Lock Down

"Prison Fic" Challenge:
Third Place

Chapter 1

I can feel that tingle in the back of my skull that tells me somethin' is up.

Somethin' is coming. I can practically taste the static electricity on the air. Magic. It's always magic. But it's too much to deal with right now. Too much distraction for what I'm doin'.

"Now…are ya gonna talk ta me, or do I gotta get ugly?"

The demon wriggles a little, tryin' ta get out from under the knee I have pressed into his chest.

"Tsk, tsk, tsk. I told ya about that wrigglin', didn't I?"

My hand moves faster than he can blink, and I plunge the long blunted silver stake into his shoulder ta pin him before I stand.

"You wanna take a minute ta think it over?"

He nods, an' I give him a smile before lighting my cigarette. A throat clears behind me but I don't turn, an' I sure as fuck don't acknowledge it either. I know who it is.  I'm fuckin' workin' here. The least he could do is wait me out.

"Okay, okay… uh, look…uh,  I'll tell you anything you want to know, just uh, let me go. Okay? We can work this out. I've worked with Slayers before."

Oh has he now? Well, that's part of what I wanted ta know. I take a long drag an' let the silence stretch between us. I'm not agreein' ta shit. As soon as he gives it up, I'm leavin' no witnesses.

"I mean…ya know…once or twice we've made deals. Like, look-the-other- way deals. You know. On account I'm a nice guy."

"Yeah, ya seem it."

I kneel on the ground close to his head, cigarette hangin' from my lips.

"See that guy back there? The one watchin'?"

The demon shakes his head cause I don't think he can see over that far.

"Christ, you call yourself a demon? Ya can't smell him on the air? Can't feel the tingle of magic on your skin? Fuckin' useless."

I give the stake a twist an' he squeals out in pain.

"Now. Let's try this again, yeah?"

The demon nods a lot.

"See that guy?"

He nods again.

"You don't give me names, an' I'm gonna sell you to him for a pack of smokes. See…I'm a nice guy too. Me, I'll just hurt ya a little. Him? Well…he likes 'em ta struggle when he's playin' his games. Makes him hard."

The look I give him says more than my words, and the demon starts babblin' like a fuckin' idiot.

"Jesus, okay! What do you want to know? I'll tell you everything, I swear to God, just don't sell me."

Heh. Knew it'd work. I pat his face with my free hand as I take another drag. Good boy.

"Whose money is payin' off Slayers to look the other way?"

The demon groans an' I hold the cigarette close to one of his five eyes. It blinks rapidly, makin' the liquid orange swirl. It's almost pretty. At least…that's probably what B would think.

"We're not gonna hafta do this the hard way are we, Morris?"

So far I haven't called him by name, but now that I have, a whole new world of terror shows up behind his eyes.

"Wha? You think I don't know everything about every one of my marks? You think I don't know about the apartment ya keep in the Meadows? Or the honey ya keep visitin' at Trixies?"

Demons. Too fuckin' predictable. Just like every other animal with a dick.  They care about two things, a place ta crash, an' pussy. Not that I'm all that far off the radar on that. I care about four things. Food, a place to crash, pussy, and Buffy's ass. Only not so much in that order. Or specifically her ass. But that part is nice too.

"His name is Dante. At least that's the name he goes by on the street. No one really knows who or what he is. Looks human enough, but he smells like sulfur. Like the old ones."

Hrm. Got a name at least. More'en we had a month ago.

"See, that's all well an' good, but Dante's fucked with the wrong people. Your buddy Dante fucked with what's mine."

An' I don't like people fuckin' with what's mine. The demon goes from yellow to green at the look on my face. I pull back my sleeve an' look at my watch.

"Mm. Time's getting short. Hate ta keep potential clients waitin'."

I still want more. Morris the demon starts screamin' before I even touch him an' that makes me smile like the goddamn devil.

"Shhhh now. It's only gonna hurt til ya pass out."

"He had to pay them! Had to get her out of the way!" Bingo. I let my hands roam down his chest almost like I'm diggin' it.

"Oh god oh god oh god please don't hurt me any more." I raise my head an' look him in the eye before ashin' out my cigarette by his head.

"Keep talkin', Morris. I like the sound of your voice. Makes me have second thoughts about sellin' ya."

He nods like he's just this side of pissin' himself. Probably is. But he's not talkin' fast enough so I dig my fingertips in ta the soft flesh of his belly. Dig, an' push, and grip until I can feel the sting of his hot blood bubblin' over my hands. He screams again. Goddamn it's makin' me sick.

Sick cause I fuckin' love it.

"She was the key to the whole thing. But she's alive…I mean he didn't kill her, right? He could have killed her!"

Wrong. The look I give him makes him start cryin'. Pussy.

"We had to get her out of the picture, I swear to god I had nothing to do with it. All I did was hand money off. The others were supposed to make sure she was there."

Good.

"Which others?" I give him another hard tug of my fingers in his guts an' this time he passes out. Fuck. I hate when that happens. I give a heavy sigh an' give him a few wet slaps with my bloody hand.

"Wakey, wakey, sunshine. We're not done yet, an' well, takes a lil' more than that ta get me off."

Fear rises off his skin in waves I can feel against my skin. It's hot an' it's sick all in one. But that's okay, that's when I get my best work done.

"I don't know the names. F-f-four Slayers. Ugh…please…please I want to live."

"So does Buffy," I don't even look at him when I twist his neck. It snaps, an' okay, he's a demon. He'll live.

"Is that it, then? You've just killed him before he could finish giving you information?"

I'm slow to stand cause I gotta take a few breaths to steady myself. Plus I take the time to light another cigarette. I know I just had one but I'm needin' a lil somethin' ta take the edge off, or I'm gonna shove this stake right up Giles' ass.

"Faith."

"You think I'm that stupid, G?"

I reach down ta pull the silver stake from Morris' shoulder before yankin' his body up an' tossin' it towards Giles. He struggles with the dead weight that was so easy for me to lift.

"He'll live, but I figured ya might want ta question him yourself."

If Morris thinks I've really sold him ta Giles for a pack of cigarettes, he'll sing like a bird.

"Just don't take him ta HQ. At least until he tells ya who he paid off. I don't trust anyone but Sushi there."

He sighs and gives me a nod before fightin' ta lean Morris against the trash dumpster.

"Agreed. In the meantime, you'll be doing what, exactly?"

"Workin'."

An' tryin 'not to think of Buffy all locked up in prison. Gotta admit. This Dante fucker is smart.

Ya try ta kill B, an' ya got an army after your ass. But get her outta the way…and the world is yours. Funny that. She's only one person, but the whole fuckin' organization don't work for shit if she aint runnin' it. Good thing she's a bossy lil thing. Giles clears his throat an' I sigh.

"We've already been through this Giles. I. AM. NOT. GOING."

"Faith, please. She won't speak to any of us. She won't accept her innocence. You're the only person who may be able to talk some sense into her. We need her!"

Of course they do. Everyone always does.

"Ever think she's happy where she's at?"

In prison? Not likely.  But it makes him stop an' think.

"Sure she's stuck in a concrete cell all day, but she doesn't hafta fight demons, doesn't hafta cry at every fuckin' funeral, doesn't even hafta worry about dyin' so soon. She doesn't wanna talk ta ya for a reason, Giles. She doesn't wanna go back."

It's like a sucker punch to the gut for him. All the air rushes outta his lungs an he has to move quick or Morris'll slide to the ground in a big heap of bloody yellow skin. See, it's like this. Giles knows Buffy pretty fuckin' well by now. Just not as well as I do. Not the way I do. No one knows her like that. Even B, doesn't know herself the way I know her. She's stayin' there because she needs it for some reason, an' I'm not gonna be the one to go get her an' make her inta some fuckin' robot. I won't take her to that place, no matter what they say ta me.

"Goddamnit, Faith ,this isn't about Buffy. It's about saving the world!"

It always is. I inhale a bit, lettin' smoke curl around me while I consider my answer.

"So save the fuckin' world, Giles. I'm busy."

"Doing what?!" He's shoutin' at my back, because I'm already walkin' away.

Truth is he's right about one thing. I need ta see Buffy. Not ta talk her out of this or anythin' cause that's not my gig. But just ta see her. I know my face is the last thing she wants ta see, but I have ta see hers. Just one more time at least.

"Savin' B. What else?"

I don't know the date. I know the day. It's Wednesday. Apple pie day. That's how I count time in here. I know everyone else has a different measurement. But well…I'll kinda be here longer than most of them. So really there's no point in knowing the date. Here being Metro State Prison for Women. It's a maximum security prison. Only the baddest of the bad come here. At least that's what I've been told.

Even if it wasn't this place I probably wouldn't leave. Okay. I know I wouldn't leave. I deserve to be in here. I took a life. I took a child's life. People like that don't deserve the freedom of the outside world. So here I sit. Feeling guilty over the tiny shred of happiness I get knowing that in about six hours I'll be happily munching my cardboard and apple paste that goes for pie around here. Well. I'll be munching it happily if it doesn't get taken away from me by Ditto.

I know I've said some pretty colorful things about Faith from time to time, but this woman makes Faith look only slightly less crazy than say…ooh Ilene Wuornos. Of course…Faith never killed a child. So it's a little harsh of me to think that way about her. The trouble is, that's who Faith is. At least the Faith she shows to the world. I know better. I think I've always known better. But. Well. Too little too late to tell her I was wrong. Even if I could admit it to her face, I don't think she'd accept my apology.

In fact, I think she might actually laugh in my face. Or spit. But I've never actually seen Faith spit before. It's just something that I think of now, because everyone in here spits. I still haven't gotten the hang of it. I can honestly say that I still think spitting is pretty disgusting. But when you have people like Ditto spitting in your face, it's more like gag-worthy. I'm starting to wonder if she brushes her teeth at all. I guess I shouldn't complain all that much. For the most part everyone leaves me alone. They all think I belong to Ditto.

The problem with that logic is that I don't belong to Ditto. I don't belong to anyone. And at this rate, it's likely the only person I'll ever belong to is the meanest stud in this place. Honest to God. She punched her so-called wife in the face just because she didn't bring her cigarettes. I realllllly don't want to be next on her list of marital possessions. I say that because in this place, you don't own anything. Except what you can take from someone else. I'm starting to understand some things about Faith's behavior when we were kids. If she had anything half this bad at home, its' a wonder she turned out the way she did.

And I mean that. She's not the savage killer you'd think. Or at least. She's not the savage killer I thought. Okay. Maybe a little. Probably maybe a little more than just a little. But that's not all there is to her. Where Ditto is dominant and destructive, Faith was just strong. And also destructive. That part I guess doesn’t' really bother me that much.

"Hey fishy, fishy."

Crap. Here they come.

I reach up and haul myself off the bottom bunk using the top one for balance. It's great that I heal unnaturally fast, but that healing doesn't help when I get my bones re-broken just about every day. I try not to fight. I try to just let the pain roll over me, and accept it. Sometimes I fail. Most times I can be found in a pool of my own blood on the floor of the showers. Which by the way…so gross.

Even the mold on the floor looks like it wants to rear up and crawl away from the filth. The footsteps are louder and I count them. One. Two. Three. I'm guessing her usual buddies are with her. One to watch the door, one to watch Ditto beating on me, and then Ditto herself. Not generally a problem for a Slayer, but I'm trying to stay out of trouble. That's not as easy as I once thought. I'm up on the empty top bunk watching the door of my cell. It's open and they can just walk in any damn time they want. But I won't make it easy for them.

"Hey there, little fishy."

God. You'd think after all these months they'd finally change my nickname. I mean. I'm not the newest intake here anymore. There are plenty of other girls they could be calling Fish. But noooo. They save that one special for me. I roll my eyes at Ditto. She's massive. I swear the width of her chest is the same as Angel's. I'm thinking half demon at least. Or you know,  just a really butch stud. She weight-trains a lot.

"Ditto." I don't bother addressing her pals. It's like that in prison. You only talk to someone when you're being spoken to.

"Gonna come down or do I have to come up there and get you?" I'm thinking she's going to have to come up and get me. I'm so not willingly going down there. On her or for her. Yeesh. Just the thought makes me feel ill. It's not the idea of having sex with a woman, because hello, been there done that, but it's…Ditto. And ew.

"Well, you know me Ditto. I like to play hard to get." She smiles at me and I wish I could unlearn my snappy retorts. Her big hairy monkey paw reaches up and grips the bunk right next to my nose. Shit. Shit. Shit. Once she's up here she's going to want to get comfortable and thus far, I've managed to avoid that particular torture.

"Summers comma Buffy."

Oh, thank god. We all freeze and look over at the guard by the door.

"You've got a visitor."

As much as I don't want to see or be seen by anyone, I know this has got to be a gift. Because I'm about ten seconds away from having to choose. Either fight back and get beaten and possibly sexually assaulted, or don't fight back and get beaten and definitely sexually assaulted. Now I don't have to choose.

"Don't you have your own cell to be in, Dorthea?"

"Dorthea?"

Ditto turns her head super slow to look at me. Oh crap. I shouldn't have said anything. Her grin is crooked and I can see the stumps of blackened and rotted out teeth. Well, no wonder her breath reeks. She's using the toilet brush to wash her mouth. Ugh. I shudder thinking about that, which she mistakes for a sign of fear.

"Later, Fish." She and her friends leave and I hop down lightly. I'd thank the guard, but I don't think she gives a flying furry thing about that. But I do nod at her and she nods back as we walk down the long catwalk to the cell block gates. They buzz open and I'm cuffed and shackled and directed along another corridor to another set of gates. I hate having to do this shuffle the whole way there, but if I take too big of a step I'll go down face first on the ground. And believe me. They don't even try to catch you when you fall.

There's a long wait at the solid metal door that takes you to the visitors lounge. I spend most of that time looking at the peeling vomit-green paint on the wall thinking about who it is this time. God. I hope it's not Dawn. I always come the closest to escaping when she's here pleading me to come home. But I cant. I can't just leave like that. I have to pay. Somehow I have to pay for it all. The shocking buzz of the door jerks me out of my thoughts and I make my prison shuffle into the room.

Oh. God. It's worse than I thought. The guard pushes me down none too gently in my hard plastic chair, but I make no move to pick up the black phone receiver on the wall. Her hand reaches out to pick up her end. I just stare. Finally a tanned knuckle raps lightly on the glass between us and I sigh. I pick up the phone and stare at the last person on Earth that Id ever think would show up here.

"Hello, Faith."

Chapter 2

"Hey, B."

This is weird. I'm not used ta bein' on the other side of the glass. And it's really weird cause its' Buffy that's on lock down. I'm the one that's supposed to be in prison. I'm the one with the criminal history an' the crazy streak a mile wide an' six feet deep. She fidgets a lil bit in her seat. I know that shit ain't comfy but I don't think it's the chair that's makin' her squirm. I think it's me. I shouldn’t' have come here.

"What are you doing here? I mean…not that I'm not…but…here?"

Huh. I'm not exactly sure what that's supposed ta mean. I think she's not unhappy ta see me. But I can't be sure, cause her Buffy-speak has gotten worse. I wonder if it's because the only person she can talk to is herself. No one else would get it. Or her. I kinda smile a little at that an' shrug.

"You're totally at ease here, aren't you?"

Uh. No. Actually I'm tryin' really hard not ta run away. I hate bein' here. Bein' this close to a secured facility. I get the heebies just bein' around Giles back at headquarters.

"What can I say. I adapt pretty easy." It's all bullshit. Smoke an' mirrors ta make her think it's cool. An' I'm only doin' it because she looks like she needs someone ta tell her it's all good. "So how's it goin in there?"

Buffy flinches at my question a lil bit. That tells me everythin' I need to know right there.

"It's going. It's just like being in a hotel. Only with roaches and red jumpsuits."

Yeah, an' the food sucks, the beds suck, an if you're real lucky, someone's suckin' you. I doubt B's that lucky. Oh, don't get me wrong. She could get more pussy than a pimp in here. But she's not a bull. Her heart is too soft for that shit.

"That bad ,huh?"

Buffy sighs an puts her head down a lil.

"Ya know B, ya don't gotta just take it." Okay. What'd I say? Buffy's lookin' at me all green fire an' daggers. If I'm really honest with myself' Id admit that the look gets me a lil wet. But I'm not feelin' the honesty vibe today. So I'm just gonna say that the look gets me ready ta fight.

"I thought you would understand."

She starts ta hang up but I press my palm flat against the glass window. WAIT! I didn't say it out loud but Buffy stops ta stare at me anyway. Her brow comes up in surprise but she's just starin' at my hand. Not me. Just my hand. I'm just lucky she's still holdin' on to the phone.

"I think I do understand, Buffy. I think I understand better'n most." Her head nods a little but she's still not lookin' me in the eye. "I'm not the one you're runnin' from, B. Sit down for a minute with me." B is slow to move but she settles down into the chair. I take the time ta slide my hand down the glass but I don't take it away. I'm afraid if I do she'll leave. "Look, I didn't mean, ya know, peacin' on this place." Not that she should be here. But it's not my choice ta make for her.

Buffy nods an' finally tears her gaze away from my hand to look right at me.

"So Giles didn't send you to try and convince me that I shouldn't be here?"

Kinda. But I'm smart enough not ta tell her that. I roll my eyes.

"Yeah well, G an me ain't so close these days." Her brows come up at that. It's a question without askin' one. Buffy's real good at those. "I kinda sorta won't help him save the world." Her mouth puckers inta a cute lil 'oh' at that. God, she's fuckin adorable. Bet she's got every dyke in the place droolin' after her. Cause I know I'd be. Fuck. I'm on the outside an I'm droolin' after her. Even with the cuffs. Hrm. Maybe because of the cuffs. I dunno.

"So…you gave up on the road to redemption?"

Not exactly. I shake my head a lil bit.

"Let's just say I'm takin' a long holiday." I dunno how long, exactly. Buffy nods once an' leans back in her chair with her brow all furrowed an' wrinkly.

"You have to go back."

What? Is she out of her fuckin' mind?

"No, I'm not insane, so stop looking at me like I am."

I wait a beat before she gives me her version of my sigh. "You have to go back, Faith. There are only two Slayers strong enough to carry the burden. And I'm…here." Oh so that's what it's about? Bein' strong enough. I give her a hard snort an' lean back as far as the cord to the phone lets me.

"Hey, you made your choice, B. Ya ain't gotta be here, but ya are. My choice? Is not bein' there. Giles has a whole goddamned army of Slayers. What the fuck makes you think I'm special enough ta lead them?"

Because I'm not. I fuckin hate it, but I'm just not that girl, ya know?

"Because you're the Slayer, Faith. You were born to lead people. It's kind of in the job description."

Oh fuck you, Buffy. I give her a look an' pat my jacket pocket for a cigarette. Fuck. Can't smoke in here. I sigh an' shake my head.

"Don't. Don't do that to me. You know it's true. You cant just hide from this, Faith. It's bigger than your self- doubt."

She's one ta talk. I'm lookin' at her hard for a long second before I speak.

"What're you? Insane? Fuckin' retarded? I barely know where I am half the fuckin' time. What makes you think I should be tellin' people where ta go or what ta do? That's just not my thing, B."

She rolls her eyes. "Fine. Then what is your thing? Besides interrupting playtime with Ditto?"

Ditto? The way she says the name makes me wanna hiss an' spit like a cat. I already know without knowin'. Ditto is the kind of name that girls in the big house learn ta fear. An even though she doesn't look afraid, even though she'll never admit it, I can smell her fear. It's not the same as Morris. His fear was bitter an' tasted too strong. But Buffy's fear smells different. There's a hint of acid in the air but mostly its just a soft, rich scent. Like blood. I bite my lip an' look down.

My thing is lovin' her. She doesn't know that yet. But she will.

"Ditto the one that gave ya that shiner?"

Buffy's hand goes up to her eye but she drops it before touchin' the tender skin there. Her head does a tiny dip that's her way of sayin' yes.

"Why didn't ya pop her a good one?" I get an eye roll for that. "Okay, okay. Ya don't gotta get all uppity about it. I'm just sayin'."

She almost cracks a grin at that. "I can't just hit her Faith. I could hurt her."

And the problem with that is what, exactly? It's my turn ta roll my eyes now.

"Don't even say it."

Wha? I wasn't gonna call her a pussy. Okay I was a lil bit.

"That doesn't change the fact that you shouldn't be here, you should be helping Giles and the gang."

That again huh? Everyone is so fuckin' keen for me ta help save the world. Dunno why.

"Just cause you don't wanna own up ta your life doesn't mean I gotta own up ta your life. I'm not you, B. I never was, an I'm never gonna be you. Someone needs the world ta be saved that's not my problem. My problem is findin' a date for tonight." Heh. That time her lips do twitch. Oh, she's still rollin' her eyes at me but at least she's sorta smilin'. "And anyway. I'm not tryin' ta make ya leave this place, so you shouldn't be tryin' ta make me go there."

"Point." Good. I'm glad we got that shit settled. "So why are you here again?" Oh, yeah. That. I shrug an give her my best dimpled grin.

"Well, I'm kinda glad you're behind that reinforced glass. I just came by ta see how shitty your hair is." Boy, if looks could kill…well I'd probably still be alive, but I bet I'd have a broken nose. "Wha? Like you wouldn't wanna see me all fucked up lookin'."

"Faith. Shut up." Uh huh. I smirk at her an' she shakes her head with a chuckle. "So you're really not going to save the world, huh?" I shake my head to that.

"So you're not really gonna ditch this place even though ya know ya don't belong here, huh?"

Hey, she wants ta be all pissy about it I'm gonna get pissy right back.

"I killed an innocent, Faith."

So what? I killed lots of them. Buffy didn't seem to mind so much once she pulled the stick outta her ass.

"I killed a child."

Yeah. She did. Only she didn't really. But I can't make her believe that. I can't make her do anythin' she doesn't wanna.

"I belong here."

"Yeah. Like I belong in an all girls school. Shut the fuck up already."

Buffy flips me the bird an I have ta admit. I kinda like it.

"Yeah baby, that's the finger I want ya to use."

That makes her blink for a second before she snarls at me an' crosses her arms over her chest. It's gotta suck ta hold on to the phone with a shoulder but she's managing ta make it look easy.

"Okay, okay. Whatever. You belong there. Happy now?"

"No."

I knew it. Nothin' can make this one happy. No one can make her happy. I know, cause I know almost all of the 'would be forever's in her life. An' all of them hate themselves cause they couldn't ever be enough for her. I'm in the same boat as the rest of them. I was just smart enough ta never try before.

"Listen, Faith, I have to tell you something."

Why do I get the feelin' I'm not gonna like whatever it is she has ta tell me?

"I am…so sorry. For everything I ever said to you, everything I ever did to hurt you. I didnt understand then."

I have ta close my mouth or somethin' is gonna fly in there. It closes with a click an' I grunt. I don't even know what ta say about all that.

"I wished so many times that I could understand and now…I do."

"Kinda that be careful what ya wish for crap huh?"

She smiles sadly at me an' nods her head. Yeah. I can't do this. She's breakin' my heart. I put my hand on the window, higher up where she can see it better. Buffy's gaze goes right to it an' she reaches up ta put her hand against the glass too. I can feel the tiny vibrations of power through the glass.

"Wish it was different, B. Wish it was all different."

"Me too."

I gotta get outta here. I hang up the receiver an' get up. Buffy's still got her hand pressed to the glass, watchin' me get up and walk away. I can't look back at her cause if I do I'll never leave. An sittin' around in the waiting room is not helpin' anyone. The heavy metal doors slam closed behind me an' I practically run out. Sweat beads on my forehead an' I resist the temptation ta squirm under the guard's gaze. He knows I'm bad an shouldn't probably be on this side. Must be some instinct he's picked up. Whatever. I Don't care. Once I'm out in the sun again I take a few deep breaths an' break out a cigarette. Motherfucker. That was hard.

I'm at the car I jacked ta get here before I pull out my cell an' dial Giles. He answers on the second ring.

"S'me."

"Faith. Where are you?" That's not Important, an' I'm not gonna tell him. "Are you alright?" I give a slow exhale of my smoke an' lean against the trunk of the car.

"Yeah. Morris talkin 'yet?"

He sighs softly an' I cringe.

"Not as yet. It's taking his body a little longer to heal his broken neck than I would like. I'm not above using mystical influences to speed things up, but with your strictures on who can know what's going on…" Right. He wants Willow ta help.

"I trust ya, G." He gets quiet at that. "Anyway. You're gonna need her help soon."

"Faith…are you in trouble?" It's almost kinda sweet how concerned he sounds. I grin into the phone before flickin' some ash to the hard scrabble asphalt.

"Not yet."

I hang up before he can say anything. I know him. An' I know he's gonna get someone ta trace me. That's all well an' good. I don't mind him knowin' what I'm up to. Just don't want him knowin' until I'm where I need ta be. I get in the car after givin' the building one last long look. The razor wire doesn't look nearly as scary on this side of the fence.

"Hang on baby, just gimme a lil time."

I know she can't hear me, an' she'd probably put her foot up my ass for callin' her baby, but I hope Buffy holds on a lil bit longer in there.

"Here Fishy, Fishy."

Again? I feel like this is the third time this week. Wait. I think it is the third time this week. I sigh heavily and quickly finish what's left of my lunch. Not that I'm hungry, because I'm really not, but if I don't eat it someone else will, and by three or so in the morning I really will be hungry. Hungry enough to even want to eat this crap.

The heat of her rancid breath on my neck makes me stiffen up waiting for it.

"I'm talking to you. Fish." Another sigh.

"I heard you, Ditto."

My body moves before I fully think it through, and her fist goes slicing through the air right where my head was. That's fighting dirty. You don't just punch someone in the back of the head like that. My elbow goes back into her gut and another rush of heat brushes my skin when the air gets knocked out of her. A whistle goes up and we all freeze before the bulls come in with pepper spray and batons. This was barely anything, but you don't fuck around in the mess hall.

My eyes sweep to the left to watch Ditto. She's watching me through narrowed, angry eyes. Her rough voice comes out barely louder than a whisper.

"Next time bitch." Crap.

Two guards start making the rounds, pushing people out of clusters until they reach us. Both of them look at me for an answer and I just shrug. Ditto keeps her mouth shut and gives them a smirk. For now we'll play nice. In front of them, anyway. Ditto backs up and I let out a breath I didn't know I was holding. Hey, any day I can get away with not having to fight is a good day. It takes a few minutes for things to settle down, so I wait it out before picking up my tray and taking it to the corner where the rest of them are stacked. If I can make it to my cell I might just have a record breaking day for minimal violence.

It doesn't take long to get to my cell. It almost feels like home. Except for the shampoo. Oh and the scratchy, nubbly sheet. And the fact that most of my day is spent hiding behind bars to keep from getting beaten and raped. How did it get this far? How did I get so far from who I was? For awhile I thought it was all so clear, but then she had to come here and shake my faith. So to speak. Faith. I wonder if she's gone back to Giles to do the right thing. She hasn't been back to visit so that could mean anything. She could be halfway to South America right now. I normally Don't keep track of time but I've been keeping track since she was here. It's been forty- two days. I think.

I think a little part of me hopes she'll come back to visit. Another part is horrified at the idea that she just might. I crawl into my bunk and stare up at the one above me. It's still empty. Just like me. I miss my life but I can't seem to Imagine what it was like. I know I had friends and family and I know that I was loved. But I don't remember feeling happy. I don't remember what it was like to go where I wanted when I wanted. I guess…I guess it's been a long time since I was able to do that too. Even before I was incarcerated.

Maybe that's what made me so jealous of Faith. She never had to do anything she didn't want. Hey, I fucked up, let me skip out. Hey, I have weird issues with some girl, let me skip out, hey I kissed Buffy, let me bail. Hey, I fucked Buffy's boyfriend, let me take off. Hey, I came back but don't get attached because I've got to go. Hey, you're in prison now, see you later. Okay. That's not really fair. I know that. I'm just…I don't know what I am. Lonely I suppose. Seeing Faith again changed something. It made me feel things that I thought I was going to feel anymore. Things I thought I shouldn't be able to feel.

No, I'm not talking about lust. It'd be Impossible for me not to feel lust when it comes to Faith. I'm talking about more. I'm talking about trust. Whatever reason she had for coming here, I trusted her to understand me. And she did. I felt that much at least. I wish I had been able to feel more. Like how soft her hair is. Or how warm her skin is. I wish I could have had just a little time to lean into her body and take in her scent and let that trust wash over me. I want to feel like it's okay to be me. And more than anything, I want her. I want Faith. It's not just the slow burn of need from not having had it in awhile. It's her.

It's the way she moves, the way she talks. It's the way everything about her shifts and slides and slinks. A creature that never stops moving, changing, or growing. If I'm honest I'd say that this has been going on from the beginning. I've been attracted to her from day one. I was confused and frustrated and just a kid, but I knew I wanted to know what it was like to be with her. To kiss her. My nipples harden at the thought of Faith being that close to my body.

An abrasive buzz sounds out of the overhead speakers causing feet to shuffle and murmured curses. All along the block I can smell the phosphorus of freshly lit matches and stale sweat and cigarettes. I can feel the restless pulse of energy through the thick walls. I can even feel the anticipatory rise as the guards walk the line, slamming doors and locking them.

My door slides shut with a dull clang. The key scrapes and twists setting the tumblers rolling. I made it. I tip my head back to make sure that the guard is gone before I snap open the buttons to my red jumper. The next guard won't be along for another half hour. It gives me time. I wonder what Faith is doing right now. I wonder who she's with and if she's making them feel good. That's the thing about Faith. She has the capacity to make a person feel like shit with just her words. I'm assuming she's just as skilled at making them feel good with just her mouth. I shiver at the idea of it. Her lips are so soft and full and I bet they'd feel so good on my skin. I let out a breath and slide my hand up under my tank top. My fingertips just graze along the skin lightly.

But the second I close my eyes, it stops being my hand and becomes Faiths. I can feel my lips curve softly at the gentle touch. It'd never be like this, but this is my fantasy right? I bite my lower lip and reach lower along the line of my belly. Just barely teasing the skin and baby fine hairs. It makes me squirm, my hips rocking slightly, begging for friction. I can almost hear her breath go ragged when she finally slips between my legs and feels how wet I am for her. I give a soft groan as she works her thumb lightly over my clit. Open wide for me baby… God, I so would. I'd do anything she asked of me as long as she didn't stop stroking and caressing me. I give a frustrated grunt as I try to squirm further out of my jumpsuit so I can have better access.

Fuck. I always get this wet thinking about Faith, but this is just…it's like she's here. Like I can hear her and feel her. Like it's really her inside of me, thrusting just deep enough to make me want to beg for more. I bend my knees and feel the throb of my orgasm building from the deeper thrust.

God, yes. Don't stop, Faith, please Don't stop. I'll never stop, B. I'll never stop loving you. Her fingers curl and I swallow down a loud moan as I come. My hips stop jerking just as the tears finally bubble over and slide down my cheeks. It wasn't her at all. It was just me. Lonely little me. I pull my hand free of my soaked body and roll onto my side so I can cry myself to sleep for the forty-third night in a row.

Chapter 3

"Do you have anything to say for yourself, Miss Lehane?"

I raise my head slowly and look at the judge. I should be repentant, ya know? But this judge is a softy. He's lookin' ta let me off easy, an' that's not what I want. So I smile. I smile an' rock on my heels. His soft doughy face goes cold when he realizes that he just made a mistake. "Remember that I can hold you in contempt of court, something that would likely not go well for you."

"Probably not, but I never was the go easy kinda girl, if ya know what I mean."

He sighs, resigning himself to the fact that I'm gonna be an asshole about things.

"Guess I should say sorry for, ya know…stealin' that car an' drivin' it through the bank. Probably should say sorry for beatin' up that security guard too." He waits an' I shrug. "Truth is, Big Man, I kinda fuckin' liked it. An' if I had to do over again, I probably should aim for the guard this time."

There's uproar of shoutin' an' shit, but the judge just stares at me for a long minute. He slams that gavel down so hard it makes my ears hurt.

