Chapter Nineteen: Jumbled Moments in Time

A/N: The ages of the dozen younger slayers are as follows:

Lynn – 8; Kate – 9; Sammy – 10; Dana & Shane – 11; Gia – 12; Cherie – 13; Jess & Britt – 15; Tonya – 16; Jack & Aggie – 17

“…All the possibility and promise just weighs on me so heavily/…Sometimes I just can’t explain/ All the ways you devastate me/ Always on my mind…”

- “The Tension and the Terror” by Straylight Run

Smoke curled up slowly in the chilly air. The cigarette was held precariously between the fore and middle fingers of Faith’s right hand. The ash hung in a slight curve to the butt of the cigarette- burned down to the end without being moved. Faith hadn’t stirred in over thirty minutes. Watching the cigarette burn itself without her assistance gave her scattered brain something to focus on. The gray skies of an early April morning greeted Faith as she sat wrapped up in a thick blanket on Buffy’s small deck in a plastic lawn chair. She had been out here for nearly an hour after waking from yet another nightmare of Buffy dying before deciding to light a cigarette- only to not feel any desire to smoke it.

It had been almost a month and a half since Buffy had been magickally attacked by the Kartuk demons, and if anything, life in the mansion had only become more stressed. Within days of the attack and Buffy’s subsequent recovery, the Coven that Willow regularly spoke with in Devon had arrived in preparation of the third and final attack that would initiate the apocalypse. The women were given lodging in Vi and Rona’s mansion, and visited Willow and the Scoobies daily. In an attempt to ease the tension, Faith had brought in a quick learning T’wanii to aid in cooking lasagna for the entire house the previous night- only to have Giles’ unannounced arrival reinforce the severity of the situation.

Faith watched the smoke curl up as the cigarette finally burned itself out of existence, her thoughts shifting from the current circumstances to a time almost four years ago. 

It was a cool, misty night in Prague. Anything more than fifty yards away was invisible to the eye, and yet Faith crouched on the fire escape in the alley, her eyes and ears as alert as ever, lying in wait. She had been told to meet her informant here at 1 AM. It was 2:30. Fucker is so late- better have an amazing excuse.

It was only a few minutes later before a lanky, black haired woman emerged from the mist. She was limping, but her eyes were scanning the alley in search of something.

“You’re late,” Faith stated bluntly when the woman was almost directly below her.

The woman jumped in shock before looking up, and watched as Faith climbed down, “Ran into some trouble.”

“How vague of you,” Faith snorted, “What’s the sitch?”

“Werewolf uprising. I’ve heard you’re sorta impartial to them, and I’ll tell you we are as well, but these guys have honed their abilities- they’re conscious of their changing and are moving in packs to attack innocents on purpose. There is a small contingency of underground fighters led by another werewolf who are trying to subdue them. We need you to lend a hand,” The woman informed her.

“Sounds straightforward enough,” Faith nodded, “Not out to kill, just stop the uprising?” Off of the woman’s nod, “I’m assuming I’m gonna hafta hook up with the underground group?” Another nod, “’K, so who’s this leader?”

“You can find him in the wolf clubs- he frequents them in attempts to try to calmly stop this. Short guy, red hair, kinda monosyllabic.”

Faith allowed a grin to appeared, “I think I may know him.”

“Well, in that case, it should make finding him all the easier,” the woman replied, a look of slight surprise gracing her features.

“I hope so,” Faith nodded, “Is there anything else I need to know?”

“Nothing that I know, I’m just the messenger,” the woman replied, shrugging.

“Ai’ight. Thanks for the info,” Faith sighed before shifting her feet as her Slayer sense started prickling, “You might wanna make yourself scarce.”

The woman looked at Faith for a long moment before comprehension registered. Nodding curtly, the woman turned on her heel and vanished into the wispy mist as Faith turned and jumped back up the fire escape to get herself a better look at her surroundings.

