didn't seem to feel Buffy's blows as it continued its charge at Faith.

Faith was running out of cave, so she stopped and turned and stood her ground.  The beast closed on her and she gripped her knife and waited.  When it was almost upon her, she spun to its side and stabbed her knife into its ribs.  The knife sunk in a couple of inches.  It growled and backhanded Faith, sending her tumbling. 

Buffy yelled a battle-cry and swung her machete at the back of its knees.  This time her blow sunk in a bit instead of bouncing off.

The crystals were starting to sing with The Medicine Man.  When he would pause to take a breath, they kept vibrating and singing.  Then he would continue his grumbling note.  He noticed the demon getting more and more visible and vulnerable as the battle wore on.  Soon it would be completely disconnected from the earth and it would be killable. 

Faith stood up and dusted herself off.  Noting with distaste the black, smelly sludge that clung to her skin.  She looked around and saw Buffy twirling away from the demon as it roared with rage and frustration.  She ran to help.  Her knife was still in the beast's ribs.  She yanked it out and ducked the arm that swung in her direction.  She rolled and positioned herself behind it while Buffy swung at its neck and shoulders. 

The beast was getting weaker and weaker.  Faith stood and plunged her knife into its lower back.  It arched and screamed as her blade sunk in to the hilt.  Buffy then crouched and jumped, high and graceful.  And with a backhanded turn, swung her weapon and separated its head from its body.  The head rolled far away as its body stumbled around.  Buffy landed in a battle stance and then backed away from the gruesome display.  The two slayers watched and waited to see what would happen next.

Giles was regarding Dawn with new respect.  "So you think the natives planned all this?"

"Well most of it," she answered.  "I really do think Buffy ate those bananas of her own accord.  But I do think they'd been preparing her.  I talked to some of the slayers Xander sent to try and rescue her.  They told me that the villagers kept trying to feed them.  But since they'd brought their own rations…"

"So why didn't they just send Buffy to kill it when she got all stupefied?" asked Xander.

"I don't know.  Maybe one slayer wasn't enough."

Giles turned to Willow.  "When the beast is killed and the shields are gone, how will you get Buffy and Faith back?"

"I should be able to just teleport them here.  There'd be no point in going th…"  She froze and her eyes went black.

The other three Scoobies backpedaled away from her.  She spoke, her voice deep and thrumming.  "There's a disturbance in the force."

Xander chuckled and shook his head.

Willow continued, her voice still altered.  "The demon's putrid connection to the earth is almost severed."

"What?" said Giles aghast.  He put his headphones on and shouted into the microphone.  "Buffy?!"  No answer.  "Buffy!!"

The Medicine Man sang and sang and the crystal vibrations increased until it was the only sound to be heard. 

The stumbling, headless body of the demon fell to its knees and dripped in great, big formless glops to the ground until it was a harmless pile of smelly goo.

The two slayers watched, their noses wrinkled with disgust.

The Medicine Man stopped singing and the vibrating crystals settled down to their usual stoic sentry.  The slayers looked at each other and smiled.

…and then Faith disappeared.

Giles was still shouting for Buffy when Willow shouted, "Brace yourself!" and a naked, filthy Faith appeared in the room with a flash of light and a bang.

Xander slapped his hand over his eye muttering, "Naked Faith," as the rest of the room stared at the frightened cave-slayer.

Faith took a deep breath and bellowed, "BEEEEEEEE!" and then ran for the first open door she could find.

Dawn shouted, "Somebody grab her!" and a mad scramble ensued.  Faith the cave-slayer, still on a battle high, became an acrobatic wonder.  No one could touch her as she dodged and twisted and tucked and rolled and then slipped out the door like an eel and disappeared down the corridor.

The normally graceful slayers stumbled over each other and got in each other's way like a bad slapstick comedy.  Giles rolled his eyes and hung his head.

Another flash of light and noise brought a frantic, pissed-off Buffy.  She scanned the room and lifted her head to sniff the air... and bolted, leaping over the pile of comic slayers, she took off down the corridor after Faith.

Xander calmly spoke into his headset.  "Seal off all entrances and exits please.  We've got a couple of cave-slayers on the loose.  Let's see if we can at least keep them contained in the castle?"

Willow smiled and surveyed the chaos.  "Well, at least we've got our girls back," she said cheerfully.

It was cold.  The air was cold and the ground was cold and Faith was starting to shiver.  Finally, she stopped wandering and stood, uncertain what to do next.  "B?" she asked the walls.  "Where B go?"  She looked around at the unfamiliar environment.  "Where Faith go?"

Then she heard the slap, slap of footfalls.  Her heart sped up as she frantically looked for a place to hide.

"Faith?"  Buffy's voice!

"B!"

