Go To Prologue Ch 1 Ch 2 Ch 3 Ch 4 Ch 5 Ch 6 Ch 7 Epilogue
Repercussions Reactions and Retaliation
Book III
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‘Bloody accounting books!’ Giles thought in frustration as he sat behind the counter in his shop, tallying the day’s receipts and outstanding shipments. ‘It’s enough to make me regret not letting Willow talk me into a computer...’ he looked up thoughtfully and then muttered, “No, no it hasn’t quite come to that.”
<RING>
“Thank goodness!” he said, slamming shut the book on which he’d been working; glad for any interruption.
<RING>
He took two steps along the counter and snatched the phone’s handset from it’s cradle and rattled off, “Hello, you’ve reached the Magic Box, your one stop shop for everything occult.” As always, his expression took on a residual grimace at the slogan Anya had created, but it had become a habit.
“How quaint.”
Giles removed his eyeglasses and pinched the bridge of his nose, muttering “And to think, I was actually relieved to hear the phone ring.”
“Come now, Rupert, Is that any way to speak to one’s employer?”
‘Bloody Pillock!’ Giles didn’t quite say aloud. With a great sigh, he instead said, “Hello Quinton. To what do I owe the honor of a personal call from the Council’s senior member?”
The senior watcher’s dry chuckle did little to ease Giles annoyance.
“Why, Rupert, a lesser observer might actually ascribe sincerity to your tone...” Quinton said dryly.
‘A wiser man might have learned a lesson from previous meddling and kept his attentions the hell away from Sunnydale and everyone in it!’ Giles thought exasperatedly.
“Well, right to business then,” Quinton said when Giles refrained from response. “I would like to arrange to visit Sunnydale.”
Giles closed his eyes and counted to five. “May I ask to what end?” he said as evenly as he could muster.
“I wish to spend some time speaking with our formerly renegade Slayer,” Quinton answered.
“Are you completely mad?” Giles blurted out, aghast, before he could censor himself. “What lunacy has lead you to believe Buffy would sanction such a thing?”
“And you work for your Slayer now? You must, if her sanction is required?” Quinton said distastefully.
‘Calm down old man...’ Giles told himself, taking a slow breath before answering. “You and I both Quinton, else you wouldn’t be calling to ask for permission.”
“Touché,” Quinton allowed graciously. “As for such permission, I would hope that you will remind your charge that it was I who alerted you to the effort to take the junior Slayer against her will.”
“True though that is, I don’t imagine Buffy would be open to another visit from the council...” Giles began.
“Not the council, Rupert,” Quinton corrected hastily. “Myself and a single assistant, no more than that...I only wish to interview the girl, one on one. It is my hope that I will then be able to provide a positive report to the council and end any future plans for her removal.”
Giles mulled it over for a moment. ‘Obviously, he wouldn’t come all this way unless he had some ulterior motive...and yet, it might be best to be seen as cooperative. We shouldn’t burn any bridges unless and until it becomes absolutely necessary...’
“Will you arrange it?” Quinton asked after several moment’s silence.
‘And, with Willow and Tara’s abilities, we might be able to discern his true motives...’ Coming to a decision, Giles said, “I’ll try, Quinton. I can promise no more than that.”
Another dry chuckle sounded across the phone lines. “I have every confidence in you Rupert.”
“Why thank you Quinton,” Giles responded as genuinely as he could muster. At the same time, his eyes narrowed into a rather Ripper-esque glare as he thought, ‘Perhaps I’ll be fortunate enough that he’ll actually try something...’
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‘Foolish boy,’ Quinton Travers thought as he surreptitiously observed his young assistant placing a phone call.
“Hello, Anya?” his nervous whisper carried in the darkened library. “Yes, it’s me, Jeremy...No! Wait, don’t hang up Anya! Please, I beg you!”
‘Weak willed...there’s no doubt that it will be that very flaw which does him in, in the end,’ the Society of Watchers Senior Council member noted with some distaste.
“Look, Anya; I’m coming to the states next month...I was hoping that I might...see you?” Jeremy’s timid voice asked softly.
“Yes, yes she did, but Mr. Travers has sought permission to travel to Sunnydale, and I am to be his assistant...No, not at all...no I don’t think flunkey is a more accurate...Look, Anya...”
‘Just look at yourself, man; you can not even stand up straight when she’s on the other side of the world!’ Quinton thought derisively. “How will you ever manage to do so in person?’
“But you see, that’s why I called!” Jeremy’s wheedling tone grated. “I’ve been given charge of making all the arrangement...Yes, I think...Certain! I’m certain that I can arrange to...well, yes, a bit more than last time...no probably not that much, but certainly we can divert enough to retain someone...or something...”
Quinton stepped back slightly further into the shadow as Jeremy suddenly hunched his shoulders and furtively looked around.
“Taraka?! Yes, I’m sure they would, however...Anya, the funds necessary for that sort of arrangement would...we’d never be able to hide a diversion of that magnitude...”
‘She has you wrapped around her little finger,’ Quinton thought derisively.
“Yes, I’ll be counting the days...” Jeremy said, his voice clearly filled with longing. “Goodbye, my sweet.”
The junior watcher hung up the phone and walked out of the room with an audible sigh.
‘Bah; weak, sentimental fool!’ Quinton thought with revulsion. ‘Very nearly makes me ill...I’m not certain whether I hope for your success or your failure if it meant getting rid of you once and for all. I suppose in the end it’s better that you succeed.’