 The day had passed slowly, and Faith found that the cool spring evening had a calming affect on her chaotic mind. Leaning her elbows on the railing, Faith watched the sky shift slowly from dusk to night. The sound of a truck engine starting in the garage two floors down jarred her from staring off into the darkness. Guess Ken is out patrollin’ tonight.

Faith heard the bedroom door shut inside and turned around to see Buffy flicking on the main light. Sliding open the deck door, Faith entered the room, smiling at the blonde- who had looked over in surprise- in greeting. Shutting the door behind her, Faith strode over to the bed and sat down on the edge, her eyes watching the other slayer’s every movement. It had become a thing that she did more often since the second Kartuk attack. While neither woman spoke about the silent gazes that swept over every inch of the blonde’s body, both found it comforting- when it wasn’t causing every part of Faith’s body to ache for the other woman at least.

It felt as if the time since the attack had flown by, and yet Faith had the distinct impression that her relationship with Buffy had stalled- if only in light of the countdown to the most current apocalypse attempt. The fear of losing Buffy in an attack that she could neither fully prepare for or physically stop, jarred Faith so strongly that she pulled away from advancing their relationship after Buffy recovered. Retrospectively, this couldn’t have been a worse move on her part, and Faith was daily cursing herself for treading on the progress they had made.

Watching Buffy kick her shoes off, Faith thought about the past week, and how Buffy had been tentatively attempting to bridge the gap that the dark slayer had unintentionally forced between them. It was on this thought that Faith’s relaxed gaze noticed a flash of metal that glinted in the light on the blonde when she moved. Narrowing her eyes, Faith focused on the button of Buffy’s jeans as it flashed again, the unbuckled belt hanging limply on either side of it, framing it teasingly. Conscious of her throat constricting as she swallowed, Faith flicked her eyes up to Buffy’s, and found the green eyes watching her intently, givin’ me a show, B?

Seeing the crinkle form around Buffy’s eyes, Faith allowed a devilish grin to appear on her own features before her eyes caught the movement of Buffy’s hands as they moved towards the jeans’ button. Staring, transfixed, Faith watched as the copper-toned button was pulled from its counterpart, freeing the jeans of their low-slung hold on the other slayer’s hips. Faith felt her mouth dry as emotions and desires that she had unconsciously held at bay for over a month boiled up within her. She could feel chills shooting up and down the length of her body as anticipation set in with the tantalizingly slow sinking of the zipper. The chills settled into her stomach, and Faith forced herself to swallow as she licked her dry lips, watching Buffy start moving towards her, her eyes locked on the pale green panties peeking through the opening in the jeans that shifted ever lower on the older woman’s hips as she moved.

Faith barely took note that not one word had been spoken yet as Buffy kneeled down onto the bed on top of her, straddling the brunette’s hips. Faith leaned back as Buffy leaned forward, her hands instinctively lifting to hold the blonde’s waist. Lying flat on her back with her legs hanging out over the bed, Faith shut her eyes to the sensation of Buffy’s body pressed down against hers, the warm puffs of air being blown across the planes of her cheeks causing her to shiver.

“Faith,” Buffy whispered gently.

Faith opened her eyes to the darkening green ones inches from her own, a question in her eyes.

“Don’t pull away,” the request was gentle, and was meant to be taken in more than one way. More importantly, Faith could sense the tangle of emotions behind it. Nodding slowly, Faith acknowledged the request before shutting her eyes as Buffy lowered her lips to her own.

Faith was allowing Buffy to take the reins. She had been a top all her life, but right now, the dark slayer couldn’t think of wanting to be anything but beneath the small woman currently lying astride her.

It wasn’t a full kiss, and Faith felt a quiver of desire make its way into the bottom of her stomach as Buffy trailed her lower lip over Faith’s parted lips. Kissing her lower lips first before moving to the top one, Faith exhaled softly at the enticing foreplay. Losing all sense of resistance, Faith opened her mouth and kissed Buffy back, her tongue aggressively dueling with the blonde’s tongue in her mouth. Sliding her hand up to Buffy’s head, Faith held the other slayer’s body against her as she broke the kiss and shifted to trail the tip of her tongue along the blonde’s jaw line before sucking an earlobe into her mouth. Biting down gently, Faith groaned when Buffy bucked her hips against her own, reacting to the brunette’s actions.