Buffy came around the corner and the two of them slammed into a frantic, relieved embrace.  Faith sniffed Buffy's neck and Buffy nibbled Faith's shoulder where she'd marked her.

After their greeting, they pulled out of the embrace and clasped hands.  Buffy tugged Faith along down a maze of corridors until they reached a narrow stairway leading down.  Buffy pulled a reluctant Faith down, down, down to a dark basement.

Faith dug in her heels and shook her head.  "No, B!"

Buffy looked up at Faith, her brows furrowed.  "Scared?"

Faith pouted.  "Dark!  Cold!"

"Buffy's place.  Good place.  Secret place."

Faith relented reluctantly and let Buffy tug her into the basement.

Xander surveyed the room as the slayers attempted to tidy it up after the recent fiasco.  He listened to the other slayers around the castle report in.  "Still no sign of our strays but they haven't left the castle yet either," he told Giles.

Giles was relieved.  Relieved to see that his slayer was relatively unharmed.  He felt able to breathe for the first time in hours.  He gazed around at the bustle of activity.  Xander, Willow and Dawn were deep in discussion again and he realized with a pang that he missed the camaraderie.  He sighed and walked over to the trio.  "So what are you three scheming?" he asked.

"Well," said Willow, "I thought we might try to lure the cave-slayers out using food as bait."

Giles nodded.  "Not a bad idea."

"I think we should spike the food with a tranquilizer," said Dawn.

"Normally, I'm all for drugging slayers into submission," said Xander cheerily, "but we don't know if they're more resistant to tranks in their current state of hairyness."

"We could try coming up with an antidote to the bananas," ventured Giles.

They all nodded and Willow said, "To the lab!" with a finger raised in the air.

Buffy's secret basement was indeed dark and dank.  But it was also quiet.  The two slayers huddled under a musty, scratchy wool blanket and cuddled atop an old, stained mattress.

Both tried to be amorous, kissing and stroking but they fell asleep in the middle of it.  They snoozed for a few hours, wrapped in each other's arms.

They woke up hungry.  They tried kissing and fondling but their growling stomachs were too distracting. 

"Food?" inquired Faith.  "Faith hungry!"

"Buffy too."

They flung the blanket off and jumped to their feet.  Buffy crept out of the basement with Faith close behind.  They tiptoed up the stairs and peeked down the corridor.  When the coast was clear they ran down the hallway and towards the kitchen.

After a few hours the witches had a small bottle of grayish liquid.  Willow smiled and praised their hard work.

Then she brought out a large hypodermic needle and two ripe, yellow bananas and proceeded to inject the potion into the bananas.

"That ought to do it," she said cheerfully.

When the hungry, primitive slayers snuck into the kitchen, there were two bananas sitting on the table.  Faith rushed ahead and grabbed them both.  She pealed the first one and ate it in two gulps.  She was pealing the second one when she looked up to see Buffy's plaintive face fixed in a pout.  Faith handed Buffy the banana and was rewarded instantly with a big smile.  Faith's heart pounded at the sight of it and she stared at the blond while she ate her gift. 

"More food!" insisted Faith.  Buffy nodded and began to forage.

They managed to get the refrigerator open and grabbed whatever they recognized or whatever smelled good.  Faith found the fresh fruit drawer and yanked it out.

Loaded with their treasure, they went back down to the basement.

The non-primitive members of the gang looked at the kitchen after they were sure the slayers were gone.  It looked like a hurricane had swept through.  Willow bent down and picked up two banana peals.  She grinned.  "It's just a matter of time."

The slayers ate their fill until their stomachs were distended and uncomfortable.  Soon they were laying on their backs on the mattress, fingers entwined, snoring loudly.

I'm gonna take you to my
Bungalow
In the Jungle-o
And there's a
High C
Up in the
Swingin' tree
Whoa-ohhhhhh
Ee-Ee-Ee-Eee!

Faith was the first to wake up.  It was dark and she was wrapped around something warm and tingly.  She lifted her head a bit and looked around.  Where in the hell am I?

She looked down to see Buffy still sleeping in her arms.  She smiled and lay her head back down, cuddling closer to the blond.  Something was different about her.  She frowned and looked around again.  We're not in the cave.  Where is this?  Her senses started to kick in.

It smelled musty and damp.  The air was chilly and quiet instead of warm and filled with noisy wildlife.

Buffy hummed contentedly and turned to face Faith.  Faith felt her face relax into a smile as she gazed down at Buffy.  Her eyes fluttered open and she smiled at Faith.

Then it all went to hell.

Buffy's smile morphed into confusion then alarm and panic.  She launched herself out of Faith's embrace and shot out from under the blanket.  "What?!... Wh-what?!"  Her eyes darted around in fear and confusion. And then she noticed her attire.  "Wha-why am I naked?  You were spooning with me!  I was spooning you!  Why were we spooning?!"