The corner of his mouth twitched up slightly as he turned to walk away. ‘Either way, I can hardly lose...’ he thought with better humor.
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Dawn stood still, her eyes closed as she breathed in and out deeply. Her hands were joined with Willow on her left and Tara on her right as she tried to catch and match the rhythm of, first their breathing, and then their heartbeats. ‘Come on Dawn! You’ve done this before, this is supposed to be the easy part!’ she chastised herself as she became more and more frustrated with her failure.
Dawn felt her hand being released as Tara said, “Ok, stop.”
‘Damn it!’ Dawn thought angrily. She set her jaw stiffly as tears of frustration welled up in her eyes.
“What’s wrong Dawnie?” Willow asked, giving the brunette’s hand a gentle squeeze. “You were doing so well at this!”
“I’ve never seen you this unfocused, Dawn,” Tara added softly. “Your energy is all chaotic and tangled...”
“I’m sorry guys...” Dawn said apologetically. “I’ve been worked up all day...I just can’t seem to concentrate on anything today!”
“Come on, lets go sit in the living room and relax for a while,” Tara suggested. “If we feel like it we can come back here later,” she added with a gesture to their surroundings.
“Ok” Dawn nodded glumly. She followed Willow out of the opulently appointed spell-casting room, thinking, ‘Now leaving WiccaWorld, as Buffy calls it...’ but even that usually humorous thought failed to bring a smile to her face.
She walked over and dropped into the living-room chair with a huff. ‘Alright, stop pouting and get your head straight Summers!’ Dawn thought, trying through force of will to push her mood into more pleasant territory.
“You guys want a soda?” Tara asked, pausing as she turned toward the kitchen.
“Thanks baby!” Willow said with a smile.
“Of course,” Tara said with a warm smile. “Dawn?” she questioned.
“Sure, thanks Tara,” Dawn said, forcing a smile onto her own face.
They sat in silence for a minute before Willow spoke. “So you’ve had a hard time concentrating today?” she asked.
Dawn dropped her smile and sighed heavily. “Totally!” she exclaimed with a frustrated frown. “I so got busted by Heimer in calc. today!”
“What happened?” Willow asked interestedly.
“I guess he called my name, like, five times or something...Christy Felder was sitting behind me and actually had to poke me before I snapped out of it...so embarrassing,” Dawn reminisced with a chagrinned headshake.
“That sucks!” Willow commiserated.
“Tell me about it,” Dawn agreed. “I mean, usually I could care less what people at school think of me...but she’s a serious beyoch...kinda a Cordelia, but not as deep. Oh, and she’s meaner.”
“Yeouch!” Willow said, eyes wide. “I remember, in our freshman year, I used to sit behind Cordelia in American history, and I’d stare at the back of her head and try to make it explode with my thoughts...”
“Willow!” Tara said reprovingly, returning from the kitchen with a tray and three glasses.
“Well, it’s not like I thought it would really work...but you don’t know, Tara...” Willow said, her voice heavy. “She’s like a totally different person today...not only did she make my life a living hell growing up, she took pleasure in it!”
“Aww, sweetie...” Tara said with a sad look.
Willow’s face lightened and she got a devilish smirk as she went on, “All I’m saying is, she’s lucky I didn’t have any powers back then...”
“Yeah, that’s Christy now,” Dawn said. “I swear, the only time you see that girl smile is when she’s hurting someone else...”
“She’s probably very sad and lonely underneath it all,” Tara opined as she handed out the drinks.
“Probably, but it’s a self-perpetuating cycle- and her viciousness only pushes everyone farther away...” Dawn mused. “Still, it’s hard to feel sorry for her. Usually I just blow off whatever she says about me, cause, please, High School popularity? So, so over it!”
“But today?” Tara prompted.
“Yeah, today,” Dawn sighed. “I was already in a mood, so getting busted for flaking out didn’t help, and then having it be her that snapped me out of la-la land...badness.”
“Why were you in a mood to begin with?” Tara asked, orienting on the root of the problem.
Dawn felt her face grow hot and tried to cover by taking a long drink of her soda. ‘Busted again!’ she thought as she looked at the two witches’ knowing smiles. ‘That’s it, take joy in my misery,’ she thought uncharitably.
“Let me guess,” Willow said gleefully. “A certain Y-chrom Scooby still stuck in low gear?”
“Oh God! He is driving me insane!” Dawn lamented.
Willow broke out into laughter. Tara had a smile on her face that said it was only her sympathy that was keeping her from outright laughter herself.
“Sure, go ahead and laugh at my pain,” Dawn said melodramatically.
“Oh, does he do that thing with his tongue?” Willow suddenly asked.
‘That’s right, you’ve experienced Xander-kissage before, haven’t you?’ Dawn realized. “That thing with the circles?” she asked, surprised. At Willow’s look of pleased agreement, Dawn went on, “Oh, I figured he learned that from Anya...”
“You learned that from *Xander*!?” Tara interjected, aghast.
“Hey, say what you want, that boy can *kiss*!” Willow replied with a laugh.
“Oh my God! You don’t have to tell me!” Dawn gushed in agreement, misery forgotten for a moment at the remembered pleasure. “I kid you not; I have had to change my panties more times than I can count, just from him kissing me!”
“I have to tell you, Dawn,” Tara began. “As frustrating as it might be, Xander is showing more restraint than I thought a man was even capable of having!”