"Very well, Miss Lehane. Clearly you show no remorse for your actions. In the case of the State of Georgia v. Faith Lehane, I find you culpable and guilty. As we are quite full up in the local jail you'll be remanded to a maximum security facility until your sentencing begins." My lawyer clears his throat, an' I gotta sigh. I told the guy I didn't want him ta do anythin' but stand there an look pretty.

"Your honor, on the matter of bail…" I hafta snicker when he gets cut off.

"Mr. Salinger, your client has no permanent residence, has a previous history of assault as well as murder charges, and no family or friends close at hand. You don't honestly think she qualifies as a low flight risk, do you?"

My legal eagle stutters. Maybe I shoulda called him legal pigeon. Not exactly eagle material just yet. But he'll get better in time with other clients. Clients that want him to fight for them.

"Now if we're all in agreement, bailiff…take her away please."

I'm considerin' fightin' it out, just to give the guards a lil incentive to make sure I get stuck in the worst possible cell block they can toss me in. But let's face it. I'm goin' down hard for this. I don't need ta make it any worse now. I just grin an' go along with the nice terrified custody assistant.

"Don't worry, Hoss, I don't bite."

Well. I give him a look when he relaxes a little bit.

"At least I don't bite boys."

His grip on my arm tightens reflexively, lettin 'me know I just said somethin' damn interesting to him.

"Like that, huh?"

His pale blue eyes cut to mine with a look that's both greedy an' slimy. I knew it.

"Yeah, ya look like the type."

The comment earns me a hard shove in the center of my back. Typical. But it's not like he can really hurt me or anything. I stumble through the door and out to the antechamber to get cuffed and shackled. My guard takes his time at my feet cause it puts his head right at waist level. I watch him turn just slightly an take a deep breath. Ya gotta be kiddin' me.

I laugh at him an' shake my head. Poor bastard has ta resort ta fuckin' with the inmates. That's just sad, man. Hoss gives me a growl of irritation and shoves me toward the door. Ain't no thang to me. I just shrug an' keep my smirk in place as I shuffle out of the court house and down the back steps of the building. A county van is waitin' for me. How sweet. Last time they just chucked me face down in the back of a swat van. At least this time I got a cushy seat.

"I don't get you. You act like this is some big fucking game. What are you, crazy or something? You're going to prison and you're laughing your ass off."

Prison. Been there, done that. Not really where I wanna be but, I gotta do what I gotta do. Even if it means ridin' into the belly of the beast with the devil on my shoulder. I shrug at him, an' jerk my head to fling my hair over my shoulder. I notice him noticin' me. I wonder if he's a regular bull at the prison. His attention could be to my benefit.

"You know any sane people that crash into banks for shits an' giggles?"

Yeah, I didn't think so, douche bag. I'm still smirkin' when he slams the door shut on the side of the van. I don't plan on breakin' out or anything, but I give the chains bolted to the floor a lil testing tug. Well. I hope this thing doesn't roll on the way there.

On second thought…now that I remember the body cavity search, maybe I do want this thing ta get busted up. My mood goes from pretty fuckin' pleased with myself to annoyed silence. The guard turns in his seat a little to look through the grate separating him and the driver from me.

"What's the matter? Not having such a good time now?"

I roll my eyes.

"Just remembered I gotta give a free show ta get into this place."

I'm kinda surprised when he doesn't get creepy, an' just nods. Whatever. The greenery on the side of the road looks more like a sluggish crawling worm. Creepin' along in its own way, slowly takin' over more and more of the road. See. Industry pushes back the wild, holds it at bay.

Science makes people believe that the world is safe an' boxed-in, an' always bright and sunny. Makes people forget about the things that they fear in the dark. But if you leave it, if you stop pushin' your humanity and civility on the world, it'll start ta take it back. Just like the side of the road, an' all the lil creepy crawlies peekin' out from the shadows.

That's what prison is for. Keepin' ya safe an' boxed-in. Or at least keepin' everyone outside the box safe from you. But the truth is people in there are just like the swamp growin'. They're wild, an' dangerous, an' if you turn your back for just one second. We'll take it all back. Take everything you are and make it ours again.

My lip curls up in disgust as we pull on to Constitution Road. Last time I was here, this all seemed like a good idea. Now that I'm gettin closer I'm startin' ta wonder if I'm a fuckin' retard or what. B better be real happy ta see me or I'm gonna go a lil homicidal on someone. Maybe Bucko up front if he doesn't stop lookin 'at me in his visor mirror. He oughta take a picture, it'll last longer.

Man. I must be scared. Even my attitude is lackin' it's usual punch. The rusty motor that opens the gate screeches out a protest. Yeah. Me too, buddy. I slink down a lil bit in my seat an' huff as we chug along into the docking bays. Alright. I'm Slayer enough ta admit that I got a lump the size of a baseball in my throat.  Metro SP. As soon as I'm unbuckled and unbolted I step out into the sticky hot humidity an' sigh. Home sweet fuckin' home. A whistle blows an' I turn my head to watch a fight bein' broken up in the chain link yard across from me. A familiar throb picks up at the base of my spine. Buffy. I cant' see her yet but I can feel her.

I push my senses a lil harder until I can just barely feel her power pushin' back against mine. Someone's in a tangle in the school yard. Heh. That's my girl. Someone snaps their fingers in front of my face, an' I slowly draw my gaze away from the fight to the hand, arm, an' finally face of the person tryin' ta get my attention. I already know I'm not gonna like this one. She's the type of woman that got called big boned growin 'up. Her frame is tall an' sturdy like a work horse. My lips quirk only slightly at her pissed-off expression.

"Sorry." Not really.

"Lehane, Faith?"

I dunno why she's askin' cause she really doesn't want an answer. If she did she wouldn't keep talkin' before I can answer.

"We have a few simple rules. Don't break them and you'll do just fine."

This broad is a Lifer. She's been doin' this shit for so long she can do it in her sleep. I give a slight nod an' jingle my chains a lil.

"Right. Impatient. You've been locked up before."

I give a short nod an' raise my brows when her look goes from bored to cold.

"Take her in, strip her down, I'll have Martinez do the search and placement assessment."

Placement assessment. Well now, that sounds promising. I sigh and follow the guards in. It's gonna be a long afternoon. But don't worry B, I'm here now. An' pretty soon you an' me are gonna be paintin' the cell block red.

Probably not really. I chance a look over my shoulder at the yard one last time. I still don't see her, an' the pulse of her power has faded. Whatever I missed, whatever she missed…doesn't matter. She knows I'm here now. She felt me just as sure as I felt her. Soon baby. So fuckin' soon.

She's out there. I know she is. I can feel her. I fucking felt her earlier too. It's what got me a fat lip. I Don't mind, really. It's already healed over. By the time I get out of here and back to my cell it'll be more than healed over, it'll be like the lip was never split open to begin with. Not that any of that matters because she's here. Faith is here. And that moment of distraction was worth the pain of getting hit. I guess that sounds incredibly needy of me, but if it is so be it. I need her. At least…I need to see her for visiting hours.

It's been so long since she was here last, and I swear I never expected her to really come back to me. As soon as the infirmary nurse nods her head I jump off the table and hold out my hands to the guard. He gives my wrists a look before shaking his head once.

"Not necessary Summers. You didn't start that fight."

My hands stay hovering in midair for a second before I lower them slowly. If we were going to the visiting booths then he'd lock me up. But we're not. Which leaves me wondering what's going on. Is Faith here or not?

"Okay."

I'm not going to cry. I'm not going to cry. I'm not going to cry. I shuffle out of the infirmary with my very own big beefy bodyguard to lead me to my cell. We cross the cold vestibule to the security door. I wait as it buzzes and releases. Warm sticky air steals in from outside and I sigh. With my hearing stretched as far as I can get it, I listen for the telltale signs of things gone awry. You'd be surprised how often that happens in prison. It's not that the guards aren't quick enough to stop shit from happening. It's just that they don't care to stop things from happening. At least most of them don't.

This one isn't so bad. He takes me by the elbow and leads me across the campus to my block. There are about seven housing units here and they fit about 120 inmates. At least that's what I was told. Mine is reserved for the worst offenders. Block F as in Fail. My guard leads me into the block and down to my cell in silence. That's okay. I'm not so big of a talker these days. Except. You know. In my own head. That's probably not as healthy as I pretend it is, but it's better than telling my secrets to anyone here. There's a faint throb that I know is my Slayer connection. It's annoyed and I'm very confused by it. What's happening? Where is Faith? Why can I feel her but I can't go to her? The door to my cell opens and I slink into the room and settle on the edge of my bunk. I don't want to lay my body down on it because I'm just going to get up again soon enough.

Juuuuuust as soon as someone comes to tell me that Faith is waiting to see me. So I sit here with my hands tucked under my thighs while I wait. Of course I wait so long I'm starting to think I'm just Imagining things. That couldn't have been Faith. Maybe it's another Slayer. One that's here for some other reason. A frown tugs at my lips as I think that over. Why would another Slayer be here? Unless of course they were going to try and convince me to escape. Or break me out. My eyes narrow as I sort through all the possibilities. Giles wouldn't have sent someone here to get me out. Not after I made it clear that I needed to be here.

Oh. God. What if something happened to Faith? What if there is another Slayer here to break the news to me that something's happened to her. My breath catches in my throat and I get up to pace the small cell. No. No. That can't be it. If something had happened to Faith I would know it. Besides. This all too familiar tingle has nothing to do with anyone but Faith. I KNOW it's her even if I don't have proof. What I don't understand is why she's here but not trying to get in to see me. Wait. Maybe she is. Maybe they won't let her in to see me. My chest gets tight again as I consider all the terrible things that could be happening right now.  I'm so lost in thought that I almost don't notice the buzz of the alarm or the clanging of the doors sliding shut. What?

I spin around as another buzz sounds down the line. A chorus of shouts and cat calls fill the air and I push myself against the bars to try and get a peek at whatever is going on. I can't quite see but it looks like it's a new intake. A particularly shrill whistle cuts the air and I pull back with my hands over my ears. I don't care. I don't want to know. I just want to focus on that part of Faith that I can feel. The throb of her power makes me shiver as I crawl back onto my bunk with my knees up, arms around them. I'm rocking slowly back and forth trying to focus on that constant pulse. If I close my eyes I can see the sunburst pattern behind my eyelids.

As the calls get louder, the once faint jerk behind my navel grows stronger. She's close. But that can't be. I shove my fingers in my ear and rock harder trying to drown out the sound again. I can feel her when it's quiet. Shuffle shuffle. Everyone here shuffles. The force of Faith's power jabs me hard and I blink open my eyes. Oh God. The guards give the woman another shove past my cell but it's too late. I know her. Faith. I'm up off the bunk and pressed back against the bars. My fingers just barely manage to graze against the dark blue jumper she's wearing. The smack of a thick baton hitting my hand out of the way makes me jerk back. Faith isn't looking at me but I know she knows I'm here.

Down the line they stop. Fuck. I can't see. Where is it, where is it…? Ah. When I'm done rummaging through my things I stick my hand out through the bars again. This time the glint of my hand mirror picks up the guards and Faith. I watch with a rock in my belly as they unlock the gates to the next block. Just before the gate closes Faith shakes her hair out of her eyes with a glance over her shoulder. I can see her looking right at me. Or. What part of me she can see. I'm so fucking confused but she winks and suddenly everything seems like it's going to get better. It takes me forever to pull my hand back, but when I do I can't seem to put the mirror down. I hold it in my shaking hand and lean back against the wall in my bunk. She's here. She didn't forget me. Faith didn't abandon me. Thank God.

Chapter 4

Alright. I know logically that not every prison looks the same, but now that I'm here I kinda feel like I never left. Maybe it's the paint. Or the bars. Yeah that's gotta be it. I smirk just because that's my usual state of being, an' trudge into the mess hall. Grub line to the left, seats to the right. Okay. Not bad. I grab one of the trays near the wall an' get in line. A few people grumble an' stare. One or two give me the "I'm-thinkin'-of-fuckin'-you" look. Nothin' new there. And then there's one that's givin' me an eyeful of piss an' anger. Ding ding ding. Somethin' tells me I'm gonna be makin' myself known to that one.

But not right now. You never wanna start shit inside. Always wait until you're outside. Chances are you'll get a lot more hits in before they pull ya apart that way. Plus not so crowded that you can get held down by the watching crowd if ya start to lose them some bet money. Not that I blame them. Ya gotta make your ducks where ya can, ya know? Doesn't mean I don't get all bent outta shape when one of 'em tries to hold me down. Just means I feel maybe a lil bit bad about hittin' them too. But then…the fuckers shouldn't have bet against me. Cause I'm a sure thing baby.

Tingles of the Buffy variety pause my wandering thoughts. I actually have ta stop in line an' gaze around until my dark eyes meet hers in one of those across-the-room stares. Probably I could stay like this, ya know? Just starin' at her. But it's not like the people behind me are gonna wait an' be understandin 'while I stand here with my goddamned mouth open. I pull my gaze away an' hold out my tray for my daily portion of slop. Oh that's not pretty. Well, it could be worse. It could be Xander's cooking.

Holy shit. I swear somethin' in this just moved. I blink at the congealing glob of porridge before shudderin' an' finding a spot three tables away from B.  I'm new. New meat doesn't sit next to red jumpers. New meat has ta find a spot with the rest of the general population. But this is close enough anyway. She glances at me an' raises a brow. I just smirk at her. For a second she's pissed. I can see it in the set of her mouth an' the stiffness in her shoulders. My smirk widens to give me a lil dimple to flash, an' she half smiles. Oh yeah. My girl is happy ta see me. Good.

"What are you doing here?"  It's barely a whisper but it doesn't need to be any louder. I can hear her just fine. I shrug. Dunno what to tell her exactly.

"Got tired of payin' rent at the No Tell Motel. Figured you weren't doin 'so bad in here with room and board an' all."

Buffy gives me an irritated look that I almost smile at. But that would probably make her even more upset. An' I don't wanna do that because then she'll just be uncooperative. See. Me an' B, we're not so different. It's just a matter of findin' the right way to talk to her. Just like she once found the right way to talk to me. When I needed it. When I needed her. Least I can do is return the favor, yeah? So no smilin' at her when she's getting pissed off at me.

"Faith!"

It's a hiss, an' I know I said I wasn't gonna laugh, but I can't help the lil snort that escapes me.

"Its not funny! You shouldn't be here."

"No, B, I think I should be exactly here."

With that my humor slides off my face. She starts to open her mouth to protest, but the big butch that was eyein' me in line starts makin' her way over. She must have noticed us starin' at each other. That's my bad. I called attention to Buffy. When my attention strays from her, Buffy turns to see what has me so caught up. Her face goes a lil pale, an' I swear to Christ she cowers.

What the fuck? Buffy Summers doesn't cower to anyone.

"B?" It's quiet, an' a question. Is she gonna handle this?

"What's this, Fishy? See something you like? Huh?"

Alright. I'm really tryin' hard not to get into this right here an' now. But I can already tell it's gonna be a struggle not to throttle this bitch right the fuck now. Her big hand curls an' tangles in Buffy's blonde hair, yankin' her head back an' makin 'Buffy yelp.

"Keep your eyes to yourself,  Fish. You're my property."

Buffy's eyes roll up to look at me then her bully. She nods a lil frantically an' her torturer lets her go. I keep shovelin' food in my craw. I might not wanna eat it, but it's keepin' me from pickin' a fight too early.

"Next time I see you with your eyes on her, I'm going to have to teach you a lesson."

Yeah right. Empty threat. It only works on people that have never been in a real fight before.

But when I glance at B, I can see that its workin' on her. I don't like that. This has gotta be that Ditto bitch. She an' her two gorillas swing by my table on the way out to the yard. One of them yanks my tray an' tosses it on the floor as she goes. I watch it clatter down with a lil bit of disappointment. The apple pie looked kinda promising.

"You got something to say?"

The voice is deep and rumbley, like she's chewin' rocks. Not surprising. I just smirk wider an shake my head.

"Nope."

She gives a faint nod.

"Good. Keep it that way, bitch."

Oooo. Big fuckin' words. If she only knew what she was dealin' with she wouldn't be so pushy. I look down an' away in a submissive gesture. It practically kills me to do, but I do it. Once they think they've won they shuffle out. Buffy's slow exhale makes me look up at her. She's ashamed. I can read it all over her face. An' I can't do dick about it right now. I bend over an' pick up the tray, scrapin' as much food as I can back on it before takin' it to the bus buckets. I can feel her heat behind me. Not close. But there. My tray goes in, an' hers clacks down on top of it with a final sound.

"We need to talk."

She's right about that. We do need ta talk. But it ain't gonna be right now. I shrug an' push right past her so I can make it out to the yard.

"Faith. Wait."

Crap. Didn't she learn anything so far here? I growl softly an' reach for Buffy's wrist. The second we're at a blind corner I yank her behind me in to a dimly lit alcove. Looks like someone takes a smoke here from time to time.

"Look, B, let's get somethin' straight here. I got into a lil trouble. Maybe more than I thought. An it's landed me here. Not so new for me, but that doesn't mean I wanna be stuck in this fuckin' shit hole. Okay? You don't get ta tell me what I should an' shouldn't be doin'. Not when you're in here too."

I don't wanna be harsh to her but when it comes right down to it, B ain't my boss.

"We all have our reasons ta hide."

I watch her pupils narrow as she focuses on me.

"How much trouble?"

That's what she's askin'? Well. I guess it's a fair question. I shrug a lil bit. She knows that means it's more than I'm willin' ta talk about.

"Does Giles know?"

I don't answer. Buffy sighs an' reaches out to rest a warm hand on my arm. We both look at it as our connection throbs almost painfully between us. It's only a half breath of time, but I pull her against my chest in a hug.

"I'm so glad you're here….I didn't know if I could…"

"Shhh, B. We'll work it all out. Just not right here an not right now."

Right now we have to get out of this place or this will get us into trouble. My head pokes out from around the corner for a second. Coast is clear. We walk with enough of a distance between us that no one would think anything of it. Pretty soon that's all gonna be pointless, but it has to be done in the right way. Ya can't just walk into a place like this and upset the balance. There are rules. Once we're outside I head straight for the free weights. Buffy tags along behind me a few steps.

"So you wanna tell me about your lil friend back there?"

I look at the bench-press bar an' start loading some weight onto it. Each weight is nothin' more than a pillow to me, but that's not why I like lifting. Mostly I like the feel of the bar in my hands. I like the steady repetition. It calms me inside sometimes.

"Not really."

I have to smirk at that. Buffy crosses her arms an' shifts from foot to foot. She doesn't even know what to do with herself. Now that's a fuckin shame right there. I sigh an' unbutton my jumper. I pull the sleeves down to my waist an' tie it off before settling on the bench under my bar.

"I'm gonna find out anyway. Might as well tell me what the what is now."

She sighs but I notice that she's watchin' me and not the crowd around her. That's good. I want her eyes on me. Not for any ulterior motive here really. I just like knowin' it's me that has her attention.

"She's been on my case since I got here.  It's no big deal, really."

No big deal? This freak has Buffy all stressed out, an' she thinks it's no big deal? Okay, well I'm about ta fix this shit right the fuck now. I let the bar rest on my chest for a second before pushing up an lettin' it rest in its cradle.

I can see Buffy watchin' me. She's nervous like a caged cat. I stalk over to her, careful of the claws every cornered cat has. I half expect her to pull away but she doesn't. Not even when I get real close to her an' grip the front of her jumper before tuggin' the snaps open. Her eyes go wide but I'm not so much lookin' at that as I am over her shoulder at her buddy. She's watchin 'me just as hard as I'm watchin' her.

"Ya look hot, B."

"Uh….wha…Faith…what are you doing?"

Aw. She's nervous. I can taste it on the air. I grin an' get in closer to her as I pull her sleeves down slowly.

"Relax, B. Just helpin' ya out." Her breath catches when my fingers graze lightly over her arms.

"Now…about this woman. You don't talk to her. Don't even look at her."

"W-what?"

I know that took her off guard, cause she wasn't expecting me ta keep talkin'. That's promising. Maybe for later though.

I let my hands roam back up Buffy's arms, an' I gotta say I'm suddenly not so thrilled to have a confrontation right now. I didn't think B would be so willin' to let me touch her like this. But then. I guess I don't know this new broken Buffy as well as I knew the other Buffy. A shadow falls over us, an' I look up, right into those mean, muddy brown eyes. Buffy tries ta turn, but I grip her harder to keep her in place.

"What the fuck do you think you're doing, Fish??"

Fish. I really fuckin' hate that name. I pause. Hrm. Maybe I should stop callin' the kid, Sushi. Cause that's the same right?

"Did I say you could talk to my girl?" Oh, she doesn't like that. Which is fine. I knew she wouldn't. But I'm here now an' I'm not givin' this up. Not without it getting' real ugly. As her fist pulls back I have two seconds to think that she can't get much uglier, but were about ta find out for sure.

I don't know what's happening. All I know is that when Faith started touching me, my brain just dribbled out of my ears. How the hell does she manage to look sexy like…all the time? I can feel Ditto breathing heavily behind me but Faith has me gripped tightly. So turning isn't going to happen. Which is okay by me. I don't exactly want to see Ditto, especially since right now my eyes are riveted to Faith's cleavage. Hey. How come she gets a wife beater and I'm stuck with a regular white T-shirt? So not fair. I could be hotter too if I had a wife beater.

What the hell is wrong with me? Someone is about to get hurt and I'm worried about tanks versus tees.

"Did I say you could talk to my girl?"

Her girl? Really? I glance up at Faith, but she's not looking at me. Just as well. I don't know what I'd do if she caught that hopeful look on my face. I can't see Ditto raise her fist but as I stare at the lines and contours of Faith's face I can tell. My body reacts in tandem to hers and we both move to the right in one swift and fluid movement. Like we're dancing together. The dirty fist goes past in a slight whoosh of air. In that flash of time where it's still, Faith gives my arm a squeeze and we break apart.

If we had been anywhere but here, fighting anyone but humans, I'd probably go back-to-back with her and power through the fight. But we aren't anywhere but here. And these may be questionable humans, but they're still human. I think. I'm pretty sure. Ditto might be a were-ape though. Hard to tell. Still. I take up a spot just behind Faith's shoulders, and far enough back to give her some room.

"I'm gonna fuck you up bitch! Get her!"

Did…Faith just laugh?

My attention goes from the rushing bodies to Faith. Faith and her body. Her perfectly still body. I blink and that's all the time it takes for the whirlwind of motion to kick up. I always did like to watch Faith fight, but there's something entirely different about it when she's fighting to protect me. That wild abandon doesn't seem to be there this time. It's all perfectly controlled. I think. I think this is the first time that I've ever seen Faith actively try to control herself in a fight.

Eventually everything fades out around me. The guards, the other inmates, even the sounds of bones crunching and the hard coughing grunts as Faith lands punch after punch. All I see, all I hear is her. It causes a reaction in my body so deep that I swear to God my clit is throbbing in time to my heartbeat. A sharp crack cuts the air and everyone goes down to the ground, face first, spread-eagled. Faith and Ditto are still rolling around on the ground, but it's pretty clear that Faith has the advantage over her. There's a wet pop and a scream and then stillness.

"Shut up! Stupid bitch. You ever. An' I mean ever, look at her again an' I'll rip this fuckin' arm right offa your body. I'm the new bull in the pen. You got me?"

Ditto doesn't answer, so Faith yanks hard on her arm making her scream again.

"Alright!! I swear…Jesus…"

Tears are streaking down her face and I almost feel sorry for her. It's got to hurt having a person's full weight on your dislocated shoulder.

"Let go…please…please…"

Faith hesitates before looking up at the oncoming mass of guards in riot gear. She slams Dittos head into the ground face first once to knock her out.

"Don't fuckin' forget."

I watch in horror as she lifts Ditto's limp body and tosses it at the first round of guards warily approaching.

"Faith!" What the hell is she doing??

"All part of the plan, B."

And that's the last thing out of her mouth before the guards fall on her in a pile of batons and Plexiglas masks. Oh my God. She's going to let them beat her unconscious. I start to get up from the ground to run to her but a big boot comes down in the middle of my back, forcing me back to the ground with a grunt. Gravel digs into my cheek, but I don't care. I twist my neck as far as I can to see Faith. She's got her arms up to cover her head, but I can see her face. At least. I can see her eyes.

She looks pained. Okay. Getting the shit beaten out of you is painful. But there's something else there. Something more than the physical pain of the beating. I feel sick to my stomach watching but I don't want to look away. She's taking this beating for me. The least I can do is not look away in shame. Her eyes flick away from mine to rest on Ditto's heaped form. Oh. She feels bad about that. About what she did and how she had to do it. I don't know how I know that, but I do. I know it deep down to the core of my being.

Guilt. That's what I'm feeling. And it's not mine. I concentrate hard on the connection between us, feeling it stretch out from me to her. My body tenses and I start to get up again but the boot comes back down.

"STAY DOWN!"

I gasp at a sudden surge of fury, and glance back over at Faith. Her eyes are blazing and her hands are down on the ground already starting to push herself up. Fear like I have never known in my life flares up bright and strong in my chest. She's going to kill him for that.

FAITH, NO!

I shove all of that anxiety into the connection, and it makes her stop. Long enough for someone to bring a baton down on the back of her head. Long enough for them to finally take her down. She hadn't fought them. Any of them. She laid there and took it. And she did it all for me. I watch them zip tie her hands and feet before they drag her off. Probably to the infirmary. If they bother to stop there before they chuck her into solitary. A choked whimper pulls my attention away from Faith. Ditto's eyes are closed and she's huddling in on herself.

Finally the weight on my back lifts and I scramble to my knees to take a look around. Faith is gone. Most of the guards are too. Shit. Now what? A brown hand and arm reach down in front of my face, and I blink to focus on it. It's another inmate.

"Easy, white girl. Just offering you a hand up."

Oh. Well. Okay then. I take the hand and haul myself up.

"You got shit on your face."

What? Actual shit? I reach up and brush away the imbedded chunks of blacktop. Okay. Well, as long as it's not actual shit I'm okay.

"Thanks. I think."

I turn to focus on her and notice two things at once. One. She's attractive. And two, she's not human.

"You know, I've had my face smooshed into the pavement plenty of times since I got here and you've never helped me up before. Why now?"

Her arms cross over her chest and she turns slowly from me to watch Ditto and her friends get helped up to the infirmary.

"Never had a reason to before." And she does now? I glance at her warily.

"And now?"

She turns just as slowly as before, but this time to focus on me. I'm instantly caught in her amber eyes. They're so intense, they look like they're glowing. I have to blink to keep my focus and she smiles. God, she's got great teeth. Except for the part where they're just a little too sharp for my liking.

"Wasn't sure you were the Slayer before. Now I am."

Um. What? I know my eyes must bug out of my head at that. She chuckles a little bit and rocks on her heels.

"How's your back?"

My what? Oh. I reach back and touch the soft cotton of my T-shirt. Its gritty. And I'm pretty sure there's going to be a bruise, but it'll heal.

"It's okay." She nods. "I'm Buffy, by the way. And you are?"

I hold out my hand to her and she looks at it for a long second. I don't think she's used to people offering her a hand. And I wouldn't normally but she hasn't done anything weird. Except surprise me by knowing who I am.

"Watching your back until your friend gets let out of the box."

I narrow my eyes and it makes her smile more. Just what I need, another Faith in my life.

"You can call me Ramsey."

Ramsey. Hrm. I nod and start following her toward the building. I note that she's wearing a red jumper too, but the arms are cut off of this one. If I had tattoos all down my arms I'd probably cut the sleeves off my jumper too.

"So, do you often help Slayers in prison?" No. Because as far as I know there are only two and they're both here. Her laugh is warm even if it sounds throaty like a growl.

"Only ones that shouldn't be here."

Annnnnd whaaaaaaat? Let's just cue the music here while I figure out what the hell to say.

"What do you mean by that?"

The doors to the building click locked behind us as we tread the concrete halls. I notice that Ramsey doesn't make a sound as she moves. Even with my sensitive hearing I can barely hear the brush of cotton against cotton as she walks. Trippy.

"I mean that not everyone in the Underground is on Dante's side."

Dante? Who's Dante? What is she talking about? Who is she talking about?

"I don't know any Dante. And I don't know how you know whatever it is that you know. But I do belong here. I killed someone. I killed a kid." She snorts again.

"If you say so." We stop at my cell and she leans against the bars as if she's perfectly at home.

"She's probably going to be gone a few days, but I expect they'll release her back in to the G.P. before too long."

General population. That's where Faith was before. I nod slowly still trying to figure this all out.

"I don't think anyone is going to bother you for awhile anyway, but…all you have to do is call my name."

There's something about the way she says it that makes me wonder. I start to nod but she's already gone.

What…the…fuck?

Chapter 5

It takes more than a cheap shot ta keep me down. Which is the first clue that somethin' isn't exactly right. Because here I am, one cheap shot later an' I'm still face down on the cold grimy cement. Shit. I think I know where I am. Just to make sure though I keep my breath steady while tryin' ta get any kind of clue. All I can hear is the intermittent swirl of water in the commode. It's got a bad leak. Alright. Well. At least I know I'm in solitary. The lights come on in a harsh flash an' I'm really fuckin' glad that I haven't opened my eyes yet.

"Get up, Slayer."

Yep. I'm boned. Fuck. I blink a few times before slowly workin' the kinks outta my body and standin'.

"Knew there was somethin' up with that last hit."

I rub the back of my neck while I try to take in my surroundings.

"So. You know who I am. Who the fuck are you?"

Probably I shouldn't be so antagonistic but what do I care? I'm already trapped. For the time bein'.

"Someone who had a feeling you would show up."

Great. So now I'm predictable. I roll my eyes before takin' in everything I can about my cell. Steel door. Concrete walls and floor. Air duct is too small for me ta get through. Too high up ta bother with anyway. Toilet. Yeah I'm not goin' there on that one either. Not that I expect there to be anythin' of value under the moldy pad that goes for a mattress, but I use my toe ta lift it an' look anyway. Roaches scurry out, an' I sigh. It had ta be roaches. I hate roaches.

"You won't find a way out. Or anything of use to you, so you might as well get used to your surroundings."

I grunt and ground my heel down on a roach.

"Ya know, at first I took ya for a Lifer. All business an' good ole fashioned gruff. But now it looks like somethin' else is goin' on."

Which means that this is bigger than even Giles guessed. I knew I wasn't gonna get along with that guard the first time I laid eyes on her. If I hadn't been distracted by Buffy in the yard I might have known she was more trouble than she looked. My fingers graze along the door frame. Hrm. No magic. No electricity. I wonder if I can bust the door offa the hinges.

"So you noticed. Very perceptive. I told Dante he set up the wrong one."

Uh huh. I knew it. I fuckin' knew it. I gotta get outta here before this goes bad. I pull my arm back, fist tight, but stop.

"I wouldn't, were I you."

Hrm. Is she bluffin'? Let's see. My fist rockets forward hard an' fast, right in ta the metal door. The steel buckles under my knuckles but it doesn't give. Of course now my hand fuckin' hurts cause I probably broke a few bones. I shake it out an' glare up at the bright lights.

"I warned you."

"Yeah, yeah. Ya fuckin' warned me. What do you want?"

Goddamn this hurts. Whatever. I shake it out an' give the door another look. Well, I can't punch through it. I don't even think I could kick through it.

"Nothing. You started a fight. You're being punished. That is all."

I started the fight? Me? All I was doin' was helpin' B with her jumper. Heh. An maybe tryin' ta rile up some feathers. The memory of B's face when I touched her arms. Mmm. Yeah that's gonna be helpin' me out later tonight when I'm alone. Or at least when this fucker stops talkin' ta me.

"Dante doesn't want you harmed. He only wants you and the other…out of the way."

"Well, if he's not tryin ta harm anyone, why do we hafta be out of the way?"

Yeah. Answer me that one, bitch. She's silent for a little while, an' it makes me think I maybe won this round.

"He doesn't want to harm you. Or Miss Summers. I can't guarantee anyone else." Mm. So we're special is that it?

"An' he wants us outta the way so he can do what exactly?" Hey, if she's in the talkin' mood why not ask some questions. Right? It's not like I'm goin' anywhere at the moment.

"Why…to create world peace of course."

