Chapter Sixteen: Progression (part 2)
Faith shook herself, as if shocking herself awake. Things felt muddled, but that did not worry her. Instead, all of her senses honed in on the sudden appearance of a short blonde from across the… what? There was no real floor, and Buffy’s sudden appearance also did not worry her. Who knew how much time had passed, but Faith had the distinct impression that she was currently kissing the blonde slayer, and just when she knew things were going to get far more interesting…Faith jolted awake.
Groaning, Faith started to roll onto her back from her side when she realized that her right arm was being held against Buffy’s chest by the smaller woman’s hand, and she had somehow ended up spooned around the blonde. How did this happen? As far as she could remember, Faith had almost always woken up before Buffy- being used to early starts after four years on her own, and three years before that in a state prison- and never once had she woken up curled around the other slayer. Realizing that there was no way to tactfully extricate herself from the grasp of the other woman without accidentally waking her, Faith sighed and relaxed back into the position. She tensed upon feeling Buffy slightly readjust herself in her sleep, before relaxing again and deciding to just see what happened when she woke up later.
Fate, as it seems, deemed this morning to be the one where Faith slept in more than usual, and Buffy woke up earlier than usual. Rousing from sleep, Faith squinted at the light from the deck doors bathing the room in a bright glow, wondering why it was unusually bright for the early morning. It took her a second to realize that she must have slept in, shit, what if she’s awake? Deciding to go for broke, Faith leaned up and over Buffy’s shoulder, and saw her eyes shut, that doesn’t mean shit. Pulling back slightly, Faith whispered Buffy’s name in her ear.
“Mmm, five more minutes,” Buffy mumbled in a barely coherent language. Was that even English?
Flexing her fingers slightly to test the strength of Buffy’s death grip on her hand, Faith accidentally brushed them along the inside curve of the blonde’s breasts, causing the smaller slayer to shift in her sleep. Oh God…Faith squeezed her eyes shut, hoping a lack of visual acuity would stave off the sudden burst of the hornies. Realizing she would have to slide her hand down and around Buffy’s breasts and over her side helped in completing a full failure in not becoming turned on. This is so not good. Trying to go slow in order to keep Buffy from waking up, Faith quickly realized that this only amplified the current sexual dilemma she was in. When she was almost fully free from Buffy’s now gentle grasp, Faith noticed that her breathing patterns had changed, she’s awake! Oh shit, shit, shit! Now what do I do?!? Quickly deciding that freezing where she was without saying anything or moving her hand quickly away guiltily were both bad courses of action, Faith leaned up to Buffy’s ear again, “I know you’re awake.”
Watching the blonde swallow, Faith saw her nod slightly.
“I would just like to inform you that we woke up like this,” Faith continued, slowly getting her hand fully off of Buffy’s body.
“Did you ever wake up with me like this before?” Buffy asked quietly.
“No,” Faith replied. “This is the first time.”
“Okay,” Buffy murmured, then, changing the conversation to something safer, “Do you want to take a shower first, or can I?”
“You can grab your own, I’ll use the one down the hall if no one else is in it,” Faith answered, pulling away in an attempt to calm her raging hormones.
Sitting at the edge of the bed, Faith rubbed her eyes before standing up. Turning to look over at Buffy, Faith saw that she had rolled onto her back and was watching her calmly. Yeah, ‘cause this isn’t awkward enough. Grabbing a change of underwear and a t-shirt and jeans, Faith nodded to Buffy once as she left the room. Maybe a cold shower would be a good idea, she mused as she walked down the hall.
Twenty minutes later, Faith was downstairs in the kitchen, making herself a cup of coffee when Willow came inside the front door with the paper. Turning to go sit at a high table, Faith took in Giles’ sipping a cup of tea, another beside him, idly staring out the window.
“Hey Giles, been awake long?” Faith greeted, taking a seat across from him.
“An hour or so, I trust that you slept well?” Giles smiled, so not the right question to ask. Giles had arrived two days ago for Christmas, bringing Dawn’s boyfriend Peter and Andrew’s boyfriend Dan along with him.
“I did, thanks,” Faith replied, sipping her coffee.
As Willow took a seat, Giles continued, “I hope your current sleeping situations are not too awkward for you.”
Faith ticked her gaze to Willow, who looked up from the paper in front of her at Faith.