“Yeah, I think it’s kinda sweet...and plus, you know for sure that he isn’t just with the lust...” Willow added.
Dawn took a deep breath. “It is sweet...it’s more than sweet. And yeah, it just goes to prove how much he really cares for me,” She felt a warm shiver run from her stomach, up her spine and to her scalp which tingled at the sensation. Her smile was beatific as she said, “I can tell he’s totally falling in love with me and I’m pretty sure he’s gonna actually tell me he loves me pretty soon...”
“But?” Tara asked, apparently sensing that there was more to it.
“But...” Dawn blushed as she paused before blurting, “I want sex!”
Willow and Tara laughed out loud.
“God!” Dawn threw up her hands in exasperation. “We’ve been going out for months! I want him so bad I can taste it! I mean, I masturbate so often that I’m afraid I’m gonna get carpal tunnel syndrome or something!”
“Dawn!” Tara exclaimed.
Willow just laughed harder.
“I swear, I just don’t get it,” Dawn went on, now in full-blown rant. “Every night we make out and I can feel how it’s affecting him. He can’t wear sweats around the apartment or he looks like he’s dowsing for water or something!”
Willow laughed so hard she fell onto her side, still cackling as Dawn went on, while Tara had tears streaming down her face, and her entire body was shaking with suppressed laughter.
“I’m pretty sure you could see his thing coming around a corner a couple seconds before the rest of him caught up,” Dawn continued.
“Willow was screaming in laughter, shouting “Stop! Dawn you’re killing me!”
“He’s jerking off so much that it’s hard to find a clean towel in the place! But he won’t let me take care of it!” Dawn complained. “God, I’ve all but begged him to let me go down on him, and I know he wants it cause he gets this wild look in his eyes and makes this high pitched whimper in the back of his throat. If I’m pressed up against him I can actually feel it twitch!”
Tara raised her hands in surrender and said, “Ok, that’s really more information than I needed Dawn.”
Dawn’s face collapsed and a tear started at her eye as she quietly spoke. “Tara...what am I going to do? I know it’s funny, but it’s serious too...I ache for him, like literally! I’m not even scared of how it’ll hurt anymore, cause it hurts now being so close, but not close enough. I...he’s all I think about all the time! I can’t concentrate in school, I can’t center my self for spells...I’m, like, a wreck. I want him so badly!” she finished in a desperate cry.
“Aw, Dawnie...Have you talked to him, I mean have you said these things to him?” Tara asked sympathetically.
“I have...I mean, not in so many words...I don’t want to be, like, pressuring him or anything...” Dawn said glumly.
“Have you thought about maybe, maybe getting less intense in the kissing department?” Tara asked hesitantly.
“You mean cooling things down so I don’t get so worked up all the time?” Dawn asked.
Tara nodded.
“I can’t tell you how much I don’t want to do that,” Dawn said sadly. “But, I have thought about it...I don’t know if it would work, or if I’d just want him more...Or, even if it would work, would it just make things worse, make him think I couldn’t handle it, like I’m too immature...God, my guts get all twisted in knots just thinking about it!” she lamented.
Dawn forced herself to take several deep breaths. ‘No way I’m gonna get centered, but I’ve gotta calm down before I lose it here,’ she thought.
“I...I might have to resort to that...” she admitted, as much to herself as to the witches. “I guess I just keep hoping...” she trailed off with a shake of her head.
“Well, since we’re not going to solve that problem here today, and I think magic is probably best left alone, let’s change the subject,” Tara suggested. “Buffy’ll be home pretty soon; we could watch a movie or something?”
“Oh, and we have ice cream!” Willow said excitedly. “Best medicine for a heavy heart!”
Dawn perked up slightly. “What kind?”
“Haggen Daas, chocolate fudge swirl!” Willow said with a happy smile.
“Oohh!” Dawn moaned in anticipation. “I guess I could be persuaded...”
“It’s not better than sex, but it’s pretty close!” Willow said with a giggle as she jumped up. “Come on, pouty girl. You can help.”
‘I love these girls,’ Dawn thought as she stood up to follow the redhead. ‘They really are the greatest!’
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Xander was laying on the couch in his and Dawn’s apartment, relaxing and listening to Led Zeppelin’s Kashmir.
‘Man, what a weird year...’ he mused as he nodded his head to the pulsing beat. ‘Everything is different in ways I couldn’t have even imagined...’
A knock at the door interrupted his thoughts.
‘Hmm, wonder who that could be,’ he thought as he reluctantly rolled off of the couch. ‘It’s daylight, and evil so rarely knocks anyway...’
Ingrained caution made him look out the peephole before even considering opening the door.
“Buff!” he said in surprise. He couldn’t help smiling as he opened the door. My bestest Buffy buddy! What brings you to Casa del Xander on this fine Friday afternoon?”
“Hey Xan,” Buffy said with an almost embarrassed smile as she entered.
“Whatsamatter, Buffy?” Xander asked, concerned by the strange look on Buffy’s face.
“Hmm, nothing’s wrong,” she answered. “Just kinda feeling antsy...kinda bored actually...”
Xander barked out an ironic laugh at that. “Boy did you come to the right place then, cause I was right in the middle of a highly exciting session of staring at the ceiling...”
Buffy smiled at that.
“Yep, it’s Xander’s house-o-fun around here!” he continued as he closed the door. “You want a drink or something?” he said, gesturing toward the kitchen. “I’ve got a wide variety- Pepsi, diet Pepsi, or there’s the ever-refreshing Sunnydale tap water.”