Um. Whaaa? I blink an' stop pacing to stare blankly at the wall. World peace? Ya gotta be kiddin' me.

"Every mind, every body bent to the will of a greater being. No more war. No more suffering. Unless, of course, you resist."

"And if someone resists?" Silence again. That's somethin' I need to keep note of.

"They will be dealt with appropriately."

Yeah. Like stickin' me in the box for a fight I didn't start. I'm already not likin' the methods this Dante douche is usin' but I'm kinda thinkin' his plan is more like world domination. Probably a lil mass genocide too. Those are always the freaks that think they're makin' progress towards peace. I sigh deeply.

"So what does he want us alive for? He's gonna do what he wants ta do right?"

More hesitation. I think she doesn't quite know the answer to that. An' that's somethin' more that what's she's actually sayin'. I crunch another roach before findin' a spot in the corner an' settling down.

"Dante has his reasons."

"Yeah, I'm sure he does. All big-wigs do. Know what I think? I think you're stuck on babysitter duty, an' ya don't exactly know why. All you know is that Dante or whatever his name is told ya ta keep us in line. See. I think you think you're closer to the Man than you actually are. Cause if you were in good with Dante, you'd know why he's goin through so much trouble to keep us alive."

The lights go out and I sigh. Okay. Well. Now I can't see the roaches comin' at me. I dunno if that's a blessin' or a curse. Wait. What am I sayin'? Of course it's a curse. I can hear the little bastards scurryin' around but I cant fuckin' see them. Just to be on the safe side I pull my legs up to my chest an' wrap my arms around them. I doubt the cockroaches are gonna leave me alone but I'm pretendin' that if I make myself small enough they won't notice me. I need ta keep my mind off shit so I gotta think. I gotta think of the best way to get this information back to G-Man. Without uppity-britches over here findin' out about it. Well. I can't do anything about it right now anyway. Guess I'm just gonna hafta sit this one out for a few days. Or however long it takes for me to be over my punishment. That's just gonna burn my ass the whole time I'm in here. I know it.

"Wait. Are you serious?"

I have to ask, because Ramsey is the type of person that is hard to read. Her unlined face makes it hard to tell how old she is, or what her ethnic background is or even if she's lying.  Though with her skin tone, I'd have to say not white.

"I do not seem to be laughing."She blinks those big gold eyes at me before looking at herself in the polished metal mirror attached to the wall of her cell, "Why do you think I'm not serious?"

I watch her poke and prod at the skin on her face as if she's looking for some signal or sign that suggests any kind of humor. Yeah. She's going to find none. I'm not sure Ramsey even has a sense of humor.

"That's a hard line to swallow, is all."

She turns slowly to look at me before moving to sit next to me on her bunk. To be honest, I didn't think that I'd ever trust her, but in the span of three days she's pretty much been my security blanket. And she was right. No one bothered to lay a hand on me, or even look at me since the fight. Of course. Now it all makes sense.

"It is not a…line. You belong to the other now."

Yeah. I'm starting to realize that now. I'm going to kill Faith when she gets out of solitary. If you know, I don't grapple her to the ground and snuggle into her first. I sigh heavily and get up to pace the cell. I've realized that being in a cell isn't so bad as long as it's not mine.

"She did it to protect you, I think." As if that would help the fact that she's effectively taken away my identity as an individual.

"Yeah. The problem with that is that I don't need Faith, or you, or anyone else to protect me!"

I know my voice is getting louder so I try to modulate it.

"And to make things worse, she's landed herself in solitary. When she gets out she's going to be…" I don't even know what she'll be like. Crazed, I Imagine.

At the very least she's going to be extremely pissed off. Which will lead to badness between us because, hey, I'm kind of pissed off myself here.

"Do you not think she intended this to happen by starting the fight?"

She didn't start it! How many times do I have to tell people that? Ditto started it. She threw the first punch. I give Ramsey a look and start to open my mouth to tell her just that, when she raises a hand to stop me.

"I know. I know you feel as though she did nothing wrong. And. In the real world I would agree with you, but this is not the real world. This is prison. Ditto considers you to be her chattel. What your friend, Faith, did was…considered rude."

Rude? Okay. Maybe a little heart poundy, but not rude. At least for me, it wasn't rude. Pulling Dittos arm out of the socket…well, that was kind of rude. But it was totally deserved!

"I am not chattel."

"No doubt, Slayer. However here, you were perceived as such. Faith took you without payment, and you let her. What Ditto did was well within her rights here."

Rights? Rights!? Where were my rights when I was getting pummeled just for breathing?? Where were my rights when I was hiding like a rat in the laundry room just hoping no one would see me? I give a disgusted mutter and flop onto the bunk next to her.

"Buffy…please understand…if she had not claimed you, it would only be a matter of time before someone else did. In a much harsher way."

That raises goose bumps on my arms.

"What do you mean by that?"

She looks uncomfortable. Which. Let me tell you, is a feat considering the fact that she doesn't normally look uncomfortable about anything. She's hesitating.

"I mean that others less scrupulous would try other ways to claim you."

Oh. Well, clearly she doesn't really know Faith. Her scruples are more like suggestions rather than actual ethical convictions. I roll my eyes at that, but I can't really argue it because I've seen it happening since I got here. I just never really understood what that meant.

"If it helps, I believe she does not actually intend to make you her property."

Honestly…I think if it had been all about claiming me because she wanted me I'd be happier than I am knowing that she was doing it only to protect me.

"Yeah. That's the thing about Faith. When she wants to be the good guy, she's the good guy to a fault." I know it confuses her, because Ramsey tips her head to one side to consider that.

"That is not what the Kromanah think."

The Kromanah? Are we finally going to get some answers here? I turn my head to look at her fully.

"What's the Kromanah?"

"It is the name of my people."

Yeah, about that. What exactly is she? I raise my brows and open my mouth but she stops me with less than a look. More like an unlook. My head swivels and I close my eyes so I can concentrate on sounds instead. Feet. More than one set. When I open my eyes Ramsey is already standing at her open cell door looking down the line.

"You must go, Slayer. Quickly."

Okay, that's worrisome. I get up and lean around the edge of her shoulder. She's taller than me, big surprise, but not too tall that I can't see. Guards. Armed guards.

"What's going on, Ramsey?"

She turns and grabs my shoulder, swinging me away from the door just as the guards pass. My senses tingle faintly at the soft dragging scrape along the floor. Faith. I start to turn, but Ramsey has me in a grip tighter than I would have guessed.

"A moment. Please."

It's the please that gets me to stop struggling against her. As soon as the guards are far enough away she lets me go. I jet out of her cell door and stare at the body being dragged between two guards.

She must be out cold.

"Is she going to be okay?"  Ramsey's body is warm next to mine.

"Yes," She sounds so sure that I'm just going to believe her. "Perhaps…we can discuss the Kromanah another time? You must be anxious to see to your friend."

Yeah, like I believe for one second that she's concerned about Faith. Or me. I think she's buying time. But ask me if I really care.

"Good idea. See you later."

She nods, but it's not anything I see because I'm already trailing along the catwalk after Faith. She's so not going to be a happy camper when she wakes up. And I'm suddenly unsure if being the first thing she sees when she opens her eyes is such a good idea. The last time we took each other by surprise like that it led to badness. And bleeding. Oh well. One way to find out.

Chapter 6

Ow. Motherfucker. I'm so fuckin' tired of getting my face punched in. I groan an' try to roll over but I can't because my head is stuck. Well. It's not really stuck, I think. It's on somethin' soft an warm. Somethin' that smells like Buffy. My eyes flutter open an' focus on B. Ugh.

"Hey you."

I sigh an' try ta sit up.

"Hey, B."

"How are you feeling?"

I close my eyes an' think about it. Nothin' really feels hurt. But my head is killin' me. I raise a shoulder an' shrug before getting off the cot.

"What are ya doin' here?" She looks a little hurt but she shrugs right back.

"Waiting for you to wake up. They must have given you a good one. You were out for about twenty minutes."

Huh. I nod at that an' rest my hands against the wall facin' away from her.

"Are you sure you're okay?"

I nod at that. "Yeah. I'll be good in a little while. I did it to myself."

Buffy chuckles an' it makes me feel a lil bit better. Even though I'm in a piss-poor mood.

"How'd you manage that?"

I look over my shoulder at her an' shrug.

"I was pissed off, an' every time they opened the door I acted out. Until they just started hittin' without carin'."

I shouldn't have expected them ta try an' be reasonable just because they aren't tryin' ta kill us. But seriously. Cattle prods? Jesus. My jaw clenches as I turn and stare at the wall in front of me. I don't want to look too hard at her.  I'm afraid of what my body's reaction is gonna be. Just because I made a big show of makin' her mine before, doesn't mean I'm gonna be all give it up bitch about it. Well. Maybe a little bit. My resolve wavers an' I turn to watch Buffy pace my cell like she's not sure what to do with herself here.

"Faith..." I wait for it while she gives a soft almost pained sigh. "Why...? Why do you fight so hard?"

Why? I grunt and turn back to face the wall again. I can't believe she's askin' me that.

"Why don't you?"

I probably shouldn't have spit it at her like that. Buffy recoils a lil bit an' crosses her arms over her chest as she paces more. Damnit. I didn't want it to be this way. I can't help it. The anger inside of me is like...an animal. It's ravenously hungry. An it's hungry for Buffy in one way or another. To fight her or to fuck her. Either way I'm just barely managing ta keep it all wrapped up.

"Look, I'm sorry. I just got...I'm a little pissed off still. Probably you should go. I'll catch up with you later okay?"

I wait in silence for the sound of her heavy steps taking her away from me. But all I hear instead is the soft creak of her slight frame settlin' in on my cot. Fuck. She's gonna choose now to get all belligerent with me? It's just like a chick too. I roll my eyes and let out a slow, deep, calming breath.

"What's going to happen if I leave?"

Huh? Well. If she really wants ta know I'll probably go roam around an' try to find someone to score with. Just ta take the edge off. Worse comes ta worse, I'll take a minute to get all up close and personal with my left hand.

"I mean in the mood you're in, I don't want you to get in to a fight or anything. You'll just end up back where you came from."

It's really not funny but I laugh anyway. B's concerned about me. How fuckin' funny is that shit?

"I don't wanna fight someone, B. I wanna fuck 'em."

If she's not careful, it's gonna be her.

"About that..."

Shit. Now what?

"Did you lay claim to me like a possession?"

Uh. Yeah. But I'm not sure I wanna tell her that. Unless it's gonna get a spark of a reaction out of her. Anger. Irritation. Anything. Just not this broken shell of a girl I once knew. Gimme somethin', B. My eyes beg it of her even if I'm still pressing my palms to the wall. It itches. I wanna turn and face her, I wanna take her in my arms. I wanna do so many fuckin' things to her.

"Yeah. I did. Why? Ya wanna give it up for me, B?" There's enough of a thick silence between us for me to pull away from the wall to turn and stare at her.

"I'm not your toy, Faith."

No? Prove it to me, Buffy. I stalk toward her until our knees bump. Her breath hitches and her legs open slightly with a quiver. Jesus. She wants me. Maybe as bad as I want her.

We're walkin' a fine line here, me an' B. I could push it, push her. Or I could get a hold of myself an' do the right thing. Fuck fuck fuck fuck fuck.

"Never said you were a toy, B. Just said you were mine. Gonna tell me I'm wrong?"

Please. Please Buffy, just fuckin' grow a pair an' tell me ta fuck off. Because the more I think about it, the more I realize I'm the one on the hook. An' I'm just twistin' an' squirmin', pretendin' that I'm a good guy when really...I wanna own you. Maybe not all of you but I want somethin' that's just for me. An' I'm just fucked up enough to try it. Her tongue flicks over her bottom lip an' I push my advantage by pressing against her legs an' givin' em a little nudge so I can stand between them.

Goddamn I want her.

"I...don't know."

My brow comes up at that. I didn't think she'd be so bluntly honest about it.

"I don't think I'm anyone's anything," A furrow appears on her forehead, "You cant just waltz in here and make me your bitch, just because you think I need rescuing."

Huh. Hadn't really considered it that way. But since she says it, I hafta remind myself that I didn't come here for this. I shake my head an' step off a few paces.

"You shoulda left when I told ya to, B. Now's not a good time to start pushin' buttons." She's always gotta make it fucking difficult.

"If I leave, you're just going to go off and hump the leg of the nearest moderately attractive woman. And if she doesn't speak, all the better. Right?"

Whoa. I'm sensin' a little trouble here.

"I got needs." I won't even feel bad about that. An' if she tries to make me, I'm gonna say something. Buffy isn't my girl. She never was. "Why?"

"Doesn't that make me a dumb trick or something?"

Dumb tri... I have to bite my lip at that.

"Because I mean you just laid claim to me, and your first day out of solitary you're looking to score pussy from some random bitch?"

Uh. I think she's jealous. I blink and look into her eyes. Something sparks in their depths like electricity. It sets off a deep needy throb between my legs. My Buffy is in there. Deep down she's still in there.

"Dunno. I think it just makes me look like a supa pimp." I bite my lip again. This time to keep from groaning out at the look she gives me. "Anyway, I only pulled that shit ta keep that bitch's hands offa you. It's not like you're really mine, B." Yeah. That's me pussin' out.

Faith Pussybitch Lehane. That's me.

"Wow. You're really slow."

Wha?

"I have needs too."

I know she's go...wha? I blink when she gets up from the cot and slinks in closer. It kinda reminds me of a kitten. Ya know, when they sneak up close ta lay on ya when they think you're not lookin'? It's like a slow meander in my direction.

"Thought you weren't anyone's toy."

"I'm not. Just because I want...to feel connected to someone doesn't mean that a person can own me. And as much as I appreciate this knight-in-shining handcuffs routine...I don't need you to fight my battles."

Bullshit. An' I'm gonna call her on it too. I grab her an' push her hard into the wall. My hands grip her arms tightly when she puts up a pathetic attempt to struggle.

"Bullshit. If you were yourself, I'd be on my ass chokin' on the blood from a busted lip."

An' we both fuckin' know it. There's a beat of silence. Mmm. She smells good. So good I get distracted enough to miss her expression but not distracted enough to miss the change in her heart rate. We lock eyes after a second.

"I know this place. I know what it is and it isn't. Just let me lead this dance." I can help you, B. Ya just gotta let me.

"What do you get out of this?"

I guess it's a fair question. My nostrils flare slightly as I gaze down at her body. She wants me. But I'm not gonna chase the rabbit this time. She's gotta tell me she wants me. Not just dangle the possibility in front of me. That shit gets old. I give her a sardonic look but tighten my grip.

"It doesn't suck to look like I'm fuckin' you. Gets me a lot of attention, an' ya know how I love that," I let her go an' trail a finger along her neck, "But it doesn't get me anything. I didn't come here ta get between your legs." But I wanna. Goddamn do I wanna.

"Then why are you doing all this? Really?"

I don't know if I can tell her. Not the whole truth. I clench my fist an' bring it down to my side.

"Because I've walked in those shoes. But I didn't hafta walk in them alone. An' you shouldn't hafta either," Her intent gaze makes me back down an' look away.

"So...you're just trying to be my friend?"

I give a short nod. Kinda.

"And it has nothing to do with getting under my skin or into my head?"

Not really. I shrug slightly at that, "That's just kinda the bonus."

There goes that eyeball roll I hate so much. Never thought I'd be so fuckin' thrilled to see it.

"And this claiming thingy?" I sigh.

"Uh huh. Over protective much?"

So what? I give her a defiant look an' clench my jaw, "Ya done pretending?"

She huffs, "Yes."

Thought so. I grunt an' start shifting from foot to foot. I need release here soon.

"So you weren't going to um...you know..."

Claim her? I snort at that. I think she's offended.

"Not for lack of wantin', B." Okay I'm just playin' with fire an itchin' to be burned. C'mon Buffy. Take that step. Tell me ya want me. I can see it written all over your face.

"I wouldn't have said no."

"You're not sayin' yes." We're drawing closer with every hushed word. A whistle blows somewhere below us and down the hall. It almost seems like the block is waitin' on pins an needles too. I can feel my tank stick to my skin with the sweat risin' to the surface. It's not the only thing stickin' to me uncomfortably.

"Are you claiming me because you want me, or you want to protect me?"

Both? I try to control my breathing as I answer.

"I'm claimin' you because I can't stand the thought of anyone else havin' you."

Our lips lock in a hot wet kiss. I wasn't ready for it but I don't think it matters. I make up for my slow start with fiery passion, and fuck me the soft whimpered sounds escaping Buffy are makin' me wet. Wetter. Whatever. I know what I want. I know how I want it too. An B's gonna give it to me. I almost stop at the sound of  thick soled, heavy footfalls. It's a guard. A big one. If I pull away now it for sure ends this. But if I don't I run the chance of getting into trouble again. Nah. Fuck that. I'm not givin' this up. I press harder inta Buffy, face nuzzling under her jaw. The guard starts past my cell and it's like slow motion.

I know I'm temptin' fate here, but the second he turns his head to look at us I snarl an' give B a hard nip, markin' her. But fuck if I take my eyes off him as I do it. He doesn't even pause though. Somethin' like acknowledgement flickers behind his gray smoked lenses and he turns his head an' keeps on walkin'. Huh. I'm gonna hafta think about that later. Usually if a guard is gonna give ya a pass they wanna watch. So he must want somethin' else. I'll remember that and his face, cause I know he'll be back. Buffy's ragged breath draws my attention back to her an' I kiss her hard. We don't waste time with shit like buttons.

This thing that's happenin' has been a long time in the comin' and neither one of us wants anything ta get in the way. I tug and pull the jumper from her shoulders an' down to her waist. Before she can get her hands out of the cuffs, I pull up her white cotton tee trappin' her that way. She doesn't mind cause she stopped strugglin' the second I bit down on her nipple. There's a dull crack an' I think she smacked her head on the wall. I roll my eyes up, lips still locked around her. Yeah. Heh. B didn't even feel it. Her hips grind inta me as she bites her lip to keep from makin' a sound. No, I don't want that. I wanna hear her. I want the whole fuckin' block to hear her.

Gotta pull away now. Just to get her attention. Buffy's eyes open an' it takes her a second to focus on me. If I had a cock I'd be so fuckin hard right now.

"Faith?"

Unngh. I love hearin' my name like that. So soft. So trusting. My gaze drops to her mouth. Mm. So pink an' smooth. It's makin' me think of pussy. Her pussy. I wanna see Buffy's pussy.

"Like that, B. Say it again."

Only this time I want ya to choke on it. I slip my hand between her legs an' stroke along the line of her. Her panties are just as soaked as mine, an' I can feel the ridge of her clit standin' proud. Fuck fuck fuck. I give it a tweak just hard enough to make her knees go to jelly.

"Fa-aith!"

Yeah. Just fuckin' like that. It's drivin 'me fuckin' crazy, an' I don't think I can take much more of this. I pull away from her, lettin' her get her hands free before I give a hard tug on the loose arms of her suit. Our bodies meet with the force of a thunder clap an we almost go down.

"Oh god..."

"God can't hear ya in here, B. But I can."

I'm right fuckin' here, Buffy. You an' me. God's last rejects. The devil doesn't want us an' God...well, that fucker forgot all about us. So fuck 'em. We'll make our own religion right here, right now.

"Fours to the floor."

Jesus. Or. Whatever. My breath hitches when Faith smacks my ass the second I'm kneeling on the bed. It shocks me into dropping to my elbows as well, but I guess that's what she was going for. It's all going so fast. So...furiously. I don't know how this happened, but I can't say I didn't want it. I can't lie and say I didn't want her here with me. But...how? Why? And why the hell am I thinking about this now?? Faiths' growl as she yanks my panties down my legs and off is enough to start a fresh flood of liquid heat between my legs.

I've needed something to make me feel for so long. Something to break away the wall of sorrow. Someone good at tearing things apart. Someone with Faith's face. Her body. Her scent. I just wanted her. I wanted her to rescue me. I can't lie about it and she's not letting me. I look over my shoulder to see her fumbling to get her jumper over her shoulders and down her arms. I'm glad I'm not the only one who has a problem with that. But it's taking her attention away from me and I don't want that. I want her to always have her attention on me because the rain can't reach me if I'm stuck in her shadow, her eyes a beacon to her rock solid strength. My hips roll back, knees wider.

Faith stops and stares at me exposed to her. For her. I have to swallow hard when she pulls off her tank top and drops it on the floor. The move is so casual seeming but there's a deliberateness in her eyes. She's giving me a show right back. And goddamn is it ever a good show. I've always wondered, always fantasized about her body but it's not even close to the real deal. Faith is gorgeous. Right down to every beauty mark and scar. There are a lot of them. Like Artemis rising. Goddess of the hunt, protector of young women. I think Faith would laugh at the last part but it's true.

There's a beat of silence before she grips my hips and brings my ass back against her. Oh god. She's so wet. I give a happy sigh at the feel of her, sliding like silk against me. She groans and grinds against me, eyes closed, tip of her tongue sticking out. One tanned arm snakes out and tweaks my nipple hard. My eyes shut as a rush of stinging prickles set me throbbing. It's that hard, needy throb that makes me cry out nearly pleading.

"Faith...oh...mmMm." Her teasing, exploring fingers make me bite into the pancake flat pillow.

"Uh uh, B. You don't get ta hide it."

There's a shift and I feel my arms drawn back, palms up to rest on my lower back.

"Lock those thumbs."

As soon as I do the muscles in my shoulders relax, pushing the rest of me in to balance. It's just this side of uncomfortable, but fuck me it's hot.

"That's my girl..."

Her fingers trail over my ass lightly before digging in and drawing me back again. This time I'm surprised into crying out loudly. It's not pain, it's surprise and, god help me, ecstasy. No warning, no preamble. Faith slides into me with three fingers. Full. It's the only thing I can say to describe it.

I can hear the block rats all down the line. Hooting and hollering. Some of them urging Faith on to anatomically impossible feats. I think she hears them even if she's acting like she can't. I think she likes it. I don't care, all her attention is on me right now. And every pounding thrust pulls a whimper from me. I need to let go. I need to let it all go. I'm not just giving her my body, I'm giving her the weight of my burdens. I'm giving her everything.

"Faith...please...please...I...n-need..." I think it's the please that does it.

Her pace and angle change, and I'm caught mid moan when her long fingers find my g-spot.  I guess this is what I get for poking the bear. I knew Faith would be in a mood when she woke up, and I purposely prodded her sore spots. I wanted this. I want it. Period. Tears leak from the corners of my eyes as the pleasure builds to a nearly painful point. All I can think of, all I can feel is the feeling of sweet release. I'm not the only one making sounds as we collapse together on the bunk. I shiver when she pulls free and slings an arm around my body, pulling me into her again.

It's possessive. She's making me hers. Every little gesture means something else now. I rest my hand on her arm and stroke the skin.

"That was..." I don't have words.

"Just the appetizer."

Um...huh?

"I'm the main course, so I hope you're hungry."

A flush rises to my cheeks and I turn to look at her. Yep. She's serious. Not that I have any argument with that arrangement or anything. It's just that it was so bluntly said. And. I fucking liked it. My back arches and her skin slides along mine. Yeah. I'm hungry for her. I roll over so I can face her.

We have to talk. Not about this. About other things. About life outside these walls. About innocents and demons. About everything we're hiding from right now. But I can wait, because none of that is anywhere near as important as the taste of her filling my mouth. Or the sound of her encouraging gasps and muttered curses. Right now this is the only thing we have to be doing. Because we need it. I need it.

Chapter 7

Holy shit. How did we get here? I mean. I know how we got here, an' damn, it was good. But I mean. How did we get to this place? I'd ask B, but she's knocked the fuck out, snorin'. I'm tryin' really hard not to laugh too but its' really funny. I bet if I told her she snores she'd get all pissy with me. I run my fingers through her hair and sigh. This is probably about the worst possible thing I could have done. But fuck if I'm not happy right now. Well. Happier than most times anyway. In the back of my mind I know somethin' is going to make this all go to shit, but I don't hafta worry about that right now.

Right now the only thing I gotta worry about is Buffy. Oh. And that Dante guy. Hrm. I roll over a lil onto my back an' B snuggles closer, throwin' a leg over mine an' tryin' her fuckin' hardest to make me her body pillow. Shouldn't I be feelin'...trapped or something? Cause I don't. Instead I'm laying here with a big fuckin' smile on my face tryin' not to disturb her. Jesus. I get one chance to be all up in Buffy, an' I'm already actin' like a retard.

What was I thinkin' about? Right. Dante. So I'm wonderin' what the deal is here. Most take- over-the-world types don't wanna keep us out of the way safely. Usually it's a keep-us-out- of- --the-way- permanently deal. Somethin' ta bring up with Giles. I just don't know how to get him word without someone listenin' in. Buffy's breath huffs out all warm against my neck and I shiver.

"Faith. Sleep now good." Heh. She's even cute when she's barely awake.

"How'd ya know I was awake, McSnorington?" Her arm tightens around my middle at that.

"What?" I bite my lip to keep from snickerin', but she can hear it in my voice.

"Faith. I do NOT snore." Sure ya don't.

"Uh huh. Musta been some other convict." Only she's the only one in my cell besides me.

"Better not have been."

My brow comes up at that. Does that mean this is more than just connectin' with someone just cause she needs it?

"I mean. I...this thing...I want it. But I don't want to keep doing it if you're going to sleep with other people."

Is she fuckin' kidding me here? She's already laying down rules like were together? I snort at that.

"Wow, B. Ya didn't even wait for the wet spot ta dry."

I pull away from her an' reach over the side of the cot for my jumper. She blinks an' reaches out for me but I avoid it easily. Dunno where I'm gonna go cause this is my place but I'm gettin 'the fuck out of here. Nice. Real fuckin 'nice.

"Wait! I didn't...Faith!"

I'm tryin' to pull my tank back over my head when she swings me around to face her. I'd like ta pull away, but Buffy won't let me go that easy. Yesterday she could barely keep me offa her, today she's fuckin' Iron Man. Go fuckin' figure.

"Faith look at me, please."

I do, but it's not a nice look. She doesn't flinch but she does let go of my arms.

"I'm sorry. I didn't mean to imply that you'd...you know...go around doing anyone that comes your way or anything..."

"If this is your way of makin' it better, B, it sucks."

She stops an' blinks at me.

"Look, I get it. You don't want me fuckin' around."

Buffy starts to follow me out of the cell but I give her a shove back in there, "You gonna put clothes on or what?"

Buffy looks down at herself and turns a bright red before skittering back into the cell to grab her clothes. It won't take her forever to get into them, but I'll be long gone before she's even done. I gotta admit. That happened a fuck of a lot faster than I thought it would.

Buffy didn't disappoint. I grumble an' take the stairs down two at a time before leapin' over the rail near the bottom and takin' a quick left. Which puts me nose to chest with the same guard that saw me an' B earlier. My head is slow to come up but I hold my ground.

"What?"

"Are you in a hurry to get somewhere?"

No, I'm just blindly runnin' away from my cell just because. I give him a glare.

"Look, I don't got time for this shit. What do you want, huh? Free show? Lil bit of pussy? Drugs? What?"

He blinks a few times before coughing.

"None of the above," He looks uncomfortable, "What happens between you and the other is none of my concern."

Um. Wha? Since when does that happen?

"My job is to keep you as safe from Dante as I possibly can."

Okay. What the fuck?

"Now is not the time, but perhaps after the dinner hour?"

Do I trust him? Nope. But I kinda wanna see what this shit is about.

"Where?"

He glances around then nods in the direction of a hallway. I don't know where it goes cause I didn't have enough time to figure shit out before I got into that fight.

"Laundry room. It will be private."

"Yeah right. You think I'm gonna go to the laundry room alone with you? That's just askin' for a beatin' an' rape. No thanks."

Somethin' about what I said makes him squirm.

"Try again."

"Can you think of another place to meet?"

No. But then I don't exactly want to be meetin'. I sigh an' nod cause I know I'm gonna meet up with him anyway.

"Until then."

He walks away from me, an' when I turn to watch him he's already gone. What the fuck?

"Faith!"

Shit. She caught up with me while I was wastin' time with Mr. Mysterio. With a growl I turn an' watch her bounce down the stairs to me. Before she can say anything I grab her arm an' drag her down the hall. I don't know where I'm goin' but I'm pretty sure it's more private than in front of a row of cells.

"What are you doing?"

"Shh."

My senses search out the space around us, but if anything is out there I can't tell.

"Listen. Forget that shit. We gotta talk about other shit." It's harsh enough to make her stop an' gape at me.

"Oh..kay. I have to talk to you about something too, but..."

Jesus. She's not gonna let this rest is she? I put my hand over her mouth.

"Mmrmmphm."

"Is this shit between us more important than innocent people?"

A beat of silence before she shakes her head no. Thought so.

"Then later. Right now we gotta be big girls and do some work. Like it or not." Her little lip pokes out in a pout an' goddamnit now I feel bad. Shit.

"So what's up?" I give a nod an look around just in case.

"How much do you know about the kid?"

Buffy gives me a blank look and I sigh. Crap. I better go easy on this one.

"B...the kid. The one you think you hurt. How much do you know?"

Her face goes pale and she turns on a heel and walks away from me. Are you fucking kidding me? I bolt after her.

"Hey! Knock that shit off, B."

"Knock that shit off? KNOCK THAT SHIT OFF!?!"

Uh-oh. I'm in trouble.

"I can't just knock off what I feel, Faith! Not about that, not about you, not about anything!"

Now it's my turn to blink. I gotta remember why I was so stoked to see her pissy before. Oh yeah. Cause it's better than the fuckin' lifelessness in her eyes before.

"Jesus Christ, what is wrong with you that you don't understand that?"

What's wrong with me? Lots of shit. I grab her arm before she can turn away again.

"You want to talk? Fine. I'll talk your fuckin' ear off,"  I'm gonna kick myself in the ass for that later I think, "But not right now. Not about that. Now focus, B, cause I think we might be in some serious shit here."

Okay. I want to strangle her. I probably want to strangle her because she's right more than she's annoying. And frustrating. No wait. I don't want to strangle her because she's right at all. I glare, but cross my arms over my chest and nod.

"Go on."

"How much do you know?"

I shrug. Next to nothing. I mean. I didn't really want to know anything about him.

"Okay this is gonna take some time. Let's get the fuck outta here. Shouldn't be that many people in the library right now."

It's funny. Years, and I don't know how many thousands of miles later, and we're still trying to figure out our game plan in a library. I follow Faith, only flinching when someone looks our way.

She notices and slings an arm over my shoulders as we walk.

"Jesus, Buffy, no wonder you were getting' picked on. There's not one person in this joint you couldn't take. Why you so scared of them?"

Um. Because I could hurt and kill them.

"You know what were capable of."

I don't think I should have to say more than that. Aside from the mistakes of her past, Faith just put a woman in the infirmary. And she was holding back even. She pushes in the reinforced glass door to the library and gestures to a corner that's relatively private. I settle onto a wooden chair and sigh.

"I cant take that risk again."

"First of all...you don't hafta kill a person to knock them the fuck out. Second, what I'm capable of an' what you're capable of are two different things. I know you think you did the unspeakable, but ya didn't."

So she says. But I saw him. I felt his blood coating my hands. I could smell death on him, thick and hot and sickly. I did that.

"You weren't there. You don't know what it was like. There were so many demons. Back-up was on the way. I knew it, but I had to keep hacking and fighting."

My eyes drop from her face and I swallow hard.

"Every time one fell, another took its place. Somewhere along the line I went down and they just...piled on. There were so many of them, all biting and clawing and I knew...I knew it was the end."

I look up at Faith but she's silent. Just watching me.

"Something changed in me, Faith. Right then...something changed."

A shadow moves behind her eyes and she closes them in pain.

"And then?"

"And then I killed them all."

I became wrath incarnate. All I knew, all I sensed, was rage. And I slaughtered them all. I don't have to say all that. She knows. I can feel a trill of excitement through our connection and I know that in some way she's responding to the violence of it all.

"I was so lost I never saw the boy. Not until I had..."

Cut his head from his body. It was so easy. As if there was hardly any bone and muscle to cut through. That's when I knew I'd made a mistake.

"You weren't supposed to see him, Buffy."