“It’s better than many that I’ve had,” Faith answered before grabbing the Sports section to read, subtly ending the inquiries.
About ten minutes later, Buffy appeared in the kitchen, grabbing a mug of coffee before plopping herself down beside Faith, her focus anywhere but. Faith noticed that Willow had picked up on the awkwardness, and glanced over at Buffy, signaling Willow to talk to her. Willow nodded silently before going back to her reading. Giles lifted his gaze from a book that he was reading and warmly greeted Buffy, who greeted him back before turning her attention to downing her coffee and going off to get more.
“Oh hey, Faith,” Willow put down the paper, grabbing the rogue slayer’s attention, “Enough people chipped in for that pool table, so we’ll be getting it. I figured you would like to check out exactly what one to purchase, so you can come with me in a few days to go get one.”
“Sounds good,” Faith replied, “Oh hey, do we have any last minute things to do before tomorrow?”
“I wanted to hang Christmas lights in my room,” Buffy replied as she came back to sit down.
“Kinda cutting it short, huh B? Christmas is tomorrow,” Faith smirked.
“Trust me, it’s worth it,” Buffy responded, sipping her coffee.
“All right, I’ll help you with it then, but later, I need all my neurons functioning for it,” Faith informed her.
“How long does it take all twelve of them to be fully functioning?” Buffy taunted, ouch.
Willow snorted while Giles’ lips twitched slightly, as he fought off a smile.
“Some are really slow, B,” Faith joked back, “They’re back burners.”
“Thus explaining the low number,” the zingers just kept coming, and Faith thought it might be both a mixture of awkwardness and an attempt to regain the comfort level the pair usually had.
“Okay, I’m drinking my coffee in the living room now,” Faith ended the banter, stood with her part of the paper and exited the room.
Slumping down into the oversized chair in the corner of the room, Faith sipped her coffee as she thumbed her way through the Sports section. It wasn’t that interesting, she’d only ever cared about the Red Sox, and no other sport other than baseball ever captivated her. Refolding the section, Faith dropped it to the floor beside her before finishing off her coffee and placing it atop it. Watching the snow outside swirl around in the wind, Faith felt her eyes grow heavy and allowed them to slip shut, just for a moment, nothing’s happening anyway.
Faith’s senses alerted her into consciousness when she felt a pair of hands grip her shoulders. Without registering her surroundings, Faith shot out of her chair and pinned the as-of-yet unknown person against the couch in front of her, their back bending back along the top of the couch from the arm. Hearing her name, Faith shook the cobwebs from her brain and realized that it was Buffy beneath her.
“B, what…Why did you wake me up?” Faith asked, her voice laden with sleep.
“You…you’ve been asleep for over an hour, I came in to wake you up…” Buffy looked down, causing Faith to follow suit, and saw that she had pinned Buffy fully by pushing her thigh between the blonde’s legs.
Feeling the coals from this morning being raked over, Faith shut her eyes for a moment, only to open them when Buffy spoke.
“Faith, do you think you could let me go?” The lilting in her voice allowed Faith to guess the reasoning behind the request- aside from the fact that Faith did not need to hold her down anymore.
Leaning down closer to Buffy’s ear, Faith felt her old personality push its way to the surface, and allowed a sexual smirk to spread across her face. Shifting her thigh slightly, Faith increased the pressure against Buffy, and felt the blonde arch her body in response, before she quickly turned her head to the dining room, where several people were seated, unawares of what was occurring in the next room.
“You’d like that, wouldn’t you?” Faith murmured, her lips tickling Buffy’s ear, causing a shudder to run through the blonde, “Too afraid of them seeing this, aren’t you?” When she finished speaking, Faith dipped her tongue into the shell of Buffy’s ear, and heard a soft sigh emanate from the smaller woman before she cleared her throat.
“No, Faith…that’s not it…” Buffy replied, turning to look back at the dark slayer.
I could take you right now, and you wouldn’t stop me, would you B? Faith thought, before pulling back slightly and then adding more pressure between Buffy’s legs. This time, Buffy’s throat hummed as she fought back a groan.
“Faith,” Her voice was slightly more desperate, “Not here.” Meaning somewhere else?
Seeing the look of worry and uncertainty in Buffy’s eyes sobered Faith and she pulled away, moving back towards the chair, giving Buffy plenty of breathing room. Picking up her mug and the paper, Faith exited with a last look at Buffy, not in any mood to apologize.