Buffy dropped down onto the couch and said, “Pepsi please,” in her bubbly voice. Then she wrinkled her nose and added, “I’m not sure which of the other two is worse.”
“Well, the water comes with the whole plumbing thing, though who’d actually drink it is questionable. The diet pepsi is your sister’s fault...” He lowered his voice to a conspiratorial whisper and added, “I keep it segregated from the good stuff...you never know when it might vamp-out and try to drain the sugar from the other cans...”
Buffy laughed out loud.
‘Ah, mission accomplished!’ he thought as he walked to the kitchen to get the drinks. ‘Can’t have any of my girls moping around!’
He returned and handed Buffy her can and then sat down opposite her in his recliner. “So, you were attacked by the boredom monster, huh?”
“Yeah. Things were getting a little too wiccy at the house,” she said with a slight grimace.
Xander smiled. “Ah yes, our wonderful witches...where would we be without them? You still wigged out by them training Dawn?”
She shrugged and took a long drink of soda. “Not really, I guess...I dunno.”
“Well, that’s definitive...” he said with a grin.
“You don’t worry about her? Wanting to, you know, like, join the fighting?” she asked tentatively.
“Of course I worry,” Xander said, becoming more serious. “How could I not?”
“I dunno, I just don’t like the thought of her getting hurt...” she said with a sigh.
“Preaching to the choir over here, Buff. Unfortunately, danger has an annoying tendency to come looking for her, whether she wants to fight the good fight or not,” Xander said unhappily. “No matter how much we wish it wouldn’t. I guess I’d just rather see her have the tools to fight back...and since she didn’t inherit your Slayer-strength, that means magic.”
‘And guns!’ he added silently to himself. ‘No matter how much they wig you out!’
“Yeah, I guess,” she agreed half-heartedly.
“So, classes are over for the summer, all that brain-cramming and testing is done for another year...” he said, changing the subject. “You gotta be loving that!”
“Definitely!” she agreed, nodding her head. Her expression grew pensive as she added, “It’s weird though...”
He raised his brows as she trailed off. “What’s weird?” he asked.
“Well...it’s kinda like, what’s the point?” she answered contemplatively. “I mean, isn’t the point of college that you graduate and get a degree so you can get a good job? And you want a good job- hopefully doing something you don’t hate- so you can make good money, so you can, you know, live well and stuff...”
Xander smiled knowingly. He gestured towards her with his soda in emphasis as he interjected, “But you already live well, and money’s not an issue anymore, and you’re in a really good, committed relationship with the most wonderful girl, and now you kinda don’t know what you’re supposed to do with yourself!”
She tilted her head and looked at him strangely for a moment. Then she smiled with realization and said, “Sounds like I’m not the only one...”
“Huh?” Xander asked, confused.
“I would have said ‘girls’ in my case,” she explained.
“Oh, right...” he said, slightly chagrined.
“I would have thought you would enjoy the whole ‘not having to work’ thing, especially with some of the jobs you got stuck with before the construction thing...” Buffy opined.
“I do, I did...it’s just- and believe me when I tell you I never imagined I would say this, but- there’s only so much laying around, watching TV a man can do!” Xander explained, his voice expressing his own surprise at the fact.
Buffy laughed at that.
“It’ll be better after next week,” Xander mused.
“Why? What’s next...oh...” Buffy trailed off in realization. “High school gets out for the summer.”
‘Doh! Had to go and bring that up!’ Xander chastised himself silently.
Neither said anything for a moment. Finally, Buffy broke the silence.
“You know, we should really talk about that...I mean, I know we’ve been avoiding the subject...”
‘*We* have?’ Xander raised his eyebrow in surprise.
Buffy blushed and dropped her gaze at Xander’s questioning look. “Ok, *I* have been avoiding it...”
“It’s ok, Buff,” Xander started.
Shaking her head, Buffy interrupted his knee-jerk dismissal of her behavior, “No, Xander, it’s really not. Outside of the two women I’m actually in love with, you are my best friend in the whole world...and you also happen to be my sister’s boyfriend; I just need to get over myself and accept that.”
‘Wow!’ he thought. Still, his inclination was to smooth things over. “It’s understandable, I mean it’s not what anyone expected...”
“That’s sweet of you Xander, but stop it,” Buffy said firmly. “I’ve been acting like you were doing something wrong, being with my sister. We both know that the truth is, there isn’t a better match for my sister in the world, and I’m glad that you guys were both strong enough to push for it to happen. Despite my reaction.”
‘Double wow!’ Xander thought, feeling a pang of emotion in his chest. His eyes grew slightly moist as he said, “Thanks Buff, that really means a lot to me.”
“Yeah well...” She muttered as she blushed and ducked her head.
‘Wow, that’s really a relief...’ Xander realized, feeling a tension in his stomach relax. ‘I didn’t even realize how much that was affecting me!’
A grin had returned to her face by the time she looked back up at him. “Just don’t make me an auntie anytime soon, ok?”
Now it was his turn to blush. “Oh, no! No need to worry about that, Buff!” he hastened to reassure her. “I am *so* not ready to be a father!”
Buffy’s expression again grew contemplative and she said, “I dunno, Xan...I kinda think you’d be a great father.”
Xander’s eyes grew wide.
“Just not for a few years, ok?”
“I don’t know if I can convey just how little you have to worry about that!” Xander said with a shudder. ‘Children not on my list of short term, medium term, and maybe not even long term plans!’