Faith was getting to her feet.  "Now just calm down, B," she said gently as her heart plummeted. 

Something about this was familiar to Buffy.  She flashed to another place where Faith had her hands up, placating her.  She flexed her fist, half expecting to feel a rough branch in her hand.  Buffy shook her head to chase away the confusing thoughts and did the first thing that came to mind.

Faith's eyes widened in alarm as Buffy came at her.  She fended off a few punches but a couple managed to make contact.  Pissed off and heartsick, Faith threw a few punches back.  Grim satisfaction wasn't enough to quell the almost suffocating disappointment as she, once again, traded blows with her arch-enemy/lover.  "Jesus, B!  Will you chill out?"

"Chill out?!"  She threw a few more punches.  "I wake up naked with the get-some-get-gone-queen and you tell me to chill out?!"

Faith blocked a few and threw a couple of punches of her own.  One landed solidly, causing Buffy to backpedal.  "Will you let me explain?"

"What is there to explain?"  She wiped away the trickle of blood from the corner of her mouth and noticed Faith flinch. 

"What's the last thing you remember?" Faith asked. 

Buffy noticed Faith had no clothes!  What the hell is she doing all naked and hot looking?...  Did I just have a thought that Faith is hot? 

"Buffy?" Faith prompted.

Right.  She asked a question.  "What did you say?"

"I asked you what is the last thing you remember?"

"Uhh…" she thought for a few moments, noting that Faith stood in a fight stance but did not attack.  "I was walking through the jungle, looking for a demon I was supposed to kill."

Both slayers flashed to a big room with big crystals and a big, ugly, smelly, blobby demon.  They both shook their heads to dispel the confusion.

"Do you remember living in a cave?" asked Faith.

"No!... Maybe… I don't know."

"Well, that's where I found you.  You were living in a cave in the jungle.  Your friends sent me to get you and bring you back."

Buffy was staring at her.  "I don't really remember any of that."

"No shit," said Faith derisively. 

Buffy bristled.  "This doesn't explain how I got naked!"

"That's not my fault!  You were like that when I found you!" she said defensively.  "And besides, you're wearin' that loincloth thingie.  I'm the one who's actually naked."

Buffy put her hands on her hips.  "Yeah.  About that… why are you naked?  I mean, at least I don't remember what the hell had happened for the past few days.  What's your excuse?"

Faith visibly blanched and deflected the question to hide her discomfiture.  "It hasn't been a few days, B.  It's been a few weeks.  You've been out of it for about a month."

Buffy's jaw dropped.  "A month?" she whispered.  "I-I..."  Real fear swept across her features.  "That's not possible."

Faith relaxed her pose and watched Buffy pace around and mutter.  The lump in her throat was threatening to make itself known.  Her mind swirled with memories, some clear, some blurry.  Faith knew two things for certain.  She was turned on watching near naked Buffy and she was in the depths of despair.

"Buffy," she said loudly, causing the blond to stop mid-ramble.

"What?" she retorted caustically.

"Do have any idea where we are?"

Buffy took in her surroundings.  She frowned.  "We're in the castle dungeon," she said with mild surprise.

Faith threw up her hands in exasperation.  "Oh this is just fucking great!" she said to the room.  "I go to the jungle to rescue Buffy the Cave-Slayer and end up in a fucking castle dungeon!  Did they think I was gonna kidnap you and hold you for ransom or something?!"  It was Faith's turn to stomp around and rant.

Buffy stood and stared at Faith as she grabbed the blanket and wrapped it around her naked body.  Looks like she's a little cold, she thought, taking in the gooseflesh and hard nipples.  Then she jerked her gaze away when she realized where her thoughts were headed.

"I come here when I want to hide from everybody," said Buffy quietly.

Faith stopped her rant which caused the lump in her throat to return.  "What has that got to do with anything?" she asked.

Buffy took a deep breath.  "I don't think they know we're here."  She crossed her arms over her chest and shivered, suddenly cold.  "Look around," she continued.  "It's dusty and cobwebby.  I obviously haven't been here for a while and neither has anybody else."

Faith's ire diminished as she looked around.  "So what does that mean?"

"I probably brought you here," said Buffy as she headed towards a corner of the room to a plastic container.  She opened it and took out a bundle of clothes.  "No one knows I come here.  I don't do it very often.  Sometimes I workout, sometimes I just sit and think, or meditate, or nap."  Her voice stayed soft and introspective as she put on a pair of sweats and a t-shirt.  "I've got some clothes if you want," she said to Faith in the same monotone.

"Yeah, thanks."  Deflated, Faith caught the clothes Buffy tossed her and dressed quickly and gratefully.  As Buffy's scent wrapped around her, her thoughts flashed to the very clear memory of Buffy gently holding her and soothing her as she panicked.  She turned her back as tears escaped and trickled down her cheeks.  She did her best to wipe them away as surreptitiously as possible.