Shifting slightly, Faith dropped her head back as Buffy moved a leg between her own, and placed her hands on either side of Faith’s head to hold herself up. Flicking her gaze up along Buffy’s rapidly moving chest, Faith’s eyes took in the older woman’s swollen lips and dilated pupils, her green eyes darker than she ever remembered. Lifting her leg, Faith locked her eyes on Buffy’s, silently willing her to be ready, because- in all honesty- despite pulling away from her, all of Faith’s patience was gone.

“I want you,” the sentence came out in a low, dangerously animalistic growl, and it took Faith almost as long as Buffy to realize what she had said, so much for not voicing my thoughts.

Faith watched as Buffy’s eyes widened in surprise before her eyes darkened just a bit more. Wha’ ya gonna… The half thought vanished from Faith’s brain the second that Buffy ground herself down onto the dark slayer’s thigh, her own thigh pushing against the ridge of her jeans. Throwing her head back, Faith let out a sound halfway between a moan and groan, only to gasp when she felt Buffy land a kiss on her neck, sucking roughly, leaving what Faith knew would be a mark that wouldn’t be disappearing within the next twelve hours. Oh my fucking God… Gripping the sides of Buffy’s face, Faith pulled her up, and kissed her roughly, trying to convey the need for release that was rapidly building up in her. Moaning in Faith’s mouth, Buffy bucked her hips again, causing Faith to restrain a groan that turned into a deep hum in her throat.

Sliding a hand down to grip one of Buffy’s breasts, Faith was getting the strong impression that Buffy would no longer hold back. She didn’t give a shit at the moment as to why now and not earlier, or even later for that matter. However, she was currently about to kill whoever was making that extremely annoying speaker buzz loudly and continuously- thus causing Buffy to pull away.

“Fuck,” Faith growled, watching Buffy stand up and jog over after glancing at her apologetically. Flicking the switch up, Buffy looked over at Faith as she spoke into the speaker.

“What?” The tone in her voice conveyed the look in her eyes- she was not happy about being interrupted.

“I’m sorry to bother you Buf, but T’wanii’s down here and says that he’s ready to talk. In my opinion, it took him damn long enough but whatev- he’s down here now and I don’t wanna make him wait and possibly clam up again. If Faith’s with you, bring her down too,” Xander spoke quickly back at her.

Sighing, a look of defeat in hers eyes, Buffy nodded, “All right, we’ll be down in five.”

Faith stared at Buffy, so not fair. Raking a hand through her hair, Faith took a deep breath and let it out before standing and moving over to Buffy, who was currently zipping up her pants. Leaning against the door, Faith watched Buffy buckle her belt and straighten out her shirt before finally looking over at her.

“So,” Faith began.

“Yeah,” Buffy replied before she walked over to her.

“I’m sorry about being closed off recently,” Faith murmured, her eyelids dipping at the closeness of their bodies when Buffy copied her stance, and leaned against the other bedroom door.

“I’m sorry about jumping your bones,” Buffy replied, a teasing grin on her face.

Faith smirked back, “Do me a favor and never apologize for that,” leaning in, she gave Buffy a chaste kiss before pulling away, “Ever again.”

Buffy nodded before she shifted the conversation, “I kinda got the whole distance thing, its sorta a trademark of yours.”

Faith straightened up, “Hey, things change.”

“I know,” Buffy replied hastily, trying to smooth out her response, “I didn’t mean to be all muckrake-y.”

Faith raised her eyebrows at the word choice, but sighed, “You weren’t wrong.”

Buffy lifted her hand and trailed it along Faith’s arm, slipping her fingers into the relaxed hand at the brunette’s side, “C’mon, let’s not get into a deep conversation now.”

“Later?” Faith asked as she tightened her hold on Buffy’s hand while opening the door.

“Definitely,” Buffy answered, pulling the door shut as they walked down the hall.