I blink away the pools of salty tears in my eyes.

"Why do you think the cops showed up before back-up?"

Um. What? I blink at her a few times before shaking my head.

"Sounds of a fight?" I don't know.  It all happened so fast.

"Yeah, and they just forgot about the piles of bodies you cut through except for the kid?"

Well. I...hey!

"While you were here, I was out tryin' ta come up with some good explanations. Turns out someone's payin' Slayers to look the other way. That's why your nearest back up never came. They weren't even in that part of town."

"That's...that can't be Faith. They're Slayers. They're...good."

She gives me a look that clearly says I'm being dumb.

"But..why?"

I just can't Imagine why anyone in the organization would do that. Hey. I've had my share of betrayals in my life, but this is...it's not one person after me. It's a group of people breaking down the one thing that my entire life has been about. Faith's dark eyes cloud and she looks away from me.

"Because sometimes the power, the money, the rage...it all gets too much."

Sometimes I forget. That not everyone thinks like me. That the world isn't so black and white.

"I tracked down a demon. He wasn't too talkative at first, but he gave us somethin' to go on. I handed him off ta G hopin' he'd have more luck."

My brow comes up. He wasn't talkative at first. I don't want to know how she got him to talk.

"What did you find out?"

Faith is watching me carefully.

"You know, for someone that was ass-deep in denial about twenty minutes ago you're takin 'this all really well."

She's right.

"I don't think I've started to process yet. Are you going to tell me what he said?"

She nods. Okay. Let's hear it. I have the funny feeling that whatever Ramsey has been trying to tell me will make sense now.

"He said he did some favors for a demon named Dante. All he told me was that he was supposed ta keep Slayers blinded by the bling."

I'm assuming that means paid off. Okay. Dante. That's the second time I've heard his name. I don't think I'm going to like this very much.

"Dante?"

She nods again. "Know 'em?"

I shake my head slowly at that.

"Not so much, no. But I've heard the name."

Her lips pull down at the corners.

"When?"

"The day of the fight. One of the inmates came up to me. I think she's a demon or a half breed of some kind. She said not everyone was on Dante's side. It didn't mean anything to me then...and to be honest..." I hesitate and Faith inches closer so that our knees touch, "I was more concerned about you."

Her shoulders slump and she nods like she knows. But she doesn't. She has no clue how I really feel because she won't let me talk about it. At least. Not at the moment.

"Mm. Well. Dunno how many of them are in on it but I'd say a good fair amount of the guards are keepin' both eyes on us."

My brows raise. How does she know that?

"Sometimes the voices I hear aren't in my head."

Oh. I give her a nod and look around. It's not that well stocked of a library but it's quiet and it's calm.

"None of this changes the fact that an innocent is dead because of me, you know."

Faith mutters. "I don't think that was a kid."

So it was what exactly? A four foot tall demon in a Batman T-shirt? I bite my lip and shake my head. That's a lot for me to swallow. Even with the faint blossom of hope rising in my chest.

"Buffy, listen ta me. Just for a second."

Her voice changed. It's softer now. I look up at her and realize she's exceptionally close to me. Not that I mind.

"You did not kill an innocent kid. You were set up. Dante wants you in here. Wants you like this. An you're givin' it to him."

Well what else am I supposed to do? I give a soft huff of despair at that. "So how do we deal with this?"

"By meeting up with your new friend. An' by tryin' ta figure out if this guard is for real or just playin' me."

Guard? What guard? Didn't she say the guards were in on this? I open my mouth but she shakes her head.

"Just ran in to him before ya reached me. Said we needed to talk after dinner in the laundry room."

"And you agreed?" Because that doesn't sound very...safe.

"Yeah. But you're comin' with me. From here on out we do everything together. You good with that?"

Everything? God that sounds like it's perfect. I don't have time to answer before the dinner buzzer goes off. We must have spent more time having sex than I realized. So do not mind.

"I think it's for the best." Yes. That's me trying to sound nonchalant about that.

I don't think it worked;  Faith just snorts and stands.

"Hey...don't think that our talk isn't going to happen. I fully acknowledge the extreme imminence of figuring this Dante stuff out, but we have things between us. Unsaid things."

"We got too many said things between us too."

I knew she was going to punk out on that.

"But a deal is a deal. After this thing tonight." Relief courses through me. Okay. Tonight then.

Chapter 8

I'm not nervous. Not about meetin' this guy. I'm more worried about the stupid talk I'm supposed to be havin' with Buffy after all this. Fuck. I give a sigh before pushin' my tray away from me an' resting my elbows on the table. Buffy looks up from her food and gives me a look.

"What's wrong?"

"Nothin'. What makes you think there's somethin' wrong?" Besides the fact that I'm singin' with enough tension that I could pop at any minute.

"I've never seen you pass up on food before."

Oh. That. I shrug slightly at it then glance at her nearly empty tray. Her appetite must have come back. It kinda makes me smile but I cover it up by slidin' her my tray.

"You're not going to eat that?"

"Nah, B, help yourself."

She gives me another look before takin' my roll with a quick snatch of her hands. I can't hide the smile this time. She smiles back at me and we bump shoulders lightly. Why can't it always be like this?

"So what's wrong?"

Oh yeah. Cause B never gives up. I sigh an' shake my head but I'm still smilin'.

"Just thinkin' about all of this. Thinkin' about you."

And me. About us. What it could mean, what it could cause. There are too many variables. Ya know? Like one little thing could make this disastrous.

"Thinking about our talk?"

I nod at that and she reaches out a pale hand to rest on mine.

"Look. I know you said later and I'm all for that. I just want you to know that no matter what happens...I don't regret one second of what we shared."

No? I didn't think she would. I mean, okay, I know this is arrogant or whatever but it's me we're talkin' about. When it comes to fuckin' pussy, I'm the greatest. No fuckin' lie. I love pussy. I love it so much I've made fuckin' it my top priority the past few years. If I could spell better I'd write a fuckin' book about all the ways to lick, suck, an' fuck pussy.

"Ew. I totally felt that. God, you're egotistical."

I blink at that before shrugging. I can faintly feel her disgust through the connection.

"C'mon, B, you know I'm the best ya ever had."

I'm tryin ta keep us from getting' too heavy right now. We gotta keep it light until we see what all this Dante shit is all about.

"So besides the point."

Uh-huh. She's blushin'. I grin and duck in ta give her a nip on the shoulder. For a second everything is totally perfect. We could make this work. If we wanted it bad enough. Right? Isn't that what normal people do or some shit like that? Buffy reaches out and tucks a strand of my hair behind my ear. I can still smell myself on her skin as she traces her thumb over my lower lip. Ungh. My clit throbs once in reaction.

"God, you're easy."

We chuckle at that as I catch her thumb between my teeth. I'm not actually bitin' just holdin'. Some of the noise of chatter dies down as the rest of the inmates clue in ta us. B doesn't seem to notice. Or if she does, she doesn't care.

"Tell me somethin' everyone else doesn't already know."

"You're in love with me."

Uh. My mind instantly goes blank. Like someone left the TV on an' all you can see an' hear is static an' snow. One perfectly arched brow goes up an' my eyes are drawn to it.

"Am I wrong?"

Lie. Lie, if you value your life!

"No." FUCK!

Buffy nods once. "I love you too, Faith."

Okay. Okay. It's cool. I can breathe. No one is gonna die. Or get beat up.

"We can work out the details later. I just...needed to know where we stand."

I get that, I guess. My head dips in a slow nod. Everythin' seems to be happenin' so fast. But maybe it's not. Maybe it's all happenin' just right. I dunno anymore.

"Together. We stand together, B. Always." She nods and smiles.

"As much as Id like to sit here and let you charm me all night, I see Ramsey."

I turn in the direction she nods toward. All of my Slayer senses go on high alert. She doesn't look like a threat as she makes slow rolling steps toward us. But everything inside me says that she's one badass bitch when she wants ta be. It makes the hair on my arms stand on end. Buffy gives me a soothing caress an' I relax. Buffy nods to her friend who takes that as an invite and sits at our table.

"Ramsey, this is Faith. Faith, Ramsey."

I'm pinned with an intense golden regard. We're sizin' each other up in that not so subtle way. An' if she doesn't break soon I'm gonna break her face. She doesn't really back down but she does give me a slight nod lettin 'me know that she knows my place in this here party.

"It is good to see you up and about. You looked rather...abused when they brought you to your cell."

Abused? I was knocked the fuck out. I blink an' look ta Buffy.

"I know. It's like a girl convict version of Giles."

Huh. I glance back to Ramsey an' consider it. I guess it is. But G would be way more stuffy about it.

"Time is running short, Faith."

I nod at that. We need ta get to the laundry room soon.

"You are going to meet a guard, no?"

Oh this just got more interestin'. I glance at B, but she nods. For some reason she trusts this...woman. Whatever else she might be she's definitely female.

"You know this how?" I'm not so ready to trust just yet. But that's just me.

"Vikrant is my brother. We came here together."

Huh. Well isn't that nice an' tidy. I drum my fingers lightly on the table top.

"He told me..."

"I'm not done askin' my questions."

She closes her mouth with a click an' I can feel Buffy tense up next to me. She doesn't like that I'm bein' mean to her friend. But I don't care. I want some answers an' the only way I'm gonna get any is if I bully them outta people.

"Who are ya, an' why are you so keen ta help us?" I don't think every demon is bad. It's just been my experience that not a whole lot of them are as noble of heart as Angel was.

"That is something I would not care to explain here. But I understand the need to know what is happening before we all meet in the laundry. We are Kromanah. Perhaps to you, nothing more than another demon breed. And in truth, our people would prefer to keep it that way but the balance has shifted and sides must be taken. We chose that of the Slayers."

I'm a pretty good judge of when a person is lyin' ta me. An I don't think she is. Oh, I don't think she's tellin' us everything, but it's enough that I'll wait an' see what they have ta say.

"Good enough. Let's go meet good ole Vicky."

"Vicky...heh."

Well she just got points for chucklin' at that one. I'm guessin' her brother is gonna be none too thrilled with his new nickname. Buffy starts to get up but her girl, Ramsey, is quick to put a hand on her wrist an' keep her from that.

"Perhaps I should leave first. It would seem odd for us all to wander off together."

She lets go of Buffy when I level a gaze at her hand. "My apologies."

"G'wan. We'll be there in a few."

She nods and gets up with casual ease. I watch her walk away for a second before pinnin' B with my gaze.

"You trust her?"

"Mostly. She's holding something back but she hasn't lied to me yet. So far she's been what she says she is."

Yeah. So far. That's the part that worries me a lil bit. Well. We're short on options so well have ta give a little trust here.

"Do you?"

"Dunno yet. I'm with you though."

That earns me a nice big smile. I love seein 'that smile.

"Knew ya were in there somewhere, Sunshine."

I reach out an' touch the tip of her nose with the tip of my finger. Buffy's eyes cross as she looks at my finger. Her nostrils flare just slightly an' her pupils dilate. Uggnnnnnhhh. Whatever she's thinkin 'just went straight through our connection directly to my clit.

"We have somewhere to be."

I blink at her.

"You tryin ta convince me of that or yourself?"

"Both of us, I think. Come on."

Fuck. Fuckfuckfuckfuckfuck!!! I growl and stand. This is probably the first time ever I'm glad I don't have a dick. At least I can walk outta here without everyone knowin' what I'm thinkin' about. Wait. This is me. Why do I care about that? I smirk nice an' big before raisin' my brow at B.

"This is one of those times I have to play bitch to you, isn't it?"

Yup.

She doesn't seem too broken up about it when she gets up and tugs at the front of my jumper like she's leadin' me on somewhere private. Sometimes I hate it when savin' the world is more important than my pussy. Still. I've waited for this for years. I suppose another couple of hours won't kill me. We walk out of the cafeteria without a problem, an' probably would have made it all the way to the laundry room if Gorilla-bitch hadn't popped up.

"Going somewhere?"

I sigh an' glance around us as women fill in the gaps an' spaces where a person could run to. Hrm. Either this is a set up or...this is a set up. So much for trustin' B's lil buddy.

"You wouldn't be going up to the library would you?"

Um. Wha? I blink an' glance at Buffy who shrugs at me. She must not know what's goin' on either.

"Oh don't look so surprised, we caught your little friend while you two were playing footsie."

Bodies move and Ramsey is pushed forward on to the ground.

She looks a lil beat up but not nearly as bad as she should if they worked her over. An' I know that they did. She glances up at those fuckers an' I swear ta god that her eyes glow fiery yellow for a second. I stop Buffy from goin' to her. She'll be fine. Speakin' of fine. Ramsey isn't the only one that looks better off than she should.

"What do you want?"

I know what she wants. She wants Buffy. Her tiny lil eyes drift from me to B. Motherfucker. I knew it.

"You have to ask?"

Fuck that. I move in closer to B, an' run a hand down her arm. It makes that bitch's eyes glaze over.

"You want her?"

She nods once. I chuckle.

"Too fuckin' bad. She's mine."

I'm just about ta wrap my arm around B's middle when she ducks around me, hands lingerin' on my chest as she leans in against my back. I chuckle at Ditto an' shrug.

"You couldn't handle her anyway. Not even all healed up like ya are," I let my eyes roam over her body. Mm. Demon somethin'. But it doesn't smell right.

"Oh you think so? I could have had her a hundred times before you even came here," She flexes to show how okay she is. I snort. Still couldn't handle B. The bitch snarls at me an' I grimace. Jesus. What the fuck is wrong with her mouth? It's like a goddamn toilet.

"I'm thinkin' the only way you get any pussy is by knockin out your prey with that nasty stank mouth of yours. What'd ya do? Gargle with raw sewage?"

Probably that comment wouldn't have been so bad if Buffy didn’t' hafta bury her head between my shoulder blades so she could hide her laugh. Ditto snarls and gestures to her crew.

"Get them."

I give a sigh and look over my shoulder at Buffy. She looks so fuckin' cute with her green eyes just peekin' over my shoulder. Well. Guess this is it. We don't even bother to move until the very last second. It's like the yard fight all over again. We move like were dancin' or fuckin'. I could go for either right now but a fight will do. None of them are the women that attacked me before. Those chicks were chumps. These ones know what they're doin. Problem is…even if they were demons, B and I still wouldn't sweat 'em.

"STOP!"

I don't. I take one last punch to the face of the woman that was about to take her own swing at me. She collapses to the ground like a sack of lead shit. Heh. Bitch. My eyes slowly roam over to Ramsey who has Ditto in a strangle hold.

"Leave them."

I know she's not talkin' to us, but damn the way she's lookin' at everyone makes me feel like she is. Buffy leans against me just a little as they all give us space. I look at her with my brows raised.

"I think the jig is up, B." She nods.

"Way up. Now what?"

Good question. I look at Ramsey and give her a short nod. She releases Ditto with a shove. One that puts her right into my arms. I smile at her right before I head-butt her. Fuck! She's got a hard fuckin' head but she slumps to the ground in a spray of blood. She's not gonna have much nose left after all these fights.

"Good plan there, Stud."

Hrm. I think I kinda like that new nickname. I give Buffy the most dazzling smile in my arsenal.

"I thought so. So what about them?"

I'm not even botherin' to look at the rest of them. Most of them are taking stock of the injuries they just got.

"If I were them I'd realize that this is the part where they run."

I shiver at Buffy's words. Goddamn I love when she gets scary. My smile turns predatory just before I glace at the few women bothering to try an' stare us down. Glances turn away, heads bow an' feet get ta shufflin'. That's right motherfuckers. Run.

"And this one? What shall we do with her?"

Ramsey's voice makes me look away from the retreating forms. I grab one of Dittos arms an sling her over my shoulder. Jesus. She doesn't just look like a gorilla she's as heavy as one too.

"We can't leave her. But if we take her she'll know too much."

Uh huh. Which means it's better ta kill her an' be done with it. I open my mouth to say it but I get cut off before I get anything out.

"No Faith, we can not just kill her. I know she's a piece of crap on a stick ,but…I don't think she's done anything to warrant a death sentence."

Oh yeah? How about puttin' her hands on you? I growl at that but heave the heavy body on my shoulder into a corner.

"Fine. Let's get the fuck away from here. Guards will be all over the place soon enough."

I start away not really carin' who's following. I want this day over with already.

"Vikrant?"

Okay. You know what's creepy? Finding out that the only person you've been able to call a friend for a long time, has eyes that glow. I mean it's not really that big a deal. Most of my friends from time to time have had cause to have glowy eyes. I've just never seen them glow from so close before.

"I am here."

A light goes on and we all blink away the flashes that cut our night vision out.

"Sorry."

I can hear Faith just barely grumbling about it.

"What has happened? Ramsey??"

He rushes to her side but she slaps at his hands almost like she's annoyed.

"Trouble. I believe they are on to us as humans are wont to say."

Someone has got to teach her how to loosen up.

"This will make leaving all the more difficult."

Leaving? Whoa there. I don't recall anyone saying anything about leaving. I am NOT leaving.

"Hello? Does anyone want to tell us what's going on?"

I'm pretty sure Faith would have asked the same question with a lot more cursing if she had been fast enough to. Matching amber eyes turn to regard me. Oh. Pretty.

"Well? Kinda waiting here, and not that I don't have oh say a life sentence to wait on you, but I could be doing other things right now."

I turn my head to let my gaze wander down Faith's body. She starts when she feels exactly what I'm thinking.

"Cut that out. Tease."

Tease? I open my mouth to argue that, but Ramsey and her small mountain of a brother nod. I think that was more for themselves than for us.

"Our time is short but I will explain what I can."

Why do I think this is going to take way more time than we actually have?

"There is a demon, an old one, named Dante."

We know all this. Moving on?

"It has long been that demons and humans share this world because there is no other option. It can not be conquered as its defenders are strong and fearless." At that statement she gestures to me and Faith. "And for many of us it has been the only home we know."

We look at each other then smirk and look back at Ramsey. Hey, job well done and all that. Right?

"So what happened? This Dante douche decided ta try an buck the system?" That's my Faith, always to the point.

"Well put."

This is from Vikrant. I blink at him and note the fact that for his size, he has a really gentle voice.

"Dante is only the name he took in this world. He is much, much older than that. And he has been planning this for a very long time."

How long? Probably longer than I've been alive I'm guessing.

"He has been watching for weaknesses. He found one."

In me. I nod at that even though he has the manners not to mention it.

"We get it. He wants ta end the world. Don't you guys have any original sinister plans?"

I have to bite my lip. Ramsey has a slightly annoyed look on her face. I don't think she likes being lumped in with the bad guys.

"Apparently not."

I can hear the amusement in his tone. I think I kind of like him.

"Those weaknesses he exploited, landing you, Buffy, here. I do not think he expected Faith to wind up on this side of the bars with you, but then I think she doesn't often do what people expect."

Boy does he ever have her pegged. I chuckle at that and look away from her outrageous stare.

"In any case we came here, hoping to help in anyway we could."

Ah-ha. So now we get to it.

"And what exactly are you trying to help us do?"

"Save the world?"

I have to laugh again at the man. Demon. Man demon. Whatever.

"Or at least help you get out of here to save the world."

"Yeah, I kinda sorta get that. What I don't get is why? Why help B? We don't know you from Adam."

Yeah. Good point. I blink at Ramsey who clears her throat and stalls him from speaking with a hand on his shoulder.

"We are because the Elder wished it to be so. Our people would not have willingly chosen the side of light, but this is bigger than the will of a nation. The world itself is at stake. After this place? Then what? What other home will be ravaged and its people destroyed?"

So this really is about the greater good. I really thought I had a handle on the honorable demons but I don't think I ever realized that even the evil ones have a code of honor.

Well, this is all well and good. But the fact remains that I'm not going anywhere just yet. I look to Faith who must read my mind.

"Okay. Good to know. Thanks for the offer but well get back ta ya on that."

She takes my hand in hers and tugs me away from the siblings. I follow because I've suddenly found myself wanting to. I'd follow Faith anywhere. Just as long as she's still holding my hand.

She waits until were far enough to not be heard before she lets go of my hand. Damn.

"So…what do you think?"

See? This is me not getting upset about her letting me go. This is me working on the problem at hand. I'm rewarded for my patience when Faith's warm arm settles over my shoulders as we walk.

"I think they're still not tellin' us everything. Who the fuck is this Elder person anyway? An' who said were goin' anywhere anyway?" Relief floods my body and I shrug slightly.

"I really don't know. All I know is that the more I think about it, the angrier I get. I was set up."

Faiths steps slow as I speak. She looks down at me with an expression I can't quite read.

"I know. You and everyone else have been trying to tell me that from day one. And while I know a part of me deep down already knew this…I needed to get here on my own. And before you ask…no I'm not over it. I don't think I'll ever get over the feeling of killing a child."

Even if it wasn't a child and he was already dead. Though I'm not positive on either of those things, I am positive about something.

This wasn't my fault.

Faith grunts and gives me a nod. "Sometimes B, the heart doesn't wanna forget."

I have to look away from her.

"Have you? Forgotten?"  I know it's a shitty thing to ask her but she's the only one that understands. A soft sigh makes me glance up at her from under my lashes.

"No, B. There ain't no forgettin' for the guilty."

No. I suppose not. I swallow hard and nod at her.

"But that shouldn't stop you from movin' on, bein' better. Bein 'more."

We stop at my cell door. I didn't think she'd walk me all the way here.

"What more is there, Faith? What more is there left to give?"

Because as long as I've been a Slayer I've been more and given more than anyone should ever have to. So when does that end? When can I be free?

"When ya don't gotta ask me that you'll already know the answer."

Oh…kay…cryptic much? I start to say it, but she leans down and gives me the single most perfect kiss of my life.

"Tomorrow, B. Right now we got too much to think about. Get some sleep."

I watch her walk away before I realize that she totally ditched out on our talk. I knew she would. Great. I sigh softly and slip into my cell to settle on the cot. Wow. Talk about roller coaster days. I wish I knew when this one was going to stop. I'd like to get off now.

Chapter 9

It's morning. I cant' see the sun in my cell but I know cause my body can feel the sun. I've never told anyone this before but when the sun comes up a lil part of me is scared. Like most vampires an' demons, whatever helps me kick ass doesn't like the light very much. I roll over on my side an' let my eyes drift open. Guess now is as good a time as any ta start my work out. Fuck it's early. And it's cold. I shrug into my jumper. Ya know what I miss about the outside? Space heaters. Where ever I ended up I forked out a few bucks for a space heater to warm my clothes up before I put them on.

Creature comforts. I smirk when I feel the other end of my connection's confusion. Somethin' is goin' on with that. We're...connected. Always were. But ever since I came here it's been stronger. I can almost always tell where she is now. Or what she's feelin'. If I try. I should ask her if she's feelin' it this strong too. The cement of the floor is cold against my palms as I start my push ups, but I barely feel it when I get a warm rush of affection from B. She's thinkin' about me.

On my twenty-eighth push up my elbows give out on me, an' I crash face first onto the ground. Fuck. Rollin' onto my back, I cup my nose an' mutter. If it weren't for the fact that B's thoughts just turned triple x-rated I'd be real pissed off. Damn. I dunno what she's thinkin' but whatever it is it's good. Shivers chase themselves down my spine. Fuck the work out. I get back in bed, kickin' off my clothes as I go. Yeah baby. We're about to take jillin' off to a whole new level.

I'm startin' ta wonder why I was so pissed off at havin' ta wake up early. My hand goes down between my legs. Damn. I haven't even had time to think somethin' dirty an' I'm already wet. Well. Not as wet as Buffy was yesterday. I groan at the memory.

She looked so fuckin' tasty with her ass in the air an' her head down. Her pussy was so pink an' swollen with need. Ungh. I can feel her respondin' to me now, curious an' eggin' me on. Jesus. She's teasin' me an' she's no where near me. My clit throbs an' I use a callous on the edge of my thumb ta stroke it. B's end of the connection makes me gasp raggedly an' arch my hips up. I bite my lip an' concentrate on what she's feelin'. Dominant. Hungry. Oh fuck me. I hope ta hell that means she wants ta fuck me hard. Time ta switch up from strokin 'to thrustin'.  It's hard an' fast an' I can tell she wants me to slow down. Don't ask me how I know, I just do. I growl out in frustration an' slow my pace, easin' back from the orgasm that was so close a second ago.

I'm pretty sure she's amused at my frustration. I can just picture her chucklin' at me. God she's sexy. More. She wants more. I add another finger an' let my pleasure slide along the connection to her. I swear I can hear her moan if I close my eyes tight enough. My legs come up, givin' me more room an' a better angle. A thrill goes down the line an' I hiss. More. She wants...more. I don't even question it, I just do it an' fuck if it doesn't make me wanna scream an' buck an' grip until I come.

But I can't. Not yet. She won't let me. Now...I know on some level that I could end this all right here right now and have my happy time my way. But, somethin' tells me it's gonna be so much better if I play this game her way. I bite down on my lip and give a deep groan as I twist an' rock with my own thrusts. Buffy went from just at the edge of my senses, to more. It's not really me anymore, it's her usin' me. Usin' my body with just her thoughts. Heat flares at the top of my head and drizzles down my body like slow honey.

Oh. Christ. The air goes out of my lungs and I open my eyes. I can feel myself echo against B's presence in my body. My head turns slightly to look down the line of my body an' I whimper. I've always know that I've had decent looks, an' I've always known when someone wanted me. But I've never felt someone wantin' me before. A fresh flood of wet slicks my thighs and coats her hands.

She likes it too. I can feel her pleasure vibrate along my skin like a soft hum. Jesus. I've never felt anything like this before. My thighs quiver at the hard pinching pressure on my clit, an' I cry out. I think I just woke up the entire block. Fuck if I care. Buffy laughs almost audibly and I whine a lil. She's gotta let me go soon. I don't think I can hold on my longer. I send out a plea for mercy down the line.

Her breath cools over heated skin between my legs but it only lasts a second before a fire breaks out all over my body. It feels so good it fuckin' hurts when she brings me over. My toes curl as every muscle in my body clenches an' contracts. My eyes close an' I can see her body pearly white in the dim light. Her thighs quiver with the last wave of orgasm when she pulls her hand free. I don't question the hows or whys of what we're doin here, I just know that it's fuckin' awesome.

The next time we fuck it's likely ta kill me.

That wasn't a complaint or anything.

We're able to hold this warm link for a few minutes before the buzzer goes off. Fuck. At least B is just as annoyed as I am. I feel the connection fade back to the low hum in the background of my thoughts. When I'm able ta sit up I notice the complete lack of sound down the row. Weird. I inch to the bars with a soft grunt and use my mirror to look out.

Every mirror is pointed towards me.

"Shows over, assholes."

Heh. Well, I'm probably gonna hafta be real careful the next time I'm in the shower but it was fuckin' worth it. It doesn't take me too much longer than normal ta get cleaned up an' down to the mess. B's already there waitin' on me. I grab a tray an' bump her shoulder lightly with mine.

"Hey, B." Her smile sets my world on its end.

"Hey yourself, Stud."

I like the sound of that.

"I love it when ya stroke my ego."

Whatever slop they're servin' today gets dropped on ta my tray. My nose wrinkles but whatever. I've had worse. S'long as it's not still movin' we're good ta go.  We're getting' looks but most of the people here don't give two shits about us. Vicky boy passes us with just the barest hints of a nod. I raise a brow slightly to acknowledge him before B an' I grab a seat at one of the far tables.

"Are these eggs?"

Probably supposed ta be but who knows what they really are. I shrug an' poke at what I'm pretty sure is oatmeal. I give it a tentative taste. Yep. And its not bad. It only kinda tastes like paste.

"I don't see Ditto around. You think she's in the infirmary?"

Maybe. I glance around the room an' sure enough, no Ditto. I give Buffy a grin.

"Is it too much ta hope she's dead?"

Her laugh makes my heart tingle. Yeah, I said it, so fuckin' what.

"I think that's about as likely as me and Xander having a love child."

Okay I gotta blink at that. I open my mouth ta comment but B puts her fingers on my lips and shakes her head.

"Hey...I'm not the one that slept with him, so don't even start."

Oh yeah. Well. That shit was a long time ago. I give her a teasin' growl an' bite the tip of her fingers.

"That was two an' a half minutes of my life like forever ago."

We share a laugh at that. I'm glad that she doesn't hold that against me. Or ya know. Fuckin' Beefstick. God. That was...I don't even know why she was with him. He wasn't that cute. He wasn't good in bed. He didn't even wear leather. I still don't know what the attraction was.

Buffy's voice nudges me out of my thoughts about Whitebread.

"So that was a trippy way to get happy pants this morning, huh?"

Happy pants. Heh. Sometimes ya just gotta love the way B puts things. I watch her fiddle around with her eggs a little. I think she might be a nervous about all that.

"You're tellin' me. Here I was getting' through my mornin' push ups, an' bam, your inner sex monkey came a callin'."

Buffy's mouth drops open in awe. Oh man, what I wouldn't give for a camera right now.

"Buh...you....I..."

Oh this is fuckin' priceless. I crack up laughin' and wrap an arm around her waist.

"I do not have an inner sex monkey. I don't even know what an inner sex monkey is."

This is good. The jokin' an' shit.

"And it is so not my fault that thoughts of you make me excited. I've been riding the repression train for a long time. Once you let go there's no turning back on these things, Faith. No turning back." She looks at me oh so seriously before givin' it up and gigglin'.

"I always knew you were a closet freak."

She pinches my inner arm hard. OW! I take my arm back an' rub the stop with a mock glare.

"Keep it up blondie, an' I'm gonna start refusin' ta put out."

Okay. We both laugh at that one. I'm about as likely ta refuse B as she is to refuse me at this point. Which is not at all.

"Yeah, that'll happen two days from never."

Well, she's not afraid ta call me on it anyway. B finishes what's left on her tray an' eyes mine. I tip it sideways an' give her half my eggs an' the rest of my toast. The fact that she's this hungry is a good sign. If we're gonna survive bein' stuck in here with shady cops, demons, and prison bullies she's gonna have to get her strength back up.

"What's the plan for the day?"

Well. It's visitors day. Which means were not gonna get to see each other until probably after lunch. But we can workout in the yard then. Maybe talk a little. Okay who am I kiddin'? I'm gonna be tryin' ta find ways to have my hands all over Bs tight little body. Oh yeah. Thoughts of that flood my brain.

"Faith!"

Wha?? I blink an' shrug.

"Sorry."

Not really. But she knows that. Buffy shakes her head with a chuckle.

"We can catch up later in the yard. You gonna be hangin' out with your buddy?"

Buffy nods. "Probably."

I give a slight nod too. I don't like it much but I don't have a reason to get pissy about it. So far Ramsey has been on the up and up. Maybe I'm just a lil bit jealous.

"You Don't like her much do you?"

It's hard ta answer that without getting' distracted by other things. But I did promise this so I shrug.

"It's not that I don't like her B. She seems alright. I just don't know what she wants outta this. It makes me wary. Plus she's not ugly."

She nods at it and munches a piece of her toast.

"Are you afraid that I'm going to hit on her or something?"

Uh. No. I give her a wide-eyed blink.

"No, but that doesn't mean she won't want ta hit on you."

Another nod.

"You don't have anything to worry about, Faith. She doesn't want that from me or she would have said so by now. And even if she did...I'm pretty sure I'm taken."

Sweeter words were never spoken, ya know? I smile at it.

"Yeah? That's good. I was gonna feel real stupid bein' jealous if ya didn't wanna be my girl."

"It's not a matter of want anymore, Faith. I wanted you in high school. Now it's need. I need you. I need to be with you. And...I just... I guess if I have to be the right now girl for you, I'll do that. But I'm willing to try anything. Because I love you and I know you love me."

I like how she's makin' this huge grand statement while gettin' her eat on. I reach up and brush some crumbs from the corner of her mouth.

"If we do this, B, it can't be for the right now. It's gotta be the now and forever for me."

I can feel the surprise through our connection.

"I've been hidin' from this for too long. An' I'm not perfect, relationships aren't my thing, so I'm gonna fuck up. Probably a lot. But..."

I gotta look away. Its' a lot to say that I haven't said before.

"You don't just feel someone the way I feel you. You an' me we're it for each other. I hope you know that."