"Let's head upstairs and find everybody," said Buffy dully.  "But don't get too close.  I still don't trust you."

"Hey!  You hit me first!"

"Yeah!  Because I don't trust you."

As they ascended the stairs, Faith watched Buffy's ass flex in her sweatpants.  Her teeth clenched in anger as a fresh wave of frustration swept over her.

"Y'know," Faith started, "I hauled my ass all the way into the middle of the fuckin' jungle to rescue your hairy, primitive ass and the only thanks I get from you is a punch in the mouth!  You have got to be the most spoiled, bratty, bitchy, snotty, high and mighty, stuck-up, little princess on the fuckin' planet!"

Buffy's mouth was open in indignation.  "I could do without your style of rescuing, thank you very much.  The last time you `rescued' me, I coughed up pool water for a week!  And my ass is not hairy!"

"How would you know?!  You've been out of it for a month, banana girl.  Oh wait.  That's brana girl."  They'd reached the hall and were stalking towards the main communication room. 

"Okay.  Now you're not making any sense at all," said Buffy, putting up a hand.  "I refuse to listen to anymore of this."

"Oh like that's anything new," Faith scoffed.  "And the reason I pushed you out that goddamn window is cuz you were about to be crispified by her evil wizard-watcher.  You would've known that if you'd taken the time to listen to me!  But noooooo!"  They passed a few open-mouthed slayers as they continued through the castle halls.  "Holier-than-thou Princess Buffy can't take the time to listen to a poor peasant like Faith the Ex Con."

"And what happens when Faith the Ex Con gets pissed off?!  Huh?!"  She pretended to think.  "Oh yeah.  She goes right for the kill!"

"Only for you, babe," she replied with a humorless grin.

The two walked into the cavernous communications room.  Shouts of "Buffy!" and "Faith!" filled the air as they were beset upon by friends and family.  Buffy found herself wrapped in a group hug consisting of Dawn, Willow, and Xander. 

Giles stood before Faith and put his hands on her shoulders.  "Well done, Faith," he said softly, his voice filled with pride and relief.  "Well done, indeed."

Faith eyes filled with tears and she hung her head.  "Can we get out of here now?" she whispered.

Giles could tell something was wrong.  He'd never seen Faith quite so undone before.  "Well," he started, "they're going to want to debrief you and perhaps observe you for a little while.  Make sure there are no residual effects from the potion they gave you."

"Okay, fine.  Where's the front door in this joint?  I need some fresh air."

Meanwhile, Dawn was hugging Buffy so hard, she could barely breathe.  "Omigod!  I was so worried about you!  You are officially off assignment.  No more killing demons of any kind until you've had a long vacation to recover from your long vacation."

"Can I go somewhere cold this time?" Buffy asked, her tone pathetic and weary.

"Absolutely," said Xander indulgently.  "Where do you wanna go?  Aspen?  Antarctica?"

"No more remote places," she said.  "Someplace cold and highly populated, with hotels and people who speak English."

The group stepped out of the embrace and smiled at each other.  Dawn's gazed drifted toward Giles and Faith leaving the room.

"Hey!" she shouted.  "Where do you two think you're going?"

Giles had his hand between Faith's shoulder blades as he ushered her towards the door.  "Faith needs some fresh air."

Dawn walked purposefully to them and stood in front of Faith.  She gazed down at the slayer from her superior height, her face inscrutable.  Faith looked back with her customary rebellious mask firmly in place as she braced herself for Summers verbal assault.

"Thank you Faith," said Dawn solemnly.  "We couldn't have done this without you and I don't know what I would've done if I lost my sister.  So… Thanks."

Faith stared in shock into the earnest blue eyes of the younger woman.

Hearing the exchange, Willow and Xander made their way over to the pair.

"Yeah," agreed Willow, her hands clasped in front of her.  "Thanks for putting everything aside and helping us… Buffy.  Thanks for helping Buffy.  You were amazing, by the way.  We kept getting stymied for a month and then you swoop in and basically fix everything in three days."

Xander stepped close and enveloped her in a big hug.  Faith was too shocked to respond.  Xander stiffened suddenly and said, "We've never hugged have we?"

"Not to my recollection," she replied, awkwardly amused.

"You're not gonna hit me, are you?"

"Probably not."

"Okay.  That's good news," he said, still embracing her.  "I'm gonna let go and then back away.  And then we'll never speak of this again."

"Are you talking about the hug or the mission?" she asked as he dropped his arms and took a step back.

"What hug?  We've never hugged."

"Yeah.  We're both too tough for that shit."  Faith's heart felt a little lighter at the easy banter with the Scoobies.  She glance furtively at Buffy, gauging her reaction.