Buffy just laughed at him.
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‘This is nice,’ Xander thought contentedly. ‘We haven’t just hung out and talked about stuff in a long time.’
“You guys got another vacation planned now that summer’s here?” he asked.
“Yep,” Buffy affirmed. “I owe Will a Mediterranean cruise.”
“What did she do to earn that?” Xander asked, confused by the way Buffy had worded her statement.
Buffy’s raised eyebrows made him realize how his own wording could be misconstrued. “Uh, I...what I meant was, how is it that you owe her a Mediterranean cruise?”
“Ahh, well, she was set on that for spring break, but I talked her into Jamaica instead,” Buffy explained. “So, it’s her turn to pick.”
“Lemme guess...she wants to see all the historical stuff, right?” Xander asked with a grin.
“Yeah, but she promised if I went to the museums and stuff with her, we could hit the dance clubs at night,” she answered. “You know me, anything to make my honey happy!”
“What did Tara want to do?” he asked.
Buffy shrugged, “She liked both ideas, so she wins either way. It’ll be her turn to pick next time.”
“Do they have a Marquis De Sade resort somewhere in France?” Xander asked, grinning madly.
His humor was repaid with a throw pillow to the face. “Ha, ha, very funny Xander!” she said with a mock-glare.
“I thought so!” Xander laughed. “Besides, if there was such a thing, you know you’d totally go!”
‘And that blush tells me how right I am!’ he thought smugly.
“Anyway!” she loudly changed the subject. “Are you and Dawn doing anything travel-wise?”
“Well, I actually have...wait a minute,” Xander said, narrowing his eyes suspiciously. “Did Dawn put you up to this?”
“What? What are you talking about?” Buffy said, seeming genuinely surprised.
“She’s been trying like mad to get me to spill my plans for her birthday next week,” Xander explained.
Buffy’s eyes grew wide and a look of horror came across her face.
“You forgot your sister’s birthday!?” Xander loudly exclaimed, shocked.
“I didn’t forget! It’s June 8th, I knew it was June 8th, I didn’t forget that...” she protested. “I just...I forgot it was June already...” she trailed off guiltily.
“Buffy, Buffy, Buffy...What are we going to do with you?” Xander asked, shaking his head dramatically.
“I’ve still got the weekend to get her something,” she said defensively. “And, we already planned to do dinner with all the Scoobies that night...”
She trailed off as Xander shook his head. “Change of plans- Scooby dinner is postponed to Sunday, but you can’t tell Dawn.” He cautioned.
A crafty grin stole over Buffy’s face. “You’ve got a surprise trip for her, huh? Tell me!”
‘Bwuhahaha!’ Xander laughed evilly in his head. “Nope, not telling!” he said slyly.
“Xander!” she cried with a full-on Buffy-pout.
“Nope!” he said firmly. “If I can resist a week of Dawn-pouts, *and* Willow’s resolve-face, you won’t be able to break me!”
When it looked like she was about to protest further, he interjected, “Besides, part of the fun for Dawn is going to be her getting to tell you guys all about it. You wouldn’t want to ruin that, would you?”
“Yes!” Buffy said petulantly.
He just raised an eyebrow and stared at her disapprovingly.
Her eyes dropped and her pout actually increased. “No, I guess not,” she said grudgingly.
Xander laughed, “Poor Buffy. It’s only a week and a couple days, and then you’ll know.” Changing the subject slightly, he asked, “So, do you have any idea what you’re getting her for her birthday?”
“Actually, me and Tara and Willow could take her clothes shopping or something...that’d be kinda fun...” Buffy said, thinking aloud.
“You should take her yourself, just the two of you...” he said.
“You think?” Buffy asked quizzically.
“Well, she sees Will and Tara all the time, and I’m sure she’d have fun with them and all, but she doesn’t get to spend much time with you, especially with you two living in separate places now...” he explained. “You guys could, you know, do the sister bonding thing...”
“That’s possible...” she said, apparently mulling it over. “What are you going to get her? Or, is that part of the surprise?”
“It is, but I’ll tell you that part,” Xander said, taking pity on the pouty Slayer. “I’m getting her a car.”
“A car?!” Buffy asked incredulously. “I don’t even have a car!” she objected.
“Yes, but unlike some other people I know, Dawn is an excellent driver,” Xander said with a sardonic grin.
“Hey!” she protested. She then stated, “Besides, you can’t get her a car- she doesn’t even have a license!”
‘Jealous much?’ Xander thought with a smile. “That’s true,” he allowed. “However, she does have her learner’s permit...”
“She does?” Buffy asked, taken aback. “When did that happen?”
“See, you guys do need to spend some sister-time,” he chided. “She’s been practicing driving with me for months, and you didn’t even know.”
“Where was I?” she said rhetorically.
“Busy. School, slayage, girlfriend time...It all adds up,” Xander said, not unsympathetically.
“I’m a bad sister!” Buffy said self-reprovingly.
“Buff! It’s no big, it’s not like you’ve been avoiding her or anything...Life happens, so make some time and take her shopping for her birthday, I’m sure everything will be cool.”
“I will!” she said decisively. “Hey, since you’ve got her booked up next weekend, and she’s got finals this week- you think I could steal her away tomorrow?”
Xander laughed. ‘Once she actually makes a decision, she’s like a pit bull!’ he thought affectionately. ‘Though, she’d probably hit me for comparing her to a dog...’