"Wow. You really know how to make a girl swoon."

Huh? I blink an look over at her. Buffy reaches out her hand for mine an' we lock fingers.

"This is it, isn't it? It's really happening this time?"

Oh yeah it is. I swallow hard and nod maybe a little too quickly.

"Don't laugh, but you're my first girlfriend."

Buffy swallows the laugh before it comes out when she realizes I'm serious.

"You mean that don't you?"

I nod an' raise a shoulder in a half shrug.

"Never thought it was worth it. I mean the sex was good but I didn't wanna set up house with a chick." It was always too big of a commitment before.

"Have you set up house with a guy before?" Well yeah. But I think I know what she's really getting' at.

"Ya mean have I lived with a guy before, and am I currently livin' with someone?"

She nods slowly. I shrug an' offer up a sigh.

"I've crashed with guys before from time ta time but it was never serious, B. Nothin' has ever been serious." Not like this. I give her a grin though. "Of course if I could remember where my apartment is I'd be able ta tell ya if I share it with someone, but...."

"You've been on the road that long?"

I nod. I don't even know how long I've been on the road. I just know that between Giles an' Robbie I've been busy.

"What have they been having you do?" I don't wanna say it because she'll feel bad. But if I don't she's gonna be pissed that I didn't tell her.

"Lately I've been tryin' ta find out what really happened to you. Every lead turned to dust for awhile. I got a lucky hit from a friend at uh...a specialty love clinic if ya know what I mean."

I can read the curiosity and squick feeling she's havin'. It's kinda funny.

"A demon brothel?"

Hey everyone has their kink. Who am I to judge?

"I don't even want to know. Nice diversion by the way, but you haven't told me what you doing before that."

Hrm. I'm gonna have to think of better ways of avoidin' her now that we're a thing.

"Wet work."

The two words drop like stones between us. Buffy flinches an' turns away from me. I think she's turnin' a little green.

"I thought you were working for us all this time." She already knows. I can tell in the way her back goes rigid waiting for my answer.

"I was."

Her head dips in a nod. I just confirmed some things she suspected I think.

"The things I had to do, B...it was for the greater good. I swear. I never took an innocent life."

I don't know why its important to me for her to know that. I pretty much figured I'd carry the burden of it better if I didn't care what anyone thought. But I care what she thinks. It's why we didn't tell her.

"Giles is a part of this?" I nod. "I kind of thought so. It's a little weird to think, hey the love of my life is a contract killer."

Yeah. It's kinda weird to think of myself as a contract killer but a spade is a spade.

"Does this change things?"

Her head turns slowly to face me.

"God, no. Not between us. With Giles...that's up for debate. Someone should have told me this before. It's like they were keeping all these things from me and I don't know how to react to that."

If I say the wrong thing here she's gonna be pissed at me. I nudge her gently with my knee

"B," I shake my head and start again, "Buffy, it was my call not to tell ya."

Her eyes darken an' I wanna look away so bad but I can't. I owe her the truth an' I won't be a pussy about it. I'll own it.

"I didn't want ya to know that I was doin' this. I didn't want you to think...that I was bad again."

Her breath comes out in a whoosh and I think that shocked her.

"Faith...that's...I wouldn't have, I don't think you're bad."

Okay. That's good right?

"But they could have told me they were operating that way without telling me who it was doing it."

Yeah right. I give her a look. We both know that she wouldn't just accept a nameless faceless person torturin' an' killing for the cause. She'd want to do it herself. Take the blood onto her hands and live the guilt on her terms. And she'd end up exactly where she is now. Only worse off. I shake my head.

"C'mon Buffy, we both know it wouldn't go down like that."

After a long second she nods. "Yeah. I guess you're right."

She picks up her tray and stacks it on mine. We don't have much time before we have to split up again to go back to our blocks. I wonder if killin' a guard to get sent to her block would piss Buffy off. Probably.

"I seriously need a shower."

I let the topic change go by without comment. She needs time ta process an' I get that.

"Yeah no kiddin'. Jesus B, if I had known ya wanted me that bad I'd have tried harder ta get ya naked before." She gives me a sharp jab with her elbow as she chucks the trays. Heheh.

"You can have me naked any time you want me when we get out of here."

It's the first time she's said anything like that. I raise both my brows but don't say anything. I think she's gonna need more encouragement before she really commits ta wantin' out of this place. Which means I have a few calls ta make.

"So I'll see you later?"

"Yep."

Buffy pushes up on her toes and gives me a quick kiss on the lips before headin' down the hall to her block. I think that all went pretty fuckin' well. I'm practically skippin' to the common room. I hafta stare a bitch down ta get the last phone in the bank. It's not much more private but it's somethin'. I dial a backline that only a few people know. The automated operator asks for my name so it can politely inform the person I'm callin' that a someone in prison is on the line.

"Alpha zero two zero zero."

"Faith! I was wondering when you were going to show up on the radar again. Of course I wasn't expecting prison." I chuckle.

"Hey Xander. Listen, is this line clear?" There's a long pause before he answers.

"It is now. You want to let me know what's up?"

Boy is that ever a long story. I'll see if I can shorten it.

"I got myself tossed in the can to be with Buffy." Well okay I guess it wasn't that long of a story.

"Wow. Now that's what I call romantic. Did she reward you appropriately with naughty sweaty jail house sex?"

He sounds a lil too hopeful for someone that's supposed ta be talkin' about his best friend.

"Yeah, like I'd tell you. You should be glad I don't tell B what you're sayin, she'd kick your ass."

He chuckles at that an' it sounds nice. I miss him.

"No kidding. How's she doing? Any change?" He's worried. All this jokin' between the two of us was all for show. He's been dyin' ta ask about her.

"Doin' okay. She knows somethin' is up now though. Tell Giles I need some information on demons called the Kromanah. Might be some connection between them and Dante."

"Check. Anything else?"

"Yeah. Can ya find a way for us to have better communication?" He hesitates.

"That's going to be difficult. I'll see what the coven can come up with though."

"Good job, boyo. Now...get me Will. I need her help."

"Did you hear me, Buffy?"

What? Huh? Who? Oh. I blink at Ramsey and flush a deep pink. Her head tips to the side and I blow out a breath.

"I'm really sorry. What were you saying?" She grins and shrugs.

"Nothing of  import. You've been distracted since this morning. I take it things are well with you and the other one. Faith?"

As well as I could have ever imagined them to be. Well. Except for the B rated prison chick flick we're both in. What the hell was I thinking? How could I have been so stupid?

"Yeah. We're working things out. And...I'm starting to see what's been in front of my face all this time." I was set up.

"That is good. I had hoped that you would find your way soon. It will make getting you out of here easier if you are being cooperative."

I think that she means she would have tried to get me out of here willing or not. My look is significant enough warning for her to take a step back.

"That did not come out as I intended it."

"I'm sure." I give her another annoyed look, but go back to folding my stack of sheets.

"I only meant that should it become necessary, I would have tried to get you out at any cost. It is important that you understand your innocence in what has happened."

Vitally important,  I'd say. But hey, we're past that now. At least were trying to get past that. But on to more important things.

"So does that mean you have a plan for getting out of here?" Let me clarify. "For both me and Faith?" She looks around for a second before leaning in casually while folding her sheet, making it seem natural.

"Yes, but it is complicated and requires complicated magicks."

I really don't like the sound of that but short of digging my way out with a spoon I don't see any other option.

"It is true that it is more difficult to take a fourth, but I can see that one directly affects the other. It would be unwise to attempt to separate you."

Smart girl. At least she knows where I stand with that.

Too bad I don't feel comfortable telling her about my connection with Faith. It's terrifying and amazing and three million other things. And I feel so alone not being able to talk to anyone about it. I guess I should talk to Faith because she's feeling it too. I know that logically. But I just...miss girl talk. And Faith is definitely not the girl talk type of person.

"You don't know the half of it."

She smiles and grabs another sheet while I stack the newly folded one. We work well in a team. It'd really suck if I had to do these chores with someone as shitty as Ditto.

"My people will offer you as much help as we can when we get out of here. We are not many but we are fierce."

There are tons of demon breeds. So many that I couldn't possibly hope to know them all. So I don't know anything about her people.

"Can you tell me about them? Your family, I mean."

Ramsey pauses to shake out the balled up sheet.

"We are a handful of nomadic tribes around the world. For many years we lived in moderate coexistence with humans. The occasional Feast of Innocence was overlooked and in turn we kept the area clear of brigands."

Brigands. Boy that sounds like a long time ago.

"How old are you?"

Ramsey blinks at me in confusion. "I am not sure." Oh boy. Old doesn't begin to cover it. "I only know that I am the last of my kind born before the First Crossing."

Uh...huh. I feel like I'm in history class all of a sudden. "So you remember where you came from just not how long ago?"

"Yes. A social uprising forced my people and a large family of human traders out of Eastern India. We traveled together through much of Europe."

I...think she's talking about the first movement of gypsies. But that can't be she'd have to be like...whoa old.

"Wow. You don't look a day over jailbait."

That earns me a laugh.

"A healthy diet."

Yeah. And the occasional Feast of Innocence. Whatever that is. They probably ate babies. What could be more innocent than a baby?

"So not inspiring me with confidence in you."

"My apologies." She raises a shoulder in a shrug and I sigh. Again. I'm going to have to take my chances. We don't have very many other options right now.

"Hey I'm not so big on the judging these days. I am in prison after all." Not because I killed someone. Because I was stupid enough to believe I did. Then I let myself get carted off and pushed away my family and friends. Again. What the fuck was wrong with me?

There's another one of those silences where I stack and she grabs a new sheet.

"Yes, something that confuses me greatly. I have known you but a short time and yet I do get the impression that you would just lie down and take it."

She almost seems uncomfortable saying that. Almost like the phrase is too much modern slang for her.

"I'm not. Not usually. I'm starting to think there's something more going on with my state of mind than we all considered." Like magic. Or drugs. God. Why can't my experiences with drugs ever be happy and fun like everyone else? "Do you have any ideas about that?"

Another shrug.

"I would start looking at the changes in your life around the time you started to feel not like yourself."

Hrm. That's going to be a little difficult to pin down. When did things go wrong for me? How long has Faith been working for Giles? The only thing different was that I was seeing someone then. It doesn't happen often but I try to go with it when it does. No telling when you're going to be getting naked with someone other than yourself sometimes. But that couldn't possibly have anything to do with it could it?

"There wasn't much out of the ordinary. You know the usual. Break up to make up to break up because the make up wasn't that great,"  I chuckle at that and smooth out a wrinkle, "But Jamie is one of the good guys. He's worked with Slayers for a long time before I even met him. He's the one that helped Xander implement the pat..." Patrol rosters. Mother fucker.

"Buffy?"

"Never mind. The sooner we get out of here the better."

Ramsey nods solemnly.

"I will speak to my Vikrant tonight."

Chapter 10

Its fuckin' hot out here. I tip my head to look up at the sun beatin' on my melon. Goddamned Southern states. I flip the sun a bird before Buffy takes my finger and waggles it.

"One of these days God is going to smite you for that."

I just snort at her. Yeah, him an' what army?

"Okay don't believe me, but don't expect me to kiss your crusty, burnt, and still smoking stump when he zaps that puppy with lightening one day."

Is she on crack? I just keep starin' as we walk out on to the heat steamed concrete.

"You're nuts, ya know that right?"

Buffy's smile is so sweet I could just melt right here. Only I'm not the melty type.

"Yeah, but you love me anyway."

I think she's gettin' a kick outta sayin' that. I look around just to make sure no one else overheard that.

"Relax Stud, your reputation is firmly in place."

A few women skitter away from us as an' I have ta smirk just a little. Word gets around. I'm bettin' by now everyone knows what went down with Ditto last night. Good. That'll keep me from havin' to beat someone's ass again for awhile.

The faint whistle of air is all the warning I get. My hands come up instinctively in front of my face just in time to take the stingin' slap of a leather basketball. I stare at it for a second before wingin' it back to the group of women standin' mid court. They range in color from velvety midnight black to soft cocoa brown. One of them, the tallest, meets my eye an' we stare each other down for a long time. Buffy turns her head to look an' I grip her arm.

"Don't."

Not yet. Buffy takes the hint an' leans into my body. The second she does I smirk an' drop my head a lil to nuzzle her hair. It's all the other woman needs ta drop her eyes from me.

"Are you going to tell me what's going on?" This from the small warm spot against my neck where B's got her face pressed.

"Were gettin' checked out. C'mon."

I take her hand an' lead her toward the court. Nothin' like lettin' off a little steam the good ole fashioned way. Sports. Uh huh. I know ya thought I was gonna say sex. But I already had that kinda work out today.  I keep just to the edge of the court. It's clearly marked out territory already an' I'm white. Stretch comes up to toe the line on the other side, the ball trapped effortlessly against her hip.

"Yo."

I wait it out, checkin' out her crew before I dip my head an' light a cigarette. The pale gray smoke curls up and away before I answer.

"Sup."

Buffy is lookin' back and forth between us tryin' to figure out what the hell is goin' on. It's all about appearances, B. Cock of the walk, an' all that shit.

"You're the one that laid out Ditto. Twice."

Yeah that's me. I smirk at it an' flick a lil ash on the ground.

"She had it comin'."

I give Buffy a long lingerin' glance. Our eyes meet; lust tugs against my connection like the swell of the ocean.

"She put her hands on my girl."

When I can, I tear my eyes away from Buffy an 'eye the chick in front of me. Who happens ta be eyein' B like she's a piece of meat. I growl an' edge even closer to the paint.

"Easy, Stud."

Buffy's hands are warm on the skin of my arms. Our connection gives me a jolt an' I let her soothe me.

"You know I'm yours." Damn right she's mine. I smirk at an' shrug off the pissy mood.

"Hmm. Dunno who you are, girl, but damn, you walked in here like you own the joint. Hit the hottest ass, bring down the biggest bitch. Now what?"

Now what?

"Now I play some ball. If the court is open, that is."

She looks over her shoulder at her buddies all laughin' at me.

"Sure. Courts open if you can find someone to be on your team."

Not a problem. I jerk my chin at Buffy. Stretch's eyes nearly bug outta her head at that.

"Aw damn, and you're funny too. Ain't no way you and the princess walkin' off this court without bleeding." It takes until the word bleedin' for B ta realize were talkin' about her.

"Hey! I am not a princess. Okay, one time I was May Queen but that was like..." She trails off as we stare at her. Stretch gives Buffy a thoughtful look before noddin' to me.

"Fuck it, this'll be good. Two on two. You and me gonna have a real good time."

The glint in her eyes makes me smile. Oh she's a fighter. All lean muscle an' cornrows. This is gonna fun.

"Make it three on three and you got a deal."

She snorts an' looks around waitin' for me to point out my third. I can tell Buffy isn't quite sure who I mean until I give a long shrill whistle.

"Yo! RAMSEY!"

The other side mutters an' starts shootin' us looks. Heh. They know they're about ta get royally couch fucked. They just don't know how bad yet. They discounted B, an' that's the worst mistake they could have made.

I can see Ramsey's rolling gait as she makes her way over. "Yes?"

"Wanna play some ball?" She eyes the ball then me before smiling wickedly. Jesus. Get a load of those chomps. "I'll take that as yes."

"Um, Faith?"

I look down at Buffy who looks around at each of us.

"Don't you think I'm a little you know...on the short side?"

She knows better than they do that it doesn't matter how short she is. Buffy is still a Slayer. An' she needs ta remember that. I hook a finger in the top of her jumper an' tug her closer to me. Buffy reacts immediately an' snuggles in with a half shy grin. Goddamn.

"C'mon, baby, all these bitches wanna see us work it."

That gets a round of whistles an' wild laughs. Buffy blushes oh so sweetly an' it makes me catch my breath.

"Doncha wanna show 'em what we've got?" Her body shivers at the tone of my voice and she practically snatches the ball outta Stretch's hands. Heh. That's my girl.

"Aight, aight, we can dig it. Three on three, first to fifteen. But just to make it interesting what happens when we win?"

Oh she's too confidant. I'm gonna shake that rock solid confidence she has in herself. Her eyes go to Buffy again. Ha. Don't even think about it.

"Depends on what ya want. But just so ya know I asked Ditto this same question." That makes her stop a second.

"Okay okay. Sheeit, you're real damn possessive, we get it already."

Don't fuckin' forget.

"Whacha got that I can't already get?"

This is where it pays ta be in tight with a guard. I look her up an down, notin' the fine lines of muscle under ink darkened skin. She's been here long enough ta have a bead on everything that goes down in this place. It could be useful later. I note the name tatted across her wrist an' jerk my head at it.

"That your girl?" Her eyes narrow.

"My kid. What's it to you?"

Sore spot. I give a nod.

"Just askin'. Guess the question isn't what I have but what I can get. What ya need?"

There's a stir an' we all look over at the shadow of the tall watchtowers. I can see the glint of metal from here. Yeah. We all need ta get out of here. But I want her ta give me somethin' I can work with here.

"This ain't your first ride at the rodeo, is it?"

Nope. Not by a long shot. I just flick my cigarette butt across the yard an' cross my arms over my chest.

"Six months ago we got a new associate warden in. Now I can't get my supply of green in. You lose you start mulin'."

Oh that's fucked. But it's not gonna matter.

"Deal."

Buffy clears her throat beside me but I don't look at her. I don't need to. I can feel the needle hot prickles of her anger on my skin.

"An if we win...we get a favor." There's silence as they stare me down. I don't give an inch though. I've been mad dogged by worse than them.

"A favor is a damn good prize. Ain't no game I know that's worth that." She snorts an' shakes her head, so I shrug.

"Not even if we spot ya a ten point handicap?"

An the crowd goes wild. Cause now it's not just us an' them, its' everyone in the yard. The Aryans that were at the weights, the Dominicans and Cubans playin' dominos, the Samoa Nation sunnin' on the bleachers, hell even the guards are all starin' at our little drama.

"Bitch, are you insane?"

Well yeah. I just shrug.

"Yeah, we're down. You take us with that big a lead an' you can have your fuckin' favor."

Good deal. I just smile at Buffy who rocks on her heels and rolls her eyes.

I know what being a mule means. I hope to god that Faith can get us out of this. She knows what she's doing right? I mean. I hope she knows what she's doing. Ramsey doesn't seem the least bit disturbed so I guess that's a good thing. Faith turns to me an puts her hands over mine on the ball.

"Its gonna be easy-peasy, B. Trust me."

It's really hard not to trust her when she's looking at me that way. Her smile so easy, and free. I can see everything she is in that look. And it takes my fucking breath away.

"Easy-peasy."

I give a nod at it and wait for Faith and Ramsey to settle into position on the court. I pass the ball off to Ramsey and run in to cover the open man. Okay. Let's look at this realistically. I don't care how kick ass being a Slayer is, I haven't played basketball since the fifth grade. And it sucked because Jimmy Allen Anderson knocked me down and made me scrape my knees. I still have the scars if you look really closely. Asshole.

I think I just found my inspiration for getting serious about the game. We pass the ball around a few times before Faith shoots a perfect basket. It makes the other team just a little nervous but they cover it easily with over enthused bravado and ass slapping. One of them takes it out but Ramsey streaks by and steals it before the pass is ever completed. We all watch as the ball arcs up perfectly before plunging through the net. I may not be very good at playing but I can appreciate the perfection that was that shot. Ramsey and Faith high five it, but I'm just a little too busy keeping my eyes on the player I have to cover.

She's bigger than I am by a lot. Not just tall but broad. The ball is in her hands and she blows me a kiss before blowing right past me on her way to half court. Did she really just do that? I grunt and spin on my heel, putting on a burst of speed to catch up to her.

"Thanks!"

I swipe the ball and lob it over my shoulder without looking because I know Faith will be right there waiting for it. She doesn't disappoint me and we make two more points before they even know what hit them.

"It's okay,  s'alright. We still got the six point lead."

Yeah. Not for long. There's a hard and furious push between the two teams to get control of the ball and keep control of it. Like magic the ball floats over to me, right into my hands. I know it's not magic, but boy was I ever not prepared for that. Just as I turn to shoot, I'm body checked to the ground. My face smacks on the ground and my lip splits open. Again. I grunt and shrug off the hands trying to help me up. I know it's Faith and Ramsey, but I'm okay. Just annoyed.

"You okay, B?" Faith tries to tip my head to look at my lip but I jerk my chin out of her grip.

"What's the matter princess? Game too much? Don't like it rough?"

Oh man. That was something she so shouldn't have done. I watch Faith's back stiffen and her head turn slowly to mark the woman that pushed me.

"I'm good, Faith. We've had worse before breakfast before."

She smiles at that and I smile back. And then hiss because ow! "Did they make the basket?"

Faith nods and I sigh. "Sorry."

"No worries, B. Were just playin' with them."

Yeah okay were just playing with them and their now seven point lead.

"You sure you're good?" I nod again and she grins. "Good, now this is what I want ya to do. See that one there?"

I hope she doesn't mean the one that looks roughly the shape and size of a California Redwood.

"Uh...you're pointing at someone else right?"

"No, B." She snorts and shakes her head. "You trust me yeah?"

Well. Yeah. I nod.

"Okay, then trust me when I say you can do this. They don't know they just fucked with."

Her smile is so broad and pure I can't help but believe in her for just a second.

"They're gonna give her the ball and you're gonna be waiting. Stick to your player until she makes it to the top of the key."

The what?

"Huh?"

"The top of the free throw circle thing."

Oh. Why didn't she just say that to begin with? I give Faith a bright smile.

"When she comes up you, get right in front of her. Take the charge."

Is she insane? I give her a questionable look but nod.  The play starts up and I can see where my team can steal the ball away but they aren't. They're letting that mammoth woman take the ball and head straight toward me. Little ole me. Fuck. I break away from my player and Ramsey takes my spot in a flash of movement so fast I didn't register it until it was done. Oh god please don't let this hurt as badly as I think it will.

I can see the look in her eyes two seconds before her body connects with mine. It's kind of like the look a bull gets when he's tired of letting you get in his way. My muscles tighten as I brace against the impact. There's a moment of utter stillness before everything snaps in to real time and the woman goes bouncing off me to land with a hard slap on the hot concrete. The ball pops out of her hands and goes rolling up to Ramsey who sinks it easily.

Faith swaggers up to me and looks down at the poor woman staring up at the sky in a daze.

"Hunh. How's that for rough, bitch?"

It's strange. They've been calling each other names since we started this game, and normally that leads toward bad feelings but here it's like a term of endearment. At least on this court. Faith holds out her tanned arm and helps the woman to her feet before winking at me and taking spot further down the court.

Faith and Ramsey are just everywhere at once. God, I wish I had that kind of grace. When the ball gets snatched and passed by the other team right out from under me I feel a hesitant touch on my end of the connection. Faith. I glance at her and shake my head sorry that I'm letting them get away with another easy basket. Three more points and they win the game.

"Sorry Faith, I'm not that great of a player."

Her eyes narrow at me.

"Bullshit. You're scared."

I open my mouth but she cuts me off.

"You're scared of hurtin' someone, an don't say you're not."

Okay. Okay. I put my hands up in a placating way.

"They might just be humans, but you know they're playin' for keeps. We lose we lose, but I'm not losin' because you don't wanna step on the ants to cross the road."

Wow. She actually seems annoyed with me. I blink at her and nod once.

"Okay. What do you want me to do?" A knot forms in my stomach at the idea of having to get too physical during the game.

"I want ya ta play with me."

The teasing tone doesn't go unnoticed by everyone else and they all chuckle and crow. Ugh. It's like Saved By The Bell or something.

"Doncha wanna play with me, B?"

She has no idea how badly I want to play with her. My face flushes with heat and I nod.

"You know I do."

"Good, keep your eyes open, this is all about you an' me."

Keeping my eyes open isn't a problem. Keeping them off of her while we play is. Still I do what she asked and keep my attention on the ball, watching its movement. After a second I feel liquid heat steal through my body and I know it's her. I can feel her heart beat pulse in my own chest. I glance over at Faith and she smiles. And I just let it go.

I let it all go. My body works in concert with Faith and Ramsey, tightening holes in our defense and blocking every shot and pass they attempt. It's frustrating them, and they're starting to take it out on us with liberal use of elbows and knees. It's no use, we have them locked out of scoring. As a ball slides in to my field of vision I snag it out of the air and turn for a jump shot. It's beautiful. I can see myself the way Faith sees me right now. Like an angel about to take flight....

I make my shot and that's when I know. Faith isn't using me to play. She's playing with me. Beside me. Inside me. I meet her knowing look and smile tentatively. I can do this. The warmth fades into the background and I cut around a player, ducking under an arm and stealing the ball oh so easily. Suckers. I lay it up as if I've been doing it all my life.

The rest of the game is a blur. I know we're passing, and shooting and dribbling and all that goes along with playing basketball. But I don't notice any of it. I barely even notice when Faith makes the winning shot from half court. All I feel, all I see, is her smile. I can feel her smiling at me. And it's like I was never lost at all. My little personal Faith bubble gets broken by the roar of the spectators. They fly off the bleachers and tables crowding around us with congratulatory slaps and laughs.

I was here for months and no one even bothered to learn my name. Faith is here a few weeks and she's the playground hero. It makes me chuckle a little. We find our way to each other despite the bodies conspiring to keep us apart. Faith crosses her arms over her chest in a pose of supreme arrogance. God it's sexy.

"Told ya we had it in the bag."

Yeah she did. I reach out without thinking and curl my hand around her upper arm.

"You're amazing ,you know that?" She rolls her eyes but I can see that she's secretly pleased.

"Yeah, fucking amazing. If I didn't see it with my own eyes I'd say you bitches cheated."

Is this...bad? Faith turns her head and laughs.

"Don't be a fuckin' sore loser."

And then they do one of those complicated fist bumpy things. I guess all is well between us.

"I'm Faith. This is Buffy and that's Ramsey."

"Prophet," She gestures to the women on either side of her, "Shonda and Big T."

Big T being the one that plowed into me. She still looks a little stunned but I offer her up a smile anyway. She gives me a dazed grin back. Okay. So were not going to get shanked in the yard anytime soon. Good.

"Anytime you want a rematch you come find me...we out." I watch them laugh and joke as the crowd disperses and it suddenly makes me miss my family. Faith must sense it because she puts an arm around me casually.

"C'mon, lets keep a low pro in the library." The library. Our safe haven even in the middle of hell.

"Are you planning on playing the naughty librarian?"

Faith laughs hard at that and shakes her head.

"Why, B? Ya hopin' for a spankin' for late books?"

Okay, my blood just picked up a slow burn and is sizzling its way right to my clit.

"Evil."

"That's me."

Chapter 11

"Faith?"

I grunt at the sound of my name. One eye opens slowly to find Buffy starin' at me.  I open both my eyes an' blink ta focus them.

"I have to tell you something."

I always hate when people say shit like that. It's like a death sentence on whatever is goin' on between the two people that hafta talk. I groan an' try to sit up but Buffy holds me down with an arm around my middle.

"Don't get up. Please?"

How can I say no to that? I give her a slow nod but readjust so that were still tangled together on her bunk.

"So...what's up?" Yeah, I'm nervous. I shouldn't be but I am.

"I think I know how this whole thing happened to me."

Oh. I blink a few more times then roll over on to my side so I can look down at her.

"I didn't even think about it until yesterday.

"So...how'd it happen? Inquiring minds wanna know."

"About the time you dropped off of my radar, I ,um...started seeing someone."

Yeah, I know. I mean I'm not keepin' tabs on her or anything. It's just that it came up in not so casual conversation with Giles once. Or twice.

"Yeah?"

She lets out a breath, rests her head against my chest and sighs heavily. I wouldn't tell anyone this but when she's all snuggled up ta me like this I kinda feel like time just stops. Without my permission my hands reach out an' stroke her hair comfortingly.

"I met Jamie on patrol. He was assigned to a group of Slayers working their term on the road, closing small Hellmouths. I should have known something was off but...he just fit in with everyone so easily. We all liked him."

Yeah, that's the fuckin' problem with the Scoobs. They always open-arm the bad guys an' shun the good ones. I roll my eyes, damn glad that she can't see me.

"He and Xander even started getting close. They came up with some new patrol schedules that really seemed fix all of our coverage problems."

Coverage problems? With all the Slayers they have there shouldn't be any coverage problems. Hell, B held down the fort in Sunnydale mostly on her own for a long time. Help comes an' goes but when it comes down to it, this is a Slayer's job.

"What kinda coverage problems?"

"The kind that only come about when people aren't where they should be."

Her voice gets steely at that an' I pull my head back a lil bit to look at her.

"Yeah. I didn't put it together at the time, didn't think that our own people could be paid off to take a break from destiny. And when he got there he just seemed to have all the answers. To everything."

I know what she means. He was there an' she was lonely an' he said all the right things ta worm his way in ta her bed.

"He still at HQ?"

I'm just a lil concerned about gettin' him the fuck away from our people. Yeah I said it. Our people. Xander an' Willow. Giles. Even Satsu. Those are ours. An' I don't take kindly ta people fuckin' with what's mine.

"I'm...not sure. There's no reason for him not to be."

Okay well that's gotta change.

"We have to tell them, Faith. They have to be warned."

I nod at that. No shit they gotta be warned. I wish Xander had gotten back ta me already on gettin' a line up to them. It's gonna hafta wait a few days.

"Don't worry, B, we'll give 'em the heads up. A lil more time won't hurt anything."

She pushes against my chest an' narrows her eyes at me. Uh oh. What'd I say?

"He's using us." She means the group as a whole. "I don't like that."

My lips curl into a grin. She may not like it, but I love the determined look on her face. My baby's back.

"Oh, we're gonna do somethin about it, baby. I got plans for him."

At the end of my knife. What? It's part of my job ta get information outta people. An' I'm really fuckin' good at it. Buffy gets real still in my arms at that.

"Are you going to hurt him?"

Well. Duh. I'll probably end up killin' him. He fucked my girl. An' then fucked her up.

"Yeah. Real bad."

Wha? I'm not gonna lie about it. She'd know if I was an she'd never forgive me. But I figure if I'm honest about it now she won't be as pissed when he turns up dead later.

I'm kinda surprised when she nods her head and goes back ta restin' against my chest.

"Good. Two months of good sex doesn't cover the time I've spent in prison hating myself."

An' gettin the shit beat out of her. I hate that she let it get that way but it wasn't her fault.

"I think he put the whammy on me, somehow."

Yeah. Probably.

"Wha? Like a magic STD ta make ya forget you're the shit?" Her laugh makes me grin too.

"Maybe. I don't know." God her laugh makes me all warm inside. "I think...we should talk to someone in the coven about it." I notice the hesitation. She's not quite ready ta face them alone I guess. I give our connection a lil push an' grip her tighter to my chest.

"Okay."

She's gonna kill me when she finds out what I've done. But for right now she doesn't need ta know. Just as I open my mouth ta tell her everything is gonna be okay, footsteps sound along the corridor. We're not doin' anything wrong, but I don't wanna be caught off guard if it's somethin' bad. Buffy rolls over closer to the wall so I can slip off the bunk. I rest my forearms against the cold metal bars of the open door. Shit. I pull my head back in an' give Buffy a look.

"We got a problem."

Her bright green eyes meet mine just as the cat calls start up. Buffy is off the bunk in a flash an' just in time ta see the guards lead another Slayer right past us. Pale gray eyes flash in our direction then away.

"Its not just us is it?" I shake my head. "He can't kill us all, so he'll just find a way to lock us all up."

Yeah. I don't like it. We need ta get out of this place. "Motherfucker...."

"Word."

I take her hand and grip it once. "Whatever Ramsey is workin' on she's gonna hafta hurry the fuck up."

Buffy nods an' tugs my hand to get my attention.

"You should go check on her."

Her who? The Slayer? That's so not my deal. I open my mouth ta tell B so, but she cuts me off.

"I mean Ramsey. You should go talk to her about it. I think...I should go...you know."

Oh. I lean down an' give B a light kiss on the lips. She's pickin' up the reins again, slowly but surely.

"My hero."