The blonde's face was pensive and stony.  Her eyes met Faith's gaze and they both felt a spark in their belly.  An image of a fragrant Faith, trussed up and helpless, flickered in Buffy's mind.  She closed her eyes in confusion and turned her head away.

Faith sighed and said, "Well, you guys go do your Scooby thing while I get some air."  She let Giles lead her out.

Once outside, Giles turned to Faith with concern in his expressive eyes.  "I am very proud of you.  You are becoming quite the hero and each and every day I grow more and more impressed with how far you've come and how much you've grown." 

Her eyes burned and her throat ached with the need to just cry out her woes.  She bitterly swallowed the lump in her throat and fought back the tears.

Giles, noting her distress, continued.  "That being said, how are you, really?  Be honest.  You know you can trust me."  He moved his head in an effort to keep eye contact with his slayer.

She ducked her head to avoid his gaze.  "I don't know what the fuck to do," she muttered.

"What happened between you and Buffy?" he pressed.

The dark haired young woman sighed and said, "I'm not really sure what happened."  She finally met his gaze.  "I'm not ready to talk about it just yet," she said softly, silently pleading with him to give her some space.

He squeezed her arm and said, "I'm here for you when you are ready."  He then turned and went back into the castle to rejoin the gang.

After twenty minutes of ruminating, Faith got to be too cold.  A week of living in the tropics left her unused to the highland weather.  She shivered and slunk back inside. 

The main communications room was still bustling with activity.  She stood in the doorway and watched Xander, Giles and Willow have an animated discussion.  Dawn and Buffy were in a huddle of their own in a dark corner of the room.  Buffy's back was to her but she could tell by her stance that she was angry or uncomfortable.  Her back was ramrod stiff and her shoulders were hunched and tense.  They must be taking about me.  What else would have her so pissed off?

Irritation crouched in her as she watched the sisters.  Fighting back the urge to howl with frustration, Faith walked over to Giles, Xander, and Willow.  They were talking about the magic bananas and the antidote potion while Xander listened with his arms crossed. 

"Sorry to interrupt," Faith interjected, "but how long are you gonna want to keep me locked in the tower?"

Willow smiled.  "It shouldn't be too long.  Probably a day or two.  With all the slayers around, it's better to be here, where you can be contained if you go all primitive again."

"You gotta room for me?  Or are you gonna have a nice little cozy cage for me in the dungeon?"

Xander answered that question.  "You'll have a room all your own," he said, signaling one of the younger slayers.  "Tiffany will show you to the guest quarters."

With a last look at Buffy, who still had her back to her, Faith turned and followed the intimidated girl out of the room and down the hall.

Buffy sighed with relief when she felt Faith leave the room.  The sooner she leaves, the better.  She focused her attention back to her sister.

"To answer your question," Dawn was saying, "we sent Faith to get you because everyone else, and I mean everyone else we sent, failed."  Dawn studied Buffy's baleful expression.  "Why are you so pissed at us about this?"

"Because!" she barked, and then lowered her tone when a few curious heads turned towards their conversation.  "Because, every time she gets within spitting distance of me, she tries to stop my breath from going in and out!" she shouted with a whisper.

"Well, except for this time," said Dawn with a sardonic grin.  "This time she saved your ass."

"A minor setback.  Given enough time, she'll be going for the jugular again and frankly, I want her miles from here."

Dawn rolled her eyes.  "Well, I'm sure Faith will be happy to oblige but we're not gonna let her go anywhere until we're sure she's okay."

"Fine!"

"Buffy, you look like shit.  Go shower and get some rest.  We'll talk tomorrow."  Her little sister grabbed her by the shoulders, spun her around, and pushed her towards the door.

The exhausted blonde grumbled about pushy little sisters but obediently stalked out of the room.

After a long, hot shower she felt much better.  But when she lay down to sleep, unsettling images kept popping into her mind.  The most prevalent being a feeling of long, drawn-out loneliness.  And then the white hot flare of Faith's presence chasing away the feelings of isolation.

And when she closed her eyes to sleep, she kept hearing Faith's throaty cries and desperate gasps.  After about an hour of disconcerting feelings, way down low, she jumped out of bed and paced the floor, trying to empty her brain of all thought.

Willow approached a preoccupied Dawn.  "Watcha doin'?" she asked. 

Not looking up from her computer screen, Dawn answered, "Just tying up loose ends."  She tapped away for a few more moments before continuing.  "Y'know, like why was Buffy all primitive for the better part of a month instead of just a day or two."

When Dawn didn't clarify, Willow prompted her.  "So what did you find?"

"The amount of powdered, magic banana called for in the beer recipe was very small.  I think Buffy ate such a large amount, that she was probably gonna be a cave-slayer for a few more weeks."