As she was about to go up the stairs to help Buffy later on- after an extensive day of tactfully avoiding her without appearing as if she was- Faith was stopped by Willow, who called out to her from her study. Following her inside, Faith leaned against a bookcase and folded her arms under her chest, waiting for the redhead to explain why she had called her in.
“Okay, so, this is going to sound a bit weird, but- I talked to two Buffy’s today,” Willow started, yeah, I’d say that’s weird, “But before you ask, let me explain. After you had gone into the living room this morning, Buffy and I spoke in here. She informed me of how you guys woke up and that she wasn’t sure what to do exactly, as in, whether to attempt to take the next step with you by actually, you know, talking to you, or whether she should just let things go a little longer. Now, I know, I wanted to hit her for that ‘little longer’ idea because, honestly, how much longer can she drag you along before you get fed up and do something rash?” Faith swallowed, feeling guilty suddenly, upon remembering the events that took place when Buffy had woken her up.
“Buffy, with all of her attributes, can be a little thick sometimes, and she occasionally needs something to shock her into realizing what choice to make. Granted, this doesn’t usually happen in relation to apocalypses, but rather, well… the rest of her life,” Willow continued, causing Faith to smirk at the last comment, “She came back to talk to me again after she went to wake you,” Oh fuck. “And let me tell you, her personality had shifted considerably. She explained what happened- and before you get all defensive, because I know very well what happens when you are woken via physical touch, she wasn’t angry. If anything, you had made her much more decisive and determined.”
Faith smiled softly, “Shocked her, huh?” Oh, the double entendre.
“Just a bit,” Willow smiled back, “So just uh, expect a change soon, ‘cause you- oh how can I say this tactfully- you woke her up to what she really wants to do. Not that she didn’t know before, it’s just, you pushed her over that edge finally.”
“Finally,” Faith murmured back.
“Yeah, took you long enough.”
“Hey, I thought this was all up to Buffy? I had to wait for her!” Faith shot back, now defensive.
“Well, I didn’t figure she’d be such a lightweight,” Willow shrugged, “You know, with Angel and the others, she didn’t pitter-patter around for four months, or four years, however you want to gauge it.”
“Okay, okay. Thanks for telling me. I gotta go upstairs and help her hang those lights, so I’ll see you at dinner,” Faith stood up straight from where she was leaning against the bookcase, and left, climbing the stairs two at a time.
When she finally arrived on the top floor, Faith took her time walking down the hall, and peeked into Giles’ room where she saw him taking notes from some dusty volume that she figured had a) come with him from England; b) was made the moment Guttenberg had perfected the movable type; and c) probably should be read while using an air filtering mask. When she came upon the double doors that signified both the end of the hallway and the beginning of Buffy’s master bedroom, Faith pushed open the slightly ajar door and shuffled her way inside. Her eyes fell upon the bed where Buffy sat, lit up like a Christmas tree, with about four strings of lights plugged together in knots around her.
“Now all we need are for those things to be blinking and a camera, and this moment would be perfect,” Faith commented, grabbing the blonde’s attention.
“Yeah, they don’t have that function sadly,” Buffy replied, freeing a small knot only to find a bigger one after it, “This is going to take forever.”
“Why don’t you separate them all first and untangle them that way, then plug them back together?” Faith came over to the bed, about to unplug the first plug she found.
“Then I wouldn’t be able to see if any lights were out,” Buffy informed her.
“Uh, B? And you think you can in this mess?” Faith smirked at the slow realization that appeared on Buffy’s face before continuing, “Trust me, much easier in a straight line, then a big clump.”
“You make a decent point,” Buffy mused.
“You’re welcome,” Faith answered the unspoken “thank you” and began searching for the cord endings.
“Okay, so, just hand me that piece of tape and I’ll be all set with this wall,” Faith looked down at Buffy from the step ladder and grabbed the tape Buffy held up to her, “Okay, good. Three down, one to go.”
As Buffy set up a chair further down from Faith and the pair began pulling up the lights for the last wall. Buffy cleared her throat and began to broach a topic that Faith had wondered if it would ever be brought up.
“So, about today…”
“Yeah.”
“And us…”
“Yeah?”