After meeting Xander in the kitchen, Buffy and Faith followed him downstairs into the training room. Why all the way down here? Faith thought after entering through the swinging doors and seeing the bleachers almost filled up by Willow, Giles, Dawn, Sandra, Rona, Vi, Peter, Dan and the six women who made up the small coven that came over to help: Irene, Maggie, Emma, Beth, Joanna and Katherine. T’wanii was standing quietly, listening to something Willow was saying and smiled gently before nodding in agreement. As they drew closer, the group- which was emitting a quiet murmur of conversations- fell silent, as all eyes took in the three Scoobies. Taking a seat next to Peter and Dawn, Faith released Buffy’s hand from her own as the shorter woman sat in front of her. Once they were all settled, T’wanii began to speak, his words slow and calculating- as if thinking heavily on how to say what he wanted to say.

“I am sorry for taking so long before talking to all of you, but it is my species’ nature. I needed to come to peace with the loss of my clan first before I could broach the idea of thinking about the demons that destroyed them,” T’wanii began, his unblinking eyes looking around at everyone before hovering on Faith for the longest moment, “The Kartuk are just one of a few dozens breeds of demons that have magicks powerful enough to open a shattered and unplotted portal to a demon dimension. Fortunately for you, only the Kartuk have the numbers to pull this off currently, when everything is lining up to allow it to happen. I have been speaking with Willow, and she told me that you all know of the Shadow Lands. The Shadow Lands is a dangerous dimension to create a portal to. It is not merely a demon dimension, but an outlaw demon dimension, which is something else entirely from what you have faced over the years.” Of course it is.

“I know that some of you have faced a true demon, and I will tell you right off that this upcoming fight will most likely parallel that battle- with the one difference being that there will be more than just one pure demon. Outlawed demons are notorious for the fact that it must take incredible deeds to be banned from their natural dimension. There are various dimensions where the demons rule their worlds, and since they do, they must follow certain – lax – laws that are extremely unrestrictive, and because they are so permissive, it must take something astonishing for a demon to get into real, true trouble. All of this means that the demons that will be coming here once the Shadow Lands portal is open are quite possibly the worst of the things you have ever fought rolled into one and multiplied.

“There is a positive side to all of this,” T’wanii continued after a general sigh was emitted from most of the group, “The Kartuk’s power for the apocalypse lies heavily with their shamans. If you have a power attack lined up to specifically destroy them, it should make your battle far easier.”

It took a couple of seconds after T’wanii fell silent before anyone realized that he had finished, and, after glancing at a couple of other people, Faith saw her own thoughts mirrored in their eyes, shit.

“Is it me, or is there always some big cosmic thing lining up just in time to ruin our lives annually?” Xander piped up, eliciting grins and quiet laughter to make its way through the group.

“It does seem that way, doesn’t it?” Dawn replied, grinning.

“It’s worse than April 15th, and that’s saying something,” Rona murmured, to another set of louder laughter.

“What’s April 15th?” T’wanii asked, cocking his head to one side in confusion.

“Tax day,” Buffy answered, still smiling, “Every year, your taxes must be paid by April 15th…”

“…Or the IRS will hunt you down and audit you for all you’re worth,” Faith continued, grinning.

For a moment, no one spoke, the mood had lightened considerably since T’wanii had dropped his bomb of information, and Faith was feeling slightly more hopeful. As the grins faded, and silence once again fell upon the group, Willow murmured, as if as an afterthought,

“Ah, death and taxes.”

There was another moment of silence as the group took in what she said, processing it slowly. Within a few seconds, Xander barked out a laugh, and the group again began laughing.

“If the world ever ends, the IRS will survive, along with the cockroaches,” Vi commented, keeping the joking mood going.

It was a few more minutes before the group realized that everything that needed to be said at the moment had been said, and people slowly started standing. Before anyone really started leaving, Willow called out loud enough to get everyone’s attention,

“I’ll have a research system set up tomorrow, and I’ll let everyone know what’s being done and who’s doing what. Nothing is mundane, and even if you see something that doesn’t relate to what you are supposed to be researching, take note. Vi, Rona, I’ll call you tomorrow morning with particulars. If no one has any questions?” No one spoke as Willow scanned the group with raised brows, “All righty. Irene, if you and the rest of the Coven could follow me back up, everyone else can go. Thanks T’wanii for helping us.”