I give her a wink before heading out of the cell. If I give her time ta respond to that she'll pinch me. Or smack me one. Though if she's gonna do any smackin' I prefer it be when we're naked as they day we were born. I hang a right at the end of the corridor, noddin' here and there to a few inmates that look up at my passin'. Most of them belong ta Prophet. Not in the property sense like most crews in prison. More like a family.

She even calls some of them her daughters. I rap on the bars to her cell as I pass and she tosses me a toothy grin. She'd have made one fuck of a Slayer. Ramsey is waitin' for me in her cell. I can tell because she already had her bookmark in place. I glance at what she's readin' and raise a brow.

"The Koran?"

"I enjoy many spiritual works."

Uh huh. Whatever. I nod then grab a seat on her bunk without waitin for an invite.

"Have you read it?"

I shake my head at that.

"In the name of Allah, the Beneficent, the Merciful. I swear by the night when it draws a veil, and the day when it shines in brightness...that's about all I remember."

She eyes me silently for a long time before noddin'. I think she doesn't believe me.

"You read enough to get that far in to it."

She's got me at that one. I nod.

"What can I do for you, Faith?"

It's the way she says it that almost makes me break an' start talkin' about something other than what I came here for.

"How's it goin' on bustin' us out of this joint?" This time she places the book to the side and sighs.

"Slowly but we are almost ready. Perhaps another day or two." Her eyes darken to the color of spiced honey. "Is everything alright?" It's hard not ta trust her. I want to dislike her but I can't seem to.

"Another Slayer just showed up." Her brows furrow. "An' not for a visit." Ramsey nods and paces the small cell. "You don't seem overly surprised by this lil news."

She stops and stares at the wall for a long second before turnin' to look at me.

"I had hoped it would not be this way."

So she knew this might happen? An she didn't fuckin' tell us? I knew she was holdin' somethin' close to the chest. I fuckin' knew it.

"Tonight. It must be tonight."

Yeah the sooner the better. I nod at it an' lean forward so that I can rest my elbows on my knees.

"You knew."

"Not exactly. I suspected. It would be easier to separate and incarcerate Slayers than attempt to hunt and kill them all."

Yeah I hadn't thought of it that way before but I can see where that would be a better idea.

"Do you have any idea how many of your people are in prison?"

Not a fuckin' clue.

"Not sure yet. I'd put in a call but it's too dangerous. I don't want the mucky mucks ta figure out we got help on the outside."

Right now they think me an' B are just solitary figures in the system. If they knew we were just bidin' time, they'd shove us apart as fast as they can. An' I ain't havin' that shit.

"I am sure that Vikrant can smuggle in some kind of device."

Contraband. If they found that shit on me or in my cell I'd be fucked. But. If I don't have it then we're both fucked. Hrm.

"Good ta know. I'll get back ta you on that." I start ta leave when she calls my name.

"Faith..." We stand there just lookin' at each other for a minute. "Well need a distraction."

Uh huh. Kinda figured that much. I give her a wicked lookin' grin before disappearing out of her cell.

"Scary."

You're damn right I'm scary.

"Yo, Proph." Half a dozen steps later an' I'm right in front of her cell. She hasn't invited me in an I'm not about ta bust in on her pad. "Got a second?"

When she looks up I can see that she knows I'm about ta call in my favor.

"Got about 25 years worth of 'em. Have a seat."

I snicker at that and settle down.

"So what's up, White She Devil?" Man, I think I might love this chick.

"Time ta call it in."

She doesn't hesitate she just leans back against the wall. "You don't waste time do you?"

Me? Nah.

"What do you need?"

"Distraction."

The second it's out of my mouth she gets up and paces in front of the door to her cell. I think she's checkin' it out. When she's sure it's clear she moves in real close.

"Only one reason people need a distraction in this place."

That's not true.

"Lotsa reasons for a distraction, Prophet. Maybe I just want a little alone time with my girl."

She snorts her disbelief of that.

"You never need alone time with the Princess. You get a kick out of rubbin' our faces in the fact that you're rubbin your face in it."

Heh. Fuck yeah I do. Wha? Buffy's fuckin' fine as hell. You think I'm not gonna be proud that I'm the one fuckin' her?

"You want out."

Who fuckin' doesn't?  I don't say it though. "You gonna help me out, or go back on our deal?"

An' if she does I'm gonna put it out all over that she can't be trusted. It'll fuck up her whole rotation if I do.

"How big of a distraction we talking 'bout here?"

Well...

"Damn. That big?"

I nod.

"When?"

Uh..."Tonight."

She goes a lil pale.

"You a crazy bitch you know that?"

Yeah. I do.

"Faith...this could go South on you, and then what?"

Well, I gotta smirk at that.

"Well, then you'll see me outside tomorrow at the free weights."

I get up and give her a good clout on the shoulder. "You just worry about bringin' the rowdy. You let me worry about the rest."

"Peace."

I flash her my backhanded peace sign an' bail. I'm feelin' kinda restless so I take the steps double time to the library. Tonight is the night. Tonight B and I are goin' home. Together.

I really don't know why I didn't just ask Faith to do this part. I think a small part of me felt like I should step up and take back wha'ts been taken away from me. But the more I think about it, the more I realize nothing was really taken from me. I let it all go. I walked away from it all. So now I have to fix it. And by fixing it, I mean talking to my Slayer.

Yeah. She's mine. Mine and Faith's. I hate to think of us as having property in the form of people, but if this girl hopes to remain unmolested here she's just going to have to go along with it. The guards give her a push into the cell with rough hands and she goes stumbling in. When she turns to look at them the defiant expression I expect is gone. In its place an almost pitiful sorrow. Oh god.

I wait for the guards to go before I walk up to her door. It's closed but not locked. I don't go in. Instead I just curl my hands on the bars and whisper, "You don't belong here."

Her head comes up with a snap and she blinks at me.

"I...you don't know."

Yes. Yes I do.

"I killed him."

Oh boy.

"Can I come in?"

She shrugs and I'll just take that as a yes. I don't shut the door behind me because I really am starting to hate the dull clank of the lock clicking into place. "Do you know me?" I ask.

Okay I'm not trying to be vain or anything. It's just that...well...I'm kind of the figurehead of the organization. And I hope she does know me so I don't have to explain it.

"You're Her."

Her? Like with a capital H? Huh. I Don't know how I feel about that.

"Buffy."

"Yup. You got it in one."

She almost tries for a smile but it crumbles off her face as tears brim over and spill down her cheeks.

"Hey hey hey...easy..." I pull her against me in an effortless hug and let her get it out.

"I'm so s-s-sorry. I didn't see him! I swear I never meant to hurt him."

I have a sick feeling in the pit of my gut. Please don't let this be what I think it is. Please.

"Who sweetie? Who didn't you see?"

"The boy! I didn't see him until it was too late and then I..I killed him. And there was so much blood. Too much..."

"What boy?" I know the answer. I just need the confirmation.

"The boy. The little boy with the Spider Man T-shirt." A weight in my gut roils and I hold her tightly.

"Shhh shhh it's okay. Its going to be okay."

I shoot out a pulse of alarm down the connection. I can feel the echo of Faith's sudden attention a second before I feel her here with me. Not here here. But here in my body with me. There's a slightly confused feeling that settles when I speak.

"I know right now you don't believe me, but you didn't do anything wrong. I promise you that."

It's all she needs to withdraw. I know I'll hear her footsteps soon enough. The girl in my arms shudders with wracking sobs. God. Guilt is such a bitch. I don't know what to do here. I wasn't the one that brought me out of my funk, Faith was. How do I reach her when someone had to reach me first?

"Hey, B."

Oh thank god. I turn to Faith and give her a gentle smile.

"Hi, Stud. This is..."

Wait. I don't even know who she is. I turn back to the girl and brush some of the hair out of her face. "Hey...what's your name?"

"Corina. Well. Cori."

Cori. Alright. I nod and point to Faith who's doing her best not to loom like a bodyguard. She's so cute.

"Okay Cori. You're going to be okay, you hear me?"

She nods warily and I glance back to Faith, unsure how to do what I want to do.

"We'll take care of you. Right, Faith?"

"Right."

I watch Faith kneel down near the girl an' flash her that smile that usually makes me want to peel my clothes off and drag my body all along Faith's.

"Its kinda scary right now, but it'll get better. I promise. But before it can, ya gotta pull it together. You're a Slayer."

She wasn't that nice to me when she was trying to comfort me. But I guess I needed more than just a pat on the shoulder and the reassurance that someone would be there. I needed more than that.

"I didn't mean to...I swear to God I didn't mean to hurt him..."

Faiths eyes narrow and she grunts.

"Nah. Neither did B. But shit happens."

The girl looks at me in puzzlement.

"Wha? Ya thought we just drove a stolen car through a bank ta get tossed in here?"

Why does the sound of that make me want to glare at Faith?

"Well..."

Faith cuts her off with a shrug. "Okay, so I did. But that's only cause B needed me here an wouldn't ask for help."

What???

I open my mouth but her grin keeps me from getting pissed.

"Ass."

"That's me."

Beyond all reasoning Cori laughs. And I sigh with relief. Intense relief.

"Look kid, things are kinda complicated ,but I need ya to hold it together. We'll explain it all to ya when we get home."

"Home?" God. She sounds so hopeful.

"Home. Where we all belong."

Me included. I give Faith a loving look and cup her face. I think our little friend is just about to pass out when I give Faith a light kiss.

"Hang tight, Cori. We'll come by later to take you down to the mess hall. Okay?"

I get up when she nods her understanding. Faith winks at her and pulls me out of the cell. I know she wants to say something, but were still in Slayer hearing range.

"Same story as yours huh?"

"Yeah. Demons aren't really known for originality."

That gets her to laugh a little.

"Yeah. Well I never though Spike was all that original."

Hey! He was way original. Sort of.

"I refuse to comment on that," She grins and wraps an arm around my shoulders, "So what happened with Ramsey?"

"Told her about the kid. She wasn't surprised."

Well I guess that answers that question. Though I know that she's probably hiding more things than that.

"We leave tonight."

Tonight? But. I just gave Cori our word that we would be here for her. "Can Ramsey get all five of us out?"

She shrugs. "Not sure but she said she needed a distraction."

Great. A distraction. "How do we do that?"

Faith's smile breaks like the sun from behind thunder clouds.

"Already done babe. We just gotta wait for it."

"Prophet?"

"Oh yeah." Her wild eyed enthusiasm sparks my interest.

"I want you." Well. I'm learning to ask for what I want these days.  Faith slows her walk and looks at me.

"Gettin' mouthy ain't ya?" Oh she loves it. "I love that ya know?" I just grin at her and tug her hand to lead her to the library.

"Yeah? Oh you're going to love what's about to come out of my mouth next."

Faith rumbles out a lusty grunt that sets my thighs to quivering.

"It better be 'fuck me harder, Faith'."  Ungh. Huh. Now I know why she grunts like that.

"Unless you move faster you're not going to find out."

I had to open my mouth didn't I?

"Wait!"

Goddamnit. Now I have to chase her to the library.

Chapter 12

Time. Everything about bein' in prison is about time. We're the world's best timekeepers. I breathe in Buffy's scent an' let it calm me. It's almost time.

"C'mon B, we gotta swing by GP for Cori."

This new kid. Damn. She's young. Yeah, I know she's older than Buffy and I were when we first got Called but she just seems so innocent. Vulnerable. An' worst of all broken. Just like B was.

"Yeah. The sooner the better. She looked terrified."

With good reason. The kid probably never even had a parking ticket before.

"God I can't wait to get home. Where real shampoo lives."

I chuckle at that. We both know she wants out of here as much as I do. I just know that she's a lil afraid to get out too. She hurt a lot of people when she left.

"Dawn is going to pass out when we show up."

I groan. Dawn is gonna kick my ass. I jacked fifty bucks from her the last time we saw each other. Wha? I was short an' I had ta get out of town before Buffy saw me.

"Yeah, about that...can't I just, ya know, wait in your room?"

The look she gives me is worse than the look Giles gave me when he caught me eatin' some barely legal Slayer pussy.

"Okay okay...no need ta get pissy," I raise my hands in what I'm hopin' is a placating gesture,  "Sheesh."

Buffy smacks my ass hard as we leave the library. God, I love her.  I got a grin the whole way ta Cori's cell. She's huddled in a corner just like we left her. I sigh an' let the smile fade from my face.

"You came back..."

Buffy looks at me when she catches the heavy relief in the girl's voice. Yeah. We gotta get her outta here. And any other Slayer that's locked up.

"Yeah, kiddo. Now get your ass up."

She scrambles up off the floor an' out the door. Buffy smiles over my attitude, an' puts her arm around Cori.  I give her a look an' she hooks a finger in the pocket of my jumper as we walk.

Jesus. It's like I'm leadin' ducklings. I grab three trays and hand two ta B. Proph catches my eye an' gives me a nod. Good. Buffy lets out a breath an' nudges me. Vicky-boy is givin' his sister a good shove toward the door. It's a signal. Time.

"When I say go, take the kid an' haul it to the door."

I don't wait for Buffy to agree before I head towards Big T an' Shonda with a wink.

"Go."

An' that's when all hell breaks loose. Prophet is a good strategist. Pockets of her crew were all over rather than in one group as usual. Fights spark up at every table with every racial group. Goddamn, Devil take me, I fuckin' love the chaos. I grab a table an' yank it right out of its bolts to fling it across the room at the rush of riot geared guards. It's almost like bowlin'.

A tray whizzes by my head just a lil too close for comfort. I look in the direction it came from an' snarl. Ditto. Time ta get dirty. A surge of anger from Buffy gives me an extra boost as I lunge hard and low to take her legs out. We go down in a confused mess of legs an' arms an' it takes a minute of tight short jabs an wrasslin' before we break it up and get our feet again.

"Oh, I'm gonna love fuckin' you up."

"Think so, Slayer?"

I fucking knew it!

"Now is that fair? You know what I am but I'm still tryin' ta figure out what the fuck you are."

She laughs low an' deep. Course bristles sprout around a long nose that's growing by the second. Bodies shove an' push around us as the fights turn in to an outright brawl. I take a second ta grab the back of someone's jumper and toss them into Dittos bulky body. I don't have time for this shit.

I duck a fist, land a hard right, and shove someone else. It's gettin hairy in here and guards are startin' ta get past the first row of fights. Won't be long before the door Vikrant is keeping clear gets locked. I watch as Proph goes down with the leader of the Aryans. Ditto's growl over my left shoulder warns me ta duck as a chunk of twisted bench goes flyin'. Fuck. No fuckin' shit she's a were. A were-pig. Not the cute kind like Babe, the real nasty ugly wild boar lookin' kind.

Wet, slobbery snot drips off her snout an' tusks. No fuckin' wonder her breath smells like shit. I gag an it's enough lead-in for her to charge me. Fuck.

"DOWN!"

I don't even hesitate cause I know it's B at my back. I close my eyes an' tuck my head under an arm and drop down to the ground as a heavy shadow ruffles the hair on my head as it passes.

Ditto must not have quite made it all the way past me before Buffy dropped her, cause her legs land on me, trappin' me under their weight for a few seconds. Goddamnit.

"You okay?"

I grab Buffy's hand an' grin up at her as she pulls me to my feet.

"Am now."

Ditto is out cold, an' I know why too. Buffy holds up the twisted metal of one of the trays. Damn. Right in the face.

"Time ta go?"

Buffy nods and we bolt out the door. Can't worry about Prophet now. Just gotta hope she got the upper hand and beat the fuck outta that Nazi bitch.

"Go! To the laundry room!"

Buzzers are goin' off left an' right and the doors lock automatically behind us. It bought us some time but not much. Eventually they'll get it all settled back there. We're just keepin' ahead of the door locks as they go down the line. Someone must have hit the auto mechanism in the control room.

The door to the laundry room up ahead of us is swingin' closed, an' I know we're not gonna make it in time. If it closes we're fucked because we won't make it outta here. At least not tonight. Buffy stumbles ahead of me and I plow right inta her. Fuck. We're done. I barely notice Vicky's grunt of effort as the door hits the strike plate. The magnetic lock will seal now. Or. Ya know. It would. If there wasn't a long red tail curled around the handle. A tail that's attached to the demon I used ta think was tail-less. Shut the fuck up. He's got a fuckin' tail.

I can't be the only one seein' this.

"Dude...you have a goddamned tail!"

He looks embarrassed as he gives a tug an' pulls the door open with said tail.

"Yes. Well. It's not very long yet, but..."

Buffy drags me up and shoves me through the door of the laundry, letting it lock behind the three of us.

"Flirt on your own time...with someone else's girlfriend."

I bite my lip at the horrified look on his face at Buffy's comments. Aw. He's shy.

"Are you three quite done?"

Yeah yeah. I give Ramsey a shrug.

"You couldn't resist, could you?"

"Someone had ta buy a little time from the guards for it to get really outta control." I'm not gonna apologize for that cause it was all part of my plan. The one that no one knew about but me. Heh. Buffy sends me a reprovin' glance and I hang my head a bit.

"Whatever. Let's just get the hell out of here."

Ramsey and her brother move into place near some kind of altar they must have set up before the riot. Cori moves up close ta B an' me. So far she's doin' as she's told, but she hasn't started ta fight back yet. I don't like that. She's gotta break her funk or she's no good to us. Whatever. I turn my attention back ta the ritual. Which...as far as I can tell is about takin' your shirt off an' smearin' somethin' that smells coppery like blood on their skin. I'd think it was blood, 'cept for it's silvery an' shimmery. Maybe it's unicorn blood. Nah. That's only in Harry Potter.

Right?

"I hope that's not unicorn blood."

See? I'm not the only one that thinks that. I raise my brows at Buffy but she smiles. She's just fuckin' with me. Asshole. I bite at the air in front of her nose with a growl. It does nothin' to intimidate her. I don't know if I'm happy about that or annoyed. I don't really have time ta think about it when somethin' slams itself against the door to the prison. Hard.

"What the fuck is that?"

She shrugs.

"It's got to be Ditto. She got out of the mess somehow."

Guards. The bad kind. I nod an' snap my fingers at Ramsey to make her pick up the pace.

"Now would be good, ya know."

Ditto slams against the door again and again before the click of the magnets shutting off. I look back to see Ramsey pullin' a tear in the air. Her brother is tryin' ta get his fingers into the breach to help her pull but it's resisting.

"They've warded the prison! We can't open it!"

The door flies open an' dozens of guards spill into the room. Ditto laughs an' kicks the door shut behind her, lockin' us all in. I look at B an' she tightens her fists getting' ready for the throw down. We can try ta buy Vikrant an' Ramsey some time.

"You ready, kiddo?"

Cori looks at the guards warily before givin' me a pleadin' look.

"You don't ever go down without a fight. Hear me?"

She nods and raises her fists. Good.

"Keep workin on it!" I call that last over my shoulder before I rush right inta the heart of the guards, knockin' a few of them over and one of them into another.

Buffy yells behind me an' I feel her push into my body, fillin' me an' holdin' on tight. I can even feel the faint tingle of Cori at the other end. I think...I think Buffy's linked us. I let her have the lead an' move into her right, because I just know that's where she needs me. A guard swings his baton in a deadly arc an' I catch it an' twist, pushin' him back before I duck Cori's fist.

It lands, crunchin' into a guards pleximask. It shatters an' he goes down like a sack of potatoes. Damn. I've never felt anythin' like this. It's like we're one person. Only. More. A thrill goes through the connection from the kid. She's findin' herself. Good. I glance over to check on the breach. It's bigger but it's still only fist-sized. Not for lack of tryin', Vicky-boy an' Ramsey are sweatin', tails flickin' out in frustration as they pull an' tug with everything they got.

I'm so busy watchin' them that I miss Ditto's charge. One of her tusks gouges me in the shoulder, takin' out a chunk of flesh. OW! It fuckin' hurts like a bitch! I go down to a knee in too much shock ta fight her off when she takes a swing. The only thing savin' me is five feet an' change of pissed-off  blonde wielding a guard's baton. She gets Ditto to back up in confusion an I drag myself to my feet.

"You are in so much trouble now..."

B is gonna kick her ass! An' I fuckin' love it.

"You're gonna let your bitch fight your battles now too?"

Ha. If she only knew what was up, she'd know I've been B's bitch for years.

"In case you don't remember, I've fucked her up plenty before."

"B?"

She glances at me before frowning.

"Who are you?" Confusion clouds her eyes, "C'mon, Buffy. Who the fuck are you?"

"I'm Buffy Summers."

That's right. You're Buffy Summers.

"I'm Buffy Fucking Summers, and I'm reallllly pissed off."

Just hearin' it makes me wet.

"You're damn right, you are."

"And I'm nobody's bitch!"

Goddamn. I think I just fell in love with her all over again. She doesn't even give Ditto time ta think before she starts in on her like a mad woman. I could die happy right here, right now.

I am Buffy Summers. I was born a Slayer. I have saved lives and I have lost friends, but I am a Slayer. This is what I am. This is who I am.

I just forgot for a minute.

But that's different now. I'm different. And Ditto knows it. She knows it when she looks in my eyes and sees the victim no longer lives here. Okay maybe she knew it when I started punching her face in a lot. But she knows it because of the eye thing too.

A kick to my gut sends me back a few steps. Ouch.

"Oh, you are so going to die."

She rushes me in an attempt to catch me off guard, but it's not going to work. I just sidestep and use her own momentum to send her flying past me and into the wall. The fact that she lands in a heap is really kind of disappointing. I was hoping for a little more than that for retribution. But. Hey. Guards. So I guess it's not so bad.

A laugh to my left reminds me that I am not alone. Cori has a guard head-locked between her thighs and another pinned under her arm. Huh. She's pretty flexible. I give her an encouraging push against the connection we're bound to, and move onto another guard that's just getting up from the ground where Faith tossed him. It was her laugh that I heard. Of course it was.

Faith loves a good fight. I love watching her in a good fight. Just as the guard shakes the cobwebs out I smile and land a punch that knocks him out.

"Nitey night," God it's good to be back, "Faith!"

It's all the time I have for a warning but she feels it and reacts, ducking forward and kicking out behind her at the guard that was trying to bash her head in from behind. She flashes me a smile that sets my skin on fire. A warning jangles discordantly through the connection ,but not with enough time for me to get out of the way. Something connects against the side of my skull and I go down.

I'm not out, but I'm dazed. Faith yells but I can't make out exactly what she's saying. Maybe nothing. She collapses, her outstretched hand inches from mine. It twitches and I realize now that they're shocking her. Faith yells out again and flops around on the floor. Oh god. I glance back to see where Cori is when a boot comes down on my head. Everything goes black for a second but I shake it off and try to roll onto my back.

Cori is pinned down with a knee in her back, a booted foot holding her head down on the ground. Ramsey... A guard kicks me over onto my belly and puts me in the same position Cori was in. What's happening? We were winning! When my hearing comes back I can hear a roar of anger and the dull thud of bodies hitting solid walls. Vikrant is on the floor, bleeding from a wound on the back of his head. His beautiful gold eyes, glazed-over and lifeless. Oh god.

Sorrow fills me and I start when Ramsey's unconscious body drops in front of my face. She still has a grimace on her face. Oh god.

"Take them to solitary!"

"BUFFY!"

"It's okay, Cori! Don't fight it."

She'll be safe there for the most part. Unless they plan to punish us. I stretch the feeling in my connection searching for anything from Faith. I can't see her but I know she's alive. Just out for the count. Hard plastic digs into my wrists and ankles as they zip-tie me. Cuffs would have been so much easier. I don't have enough room for leverage to break these. I think they know that. Shit.

I cry out when they nearly yank my arms out of the sockets pulling me up to my feet. Faith and Ramsey are hog-tied. Vikrant is dead. I give Cori a look and a nod pushing as much calm as I can spare down the line. We're dragged unceremoniously down to solitary. I have no idea how long we'll be in there. Or even what's waiting for us once we get there. But I know one thing. I will not go down with out a fight.

I am Buffy Summers.

My zip ties are cut and I'm pushed into a small dark cell. I can hear the other doors down the line as my Slayers and Ramsey get locked up too. Well at least I'm not too terribly alone. Faith is going to be so pissed-off when she wakes up.  It looks like the only thing I can do is wait.

And make friends with the roaches. Ew.

I want to go home.

Chapter 13

Something is wrong. By degrees the darkness around me fades to a dull gray. Fuck. I roll on ta my side an' groan. Cock jugglin' thunder cunts. The creature stirs… I can feel the amusement in Buffy's voice at that. Glad she can find somethin' funny about this situation. I take in my surroundings an' sigh. Again? I roll my neck an' stand to get the blood flowin' a little.

"All of us stuck here?"

I dunno why I'm botherin' ta say it out loud. Buffy probably can't really hear me. Yep. You, me, Cori and Ramsey. Okay I take that shit back. She can hear me. Huh. I grunt at nothin' in particular.

"How long was I out?"

There's just the soft hint of laughter now. Can someone just tell me why the fuck she's so fuckin' amused?

Tap tap tap.

I'm goin' fuckin' bonkers.

Tap tap tap.

Wait a second. I kneel and knock on the concrete wall. Tap tap tap comes back at me. Huh. I search out the end of my connection and feel the answering tug from the kid.

"Heya, kiddo."

Relief floods her end an' I nod. Yeah. I'm worried too. I reach over my shoulder an' touch it gingerly. It hurts. Dried blood crackles an' sticks to my fingers as I wince. Oh fuck me. My head tips to the side an' I puke my guts out in the corner. Pain sure has a hell of a way of makin' ya aware of it. Spots of black dot my vision an' I have ta rest my sweaty head against the wall so I don't pass out.

It's bad enough of an injury that it'll take some time ta heal. And it'll hurt like a bitch. An' then it'll fuckin' itch. I wonder if B will be nice an' scratch it for me. Count on it, Stud. Okay. That's just creepy now.

"Cut it out, B. You're freakin me out."

Silence. Blessed fuckin' silence. So now I guess we wait. I hate waitin'. It leaves me thinkin' about things that hurt. Like Vikrant. And how he's not gonna be blushin' all cute for me anymore. My blood turns ta acid an' I lash out at the door. I barely feel the recoil of my fists hittin' unrelenting solid steel. I hear yellin' but I don't know who it is.

My throat is as sore as my knuckles. Oh. Guess it was me hollarin'.  FUUUUUCCCKKKKK!!!

I give the door one last kick before slidin' down the wall to the floor. Everything fuckin' hurts. An' I didn't do dick but leave blood smears on the door. Done beating yourself up yet?

"No."

It's my fault. I got us all stuck in here an' got a good guy killed. An' who knows who else got hurt in the brawl. A warm spot starts in my chest an' spreads out with every heartbeat. No. I don't wanna feel okay. Who's makin' Ramsey feel okay? Huh? I push back against the intrusion on my anger.

Don't fuckin' do this to me, Buffy. Don't take this away from me. Please. But she doesn't listen. She just sneaks back in. Her an' the kid. Just waitin' there. Waitin' for me. I sigh an' let go, let them in. What was a burnin' in my joints is now just a soothing warmth. I shudder an' wish not for the first time that I could cry.

"I'm sorry."

Not your fault, babe.

Yeah. Not my fault. I'll try ta remember that when we get out an' I hafta look Ramsey in the eye. I lean back an' hiss at the pain in my shoulder. I musta reopened the wound a little bit. I'd say that's what you get, but I don't think you'd appreciate it very much. And yet she says it. I snort a chuckle at it anyway. It'll be alright in a little while, I just need ta give it time. Somethin' I think I'll have plenty of.

The calm of having Buffy an' Cori with me keeps me from noticin' the tingling in my shoulder for a long time. I raise my head and look over. It's hard ta see with the old blood there so I reach out an' touch it lightly. It's hot. But it's not bleedin'.  And best of all I think the skin is startin' to seal over. Huh. That's new. It's too fast. Even for me. I can feel Cori's surprise but not Buffy's.

"This you, Shortchange?"

I want you whole.

"Why?"

Not that I mind gettin' healed up with a quickness. Because I want you. Ungh. That's gonna start a whole new kinda heat if she keeps talkin' ta me like that. But she got what she wanted. I'm not throwin' myself a pity party anymore. The echo from Cori fades and it's just me an' B in here now.

"What are we gonna do now, B? Huh?"

I can't help but be down about it. I mean we're fucked here. We'll wait, Faith. That's gonna be hard for me. So I do what I always do when the walls start ta close in on me. I set up for the first position of my Tai Chi routine. I'll hafta modify it a lil until my shoulder is a hundred percent better.  Buffy shuffles into position in her cell an' I hafta smile a lil bit. We can do this together. Who knows, maybe well figure somethin' out while were at it.

I have no idea how long we've been in here. A while. The upside, if there is an upside, is that Faith and I have been in constant contact. Not physically but damn near enough. Exploring this whole ghost body thing has been a lot of fun. I'm not sure how Cori feels about it. I can't seem to cut her off entirely from the connection so I'm pretty sure even though she's not present she still knows what's going on. If we were anywhere else, anybody else, I might feel a little embarrassment about it but...it's prison.

Things are so different in here. Regular rules of polite social interaction are pretty much thrown out the window. I rest my palms against the wall and start stretching like I do everyday at this time. My lips curve in to a smile when I feel my Slayers starting to move around. Faith always takes a second to bounce around letting the blood circulate. Cori. Well, she's different. She just jumps right into it. Oh, to be young again. I roll my eyes at my own thought.

Before we can get started, bright overhead lights click on. I shield my eyes with an arm when the door opens. I barely have time to react when I'm crowded into a corner by two guards with riot gear and cattle prods. Yay. We must be getting out today. Or, you know, we're getting prepped for the chinchilla farm. Okay, the first guard to stick his cattle prod anywhere I'm not okay with gets it shoved right up his ass. Ow! Don't fight it, B. Oh she's one to talk. I sigh and face the wall when ordered.

I'm waiting for the cuffs when my world goes black.

It didn't hafta be that way. I roll on my side for a second an' just breathe. Fuckers. I hate getting' knocked out. Carefully I sit up an' search out my connection. Hey look at that. We're all good. I test the door on my cell an' jump outta my shorts when it opens. What the fuck time is it? I step out an' look down the line. Must be just after lunch. Which means most everyone is in the yard. I start that way but take a detour to Ramsey's cell. I didn't really think she was in mood ta get a lil bit of sun so I'm not surprised to find her sittin' on her bunk with her knees drawn up to her chest.

"Hey."

She looks up at me an nods once.

"Faith."

I settle on her bunk next to her an rest my head against the wall.

"What are you doing?"

Me? "Sittin'."

She blinks at me but I don't think she knows what ta say or do about it.

"I'm not so big on apologies...but I'm sorry about your brother. He was a good guy."

Didn't know him that well, didn't even really trust him until the end. But I'll miss him.

"I appreciate your sympathies."

Its so fuckin' polite there's no emotion to it. Now I know a thing or two about tryin' ta bury the rage so I just sit here with her for awhile.

"Is there anything else?"

Yeah. There is.

"Uh huh. Get your ass up. B's dyin' ta see ya."

She gives me a snarl for my attitude.

"Ya know, I might've almost been afraid of that if I didn’t' know Buffy would kick your ass if ya hurt me before she's through with me."

The confusion on her face is priceless an' I snort out a chuckle.

"I was not aware that Slayers...giggled."

Wha? I give Ramsey a look before yankin' her off the bunk by the ankles. Asshole.

"Okay okay!"

I help her stand an' sling an arm over her shoulders as we make our way outside. Buffy is already out at the benches with Cori. We make our way to them ignorin' the looks from everyone else. They can all eat a dick for all I care.

"Hey baby."

I drop myself down next ta my girl an' give her a wink. The smile she gives me makes my toes curl. I gotta get some hands-on lovin' real soon. Ramsey just stands there not really lookin' at either one of us. I look ta Buffy not really sure what to say or do here. She looks at me once before standin' and hugging Ramsey tightly.

"I'm so sorry about Vikrant."

It takes awhile before Ramsey hugs her back. But she does. But now that I'm sittin' here watchin' I hafta wonder. Where the hell does Ramsey hide her tail?

"He was a brave man."

"He was many things. Brave and good among them."

They break apart before any of the bulls blow a whistle on them.

"I hope he is at peace."

Me too. I look down at the little Slayer that could. She's leanin' against my arm like she's afraid of her own shadow.  Didn't we have this convo already?