“Sure, Buff! I’m sure she’d appreciate an excuse to blow studying for a few hours...” he said genially.
“Ugh, yeah,” Buffy grunted. “Finals. I am so glad to have mine be of the past...Thank God I have Willow to help me through school...I’d probably have flunked out otherwise...”
“I can’t say I miss school, pretty much at all,” Xander mused.
“Hey, you want another soda?” she interjected, getting up and walking toward the kitchen.
“Sure, thanks,” he said.
Watching her walk away, he had a minor epiphany, ‘Wow, I didn’t even check out her butt...I always check out Buffy’s butt...I must really be in love!’ With a shake of his head, he realized how others would construe that thought, ‘Wow, I had *so* better never share this little realization with anybody, ever! God, Xander! Horndog much?”
“So, Xander, you’re a rich man, why are you still in this little apartment?” Buffy asked aloud from the kitchen.
“What’s wrong with this apartment?” Xander asked.
Buffy walked back in and handed him a soda before sinking back into the couch. “Nothing’s *wrong* with it,” she explained. “It’s just...you could afford something, I don’t know, bigger? Nicer?”
She looked around the room as if noticing it for the first time and her expression grew pensive. “You haven’t spent any of the money have you?”
Embarrassed, Xander blushed slightly and muttered, “Just rent and utilities and food and stuff...”
‘And that’s only cause Dawn kicked my ass when she found out I was gonna try and get a job...how’s that for twilight-zone world?’ he thought, remembering her shock when she caught him checking the want-ads.
“Where’s the giant-screen TV? Where’s the stereo that goes so loud it shatters the windows? Where’s all the normal ‘if only I were rich’ guy-stuff?” Buffy asked incredulously.
“I’m still adjusting to the whole thing...” Xander said. ‘Ok, that sounded lame even to me.’
Buffy stared at him for long moments, obviously trying to fathom why he wasn’t spending the money.
“You were less than enthused when we first brought up the money...” she stated.
‘Crap! Crap, crap, crap, crap, crap!’ Xander though, furious at himself. ‘Gotta get her off this train of thought!’
“It’s no big, Buff. I’m buying Dawn a car...an expensive surprise for her birthday...and we are going to get a nicer place, I just wanted to wait until, you know, school was out...you know, so she’d have time to house hunt with me and stuff...I mean what’s the rush?” he blathered, desperately trying to appear cool despite his mental panic.
Buffy’s nose scrunched up and she frowned, clearly taken aback by his response. “What’s wrong with you, Xander?”
‘Work brain! Work!’ he shouted at himself. “Uh...I...”
‘Oh no,’ he cried silently as a look of comprehension came over Buffy’s face. He felt his insides turn to ice at the thought. ‘Oh, God; she figured it out.’
“Wait, don’t say it!” she cried, raising her hands in front of her face as if to shield herself. “It has to do with those ‘details’ I made you promise never to tell me, right?”
“Uh...” he dumbly repeated. He felt like he was leaning over a precipice, fear and guilt making his stomach rumble threateningly. The icy feeling inside him began to leach outward into his limbs, making them heavy and numb.
“Ok, moving on to another subject now,” Buffy said decisively.
“Ok,” he said disbelievingly. ‘Did I just get let off of the hook?’ he wondered, not quite trusting his good fortune. “Um, you think of a new subject, I’m gonna go use the facilities...”
“Actually, I need to run, Xan,” she said as she looked up at the clock on the wall. “I promised I’d be home after the magic lesson...”
“Ok, that’s cool. I guess I’ll see you tomorrow?” he said, his fairly even voice belying his true state.
“Yep,” she quipped with a smile. She got up and walked over to the door as she continued. “I’ll make sure it’s cool with Dawnie, and I’ll come over in the morning...uh, late morning,” she hastily corrected, blushing.
“Ok,” Xander said, too distracted to rise to the bait.
“Ok, see ya!” Buffy said as she opened the door and left the apartment.
“That was too damn close!” he muttered as the feeling of ice in his veins faded slightly. Standing up, he felt a strong wave of vertigo and nearly fell. “Whoa, major head-rush!” he mumbled. He quickly stumbled off to the bathroom to throw up.
========== BtVS ========== BtVS ========== BtVS ========== BtVS ========== BtVS ==========
========== BtVS ========== BtVS ========== BtVS ========== BtVS ========== BtVS ==========
“So...” Willow’s voice sounded unusually hesitant.
Dawn pulled the bowls out of the cupboard and looked over to her friend and teacher, who was taking the icecream out of the freezer. ‘Uh oh, worried face,’ Dawn thought, seeing the pensive look.
“Yeah?” she prompted.
“I know you’re ready, like wanting it to happen and stuff...but are you ‘ready’ for when it does?” Willow asked quietly.
Dawn frowned lightly and walked over to the silverware drawer to get the spoons. ‘No need to ask what ‘it’ means...but ‘ready’?’ she thought.
“How do you mean?” she finally asked.
“Well, I mean, you know...if you went home and tonight turned out to be...the night...” Willow said tentatively.
Dawn set the spoons down next to the bowls and caught Willow’s gaze. “Willow, whatever it is, just say it, it’s not like I could get mad at you if I tried.”
It was Willow’s turn to frown in confusion. “Whaddya mean?”
“Not that I would ever want to try anyway...” Dawn continued her thought before catching Willow’s question.
“Why couldn’t you get mad at me?” Willow expanded her question once Dawn had finished her thought.