“We need to talk,” Buffy looked over at Faith as they climbed down and moved further along the wall.
“I think so too,” Faith figured that sarcasm would not go over well at this moment, and kept it serious.
“Okay.”
The pair fell silent for a couple of minutes, moving down yet again to the last section that they had to put up, and Faith finally spoke.
“Will it be this century?”
“Yeah, sorry, I’m just trying to think of what to say,” Buffy shook her head, and smiled.
Why do I have a feeling this is going to fall into Buffy-speak and be very convoluted when it doesn’t have to be?
Stepping down from her chair, Buffy put it near the door before turning to look back at Faith.
“Okay, so, I don’t know exactly what do or say. I mean, I know what you want, and I know what I want, but I’m not fully sure you want…”
“Buffy! Use a complete thought!” Faith cut in, just fucking say it.
“Do you want to be together?” Buffy burst out.
“As in, in a relationship?” Faith inquired back, wanting things to be completely clear.
Buffy nodded mutely.
“Definitely.”
Faith watched Buffy take a big gulp of air and exhale, “Good, ‘cause I want that too.”
“Kinda figured from the question itself, but thanks for clearing that up,” Faith winked at Buffy to show her she meant no harm in the comment.
Buffy smiled, then became serious, “So, what now?”
“Hmm, well…I’d say, you bring that chair back to Dawn’s, and I’ll drag the ladder back downstairs. How’s that for taking the next step?” Faith smirked.
“Well, okay, but I was really asking about…”
“I know what you meant. Why don’t we just let that happen when it wants to happen?” Faith replied, folding the ladder up and turning it on its side.
“Okay, sounds good to me,” Buffy nodded and picked up Dawn’s chair before hooking her foot around the edge of the door and flipping it wide open, Faith following closely behind.
Faith awoke early the next morning to what felt like an earthquake. Looking around, Faith realized that six girls hopping on the edge of the bed would make anyone think that. Groaning, Faith sat up rubbing her eyes with her hands.
“You little gremlins, what time it is?”
“It’s Christmas!” Kate exclaimed hopping harder and moving closer to the two women, the second of which was glaring at the troupe from beneath her pillow.
“That’s not a time, that’s a holiday. Is it before 5?” Buffy grumbled next to Faith.
“No, it’s 5:30!” Jack replied, “Faith told us last night to not come in here before 5, or else Santa wouldn’t come.”
“Faith’s a smart woman, but she should’ve said 7,” Buffy replied.
“Oh come on B, when you were little, didn’t you get up before the sun came up?” Faith pushed the blonde in the side playfully, helping in rolling her over, “C’mon guys, help me get this old crone outta bed.”
“Old crone... why you…” But Buffy’s insult could never finish, as Jack, Dana, Kate, Lynn, Britt and Jess scrambled over and started tugging at Buffy, pulling her out of bed, “Okay, okay! I’m up and out of bed, now go on, go get your stockings together; no one can open them unless everyone is up, okay? So go get everyone down into the living room! And keep the other kids out of those presents until we get down there!”
The group let out an excited scream and ran out the bedroom, splitting up to bombard Xander and Andrew’s rooms in groups of threes.
“You are evil. Dawn and Xander will kill you when they realize that this was your idea,” Faith remarked, pulling on a pair of pajama bottoms.
“Yeah, well, only Willow can complain. She, you and I were up until 3 putting all those presents out there. If I have to deal with two and a half hours of sleep, then so does she,” Buffy shot back as she went into the bathroom.
When Buffy came out, looking more awake, Faith followed suit and went in. Exiting the bathroom, Faith shut off the light and went over to the door, where Buffy was waiting for her. As she went to move past, Buffy grabbed her arm. A question in her eyes, Faith looked back at the blonde, but Buffy merely pointed up. You little sneak, Faith thought, eyeing the mistletoe. Faith shook her head, and wrapped her arms around Buffy’s waist, pulling her close.
“Merry Christmas,” Faith whispered against Buffy’s slightly parted lips before she kissed her softly, a taste of things to come.
A few minutes later, Faith was staring at the coffee maker as a new brew slurped its way into the pot, the kettle on the stove behind her rumbling quietly. She was leaning on the island, her chin planted in her hands, staring across the kitchen, when Sandra stumbled in.
“It won’t come out any faster if you stare at it, hon” Sandra commented, pulling out two mugs from the cabinets.