Willow's eyebrows raised.  "Well then… I'm glad we fed them the antidote bananas."  She looked at the computer screen and saw strange, blurry images.  "What's this?" she asked.

"These are the cave drawings that Buffy did.  Faith scanned the entire wall."  She turned to grin at Willow.  "I've got way too much spare time.  I thought I'd clean up the images and see what was on Buffy's primitive mind for a month."

"Blackmail can be such a useful tool for a little sister."

Dawn nodded with gleeful agreement.  "Especially if the big sister really was drawing girl\girl porn."

"Yep.  You were right.  You've got way too much spare time."

Buffy was contemplating her collection of DVDs when there was a knock at her door.  She bounded over to answer it, expecting Willow and/or Xander.  When she put her hand on the doorknob, however, she felt a familiar unwelcome (welcome) tingle up her arm, causing the hairs to stand up.

She froze.

"C'mon, B.  Open the door.  I know you're in there."

"What do you want?" she demanded.

"I wanna sell you some girl scout cookies," she quipped sarcastically.  "C'mon, B.  I just wanna talk, I swear."

She reluctantly opened the door and stood staring expectantly at the fidgeting brunette.  "Well, talk," she said rudely.

Exasperated, Faith said, "Can I at least come in?"

"No, I still don't trust you."

"C'mon, B!  I'm surrounded by your friends and family.  And I didn't go through all that trouble rescuing you just so I could kill you when you're surrounded by whole bunch of people who could kill me!"

"Fine."  She stepped aside to let Faith enter.  "So why are you here?"

"Well, first off, thanks for loanin' me these."  She thrust the bundle of borrowed clothes into Buffy's hands.  Buffy took them and tossed them onto her couch.  Faith stared at her intently, looking for any sign, even the smallest flicker of recollection.

Buffy's face remained impassive, almost hostile.  "Anything else?" she asked.

Faith stood awkwardly with her hands in the back pockets of her jeans.  Finally she asked, "Do you remember any of it?"

"No," said Buffy immediately.

She's lying! thought Faith.  She's fuckin' lying!  Faith could see the cracks in her façade and the air was suddenly charged.  Electricity crackled back and forth between the slayers.

They stood silently, staring at each other.  Each one afraid to make a move.

"Why are you doing this to me?" asked Buffy in a despairing whisper.  "Why can't you just leave it?  Let it go."

"Why?  Why can't I let it go?" asked Faith, incredulous.

"Just let it go and go away."  She was still whispering, her eyes desperate and darting.

"Why can't I let it go," she repeated, shaking her head with disbelief.  She put her hands on her hips and fixed her gaze on Buffy.  The heat between them was so intense, the air practically rippled with it.  Faith suddenly lunged forward, grabbing Buffy's shirt in her fists and backing her against the wall.

"Faith!  Stop it!  What are you doing?  Are you insane?"  She struggled against the vice-like grip, her skin tingling and her stomach jumping .

"I can't let it go, B.  I can't let you go!"

"Why?  What do you want from me?!"  Tears of unknown origin were leaking down Buffy's cheeks.

"Why can't I let you go?!" she shouted once again.  "BECAUSE YOU ATE MY PUSSY UNTIL I PASSED OUT!!"  Her face was now so close to Buffy's that she could feel her breath.  Faith leaned in, pressing her body against the full length of Buffy's. 

Buffy yelled wordlessly and shoved her away with slayer strength.  "Get off me!" she snarled.  "You're insane, Faith.  You're still just as crazy as you ever were."  And then Buffy watched in alarm and fear and a little bit of a thrill as Faith seemed to swell in stature.  Her eyes got big and dark as she took a deep breath.  She stalked closer to the blonde once again and Buffy was afraid.  But she didn't fear for her life, she feared something much more frightening.

Faith stopped just a few scant inches from Buffy.  She reached up and Buffy flinched.  But Faith didn't touch her.  She hooked her fingers into the collar of her own shirt and pulled the fabric aside, revealing the large, purple bite-mark.

Buffy's eyes were unavoidably drawn to it.  It was not an animal bite, it was human. 

"You marked me," said Faith through clenched teeth.  "You marked me as yours.  Claimed me.  And now you don't want me?"

Buffy's startled eyes flew to Faith's flashing gaze.  Faith slid her hands to firmly clasp the sides of Buffy's neck.  "You don't want me?" she asked again, not expecting an answer.  "Well too fucking bad.  You've got me.  I'm yours and you're gonna have to keep me."  And her mouth slammed down onto Buffy's.  As Faith jammed her tongue aggressively into her mouth, Buffy remembered…  Remembered a similar kiss, a similar plunder.