T’wanii bowed slightly at the waist, remaining silent. As everyone filed out, Faith stayed seated, watching T’wanii. Sparing a glance at Buffy, she saw the blonde smile gently before exiting last. It was a moment or so before T’wanii looked over at Faith, and yet he didn’t seem surprised that she hadn’t left.

“T, what’s up?” Faith asked quietly.

T’wanii took a moment to respond, and Faith watched him blink- a rarity of his that usually meant that he was thinking.

Speaking again in that slow, calculating tone, T'wanii said, “I feel that I should not have waited this long to tell all of you, as time is not to your advantage, and yet, I also feel as if I have handed over a heavy burden that may have done more harm than help.”

Faith opened her mouth, only to shut it again at a loss for words. After remaining silent for an extra moment, Faith again opened her mouth, “T, it’s good that you told us. Right now, we need all the help we can get- even if it does make things seem worse. Better to know it’s worse than we were imagining instead of getting to the fight and finding out then.”

“You say that like you learned the hard way,” T’wanii reflected casually.

Memories of an almost catastrophic failure during an apocalypse in South Africa flooded Faith’s mind before she shook her head, “Yeah, well, it happens. You learn and grow.”

“Adaptation is a key capability in your life,” T’wanii observed.

Faith snorted, “That’s one way to describe it.”

“I don’t understand,” T’wanii shook his head, confused.

Oh where to begin, “My life hasn’t been…” Trailing off, Faith tried to think of an easy way to explain her complicated life to date, “It hasn’t been simple,” Ha, and the Understatement of the Year Award goes to… “Adaptation came easily ‘cause I never knew a time when I didn’t need it.”

T’wanii nodded, “I understand.”

“Yeah,” Faith stretched, feeling slightly unnerved by the topic, “I’m gonna head up, unless there’s somethin’ else you wanted to talk about?”

T’wanii, apparently sensing her discomfort, shook his head, “No, but thank you for speaking with me.”

“No worries,” Faith inclined her head before standing and leaving, sensing him follow her out before he exited the mansion through the dining room to head out to the barn.

Faith wandered up the stairs, making her way slowly to hers and Buffy’s room. Seeing Willow’s door open, Faith peeked inside and saw Kennedy rummaging around in a dresser, the sound of the shower on in the bathroom muffling Faith’s quiet entry.

“Hey Ken, how’d patrolling go?” Faith asked, leaning on the doorframe.

Kennedy spun around, surprised at the sound of Faith’s voice, and Faith saw the rip in the sleeve of her shirt. Glancing towards the bed, a similar rip could be seen in the leather coat that had been chucked onto it.

“You okay?” Faith asked, moving into the room.

“Oh this?” Kennedy grinned, “Fucking tree branch. Vamp knocked me back while I was in the woods, and I got attacked by Mother Nature. How kind of her. Naturally I used it to kill the bloodsucker.”

“Karmic cycle,” Faith smirked.

“Totally,” Kennedy nodded, “Ai’ight, I gotta hit the shower. It was a muddy night, and I’ve got vamp dust in the oddest places.”

“Overshare,” Faith said, shaking her head, “Enjoy.”

“Yup, lata.”

“Night,” Faith nodded before leaving and walking down the long hall.

The door to the master bedroom was ajar, and Faith slipped in, shutting it behind her. Seeing Buffy wander out of the bathroom with a toothbrush in her mouth, in a tank and shorts caused Faith to stop and laugh at the image.

“Wha?” Buffy asked, only to have the toothpaste foam up immediately when she spoke, causing her to run back to the bathroom.

Faith heard her spit out some toothpaste and then the sound of the other slayer brushing her teeth resumed. Walking to the dresser, Faith pulled out a gray undershirt, stripped down to her panties and pulled on the shirt. Turning at the sound of Buffy climbing into bed, Faith moved to the bathroom to finish getting ready for bed.