“Huh?” Dawn asked with a shake of her head. “Oh, um, well...I mean, come on Willow, you and Tara are like my mentors, or sensais or whatever you call it in witchcraft,” she said, feeling slightly embarrassed, yet at the same time earnest in her emotions and appreciation for the two witches. “Plus, you’re like my best friends, and you supported me with Buffy in the whole learning magic thing, not to mention the whole ‘not treating me like a child and hiding everything from me to protect me from the big bad world’ thing.”
Willow looked almost taken aback.
‘I probably should have said this stuff before,’ Dawn realized. ‘I’ve never really told them how important they are to me.’
“Willow, it’s like...I love Buffy. She’s my sister and she’s a pretty good sister despite any sibling rivalry stuff that goes on,” she tried to explain herself. “And, I love mom, cause she’s like the best mom ever- how could I not love her?”
Willow nodded in agreement to that.
“But, you and Tara? You guys are, like, the biggest influences in my life,” Dawn said simply. “When I think about what I want in life, who I want to be like...it’s you two. You guys are like my role-models...you’re my heroes,” she finished with a sheepish smile.
Willow had a tear in her eye and her lip was trembling as though she were about to weep. “Really?” she squeaked. “Y-you wanna be like us?”
“Yep, just like you,” Dawn said with a heartfelt smile. A sudden thought struck her, and replaced the smile with a frown. “Except, in the bedroom,” she hastily qualified. “I’m definitely preferring the Xander-shaped gender there.”
Willow laughed and quickly wiped the moisture from her eyes. “Well, no-one’s perfect, I guess,” she said humorously.
‘I do love you guys, just so much!’ Dawn thought happily. “So, what were you trying to ask me?”
“Oh, well...” Willow blushed, but continued, “I was wondering if you had thought about, you know, protection and...and other stuff...”
Dawn smiled, ‘I can’t believe she’s actually blushing. It’s so cute!’ she thought indulgently. “Well, as far as birth control, I went on the pill, like, two seconds after he kissed me for the first time,” she said with a slight flush of her own. “And he got tested to make sure he hadn’t caught anything from his hoe of an ex-girlfriend,”
“Dawn!” Willow exclaimed, her eyes wide with shock. “I wouldn’t call Cordelia...” she trailed off and her eyes grew impossibly wider as she stammered, “Oh, or-or...you meant Anya...oh...”
“It’s ok Willow. He told me about him and Cordelia getting together while you guys were in LA...” Dawn said resignedly.
“He did? I mean, good, of course he did...” Willow looked both relieved and worried at the same time. “You weren’t mad?” she asked tentatively.
“Oh I was mad; I was really mad,” Dawn admitted. “And he felt really guilty about it, which made me even madder, except at myself.”
“Why yourself?” Willow asked in surprise.
“Cause I totally had no right to be mad,” Dawn explained. “I mean, we weren’t going out or anything, and it’s not like he even knew how I felt about him...and you guys were going to face a hell-god, you all could have died. Who wouldn’t want to take some comfort in sex if you knew you could die the next day? I’d have to be a real bitch to blame him for that...”
She shook her head and changed the subject before things got too maudlin. “So, protection; check. As far as ‘other stuff’...I’m not sure what you mean?”
Willow seemed unwilling to change the subject immediately, as she said, “You know...you’re really a good person Dawn Summers. Xander is really lucky to have you.”
“I know,” Dawn answered light-heartedly, though she felt a deep warmth at Willow’s compliment. “But, I’m really lucky to have him too, so it all works out.”
Willow’s smile was wide and affectionate.
“Now then, let’s talk about this ‘other stuff’, cause if you’ve got some advice on how I can wow him or something, I’m totally all ears.
The redhead’s smile changed from affectionate to devilish, and she blushed rather fiercely. “Well,” she began, her voice dropping into a conspiratorial whisper. “First, there’s hair.”
“Hair?” Dawn asked, mystified by the seeming non-sequitor.
“Well, more like the lack thereof,” Willow explained. “As someone who both gives and receives of the oral attentions, I can tell you that hair can definitely interfere with things.”
“So you shave?” Dawn asked with some distaste. “I tried that, and can you say major unpleasantness? plus...stubble...not a good thing.”
Willow wrinkled her nose. “No, stubble is very bad,” she agreed.
“And I’m not sure I’m brave enough to do the waxing thing...” Dawn added hesitantly.
“High ouch factor,” Willow agreed with a visible shiver. “But, see, we’re witches! We have witchy ways of taking care of such things...”
“Really?” Dawn asked, perking up.
“Darn tootin!” Willow quipped. “Tara and I came up with an herbal ointment that you spread on, and then a simple spell, and it, like, turns off the follicle- you wash off and poof! No more hair. Ever!”
Dawn’s eyes lit up. “Oh, and can you use it on your legs too?” she asked, thinking ‘No more shaving my legs? That’d be awesome!’
“You can use it everywhere!” Willow gushed. “No more shaving, no more plucking...We did everything but eyelashes, eyebrows and scalp.”
“Wow!” Dawn sighed. “No plucking your eyebrows, no shaving your pits...”
“Yep, nothing but smooth, sexy skin, everywhere you touch...” Willow said dreamily, obviously reminiscing.
“I don’t know that I’d want Xander to be hairless, though.” Dawn said. “I kinda like the feel of the hair on his chest...”