She moaned and struggled, pulling at Faith's hands now holding her jaw.  Faith jerked her mouth away with a loud smacking noise and stared fiercely into Buffy's eyes, panting.  Buffy's body answered with a primitive surge of lust.  She could feel hot blood pulsing in her lips and cheeks.  Faith kissed her again and this time Buffy kissed her back just as frantically.  They moaned together as Buffy stroked the hands holding her head firm.

Faith ended the kiss and slowly dragged her mouth across Buffy's cheek, tasting her tears.  With one hand, she gripped Buffy's face, thumb and fingers on her cheeks.  She tilted Buffy's head to the side and placed soft, open mouthed kisses along her jaw to just below her ear.  She moved her shining blond hair over her shoulder to expose the neck and ear.

"Now I'm gonna mark you," she growled into Buffy's ear, making her shiver.  Faith then place an opened mouth kiss just under Buffy's ear.  She sucked on that spot and scraped her teeth across it, causing Buffy's knees to buckle. 

Faith kept a firm grip on Buffy's face and wrapped her other arm around her waist to hold their bodies flush.  When she pressed her teeth into Buffy's flesh, the blond whimpered and clutched at Faith.

Faith growled lustily and bit down harder.  The pain and pleasure was making Buffy light headed.  Her hands started seeking bare flesh.  When they crept under Faith's shirt, Faith growled again and grabbed her wrists to pull them away.  Buffy whimpered again and tugged at the restraining grip.

Faith lifted her head a little and ordered, "Stay still!" in a low, husky sex-filled voice.  When she set her teeth into her again, she had to press Buffy harder against the wall to keep her from falling.

Keeping her mouth on that spot, Faith released Buffy's hands and let herself explore.  Having Buffy at her mercy was a heady feeling.  She bit and sucked and laved that one spot while her hands shifted clothing around, exposing bare skin to the cool air.  Buffy tried again to explore Faith, and again, Faith grabbed her wrists.  Her mouth bit down even harder on Buffy's neck as she grunted her displeasure at Buffy disobeying her.

And for the first time Buffy could remember, she willingly submitted.  She let Faith dominate her.  She rested her hands on Faith's biceps as the brunette ran her hands up Buffy's belly to her breasts.  She squeezed and pulled, taking liberties, all the while, holding Buffy with her mouth.

A strange animal feeling crept through Faith as she marked her Buffy.  When she felt Buffy submit, she wanted to bay with triumph.  Instead, she staked her claim with hot hands and hard, sharp, unrelenting teeth.  She shoved her hands down the back of Buffy's pants, sliding her hands into the crack of her ass.  Buffy jerked at the intrusion, her hands clasping Faith's arms.

Their thundering hearts pumped scalding blood through their veins as Faith pushed Buffy's pants down past her hips.  She finally let go of her neck and knelt in front of Buffy to pull the pants down to her ankles.

When the cool air hit her heated, bare skin, Buffy felt exposed and vulnerable.  Even though Faith was kneeling before her, the dark haired woman still owned the moment and Buffy couldn't defy her.

Faith looked at the treasure she'd uncovered.  Buffy's pussy was covered with a patch of untrimmed, curly, dark hair.  She brushed her hand over it and then combed her fingers through it.  She looked up at Buffy's face when she heard her whimper.  The blond was panting, her head tilted back and pressing against the wall.  She looked back at her prize and marveled as it grew wetter under her gaze.

"Fuck," she murmured appreciatively.  Carefully and deliberately, she slid her thumbs down her slit and parted the lips, exposing her fully.  Buffy put her hands on her stomach and looked down to watch Faith.  Their eyes met and held as Faith pushed her face into her.  Buffy's knees buckled and Faith had to grasp her hips and anchor her to the wall. 

Faith was licking her softly and delicately, contrasting with the near-death grip she had on her hips.  And Buffy was drowning in her dark, fathomless eyes.  They pierced into her as she kept licking, gently, tenderly into her soft folds.

Faith watched two pink patches bloom on Buffy's cheeks.  Liking that color, she slowly worked her tongue up… up… up to her clit, keeping her eyes locked with Buffy's.  When she reached her destination and flicked her tongue over Buffy's hard little clit, the blonde's knees buckled again and she sagged in Faith's grasp.  Faith sucked it into her mouth, fully intending to make Buffy scream.  Like Buffy had made her scream.

She got her wish.  After a few minutes of the tender, brutal assault, Buffy came screaming, her fists tangled in Faith's hair, her hips snapping and surging.

Faith stood quickly and lifted the weak-kneed, nearly unconscious Buffy into her arms and strode into her bedroom.  She tossed her unceremoniously onto the rumpled bed and smirked at the sight of Buffy's pants still tangled around her ankles.  She tugged them off and leaned over to pull the shirt of the still limp slayer.  She looked at her prize for a few moments before laying on top of her pinning her to the bed. 