“You never know. It might feel bad for me today,” Faith replied, not breaking her gaze.
A loud squeal came from the living room suddenly, as the sound of kids attacking their stockings started up.
“Okay, they were cute until today,” Faith broke her gaze and glanced over in the direction of the living room.
“Mmmm, sucked you in, didn’t they? Noisy little buggers,” Sandra hugged herself, taking up the staring job.
A thud of footsteps signaled Xander’s late arrival down the stairs.
“Morning love, impeccable timing you have.”
“The coffee is ready?” Xander asked hopefully.
“Nope,” Sandra shook her head.
“Then why impeccable?” Xander scratched his head before patting Faith on the shoulder in greeting.
“Because you have timed it just right, to come down here mere moments before the kids start opening presents,” Sandra informed him, an evil smirk on her face.
Faith watched Xander pale suddenly, “Oh God no. Get me out of here.”
“Nope, gotta stay and suffer with the rest of us,” Sandra grabbed his arm as Xander turned back towards the stairs, “C’mon, Faith’ll let us know when the coffee is ready, let’s go on out there,” Leaving the mugs on the counter, Sandra pulled Xander out into the hallway with her and disappeared around the corner.
Faith shook her head, grinning as they left. Turning to look at the coffee, she saw it finishing up, and pulled out a tray from one of the lower cabinets. Yanking the kettle off of the burner right before it started to blow; she pulled out a creamer and the jar of sugar and put them on the tray, as well as six mugs. Putting an herbal teabag in one mug and an Earl Grey teabag in another, Faith poured the hot water into the two separate mugs. Grabbing the pot of coffee, Faith filled the four other empty mugs and started making another pot, leaving five empty mugs on the counter. She pulled out a handful of spoons and put them on the tray before lifting it and exiting the kitchen. A series of shrikes from the living room told her that the presents were being opened, and she decided to come in the side entrance next to the front door to avoid spilling.
To say that the day was good would be an understatement. Faith lay sprawled out on the couch, the crown of her head pressed against Dawn’s thigh, her hand idly playing with loose hairs that hung down from Buffy’s bun from where she sat on floor in front of the couch. Peter was sitting on the arm of the couch, leaning into Dawn; While Xander had crashed face first on the floor, Sandra cradling his head in her lap. Giles was sitting in a small, plush chair, while Willow and Kennedy had squeezed themselves into the big, comfy one. To finish it off, Andrew sat on the loveseat with Dan’s legs thrown across his own, rubbing his bare feet.
“The next person who screams, I will kill them, I don’t care if they are eleven,” Kennedy moaned.
“I’m with you on that one,” Xander chimed in, his voice muffled by Sandra’s pant leg.
Before anyone else spoke the phones in both Andrew’s study and the kitchen began to ring.
“Oh God, I don’t have the energy to get that,” Buffy groaned, leaning her head back against Faith’s palm.
As the answering machine clicked on, Angels’ voiced floated through the house, and suddenly the group jerked into motion. Kennedy got to the phone in the kitchen first, and caught Angel before he hung up.
“Hey, Angel, it’s Ken, yeah, she’s here, hold on,” Kennedy covered the mouthpiece and lowered the phone, “Buffy, Angel wants to talk to you.”
Buffy came in, Faith right behind her, and took the phone from Kennedy, “Hey Angel…thanks, you too. Any snow in L.A., or is that wishful thinking?”
Faith smirked and turned to leave, before Buffy grabbed her arm, signaling that she didn’t want her to go, “Yeah, the kids were crazy, but they loved everything. Yeah, we all got some good stuff here.”
Faith zoned out as Buffy continued talking with the vampire, and began loading the dishwasher. A few minutes later, Faith came too, hearing the end of the conversation, “Yeah, she’s right here, yup. Thanks for calling; I’ll pass along your happy wishes to the group. All right, bye.”
Buffy held the phone out to Faith, who glanced down at it and then shrugged. Wiping her hands on her jeans, Faith grabbed the phone from Buffy and watched her exit before raising it to her ear, “Hey Big A, how’s the undead life treating you?”
“Hey Faith,” Angel replied, ignoring the question, “How are things?”
“Progressing,” Faith replied vaguely, picking up a pen and doodling on a piece of paper.
“Care to specify?” Angel prodded gently.