When she was done, Faith turned off the bathroom light and sat down on the bed, looking over at Buffy, “You still wanna talk?”

“Yeah,” Buffy nodded.

“Okay,” Faith fell silent, trying to think of what to say. Then, after a few moments, “I’m sorry I pulled away, I got scared, and that’s still new to me. I’ve never been in l-” Faith stalled, I was not about to say the L word… “In a relationship – or at least a healthy one – before,” Faith finished, noting the jerk of Buffy’s head as she switched gears in what she was going to say, so not ready to go there yet. Not even ready to think about it yet.

Buffy remained silent for a moment, a wary look on her face, as if gauging whether to call her on the almost spoken word or not. Faith felt relief wash over her when Buffy spoke, but not about Faith’s faltering word choices, “I get that. I just need you to be able to talk to me. This is a give and take thing, Faith.”

Faith nodded, a guilty look upon her features, “I know. I mean I kept pushing you – albeit slightly- about us, and then you get attacked, and I pull a complete 180.”

Buffy smiled gently, “It wasn’t all bad,” Off of Faith’s confused look, “Try to remember who started our earlier activities.”

Faith grinned at Buffy’s word choice, “Are you blaming me for making you a top?”

“A what?”

“A top. Dominant. In charge,” Faith explained, still grinning.

Buffy’s eyes widened, “I don’t wanna be a top.”

Faith let out a low chuckle, “Good, ‘cause I am.”

Buffy smiled knowingly at Faith before a look of confusion caused her to furrow her brow, “What am I then?”

“Well, if I’m a top, then that would make you a bottom,” Faith replied, pretending to think it over.

Buffy smirked, “Not all the time though.”

Oh this will be fun, Faith thought as she turned off her light, watching Buffy mimic her, “Give and take then?” She asked ask she moved onto her side to hold the other woman against her.

“Yeah,” Buffy breathed, curling her back into Faith, “Definitely.”

Faith leaned against the basement wall, feeling the vibrations from the loud speakers nearby run through her. She was watching a competitive pool game in front of her, along with the three other people who were currently waiting their turn at a game. Faith was paired with Jack, and would be playing against Kennedy and Rona in the next game, while Tracy and Tonya were currently attempting to beat Aggie and Jess. Learning everyone’s names and ages had been the hard part, and Faith found that finding things in common or things to do with the younger slayers was far easier. The sound of Jess cursing Tonya in what sounded like German made its way to Faith’s ears, and she saw that Tonya had just sunk two solids in one shot- leaving only the 8-ball to sink left. Movement fluttered in the left of Faith’s peripheral vision, and she turned her head to see Giles finish coming down the last three steps into the basement.

Hearing a cry of happiness emitted from Aggie signaling that Tonya had failed in her attempt, Faith walked over to Giles. Giles looked over at the speakers, as if willing them to be quieter, but settled on taking his glasses off and cleaning them as Faith came to stand next to him. They stood side by side in silence for a few moments, watching the heated pool game before Giles spoke.

“I’m proud of you,” Faith blinked, surprised at the words, in all the years, I’d never expect that to come outta your mouth, “Of how far you’ve come, of who you have grown into, and especially, how you help her,” Faith knew the “her” he was referring to, and continued to remain silent, “Even with Angel there was a barrier that neither of them could overcome- no matter how much they wanted to- but not with you. If anything, by being who you are, you are more like her than anyone else could hope to be- and that in itself makes all the difference.”

“Uhh, thanks?” Faith turned to look over at Giles, not sure of his true intention for talking to her about this, “Not to sound like an ass, but what’s this all about?”

Giles shifted more weight onto one foot and looked like he was thinking about what he was going to say before speaking, “I am glad that you came back- and not just because you are a great warrior to have with us.”

“I’m glad I came back too,” Faith murmured, and shuffled from one foot to the other in slight discomfort, might as well mend all the wounds, “Thanks for…” Faith faltered, “Forgiving me.”