Buffy gave little moan, echoed by Faith as she enjoyed the feel of the naked slayer beneath her.  Buffy's head was turned to the side, exposing the red bite-mark just under her ear.  With a predatory grin Faith bent her head to bite her again.  When Buffy started to squirm, Faith gave a little growling chuckle and felt Buffy's skin erupt in gooseflesh. 

"Willow?  I think you need to see this."  Willow looked up from her current project to blink curiously at Dawn.

"Do I need to worry?  Should I be worried?" she asked.

Dawn shook her head.  "I don't think so.  Actually… I don't quite know what to think…  Just come look.  Maybe you can make sense of it."

Frowning slightly, Willow followed Dawn to her computer.  She peered closely at the images on Dawn's computer.  "Are these cave-Buffy's cave drawings?"

"Yeah.  I cleaned them up and enhanced them and stuff."  She manipulated the mouse a bit.  "Now keep in mind, Faith took this video before Buffy whacked her on the head."

Mystified, Willow nodded absently and kept her eyes on the screen.

"This is the first one…"  Dawn indicated a crude but easily identified picture of two figures, both standing.  Dawn continued, "I think this is a drawing of Buffy and The Medicine Man.  See?  That one has long, blond hair."

Willow nodded absently, keeping her gaze on the computer screen.  "Okay… here's Buffy crouching next to a little fire… Buffy climbing a tree… and Buffy killing some cute little forest creature…"

Willow smiled with a grimace at the last one.  It was a little bloody.

"Okay this next one is where it starts to get a little weird…"

It was a drawing of two figures, one with long blond hair and one with long dark hair.  The blonde was whacking the brunette with a big stick.  Willow frowned.  "Is that?..."

Dawn went to the next drawing: a dark haired figure, hogtied, with a blond figure standing triumphantly over it.

"Ohmygod," murmured Willow.

"This next one is the one that Faith took the longest scan of.  I think it's the girl\girl porn one…"

Willow leaned closer to the screen.  It was, for all intents and purposes, a picture of a blonde with her head between the legs of a long-haired brunette.  Willow frowned some more.  Before any extensive study could be done, however, Dawn brought up the next picture: a long-haired blonde and a long-haired brunette, each with a weapon her hand.  Alongside them was The Medicine Man. 

The next picture was difficult to interpret.  Willow thought it looked like a waterfall or a giant head with long hair.  After that was a picture of the blonde and the brunette standing next to a group of trees with no branches or leaves.  Then they were fighting a large, formless, black blob.  After that, they stood triumphant over a pile of black something, weapons held high.

In the last picture, they stood in an embrace.  One figure with blond hair and one with dark hair.

Willow and Dawn stared at each other, speechless.

Xander came into the room.  "There's some weird noises coming from Buffy's room," he said.

The two women stared at him for a moment.  Finally Willow asked, "What sort of noises, dare I ask?"

"Kind of like… Buffy might be moving furniture," he answered.

Then Giles walked into the room.  "Has anyone seen Faith?  She's not in her room."

Willow, Dawn, and Xander rushed for the door.  As they left the room, Dawn grabbed the bewildered Giles and dragged him by the sleeve down the hall.

When they got to Buffy's room the loud thumps could still be heard.

"Dear lord," muttered Giles.  "Is Faith in there?"

"I think so," whispered Dawn and Willow together.  They stood by the door, unsure how to proceed.

Giles moved to open the door and Dawn muttered under her breath, "If I see my sister going down on Faith, she is so paying for the next twenty or thirty years of my therapy."

"Mine too," answered Willow.

"What?" whispered Xander.

"Shh!" insisted Giles.

The door opened enough for everyone to see into the room.  Their mouths opened in shock.

The furniture had been piled up and draped with sheets and blankets into a crude fort.  Sounds of giggling could be heard from inside the "shelter."

Faith's gruff voice could be heard.  "No work!"  She sounded irritated.  "Broken?"

Buffy's voice was also gruff.  "No more bzzzz bzzzz?"  Followed by a muffled thumping.  Finally a bright purple slim cylinder came sailing out of the fort to land at the Scoobies' feet.

Xander slapped a hand over his scalded eye.  "Is-is that what I think it is?" he asked weakly.

As Giles murmured, "Good lord," Willow said, "Yep, it sure is."

Blindly, Xander toed the sex-toy out of the way of the door so he could shut it firmly.  Then he took his hand off of his eye and said, "Well… I think it's safe to say that the antidote has worn off."

The group stood silently for a while in agreement.

"I think we should just let it wear off naturally," squeaked Dawn.  "We'll just make sure they're fed and watered and relatively clean."

The group nodded together.

"I'll keep a couple of slayers of guard.  Make sure they don't get into too much mischief."

The group nodded again.

Willow turned to Giles.  "Tea?" she asked.

"That would be lovely, thank you."

End