“What, not explicit enough for ya?” Faith countered, enjoying her several stick figures.
“Faith…” Angel sighed, and Faith could just imagine him leaning back in his chair, shutting his eyes to remain calm.
“She and I are…just getting together, all right?” Faith replied curtly, “Is Dr. Phil happy with his quarterly assessment?”
“Faith, I didn’t mean to upset you…” Angel replied, sighing again.
“I know, it’s just… this is a touchy subject, or it has been for the past four months, and there has finally been a breakthrough and, well, I don’t want to jinx it or anything,” Faith stopped drawing the mustache on one stick figure and sighed.
“Okay, okay, I get it; I just wanted to make sure you were okay. I know this was a big thing for you,” Angel stated, “And I’m glad things are coming together for the two of you.”
“No you aren’t, she’s your ex,” Faith shot back.
“That was a long time ago, and we both accepted that we couldn’t be together like that. What’s to make me upset if she can find someone who she can be with, that can make her happy and grow old with her? Just because I love her doesn’t mean that I won’t let anyone else have her if I can’t.”
“Okay, gotcha, you’re five-by-five with the whole Buffy and Faith couple thing. Got it,” Faith leaned against the counter, looking out in to the hall hoping no one was eavesdropping.
Faith hung up a few minutes later after wishing him a Happy New Year, and went back out into the living room, only to find it deserted. Shrugging, Faith went back upstairs to Buffy’s room, and proceeded to strip without care for something to sleep in, let her see the Fully Monty for all I care, and crashed face first on the bed, pulling the covers up around her, the steady sound of the shower running lulling her to sleep.
It was mid afternoon the next day when Faith entered Willow’s study, realizing just how cramped eleven people could make it, and squeezed past Kennedy and Peter to stand near the side entrance, where Xander was leaning on the open doorframe.
“All right guys, I know this is cramped, but I don’t want the kids hearing any of this,” Willow began, “I got a call from the Coven in England late last night…”
“Evil women…” Kennedy murmured, creating a quiet rumbling of laughter in the group before they all fell silent again to listen to Willow.
“There seems to be a slight breakthrough on information for this Shadow Lands dimension that the Kartuk are going to use. We already know that they need the life force of the two Chose Ones in order to power their whole apocalypse, which is slightly ironic, considering your job is to stop them, but that’s beside the point,” Willow rambled slightly, then shook her head to refocus, “What the Coven told me was that the Kartuk are using various passive demon breeds to create some sort of dimensional portal in fragments, which will all be brought together here, kind of like the Judge,” Willow nodded towards Buffy and Giles, whose faces looked grim, “Except that they used the Toalith to start their power source early so that they would have a head start on creating the apocalypse by the time that all of the pieces came together.”
Willow fell silent and Andrew spoke up, “That’s why you had the Gincii demons in Taipei attacking you. They were already creating this portal thing when you got there and were trying to keep you from discovering it, for fear of being wiped out by the Kartuk. You probably only got that one clan, the rest of the clans most likely worked harder after you left to finish on schedule. The Toalith demons however, knew that we were here, so I’m guessing that a large Slayer HQ nearby was either a great deterrent in them becoming violent in any way, or they may just want to try to stop this as much as we do. What we know about the apocalypse is that there are going to be at least two more spikes in life force fluctuations before it happens, so we can gauge our timeframe, unfortunately, by that. After the last spike, it should be less than a week before all hell, literally, breaks loose.”
“In order to stop this, I conferred with as many of my contacts as I could reach,” Giles began, “And many agreed that we need to do a two stemmed assault when the Kartuk are at their weakest, i.e., when they are starting the apocalypse. I know, that is cutting it short,” Giles pulled off his glasses and rubbed them, stopping mid-sentence, “But we have no other choice. One front will be using magick. The Coven will be flying over after the second spike, and will team up with Willow to work on that part of the assault. The rest of us will split up into two groups to attack the demons themselves. One group will be a diversion at the front of their lair and the other will attack from the back and sides. The only problem rests on finding out where they are, as they can be a highly mobile breed of demon.” Falling silent, Giles put his glasses back on and glanced around.
“So we just need to get their correct location for the apocalypse date, and we’re good?” Buffy asked.
Willow and Giles both nodded, and Buffy shifted her feet, “Okay, then that’s what our focus will be, finding them.”