"Faith?"

I shake myself out of my thoughts an' look in the direction she's pointin'. A smile like the sun breaks out on my face. The kid probably thinks there's gonna be a throw down, but its just Proph an' her crew.

"Damn girl, you lookin' whiter than usual."

Yeah. Well bein' in the hole does that to a girl. I get up an bump knuckles with her.

"Who's the piece?"

I look over my shoulder at Cori who's tryin' her hardest ta turn invisible. Buffy clears her throat an' I glance at her. She shakes her head no once lettin' me know I can not trade a Slayer for cigarettes. I know I know. I swear it only crossed my mind for a second.

"Cori. She's mine."

The kid looks up at me in mild horror but calms down when Buffy forces the connection open. Well. There goes my fun. If the kid knows I'm not serious I can't fuck with her.

"This is Prophet. She's good people."

"Hi."

Aw. I almost laugh at the small voice. It's like havin' a baby. Okay it's not cute anymore. I roll my eyes an' look Prophet over.

"You don't look too worse for wear. What happened?" I hope she got that bitch good.

"Bulls came in and busted it up. Ain't no thang, baby. Ain't no thang."

I'm guessin' that means she had a hell of a lot of fun.

"I notice your end didn't go exactly as planned."

Yeah. That's the understatement of the year. I don't say it but she can tell by the look on my face. I shove my hands into the pockets of my jumper an' shrug. It's gonna weigh heavy on us for a long time.

"Where's Ditto been?" That's what I want to know.

Prophet shrugs. "Not around here that's for damn sure. Big T said word was she was in solitary with y'all."

Is that right? I glance over at Buffy who raises her brows at that. Someone is in trouble besides us. I think I kinda like that.

"What're you gonna do now?"

That's been the question running itself fucking ragged in my brain since I woke up in solitary.

"Dunno yet. Listen...what'll it cost me for a carton of smokes an' another favor?"

I only get a laugh in response. I don't think I have enough of whatever it is that she needs to make that kind of exchange.

"Depends on the favor. And how attached you are to your new piece."

I look at Buffy again who just glares this time. Alright. I can see when I'm gettin' the Presidential Veto.

"Pretty attached. What else ya want?" I don't like the smile on her face.

"Aw c'mon, Proph, don't do me like that." Not that I have any reason ta think we're tight or anything.

"I don't owe you dick. white girl."

Yeah no shit. C'mon. What's it gonna take besides slave trade ta get what I need?

"But I like you. You got flair, girl."

"You should see her in leather."

I look back at Buffy an' flash her some dimples.  When I turn back to Proph she's got a considerin' look on her face.

"I'll front you a pack or two. What's the favor?"

Yes!

"Nothin' big. I just need a letter ta get sent out without the guards knowin'. Can ya manage?"

We cant pass anything off without it bein' checked but I'm sure someone can get somethin' out.

She blows a kiss ta Cori, an' turns in a huff of sleek, dark skin. Damn she's hot.

You want to keep those eyes?

I stop mid check-out an' shrug. Yeah. I guess I do.

"The better ta see ya with, B. Gotta keep' em."

"Then keep them off other women."

Jealous jealous. I lean into her body, just so fuckin' glad that we're out of the hole. Her scent reaches my nose, ticklin' it. I'm guessin' it's been a few weeks since we've seen a shower. You'd think it'd be gross, but the scent of Buffy's sweat an' sex seems ta go right to my clit. Even the earthy smell of dirt clingin' to her jumper gets me hot.

"Trust me, B. Ya got no worries. I know who I belong ta."

She smiles an' jerks her head at Ramsey. She doesn't look so good. I nod an' look over at the sparse patch of scrub grass just past the basketball courts.

"I'm gonna run through a lil work out ta get the kinks out."

I know Buffy an' Cori will follow me. I'm surprised when Ramsey does too. But hey, whatever.

I roll my head and fall into Preparation Form. The four of us move together without so much as a word between us. I wanted the longer work-out ta finally get a feel for what my shoulder can do. It's a little tight but the muscles stretch an' loosen as we work through Grasping the Birds tail and on to the next series of moves. The wind blows through the yard an' I realize how quiet it is.

Pockets of people are starin' at us. Some of them are tryin' ta figure out what the fuck we're doin' but others are just kinda starin'. As if they see somethin' they can't have. When I look at the rest of my crew I realize we all have peace. Maybe not all'a time or whatever but right now we've got it. An the rest of them want it. They want it so bad I can see the hunger in their eyes. I flick my eyes over to Buffy. She doesn't even notice that everyone is watchin' her.

I might have started us off ,but she's clearly the one in control of leadin' the technique. Goddamn she's beautiful. I Cross Hands an Embrace the Tiger before returning ta Mountain pose.  Buffy's hands come up ta rest on my shoulder an' she leans forward.

"We have an audience. And I think I have a plan."

Oh yeah? I like the sound of that.

"Yeah?"

She nods.

"How do you feel about doing this on a large scale?"

"What? Like the whole prison? I don't get it."

"We need friends here, Faith. As many as we can find."

She wants ta seriously try ta bind all the groups in here?

"We can try it."

I give a short nod an' we fall back in to position. She might have a damn good idea. Better'n my last one anyway.

She's too quiet still. Even days after we've been let out, Ramsey still hasn't tried to make any attempt at living. Faith looks at me and taps Cori on her shoulder to take her away somewhere. Leaving me with Ramsey. I reach out and touch her hand.

"Hey."

"Hi."

Her eyes, once luminously gold are a dull pale yellow. How do you help someone that doesn't really want help? Okay. Let's think about this. Have there been any people in my life that have been closed off? Gee. That one is a no brainer. Just look at who I'm currently dating. As if we could actually go out on a date while stuck in prison. Still.

"You want to talk about it?"

She gives me a wild-eyed look as if she's terrified of actually talking about it. Okay. I know when I'm beat. I sigh softly.

"Okay. You don't have to. I just thought maybe you might want to let some things out." In a healthy way.

She just shakes her head. "I will mourn Vikrant until I join his spirit."

Ramsey rubs the palms of her hands together lightly. "Our people will mourn his loss. Without him we are only half of what we could be." What does that even mean?

"I don't understand." And I want to. I don't know if it's guilt over being part of the reason he's dead or not, but I want to know all about him. Anything.

"My people have what we call Dumajin. We were marked and trained as children to be the keepers of the portals my people use to travel."

Well that makes some sense. They did manage to open a small portal. With a hell of a lot of effort though.

"But you couldn't that night. What's your best guess?"

She shakes her head.

"Only one thing could prevent those of us from opening a doorway. Blood magic."

No good. "Can you get around it?"

She shakes her head sadly.

"Not alone. I am only one half of the key. Vikrant...he was my..."

I watch her swallow hard and shake her head as if she's shaking off the pain. I know for a fact that's not possible.

"He bore the other half of the marks. He carried my blood. We are alone here in this place."

So as Faith would say, we're fucked. Great.

"Maybe not."

We still have allies on the outside. If we can reach them. A buzzer goes off signaling the start of dinner. We've been sticking together in pairs just to be safe but so far we haven't had so much as a dirty look in our direction. Not even from Ditto who made her appearance at breakfast this morning. I think something is up but it's best if we all just play nice for as long as possible.

"Can you teach anyone to be the other half of the key?"

Ramsey stumbles and looks at me as if I'm the craziest thing on two legs she's ever seen. Which may be possible. Right now I feel like I'm talking the crazy talk.

"No one that does not have the blood of my people will be able to open a portal."

Okay well that answers that.

"But...I have heard of things that might help. I will need time to think upon these things."

I nod and look around the mess for Faith and Cori. They're already at a table with Prophet and her girls.

"Summers!"

Shit. Now what?

"Hands on your head, face the wall and kneel."

I wait silently while they shackle my ankles and cuff me. Ramsey practically hisses when they yank me up to my feet and lock me into a waist chain. Okay, now I'm starting to worry.

"What's going on?"

I hope it's not something bad. Or at least not something worse than the bad that is my life right now.

"Visitor."

My face goes white as all the blood drains out of it. Visitor? Oh god. I haven't even considered the possibility that someone would come here to see me. And it's not even visiting day. I blink at the guard and raise my brows.

"Lawyer." I don't have a  lawyer.

He shuffles me out of the mess and down the hall with a firm grip on my arm. It'll leave a bruise but I'm too curious about who's here to shrug him off. Also. I'm not a fan of the cattle prods.

"Wait here."

I nod and wait exactly where he leaves me. Nope. I'm not starting any kind of trouble. Not while I'm by myself anyway. I reach down my connection to Faith and feel her comforting presence. Whatever happens she'll know immediately. And I really feel bad for whoever gets between her and her mad dash to find me if it all goes badly. Okay, not really.

The guard knocks on the metal door three times. It buzzes and opens and he leads me to a small room with two chairs and a table. This is new.

"Sit."

I do as I'm told and get bolted to the chair. Um. Can we say gulp?

"Behave or you go to the hole again."

Hey I'm the one chained up here. The door opens again and I almost pass out with relief.

Willow.

She sits across from me with a cool expression on her face and stack of papers. I have no idea if those are for show or not but she's scribbling notes as if it's all real.

"So you're my new lawyer, huh?"

"Yup. You're not going to call me horrible names and make me leave again are you?"

Guilt washes over me. God I'm such a bitch. Or I was.

"Because if you are I'm going to have to charge double." It makes me smile a little.

"Why are you here?" She's here when we need her most and that's the important thing.

"Well, a foul-mouthed little bird reminded me that some things are bigger than hurt feelings."

Faith. I don't know if I want to smack her one or kiss her for this. I bite my lip.

"I'm sorry, Will. I'm so so sorry." She reaches out and pats my hand.

"We'll talk about it later. Right now I'm going to go over some notes on your case. I might have some questions so I need you here."

Huh? I look at my guard then Willow. Okay well I'll just go along with it.

Do they know?

I nod at her.

"Okay."

They know who and what I am. They know who Faith is and for all I know they know who Willow is.

"Now we tried several times to contact you via mail and telephone. Is there a particular reason why we couldn't reach you?" I watch her pen poised over the legal pad.

"I was in solitary." She scribbles then hrms.

"For how long?"

"I don't know."

She stops then and looks at the guard with something close to widow-maker Willow face. When she looks at me though, compassion blossoms in her eyes.

"I feel betrayed, Willow." She nods.

"It's been happening a lot these days."

Yeah. Says Cori who's in here with us.

We're working on it.

I know she's working on it, so I nod once.

"Tell Jamie I miss him."

She catches the cold note in my voice and blinks. Then it hits her. Hard. Willow lets out a breath and leans back in her chair.

"I'll do that."

I want him alive. For Faith. So she can get information out of him. In the messiest, bloodiest, most painful possible way.

"So. Is it as bad as it seems in here?  You know. Are women like...off the chain?"

Off...the chain....

"I thought Giles said you weren't allowed to watch Diane Sawyer exposes anymore."

She laughs and I swear to god it's like water on a hot day.

"I have my ways."

Yeah, I'm sure she does. She is the woman with the power after all.

"Is there anything that you need while you're in here?"

"Shampoo." Real shampoo. With fruity smells instead of the hard cake bar of soap I have to use on the rest of my body.  And a way to contact you guys. The walls have ears.

She nods.

"I'll see what we can do. In the meantime I've left some books with the associate warden. She'll look through them and send them to your cell. I suggest you read up on your case as much as possible."

Right. Booking it. Hopefully there is something useful in those books.

"Wait!"

Willow stops at the door and turns to me.

"Will you tell my sister..." Tell her what exactly? I'm sorry? I'll be home soon?

"I will."

I believe her. We nod once and I watch her leave. Pain in my chest throbs a few times before Faith fills my body leaving me feeling like I'm curled tight in her arms. How did I ever live without this before?

Chapter 14

"So look man, you got two options here. Either you pay me cash or you find another way to make good on what you owe me."

I'm sittin' here watchin' Proph conduct a lil business while she rolls a pin-nail. Ten bucks for somethin' that can barely be called joint. I take a drag off my cigarette an' shake my head at the woman who's tryin' desperately ta come up with something good enough to pay up with. That's the thing about habits in prison. Either ya break out of what ya got, or ya find a way ta pay for your small mercies.

That's what I call 'em. Proph takes ten from Shonda an' hands her the smoke. I give her a nod as she walks out of the cell, brushin' against the other woman hard. It's a hint.

"What um...what do you want? I don't have anything."

She shouldn't have said that. Prophets' eyes rise from the new one she's rollin'. This one is for us. It's actually worth the effort of smokin'.

"Nothing?"

This makes the woman squirm. Look. I might be a Slayer. Might even be a good guy from time ta time. But this is life. I could step in an' make this one owe me a favor later but why? Nothing in it for me.

"You sure about that sweet thang?" The woman's throat tightens convulsively.

"I'm not gay."

I chuckle at that and shake my head again.

"I..."

Shit. She doesn't know dick about the way it works. I kick my feet up an' rest them on a stack of books.

"Shit baby, ain't half the bitches up in here are gay. But uh, even the straightest girl's got needs right? You think I rock pussy on the outside? Fuck no. I got a man, and a kid."

The woman blinks at me a few times.

"You're not gay either?"

I almost answer but Prophet snorts, chokin' on her hit.

"Hell no, this bitch right here LOVES pussy."

Cant really argue that, can I? I just grin an swipe a hit.

"So what's it gonna be? You gonna give me money or pussy?"

The woman debates it before scooting further into the cell to hover nervously near Prophet.

"I don't have money but...I...I need it."

Yeah I feel ya. I watch her drop to her knees slowly to start tugging  Proph's  jumper. This is my time ta peace it while I still can. And while I'm at it, I'm takin' this joint with me.

"Later P. Let me know when you got a line out, yeah?"

She barely gives me a grunt of acknowledgement as she gets way too preoccupied with her new toy. Fuck. I let out a deep breath an' close my eyes to focus. Buffy. I can feel her against my skin as she becomes aware of me. She wasn't so happy with me for a few days after that whole thing with Red, but we're okay. I thought for sure she was gonna gimme a knuckle sammy for the effort but she didn't.

At first she was in shock a little I think. She just let me hold her as she cried it out a little. My eyes open an' I start toward the library. Of course after the cryin 'came a lil glarin'. I let her. An' after that it was just okay. We didn't need ta say anything about it. Didn't need to go over the whys an' whens of it all. I get her in a way no one else ever will.  And she gets me. Gets right ta the soul of me. I give a nod to a new face that's quickly becoming familiar.

Ever since that first day of workin' out in the yard we've had more an' more inmates joinin' in. Some of them were the outcasts. No crew ta cling to. New intakes mostly at first. But it's been growin'. Everyone seems ta be drawn ta B. Not that I don't get it, cause I do. In here you want somewhere ta belong, someone ta see you, see you an' save you. The second Buffy lays those greens on ya, you feel it. That instant throb of safety. It's been a lotta years since me an' Buffy first met, but damn do I remember the feelin'. I saw her a long time before she saw me.

I'll admit it. I was checkin' her out. I mean, she was the balls, right? My Watcher was all about the hero worship. I get it now. But then I just wanted to know what the fuck it was about her that made her so goddamned special. What made her better than me? I mean, I was a Slayer then too. So we should be the same, right? Damn. I have never been more wrong in my life. Of course on the flip side of that...I was more right than I'd ever know at that point.

I flash a back-handed peace sign at a group of people an' tuck my joint behind my ear as I pass a bull. I don't think he noticed. A quick jog up the stairs puts me right where I wanna be, an' I stroll in ta the library with my usual cocky strut. Buffy looks up from her book in the corner table an' I head to it like a heat-seekin' missile. I turn a chair around an' straddle it before lightin' up.

"Faith. We're in a library."

I just give her a look an' pass it to her after I take a hit.

"So what? That's part of a book." She looks at it closely, squintin' ta make out the small print.

"Tell me that's not what I think it is."

I shrug.

"We're going to hell."

Hey the big guy owes us a few. I think He'd understand. She takes her hit and hands it back.

"I've found out a few interesting things. Will was pretty clever with this book."

I look at the mostly blank pages. What the fuck?

"Yeah?"

She nods an' turns the book to face me. Words fill the pages like little ants spreading out from the spine. I look at the joint in my hand, then the book, then Buffy. She snickers and I shrug. Hey, at least I'm being entertaining.

"Giles mighta taught you to read this shit but I kinda wish it was in English."

As soon as the words are out of my mouth the text wavers, translating to English. Now that is some cool ass shit. I pass off an' flip the page.

It's about Dante. I give a soft whistle of awe. That's a fuck of a lot of words. I hand the book back.

"I can see you're not in a read-y mood. I'll give you the Cliffs Notes version later."

That's my girl. I smile an stretch before crossin' my arms over the back of the chair an' restin' my chin on them.

"Are you going to sit there all creepy and stare at me the whole time?"   Yup.

Buffy stares at me for a minute before shovin' a three year old copy of  People in my face. I laugh an' make myself more comfortable as I open the magazine. Who wouldda thought way back when that we'd be this cool with each other? I sure as fuck didn't. Then again...I didn't think a whole lot of shit would ever happen between us. And it did. Not just sex stuff. Hrm. I let my mind wander down that road for a minute before I rein it in.

Sittin' there at the bar in the Bronze, lettin' my beer bottle collect fat beads of sweat while I stared at this lil bit of nothin', I never thought any of this would happen. Nah that's not true. I knew right then. That very second. She wasn't a lil bit of nothin'. She was Everything. Jaded little wounded bird me was caught up in everything Buffy right then. She doesn't know it but I wanted so bad ta be in that bubble of awareness around her. I wanted her ta feel me like I felt her.

I didn't even know why I felt her. I just knew...bone deep, I knew it was always gonna be about her. When she smiled an' licked her lips, and lifted her chin castin' her line of sight in my direction my heart stopped, cause I didn't know what I'd do if she saw me. If she saw the naked need in my eyes. But she passed over me without so much as a pause. She owned me and she didn't even know I existed. That's when it all changed for me.

Moments, ya know? Some moments define you. That missed moment made something in the broken part of my brain made me do...unimaginably stupid things later. All just ta stand out an' catch her attention cause I didn't the first time. God what a fuckin 'kid I was. I flip the page in my magazine without really noticing anything about it. I can feel Buffy's eyes on me an' I look up and flash her a grin.

"Wha?"

"What are you thinking about?"

Me? Uh. Shit. I blink an' shrug a bit. Might as well go for it.

"The night we met."

She rolls her eyes and laughs a little. "God, I was such a fucking kid."

It makes my smile grow wider knowin' that I was just thinkin' that. See, I was right. We are the same. Now. We weren't then.

"We both were. Dumb ones." She nods at that and puts out the roach against the window sill.

"So what about the night we met?"

I shake my head. I'm gonna sound like such a retard. But then...maybe I don't need ta tell her. I take Buffy's hand in mine, stretching her fingers out to rest against my own. Palm to palm. I call up the image I have of her an' focus on it as hard as I can.

"Whoa...oh my god, what was going on with my hair?"

That's such a typical Buffy comment that it breaks my concentration as I crack the fuck up. I feel her fingers runnin' through my hair.

"What made you think of that?"

"Was thinkin' about how ya got this thing about ya. It pulls people in ya know?"

She gives me a blank look because I'm not explaining very well. I grunt an' try again.

"The first night I saw you, I wanted you to see me too. Because I knew everything would make sense then. Maybe it's cause we were both Slayers or because you were a fuckin' hot piece of ass, I dunno. I just know I wanted ta be near ya."

She takes the magazine out of my hand and swats me hard on the side of the head for my comment.

"Dick."

We grin at each other and I shrug.

"Babe, ya got groups of women that would rather spit on each other than work together, willingly spendin' all their outdoor free time with each other. Just ta be near you."

It hits her hard then an' I smile.

"That's retarded. I'm just...Buffy."

"An' that's why I got a massive hard-on for you."

She gives me a look.

"Okay it's why I'm ass over head in love with you. Better?"

"Yes, thank you."

I roll my eyes when she leans forward and gives me a peck on the lips.

"Did Prophet tell you when the next letter is getting out?"

I shake my head at that.

"Not yet. Looks like they're shuttin' down all of the communication in or out. I don't think they like us havin' so much influence on the rest of the inmates."

That makes her just as amused as it does me. At least we know we're gettin' to them.

"So you ready ta get your ink work done?"

Buffy looks at me and gives a deep breath.

"Yes."

That's a pretty firm yes. I wait it out.

"The last time I had a magic based tattoo it didn’t' go so well." I smirk at that.

"Don't worry, B, I'll hold your hand." She smiles once more and it fuckin' takes my breath away. I'll love you forever, B. Just don't ever stop seein' me.

Sometimes I can't fathom how I end up in the positions I end up in. I watch Ramsey slice a deep gash in her forearm so that her blood fills a small bowl. God, that has got to hurt but she goes about her business as if she doesn't even notice.

"Though you were not born to my People, you have become Sisters to me. A tie to bind me to this world as my last has gone before me."

She holds the bowl out to Faith who holds it carefully in both her hands.

"You who are not born to Us will bear Our Blood."

At Ramsey's nod I drizzle in the thick black ink we collected from pens. Many many many pens. She mixes it carefully and adds something slightly smelly and powdery. I have no idea what it is or where she got it, but I don't think it really matters at this point.

It's not like I can just say Just kidding! and go back to my bunk. The number one reason is because I'm pretty sure that Faith would pick on me. But there are other more important reasons why. Ramsey helped us when she didn't have to. She lost her brother in our struggle. A part of me feels responsible for that. I know Faith does too, but for different reasons. If I hadn't allowed myself to be put in prison Vikrant would still be alive. The thing is...I am not a child anymore. I cant lose myself in guilt and responsibility anymore. We lose our friends. We lose our family.

I still cry over Tara sometimes. So many faces and pieces of our hearts. I have to be here because I can't let her lose a piece of her heart without offering her another. Mine. I smile wanly at Faith when Prophet pulls my jumper down for me. My arms go up and she pulls up my tank off, leaving me bare-chested for the rest of the block to see. Faith's fiery gaze on my body causes a flush that has nothing to do with embarrassment. I watch Cori repeat the process for Faith. My. God.

There are no words to describe the perfection of her body. None. Faith quirks a cocky grin at me and I roll my eyes. Ass. We lay on our stomachs and lock hands. I'm very aware of the eyes of curious inmates on us. Not a few of them have lust burning the skin of my back. It's not unpleasant to say the least. I stare at Faith, inches from me and smile. She's not even nervous. Me? I'm just a little bit. It's not the fact that it's a tattoo really it's just that it's got blood in it. Yick. Plus. There's this whole pain factor that I'm sure goes along with it. I know I know. I'm a Slayer and I'm acting like a big baby but...pain. It just freaks me out.

Faith grips my hand a little tighter to get my attention on her and off my anxiety. Just like she plans, my attention goes to her lips. So full and soft. The first time we kissed I swear I thought I would die on the spot. There was just so much anticipation and tension between us that when it happened I wanted to melt into her. I wanted to be devoured by those lips.

I still do. There's a sharp sting as the needle pierces the flesh of my right shoulder. It's really not that bad if I focus on something else.

"I'm right here, B."

Right. Faith. I blink a few times as the pin prick pain turns into a deep muscle burn. I think it might be the demon blood. I knew there was a reason to be nervous. I give Faith a pained grin.

"And half naked even."

She chuckles at that and bites her lip. Oh yeah. That one went right to my clit.

"I knew ya were a freak like me." She has no idea. But I am so going to show her when we get the hell out of here.

"I think I could show you a thing or two these days." Her brows come up in perfect arches.

"Ungh, now that sounds promisin'. Got somethin' special in mind, B?"

I smile sweetly through the stinging burn crawling down my arm as Ramsey works.

"Oh yeah. We're talking hours, probably days together. With restraints. And toys. Lots and lots of toys. Lots." The lust that rolls through my body from her reaction causes me to gasp.

"Oh it's like that, huh?"

Yup. It sure is. I love it when she grunts at me and gives me just a hint of a lip curl. Sexy thy name is Faith Lehane.

"I got plans for you too, baby."

Okay. If any other lover of mine had called me baby the way she does I probably would have punched them. I did punch Spike several times for it. But when she says it...the way it's possessive and sweet at the same time. I don't know. It just does it for me. A shiver runs down my spine at it.

"Care to share?"

I'm thinking that I just started something I'm not sure I'll win. Fire burns under the surface of my skin and when Faith gives me a low chuckle I realize that the burn of ink has nothing on the burn between my legs for her. I didn't even think it was possible to want someone so much.
"Maybe. What'ya gimme for it?"

I glance up at Prophet's soft laugh. Almost forgot we had an audience. Her coal black eyes are shining down on us, glassy and transfixed. She's not the only one.

All around us faces are turned our way. Tanned, rough skinned arms hanging out from between the bars of other cells facing us, and a row of  chocolate dark eyes staring from the top bunk, small clusters of women gathered at the door to the cell. And every one of them is looking at us.

I can feel Faith's desire rise like a flood. Oh god. I grip her hand tighter letting everything else fade away. It's just me, her, the mutual burn of freshly inked skin, and lust. Maybe I don't dislike pain as much as I thought. Something about it just makes the way she's looking at me that much more powerful.

"You already have everything I am."

Her smile goes from cunning to sweet and it changes her whole face.

"How do you do that?"

Do what? I blink at her a few times trying to fight the haze of need starting to cloud my vision.

"Make me feel like I'm worth it?"

How...how do I make her feel like she's worth it? I don't even know how to answer that question because I never expected to hear it.

"You were always worth it, Faith. I just couldn't see it until it was almost too late for me."

Boy, am I glad I didn't miss my chance to tell her. To show her how much I love her. How wrong I was about so many things. Tears spring up in my eyes but she brushes them away before they get halfway down my cheeks.

"Still right here, B. Always will be."

And that's why she's worth it. That and a million other reasons.

"An' I'm kinda thinkin' I wanna start with you ridin' my face."

Boy, that was a quick topic change. One that does nothing to quell the deep throbbing already going on here.

"But that's just ta start."

I don't think I have ever wanted another person the way I want her. It's everything about her.

Ramsey sits up and stretches her back, giving me a break.

"Am I done?"

She nods and moves to crouch over Faith the same way she had done to me. I look down at the swirling lines decorating my body from shoulder to the tip of my middle finger. If I squint my eyes and stare at them the lines seem to move in slow circular patterns. Wow. Prophet whistles her appreciation of the work and kneels on the floor to rub the sweet smelling Vaseline over my arm for me.

I guess I could tell her there's no point because it'll be healed by tonight, but I don't. I'm too stuck on watching the entirely too serene look on Faith's face. I can feel my marks responding to hers as they get filled in by a steady-handed Ramsey. The shapes and patterns on her skin are bolder, making mine look almost delicate in comparison. But they match. They belong together. Like Faith and I belong together. Swirls and dips cascade down from her shoulder nearly blending with the tumble of waves from her hair.

My eyes trail up the length of her arm but I don't gasp until I see the beautiful luminous shimmering deep gold ringing her eyes.

"So pretty." I reach out to touch the curve of her jaw focusing on her eyes.

"Think the rest of the Scoobs are gonna be jealous we got matchin' tats an 'eyes in prison?"

The absurdity of that makes me laugh. God. I need to get out of here with her. Like. Nowish would be good.

"Xander definitely will."

Her fingers slide against mine, her thumb brushing over my knuckles causing yet another shiver of anticipation. I look to Ramsey who's resting on her back against the wall of the cell.

"Are we ready?"

Her nod is slow when it comes but solid.

"You are Moin Dumajin. Heartblood Keys."

The sound of it strikes a chord in me and I glance to Faith. Her chin raises with pride, her chest swelling with it as it fills her. It's our destiny to do this. I know that now.

"Leave me. Please?"

A part of me crumbles, but Faiths reassuring presence strengthens me.

"Don't worry about her, Princess. Me and the Kid here will check up on her later."

Prophet gets up and snaps her fingers a few times. Women drop down from the bunk and file out of the cell with soft murmurs of quiet conversation. Faith shrugs on her shirt and holds out a hand for me to help me up. When she pulls me to my feet my body crushes against hers as if we were magnetically drawn together. My breath is harsh and ragged from the contact and I lick my lips.

"You okay there, B?"

I nod once before tangling my hands in her hair and pulling her mouth to mine in a desperate lunge. It's hot and rough as we fight to consume each other. Fuck. I pull back and try to catch my breath, but it's hard to do with Faith covering every inch of exposed skin she can with little nips and teasing licks. I need her.

"Five by five, Faith."

Her eyes come up to meet mine in a devilishly amused shine.

"Now get me out of here."

She doesn't waste time asking questions, she just takes me by the hand and leads me down the stairs to the little used chapel. I know I've never been in here before but I think it's because somewhere along the way I stopped waiting for God to rescue me from myself.

I don't give her time to turn and tell me the coast is clear. I give Faith's back a hard enough shove to push her through the door and shut it behind me. I need her. I need her right now. My hands fumble with the tied sleeves of her jumper until I get tired of trying and yank it down her legs impatiently. I'm glad she's not trying to argue it. That'd be a total buzz kill. The scent of her surrounds me in a heady wave and I drop to my knees, pushing her back on one of the padded benches.

She gasps when I spread her open for me. The hard nub of her clit stands out and I swirl my tongue around it before sucking it between my lips. Faith bucks against me so I grip her hips hard to hold her in place. I hunger for her. For the taste of her, the scent of her. I hunger for the sounds of her moans and sighs. I hunger for the heat rising off our bodies as I feed my lust to claim her. She cries out my name when I fill her and thrust with each hard tugging suck. Please. Please. Let me have you.

Faith's body rocks hard against me when she comes. Her new tattoos make a stark contrast on her skin, making her seem to glow all the more to me. If ever there was an angel on earth...

There is no time to contemplate that thought. Her breath barely caught, Faith pulls me up to her, crushing us together in a tight embrace.

"Off. Now."

Hey, who am I to complain? I'm barely out of my jumper when she pulls me into a straddle on her lap. This isn't about saving the world. It's about saving each other. A whine of pleasure escapes my lips at the first touch of her fingertips along my slicked sex. She's teasing me, stroking my entrance and sliding up to press against my clit. My hips move to the pace she sets up until she grunts and my world goes upside down.

I'm caught firmly in Faiths grip, dangling precariously off the bench. I open my mouth to complain but all that comes out is a deep satisfied groan when she slides home inside of me. I close my eyes and let her thrust relentlessly into me, bringing me closer to the edge with each curling jerk of her fingers. Oh god. Oh god. Oh god. I reach out blindly for her, fingernails grazing over her tender arm. She hisses and yanks me up, pinning me between her and the bench back.

I need her deeper. Harder. I give a pleading whimper when I feel her hot hands on my ankles, pulling them up and slinging my legs over her shoulders.

"God yessssssss."

We lock eyes in the musty silence, the only sound, one heart beat. Two hearts beating the same crazy staccato. The feeling of dislocation only lasts a second before Faith begins her wild thrusts against me. I match her pounding movements until she grips my wrists hard, holding them above my head with one hand. My body clenches tightly around her the second she bites into the already abused flesh of my shoulder. God doesn't even begin to cover this religious experience.

Chapter 15

We got problems. I lift my body in nice, steady, even pull-ups. I know we got problems even before I spy Prophet headin' my way. She's gonna hafta wait til I'm done. My muscles flex and constrict along my shoulders as I rise again; this time I hold where I am until I'm not ready ta scream anymore. With a heavy exhale I lower my body an' hang by my arms for a second before I drop to the ground.

"We got problems."

See? Told ya we had problems. I grab the towel that Buffy tosses at me an' wipe my arms an' neck down.

"Yeah?" I kinda figured with the way things have been goin'. "Bulls tossin' cells again?"

It's been happenin' a lot lately. As soon as the inmates started gettin' along the guards got scared. They know somethin' is up.

"Bigger."

Bigger? I glance at Buffy who frowns an' shrugs.

"Big T is in the infirmary. Fuckin' pigs beat her down in the showers. Shonda said T went to reach for a towel and they clubbed her down. She didn't even try to fight back, man."