Giles blinked, and a look of slight surprise made its way across his face, “Faith, I have seen many horrible things in my life. I have been the source of torture, hatred, murder, and apathy, as well as a victim of them from others. To forgive you was something that required me to reflect on my past. I came to the conclusion back when I heard that you had gone to prison by your own choice, that to not forgive you would be an insult to the others that either forgave me or asked for my forgiveness.”

Faith smirked, “You sound like Angel.”

Giles smiled gently, “Yes, well, keep in mind my history with Angel,” Faith’s smirk dropped from her face, “Forgiveness and redemption are things that keep him going, as it is for most of us that take wrong turns on our individual paths.”

It wasn’t until Giles had said this that Faith realized how much she had in common with the Watcher. Swallowing, Faith looked over at the slayers, and saw them laughing, waiting patiently for Faith to finish talking with Giles.

“I should have spoken with you before now, but regardless…” Giles waved his hand, “I just wanted to say what I said.”

“Thanks,” And this time, Faith meant it.

Giles smiled reassuringly, “No need. Go on, they’re waiting for you.”

Faith glanced back over at the girls before nodding to Giles and turning to go over to the table. Picking up a cue stick, Faith saw his foot rise out of sight up the stairwell before turning to focus on the game.

“So, who’s ass are we gonna kick?” Faith asked Jack, gaining a grin from the girl.

Sleep had come to Faith in bits and pieces the previous night, fragments of nightmares revolving around Buffy and a giant attacking tomato kept her from getting barely three hours of sleep. She had wandered into Dawn’s room to talk with her before her court date with Tracy and her father, only to fall asleep on the younger Summers’ bed. The only reason Faith woke up finally, was because she had rolled off of the bed in her slumber and hit the floor.

“Faith? You okay?” Dawn’s concerned voiced jolted Faith further awake.

“Peachy,” Faith replied in her sea of tangled blankets. Opening her eyes slowly, Faith took in her current position, “You have gigantic dust bunnies under your bed.”

Dawn’s laughter woke her up more, and Faith slowly sat up.

If Dawn’s laughter was loud before, it became more so once Faith’s head appeared next to the mattress.

“Oh my…Faith…” Dawn attempted to speak, but couldn’t stop laughing, “Your… hair…”

Sitting still a moment longer to allow Dawn her moment of hilarity, Faith kept a sardonic look on her face as she commented, “Probably due to whatever lives under your bed.”

At this, Dawn’s laughter stopped, and a look of hurt crossed the young woman’s face, “Hey, I dust under there!”

“When? Annually?” Faith remarked, running a hand through- what she could tell- was a rather interesting hairstyle.

“Funny,” Dawn shook her head before moving to sit on her bed, Faith climbing back up on it, “So, you’ve been asleep all day?”

“What?!” Faith looked over at the clock, which read 8:45 PM, “Fuck! Why didn’t you wake me?”

“Buffy told me not to. Though, if I had known you would’ve woken up by such ungraceful methods…”

“Oh fuck off, how did it go?” Faith switched topics, ignoring the fact that she just slept through an entire day.

“Everything was settled out of court; Tracy’s father paid all of the traffic and medical fees, and even paid us an extra bonus fee to not pull him back into court. I didn’t care about the money, I just wanted him to- pardon the phrase- pay.”

“Well that’s good,” Faith nodded, “You okay then?”

“Oh yeah, I’m good. He looked miserable, which made all of us happy,” Dawn grinned, and then switched topics, “By the way, the rest of dinner is in the fridge, and Buffy and Vi took Britt, Cherie and Gia out on a patrol, so they’ll be back by 10.”

Faith nodded, feeling her stomach growling, “’K. I’m gonna head down to eat. Wanna come with?”

“Nah, you go on. I’m gonna catch up on some homework,” Dawn waved Faith out, picking up a few books from the floor beside her bed as she spoke.

As Faith headed down the stairs to the kitchen, she couldn’t help but think about whether this was all just the calm before the storm.

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