Bigger is right. Buffy scowls an' I sigh. She's getting' her mad on. That's not the bad part. The bad part is that we can't do anything about it just yet.

"Did anyone tell the Warden?"

"Psh. Associate Warden won't even let us get near him. My guess is the old man croaked it up there and she's running the show. Wouldn't surprise me none if his boney-ass body turned up stuffed in a janitor's closet."

Buffy gives me a slight smirk at that an' I nod. Proph is probably right. We can't afford ta wait any longer.

"This has to end. Faith, you have a knack for getting in to and out of...tight spots. You and Ramsey should look for a place we can set up that is harder to get in to than it is to get out of."

I smirk at Buffy. Yeah I know all about getting' in ta her tight spot. Buffy rolls her eyes at me even though she was thinkin' it too. Heh.

"Just to be on the safe side, we should have Cori keep an eye on the infirmary."

Yeah. I think that'd be a good idea. I doubt that the guards are gonna fuck with her any more.

They've started what they want so far. They want a reaction. They can't break us now. We're too strong. An' pretty soon we're gonna creep up on 'em. Pretty soon the wild things are gonna reclaim what's ours.

"What about the rest of us?"

This time Buffy looks ta me for input.

"We're not pullin' this off without a distraction, B."

She's givin' me that look. She's not happy. We've had this talk already about a million fuckin' times.

"No."

I sigh heavily.

"Buffy."

"Faith! We are not risking or endangering anyone else. It's not their fight."

The hell it isn't. They're the ones gettin' beat down. Theyr'e the ones gettin' their cells tossed. Gettin' kept away from family an' friends. I growl an' turn away with my hands on my hips. We don't see eye ta eye here.

"Anyone mind telling me what fight ain't my fight?"

We both turn to look at Proph who's got her arms crossed over her chest in defiance. She's not gonna like it.

"It's like this, you're probably right about the Warden. The A.W. has been runnin' this show for awhile but she's just a baby-sitter."

I flick my eyes to Buffy who nods at me to continue. "She's here ta keep an eye on my girl. She didn't quite bargain for me."

I flash a big dimpled grin at that, an' rock on my heels. Man I love fuckin' up people's plans.

"Right. So now we get to the question everyone in this motherfucker has been asking. Why the fuck is Princess in here anyway?"

Uh huh. And they're strangers. I raise my brows at Buffy and grin when she gets huffy about it.

"Long story short she was set up. So was the kid." Same bum rap for the same made up story.

"We're not your normal kinda chicks. We're...special."

This time it's Prophet rollin' her eyes at me.

"No shit. You're fucking Slayers. You think I'm retarded?"

Okay well at least I'm not the only one with my chin scrapin' the ground.

"Dumbass white people think they're the only ones that know shit about shit. My little cousin Angelique used to get picked on a lot. Skinny, knock-kneed lil thing. One day...poof. She started walking different, acting different. And all of a sudden some stuffy assed white dude is tellin' us she's special."

Uh. Guess we've been told. I bet that stuffy assed white dude was Giles. It'd make me laugh if I didn't think about the fact that Angelique is a local Slayer. Which means if she hasn't already been tagged ta go down she will be soon. And she'll end up here.

"Alright ya know what we are. Makes it easier ta get to it then. This shit right here, all this bullshit that's been goin' down is because the A.W. is keepin' us penned up for her boss. We've gotta get the fuck out an' the only way we can do that is if we have a good enough distraction."

Not just good. Big. Real big. Prophet just raises her hands to her head and sighs out.

"Motherfuckers. You can not be fuckin' serious about this shit."

"It's life or death here, P. No lie." I look to Buffy who moves up to my side and leans in ta me.

"There's this demon named Dante. He's setting up Slayers one by one and we're all ending up in prison. All in all not the worst that could happen."

True. The worst part is comin up.

"Except for the fact that he needs massive amounts of power, both to keep us locked up and to make sure we power him up."

First he drains us of hope. Then desire. Then the will to live. Then he'll drain our bodies of even the spark of life.

"Lil Angelique could end up here. Or anywhere."

She's close ta breakin'. I can feel it. I just gotta push the right buttons for both Buffy an' Prophet.

"Only one way ta make it right."

We gotta get out of here. I pin Buffy with my look. This part is more for her than Prophet anyway.

"We need ta get out of here, Buffy. You lasted a long time alone, but other Slayers might not, we don't have time ta play hide an' seek with the guards. We need a diversion."

"Faith...no."

"It's not your choice, Princess. What do we gotta do?"

Good. Buffy sighs an' resigns herself ta lettin' it happen. She was right. We need the help.

"This is Faith's thing. I'll go...do the looking around thing with Ramsey."

I reach out an grab Buffy's hand as she walks away. The tattoos in our hands shift an' curl towards each other as we touch.

"Be careful Faith."

I will be. I lean forward an' touch her forehead with mine before lettin' Buffy go. It's necessary. Makes for a shitty sitch but it's gotta be done.

"Alright. How many Lifers we got here?"

Proph shrugs. "Maybe about a dozen that I know personally. Probably maybe thirty total here."

I doubt there's that many, but we'll work with it.

"Good. How many of them are ride or die?"

She shakes her head. Not that many. Okay lemme try this a different way.

"How many people we got that wanna see a pig bleed?"

Her eyes light up at that one an' I nod. Yeah that's what I thought.

"You won't have no trouble with that, cuz." Oh, so now I'm cuz. Well don't I feel special?

"What's the plan?"

"The plan is ta take back the prison. Most of the guards are puppets. Just clockin' in an out. But some of these fuckers gotta die. They're in the wrong army in the middle of a war an' I don't take any fuckin' prisoners."

I'd like ta shove a cattle prod up a few asses myself, but I know I'm not gonna get ta play this time. Sometimes it's not about how many skulls you get ta crack. There's a bigger picture for me now. I'm not just a foot soldier. Pride flows down the connection, makin' a nice warm spot on my lower back as if Buffy's hand were there.

"Shouldn't take long to pick out the right people for it."

I nod at that. She's our people person. Everyone talks to us through her. It's better this way anyhow. When we leave, the rest of the inmates will need someone ta keep them together. Someone strong. Someone like Prophet.

"What else?"

"I need ya ta give up the rotation schedules."

She gives me a deeply pissed look.

"C'mon P, I know ya traded your best bitch ta get the schedules, but we need them if we're gonna know where and who ta hit."

"Fine. You realize your favors are adding up, right? Next time you ask me for something I'm getting some pussy for it. You hear me?"

Yeah, yeah she's gonna get some pussy. Whatever.

"Don't give me that look girl, I intend to be fucking you and your girl if this shit don't pan out this time."

I blink at that.

"Yeah, you heard me. You're gonna be lickin 'my pussy while I eat your girl out. So you better hope you get out."

I give her a look as I start to walk away. Buffy's gonna kill me. I'm barely three steps away when she slaps my ass hard enough ta make me jump.

"Oh, I'm so tellin' B on you...."

Yeah. Let that one sink in, asshole. I flip her off as I jog away. I gotta get some supplies. We're not takin' out the prison with our bare hands. I've got a lot of shivs ta make an' not a whole lot of time. But I've got a good idea where I can go ta get the stuff I need. It doesn't take me very long to get to the library. I take a quick look around, takin' inventory. Yup. That should work. No one is in here now. Not even a trustee which is good for me. I start pullin' the cellophane covers off  books.

And here I thought that was going to be the hard part. I roll up the cellophane an' stick it down the leg of my jumper. I get caught with these they'll lock me down for sure. I whistle as I amble along the corridors. No one bothers me. They never do. I make it all the way to the commissary before I run inta trouble. Ditto is leanin' against the counter chattin' up the trustee in charge. Fuck. That's gonna make this a problem. Well. Maybe. I glance around before headin' straight toward the bitch.

Who said I couldn't have fun at all?

"Hey piggy."

She doesn't have enough time before I slam her head down on the counter a few times.

"Been meanin' ta pay ya back for the shoulder."

I slam her head down again just for fun before lettin' her stumble back. Her fists ball up and she lowers her head like a bull about ta take a charge.

"Tsk tsk tsk. Temper, temper Ditto. You wouldn't want your meat here ta know the truth do ya?"

That she's not human. She'll never be human and once the girl behind the counter gets a look at Ditto she'll tell everyone. And the people she doesn't tell are the people that already know anyway.

"Doesn't much matter does it, Faithy?"

I hate it when people call me that. It makes my teeth itch.

"Might be right about that. How about a go then, huh? You an' me. See who wins this time. Beauty or the Beast. I'm the Beauty in case ya wondered."

Because I sure as hell ain't playin' beast when she's the one with tusks. I can see her thinkin' about it. Really thinkin' about it. She wants to. With a deep growl she lunges at me tryin' ta take my legs out from under me. I side step and use her momentum ta fling her past me down the hall.

There's the sound of cloth rippin' and I know she's startin' ta shift. I look at the confused and terrified trustee and shrug.

"What's going on?"

Ditto lumbers down toward us and the girl's eyes bug outta her head.

"I'm thinkin' now is a good time ta get gone. Don't you?"

She nods and beats feet out of there. I just grin at the open door to the commissary.

"Alright Ugly. Let's get this over with. I got shit ta do."

It's totally predictable that she lunges at me again. This time I let her make contact and drag her down to the ground with me. We struggle for a second before I kick out and get some distance between us. I watch those small black eyes pin my movements.

She's waitin' me out. We crouch across from each other for a long time. I can hear the guards coming already. The meat musta squealed on us. My time just ran out. This time it's me who lunges. It surprises her and we go down hard. I grab her head and bring it down hard on the concrete twice. She's out cold. Too fuckin' easy. No time ta crow about it though so I haul ass in to the store room and jack a box of toothbrushes and some lighters. If Buffy finds us a hidey hole ta work in, we might just make it out of here alive.

"How about the staff room?"

Ramsey looks at me and shakes her head.

"I have never been to the staff room. I do not even know where it is."

Okay. Well that's out. I don't suppose there are signs on the doors and we probably wouldn't be able to get past the block gates anyway.

"Perhaps the laundry again?"

No way. That's the first place they'll go just to make sure. I shake my own head at that and sigh. It's not going to be an easy job finding a spot for us to open a portal.

"Library?"

It's a thought and it's one of the places we should keep on the list for now.

"Maybe. It has enough space but it is not easily defensible. If Faith is planning what you say...we will need a place away from the chaos."

That's my girl, the bringer of chaos. I grin at that. Well at least she's doing it for the right team. Besides, she gets all riled up and aggressive when she's up to something and I like it. Wow. How things change huh?

"Where is the last place that the guards would be likely to look?"

Oh. Huh. Who knew random sex thoughts could prove useful?

"How about the showers? It'll be a tight fit in the quarantine shower but it has that vestibule with the heavy door."

She thinks about it for a moment then nods with a shudder. Hey, I get it. That shower was the worst part about becoming a new intake. The guards must get some sadistic joy out of spraying us down with cold water from fire hoses. I'd probably question the legality of that, but why? They're doing it and it doesn't matter if it's legal or not. It's just another tactic that they used to break us down and make us compliant.

I can't believe I'm going to say this but...damn the Man! Intense humor trebles along my connection. Well at least she's amused by that.

"We should check it out before hand to be sure."

Good idea. A couple of women pass us in dark blue jumpers. One in an orange jumper. And one in red. Like me. Her eyes slide from the other women, dismissing them as insignificant before falling on me. We stare at each other as we walk toward one another from separate directions. She drops her gaze first with a slight nod of acceptance. Good.

Ramsey nods to the door to the shower and I duck in to check it out while she leans against the wall, keeping look out. It's pretty icky here but it won't matter if we get a portal open. I give the door to the quarantine area a knock to test out its durability. Fire door. Good. It's perfect. Better get out of here before someone comes in and finds me checking this place out.

"This is it. Let's find Faith." I take one direction and she takes another.

We'll both end up in the same place, but why be obvious about it? Cori falls into step behind me as I pass the infirmary. A few other women slink down the hall like alley cats. Always someone looking out now. Faith's cell door is slid open and there are a few people leaning against the outside with intimidating gazes and thickly corded muscular arms. They step aside immediately for me and I smile.

"Thanks guys."

Never hurts to be polite. Besides, I like how one of them turns pink and gets a flustered nervous chuckle. It's cute.

"Stop harassin' my look outs, B." I slide in to place behind Faith on the floor and lean against her back.

"But they're so cute when they get all stammery and red."

She chuckles and flicks her lighter to light up something. It stinks.

"Ugh. What the hell is that?"

Faith chuckles again and moves to scrape whatever it is on the floor to sharpen the edges.

"Wrapped the head of a toothbrush with cellophane from a book. Burn it an' shape it. Then ya sharpen it and..." She doesn't need to illustrate the deadliness of her shank but she does with a violent thrust at the air. If the space had been a person, it would have been right in the side of their neck. Faith is so not fucking around. I swallow hard.

"Are you totally prepared to ask these women to murder for us Faith?"

I would do it myself ,but we've got other things we need to deal with.

"It's not just blood on our hands this way."

Her shoulders slump and I think I just realized what this is costing her.

"I know, Buffy. And believe me, if I thought there was another way I would do it. But these women aren't just helpless women. Or street thugs. Or whores. They're soldiers. This is war."

I look down at the ink decorating my skin and nod. War paint. She's right.

"Okay. Can I help?" She smiles at me, making my breath catch in my throat.

"Yeah. Here." She hands me a lighter and a toothbrush. I take a bit of cellophane and start wrapping. "Oh yeah....uh, if this doesn't work, Prophet is gonna make us her bitches."

Um. Excuse me? I stop what I'm doing to glare at her. "Come again?"

Faiths throat tightens. "It's the price of her help."

"You'd better hope this works out, missy." Or else.

I give her a narrow eyed look then nudge her playfully. My spirits have lifted with the knowledge that we're not just waiting around for things to happen anymore.

"Speak of the devil..."

Prophet looks behind her then at herself before stepping fully into the cell with Ramsey.

"Aw baby, don't be like that. I promise I'll make it good for you."

Oh please. I scoff at that.

"Cold hearted. Damn."

I think I'm going to miss the easy-going teasing when we're gone.

"What's the what?"

"We're set. Got those guards you wanted checked out. They all have rounds tonight, got one or two subs but it's mostly your boys."

Faith's smile gets predatory and she lights her toothbrush again.

"Good. How'd it go with findin' a place, B?"

Oh! Me!

"Quarantine shower. Ramsey and Cori can defend it easily while we work our mojo."

I should not have said that. Even Ramsey snickers at that.

"Yes, children I said work the mojo." I doubt even a mild glare would help. It'd probably make them laugh more. "So...this is it. Tonight we do it. When the buzzer goes off for lockdown tonight."

Prophet nods at that and rubs her jaw idly.

"Get some of your girls ta light up rolls of toilet paper an' chuck em over the rails. Rattle cages, whistle, yell, I don't care. Just cause enough confusion to get the bulls off balance. Then we execute."

Faith's a natural leader. Sometimes I wonder what would have happened if she were in my place and I were in hers. I have the feeling that the world would be a good place to live. I reach out and run my fingers through her hair.

"And then?"

And then Faith and I disappear from this hell.

"I mean, don't get me wrong here. I'm all for the greater good in this situation, but once you two bail what then?"

Faith holds up her lighter and flicks it a few times before raising her brows at me.

"We were kinda hopin' you had some ideas."

Well, we can't think of everything.

"If it were up to me I'd kill all of them. But I somehow don't think you're gonna let me get away with that."

Definitely not.

"Wrong answer. Try again."

She sighs heavily and shakes her head, making her beads clack softly together.

"I'll see what I can do to keep it together here. At least until we can maybe get some media coverage. Bring up all the bullshit inhumane crap they pull. No one will notice a few missing prisoners in the hustle to cover asses."

Good. But I have to make sure she knows this.

"You don't have to do this Prophet. We can find another way."

She smiles at me and lights up a cigarette.

"This is the way. Your way."

Because her way is too violent. I get it. There's a moment of silence between us all before I call it a night for now.

"I guess we should all go our ways until tonight."

I don't think I'll see Prophet again for a long time, so I stand and hug her tightly. I don't think she was expecting it. But I also notice that she doesn't waste any time letting her hands roam.

"Okay, so much for the affectionate goodbye."

"Sorry baby, I was just checkin' out the goods for when this shit fails again."

She doesn't mean it. It's like saying break a leg. I think. God. I hope. Faith laughs and tosses her next weapon into the small pile.

"C'mere, B."

I go to her as if I were drawn there with every breath. Faith's arms open and I snuggle down in to them.

"We're goin home tonight baby. You an' me."

Best thing I've heard all day.

Chapter 16

It's gettin' down to the wire now. Tick Tock and all that. I rest my forearms lightly on the cross bar of my door an' wait. I can hear a guard comin' down the line. He's clacking his baton against the bars as he goes. I hate that. We all hate that. I take a long drag off my cigarette an' flick the ash on the ground.

"You keep hanging your arms out that door like that an' bad shit is gonna happen."

I know. I give Proph a slightly annoyed look before flickin' my eyes back to the line. Two cells down.

I'm so ready ta get the fuck outta here. C'mon ya little bastard, just a little bit closer. Another drag an' he finally notices me loungin'. I don't even have to see the smile on his face ta know it's there. I keep my head down lettin' the smoke curl around my head. He's just about ta step into my line of sight when I flick the butt of my cigarette at his feet. His leather boots creak softly when he pulls up short. My head tips up slightly an' I raise my eyes to his. Whatever he sees or doesn't see makes him afraid.

An' like all assholes, what makes him afraid makes him mad. The second I see the anger in his face I know this is the time. Tick Tock motherfucker. The guard brings his arm up with the baton ready ta smash it down on my arms, only by the time he swings down I'm already back in my cell. He starts toward the cell door when the buzzer goes off. He looks up at the speaker for a second. Never could figure out why people did that. It's not a fuckin' clock. But it's what I need.

I yank my cell door all the way open and grab the guard. This one liked ta rape the new intakes. I say liked, because right now the only thing he's feelin' is my fist bustin' his nuts.

"Don't worry, it'll only hurt for a second, bitch."

I nod at Prophet who books it out of the cell to take his place.

"You, my friend, are gonna be part of a new world order. You're gonna be the first in a long line."

He looks at me in pure fear and confusion. Yep. He's gonna be the one to lead the flock ta slaughter. I give him a good hard left jab, dazin' him before I slam the door home, decapitating the guard.

Fucker deserved a lot more than that. I spit on his body and tip my head back to let out a gut- deep roar of rage. A war cry. Voices pick up around me from different cells on different floors. Every block howls out in defiance as burning paper filters down. A pulse in the back of my mind brings me back to myself. I dip my fingers into a pool of blood an' streak them down my face before takin' the catwalk at a sprint. Alarms are starting to go off but it's no use. If everything is goin' right there's no one in the command centers ta hit the auto-locks.

Women spill out of their cells, some of them with murder in their eyes. A part of me wants ta be ashamed about that, but the bigger part of me that wants us all ta survive says fuck it, be proud.

So I'm just gonna be proud, and I let it show in the wild grin I give them all. It's about all the pep talk I can give 'em. A tentative touch at the end of my connection slows my sprint. It's not Buffy. My focus tightens on her just as a stab of fear makes me stumble on the stairs. Fuck. I stop on the landing. If I keep going down the stairs I get to the showers. If I head down this line and down the next block I find Cori.

We're not leavin' without her. I grunt an' push out my focus to include Buffy. I can feel her makin' her way to the showers. My feet slow as I stop to listen. It's not easy, I hafta tune out the crush of other sounds around me. She's here, I know she is. A scream rings out, an' I rush toward it without much thought. Cori is stuck in a tangle of women, rough hands holding her down and rippin' and tuggin' at her jumper. I don't even pause, I just fling my whole body into the fray.

We all go down in a tangled mass of arms and legs. We're all so piled, that for a second everyone is just blindly hittin' at anything that moves. I'm pretty sure that last kick had Slayer power behind it. A hard tug on the back of my jumper flings me backward. I hit the wall and shake my head to clear the stars from my vision. When I'm not seein' double I take in the scene before me.

Ramsey is a demon. I know this, right? I know it right down to the soles of my feet. So why is it that I'm surprised ta see her lookin'…well…demon like? Cori crawls quickly out of the pile an' I grab her hand to pull her free and clear.

"You alright, kiddo?"

She gives me a nod that's a lil too quick for my tastes. She's all shook up, an' that's not what we need. But then I'm pretty sure what shook her up was seein' her friend tearin' the throats out of women.

"Jesus…"

Blood sprays in a wide arc catchin' us across the shins in a wave of hot metallic lava. I think the kid is gonna be sick. We don't have time for this. I grab my Slayer's arm an' give her a hard shake to make her focus on me an' not the massacre happening in the one place she thought was safe. At least as safe as prison could be.

"You listen to me. You are a goddamned Slayer. Now start actin' like one!"

I give her a hard shove to send her down the line.

"Get to the showers. Tell B we're on our way."

Another hard shove sends her runnin' and I turn on Ramsey. The way she's tearing at the bodies makes me think she doesn't realize they're dead. My steps in her direction are halted by the soft whine of her tail cuttin' air.

I duck just in time. Concrete from the wall crumbles and dusts me. Thank baby Jebus for quick reflexes. I wait for the whipping tail to lash out again before I leap takin' her down to the ground.

"MURDERER!"

Yeah that's me, but I don't think I'm the murderer she's lookin' for. Her tail comes up an' I kick it away before grippin' her tight around the middle and holdin' on like all hell.

"Stop! RAMSEY STOP!"

She struggles against me for a few minutes before she realizes she can't get free. I'm not stupid see, I'm not about ta let her go until I'm good an sure she's not gonna freak out.

"Hey…hey…shhhh. It's good, Ramsey, it's just us. We're good. Everything is gonna be okay."

It's all bullshit. I'm just sayin' anything I can to get through to her right now. Her tail gives a weak thrash before she collapses into me with a deep shaking breath.

I'd give B all the money in the world ta trade places right now.

"He's gone…"

I know. I know he's gone. I can feel her loss like a chill on my skin. It seeps down into my flesh and bones, markin' my soul with it.

"He's gone but we're still here. You're still here." With us. Running feet pass us and I realize that some of the prisoners have the guards on the run. "C'mon. We need to get the hell out of here."

"Leave me."

Fuck that. I grab her collar and drag her up to stand by me. Ramsey fights me weakly and I give her a good hard shove into the wall. My patience isn't great to begin with but I'm getting real tired of having ta butch up the troops.

"Listen up an' listen good cause I'm only gonna say this once. I am NOT leavin' my sister behind."

Her head tips up so she can look at me.

"Unless all that talk was just bullshit ceremony."

But it wasn't. I know it wasn't. She knows it wasn't.

"We can mourn him later, right now we need to open the portal."

It's reluctant but she nods. Good. I wait for her to start down a way before I look over the mutilated bodies on the floor. The scent of blood and hate and fear makes red flash behind my eyes and I hafta lean against the wall to take a few breaths.

Once I'm calm enough I start after Ramsey. Everywhere I go I see streaks of blood and hear the echoing screams. Smoke is curling up in wispy tendrils and I think our time just got cut in half. If this place burns it's takin' us all with it. I might have started this little party, but it didn't need me ta get out of control. The riot has a mind of it's own now. I take the last set of stairs in one big jump, landin' in a crouch at the foot of the staircase.

Another person goes streakin' by. I think it was the prison doctor. Can't be sure and it's not really important. It's just one of those random things you notice when too much is goin' on to process it all. A note of urgency rings through my connection and I hurry the fuck up. I'm comin', baby. My shoulder hits the door to the showers as I bolt through it. No time ta catch my breath though.

"We ready or what?"

Buffy gives me the biggest grin at that. I'm guessin' that’s' a big fat hell yes. That's what I'm talkin' about.

"Cori get the door. Ramsey…do you have everything we need?" I don't see any of the stuff she had the first time she tried this with her brother. Which is kind of worrisome. If there was something that we might need there is no way to get it now.

"You do not need it."

No? I kind of wish we had gone over all of this already but there just wasn't enough time. And here I thought I had nothing but time trapped inside of these walls.

"Your bond to Faith is much stronger than the bond I shared with Vikrant. You have only to bind yourselves for the marks to work."

A booming crash knocks us all off our feet. Uh oh. That's not good. I scramble up and grab Faith's hand.

"Now or never, B."

She's got that right. The second our skin touches I push everything I have through our connection. Faith gasps, her head flung back as she tries to sort through everything I'm feeding her.

Now that the connection is open I'm not really sure what to do, but I don't think that's my deal to worry about. I watch Faith open her eyes, golden light spilling from them. I should be blinded by it but I'm not. And then it hits me. Her eyes are just like mine. She smiles at me and traces a line along my jaw. I shiver at it and wait as she grips my hand tightly and pushes right back into the connection.

Oh.

We are one. We are the Dumajin. The door to the showers crashes open and from the corner of my eye I can tell there's a fight going on around us. I just can't seem to move. Not the way I want to anyway. My body is on autopilot now. Faith is using all of her concentration to keep us locked in union as we will a portal into existence. A pin prick of pale blue light pulses between our clasped hands. Hello pretty.

As if I've always known how, I pull my hand back slowly making the orb of light grow. Static crackles against my skin sending really unpleasant prickles skittering down my nerve endings. I snap my eyes closed and hiss as the unpleasantness becomes pain. Oh god. Something fills me to the point of bursting and I echo out Faith's scream. It's too much power for us to contain. We're not enough. Faintly I can hear a voice pushing back against the tide of pain.

Ramsey. I can't tell what she's saying. It's too loud in my head. My fingers start to slip away from Faith's and I know that's wrong. We can't let go. In a desperate lunge I grip her harder, pulling her against my body as the power pushes against us like a tidal wave. We cower down against it when something slams in to our connection. I don't have time to think about it. I only know that whatever it is has bought us some time.

I open my eyes and find Cori curled tightly against Faith's left side. Her head is tucked down and her face is twisted in agony. Oh no. I start to let go but Faith won't let me. She holds me tighter and shakes her head with gritted teeth.

"Let her in the connection!"

I..cant. I don't know how.

But I do. I've done it before. I focus all of my willpower on one thing. Our Connection. It bursts open like a dam, power flowing over us in a pale yellow brilliance. I can feel them all. Every Slayer in every prison, in every home, in every graveyard. I feel them all, heads tipped to the sky, hands gripped tightly. And I take. I take it all and surround the three of us with that power.

Faith's eyes come open and she growls out her determination. Our portal expands slowly with the force of our will. We are all. We are many. We are one. It's almost big enough to get through right now. I turn my head to find Ramsey fighting for her life against Ditto. I start to leave the circle of power surrounding us, but it's too late. I'm too late to stop the shank from puncturing Ramsey's body over and over again.

I'm too late. I know I must have yelled though I can't hear myself. I know because Ditto looks up at me with her big wet snout and hairy ears. Her mean little eyes narrow in glee before she plunges her shank right into Ramsey's heart. A small fountain of blood sprays up and lands in fat beads around them. NO!!

But I'm too late. And Faith isn't waiting for the dead. I reach out my hand just as the cooling feel of pure energy closes over my fingertips pulling me out of that reality and into the void. It's like being pressed between two mattresses really. Almost smothering. Who would have thought that nothing would feel so heavy? My lungs burn with the effort to pull air and I think they're going to burst just before we pop back into reality. The solid ground beneath our feet is enough of a shock to send us all reeling. No no no no no.

This isn't right, we have to go back. We have to get Ramsey. A half second after that thought flies through my mind, her body tumbles out of the air above us, dropping her heavily on the ground. Cori has just enough time to leap on Ramsey and roll her out of the way before a heavier, smellier body drops in on us. Ditto.

A snarl curls her lips as she lands hard. First things first. I give Faith a look and she nods taking up a spot over Ditto with her arms crossed. I scramble over to Ramsey and take her big hands in mine.

"Hey you…"

She's just barely alive. If we can get her help…where the fuck are we anyway?

"Just stay still, okay? We're going to get you some help. Okay?"

Her hands flex once, not very tightly over mine and she coughs out a gurgling spill of blood.

"No…time."

Yes. Yes, there is. Why couldn't we have teleported to a hospital?? I look up glancing around to try and get my bearings. There has to be help nearby. There has to be. Faith kneels on the thick grass next to me.

"Looks like we made it home. Coulda probably been closer. Red's on her way."

I look where she's pointing and nod with relief at the cadre of staff pouring out of the massive front doors of Headquarters.

"Hear that Ramsey? Plenty of time. We made it."

But when I look down she's gone. Her body is here. But everything that was Ramsey is gone with the last listless twitch of her tail.

"No…you can't…no…"

Faiths arms curl around me, but I push them off. I don't want comfort, I want revenge.

I fall on Ditto like a woman possessed, striking out at any part of her I can. She's not nearly strong enough to fight me off with the power of thousands of Slayers behind me. And I really don't want to waste my time making her hurt for every little thing I suffered. No. I just want her to hurt for taking my family from me.

Her tusk comes off in my hand. I look at it before gripping it in both hands and raising them over my head. Black rage bubbles up and I wonder if this is how Faith feels when she loses herself. But I don't have to wonder too much. I'll never let ya be alone in the dark, B. Never. Never. Our eyes meet as I bring my arms down with enough force to drive the tusk right through Ditto's head.

Faith doesn't flinch. Doesn't look away. She just holds out a blood stained hand for me. I take it, noticing that my hands aren't exactly clean anymore. But then…they never really have been.

This is who I am. This is who we are. All of us. The fury ebbs but not nearly enough. It'll never be gone enough.

"Is this what you live with every day?"

I turn my gaze on Faith, noting for the first time the trails of dried blood down her face. How does she do it? Carry that inside of her all the time?

"Only when you're not with me."

Oh. A flurry of activity around me brings me out of my thoughts. Thoughts that the Slayer Nation doesn't need to know about. I close down our connection from everyone else and sag in to Faith's body.

"It's not over, B."

No. It's really not. Dante has to pay. They all have to pay. I look up at her, tears spilling down my cheeks.

"She's gone, Faith. Over or not, she's gone." And we cant bring her back no matter how badly I wish we could. Faith gives me a nod and kisses the top of my head.

"I'll tell you what I told her. We're still here. You an' me. An' the Kid."

Cori's slumped shoulders straighten at that and I put an arm around her, holding her close to us.

"We got work ta do."

Yes, we do. Faith bumps me with a little of her inner strength and I turn to face Giles as he approaches.

"Buffy…"

No time. I hold up my hand and swallow hard.

"We have to talk. But not right now."

He gives me a short nod and tucks his hands into the pockets of his slacks.

"Assemble two teams of Slayers and a team of mixed support. Magic and human."

Faith's lips curl in to a wicked grin at that.

"We're getting them all out."

Maybe not today. Maybe not even all of them this week. But I'm not stopping until all of my family is liberated.

"Gonna lay down some serious damage, huh?"

Oh yeah. Giles turns to get things in order while I look at myself.

"Not until after I shower." Ugh. I sniff myself and roll my eyes. "With a hot shower. And…"

"Real shampoo."

Yup. She's so my soul mate. I grin at Faith and take her hand to lead her into the building.

"And you."

She nods at that. I need the comfort. I need her to hold me and tell me that it's all going to be okay. And even though I know she'd never lie to me like this, I wish she would tell me we won't lose anyone else.

"You're not going anywhere, right?"

Not that I think she would bail on me now, but that little insecure part of me needs the confirmation.

Faith stops us on the steps. Her head tips up, eyes closed to the sun.

"Can't. Every time I disappear, you end up with your ass in a sling. Gotta stick around just ta keep ya safe."

Good enough for me. More than good enough for me.

"I'm just going to have to arrange the end of the world every week to make sure it stays that way."

Her smile is brighter than the sun above when she turns her gaze on me.

"Just another Tuesday night, huh?"

Oh yeah. The buoyant feeling cools the edges of pain I feel at losing Vikrant and Ramsey, but it won't take it away. They're gone but they will never be forgotten. I run my fingers over the black swirling lines of ink on my arm. They'll live in us forever. A sense of finality settles me and I step up into the building, leaving desperation of the past year behind me. I. Am. Free.

The End