Willow shook her head, apparently snapping herself out of her daydream. “Oh, right...talking about guys...” she mumbled. “But, you don’t have to use it on him, it’s more about you using it on you...for him, and cause it’s for him, it means he’ll be more with the touching and, and licking and stuff, which is good for you too; so it’s on you for him for you...” she babbled.
Dawn nodded, grinning Willow’s excitement. “I’m totally on board, Willow. Do we need to make some, or is there a recipe you can give me...oh, is the spell something I can do myself, or will I need your help?” she asked in a bit of her own babble.
“I made some for you,” Willow said. “Kinda an early birthday present...”
“That’s a really good present!” Dawn said sincerely. “I don’t think there’s a girl around that would turn that down!”
“Well, most couldn’t do the spell, even if they believed in magic,” Willow said.
“Is it a difficult spell?” Dawn asked.
“Oh, I think you can handle it,” Willow reassured her. “Except for the whole ‘being unfocused’ lately, you’re really picking up the magic very quickly.”
“Well, you guys make it so easy...you do it through me, and it’s like I’m doing it myself, and then I really can do it myself!” Dawn said joyfully. “So, what other advice can you give me?”
“I dunno, Oz was pretty vanilla when it came to sex...I never did anything really adventurous until I switched sides...” Willow said after a moment’s thought.
“There wasn’t anything special he liked?” Dawn asked in surprise.
“Well...he liked oral; I’m pretty sure all guys like that.” Willow answered. “The important things to remember are suction is nice, but a steady rhythm is more important. Oh, and no teeth!”
“Steady rhythm, suction good, teeth bad...” Dawn repeated. “I’ll remember that.” She paused hesitantly before asking her next question. “Willow, can I...I mean, it’s totally cool if you don’t want to say, but I was wondering...what was it like?”
“What, oral sex?” Willow asked.
“That too, I just...everything, I guess,” Dawn said uncertainly. “I have all these dreams and fantasies about being with Xander...and in my mind I picture it being the most amazing, wonderful thing ever...at the same time, I hear girls at school talking about it and it seems terrible! Like, they were uncomfortable, and it hurt, and, I dunno...they just sound like they hated it. So I wondered...what was it like for you?”
Willow leaned back against the counter with a thoughtful look on her face. After a moment she said, “I remember thinking at the time that it was the best night of my life...”
“Really!?” Dawn said, feeling encouraged.
“Yeah, it was really nice,” Willow said a little bit wistfully. “Of course, since then I’ve experienced things that make that seem like nothing...but at the time...” She looked back down, meeting Dawn’s eyes and said, “I think that being in love makes all of the difference. I bet those girls you’re talking about didn’t like it ‘cause the guys were all about getting themselves off- they probably didn’t care about the girls’ feelings and stuff.” She smiled warmly and added, “I really don’t think you’re going to have that problem with Xander. I think he’ll put you first, like it’ll be all about you, and how you feel, and I think Xander knows how to make you feel really good. At least going by the way Cordelia reacted.”
Dawn half frowned at that particular reference.
“Sorry,” Willow said. “It’s just, it’s not like I’d know myself...”
“Yeah,” Dawn said. “I suppose that’s a good sign, though. I mean, even though it was just sex- not love, he still took care to make her feel good...it’s just hard not to be jealous about that, even though I know I shouldn’t be...”
“Oh!” Willow blurted out suddenly.
“What?” Dawn asked, startled by the abrupt exclamation.
“I just realized...you’re going to have a lot harder time giving Xander head than I did Oz...”
“What do you mean?” Dawn asked.
“Well, Oz...let’s just say Oz was a small man in all aspects...” Willow said with a grin.
“Oh...” Dawn said with a frown. “Oh! Gulp!” she exclaimed when the reference sank in.
“I’d say, more like a super-big gulp!” Willow added cattily.
“Willow!” Dawn exclaimed with a laugh. A moment later she again frowned with realization, “Hey, how would you know?”
Willow blushed until her skin approached parity with her hair. “Well, uh, you see...” she stammered.
“Spill!” Dawn commanded, hands on hips and eyes narrowed.
“Well, there was...an incident. The day after we fought glory, and anyway Xander ended up having to take a shower, and no clean clothes and so he was wearing a towel, and sitting down like guys do, there was, well...there was visibility...”
“So basically you were looking up his skirt!” Dawn said, slightly annoyed, but seeing the humor of the situation.
“Not intentionally!” Willow said defensively. “I mean, Faith made a comment, and, you know, I just turned to see what she was talking about and...there it was...” she finished sheepishly.
Dawn couldn’t help but laugh at the chagrined look on Willow’s face. “He is really big...” she said.
“Oh yeah!” Willow gushed in agreement, then blushed again at Dawn’s raised eyebrow. “I think...after you get used to it, you’re going to be a very happy girl!” she opined.
It was Dawn’s turn to blush.
“I think, it might be a good idea to start doing some stretching exercises though...” Willow added.
Dawn blushed harder, but admitted, “Actually...I thought of that already...I bought a yoga video about a month ago...”
Willow laughed loudly at that.
“Hey you two!” Tara’s voice sounded out.
Dawn and Willow turned just as the blonde entered the kitchen. “Did you guys get lost?” she asked with a raised eyebrow.
“Willow was giving me some pointers on things to do with Xander...” Dawn said with a grin. ‘Ha, make fun of me, will you?’ she thought snarkily as Willow sputtered.
“Were you?” Tara asked with a raised eyebrow of her own.
“I...uh...” Willow stammered. Turning to Dawn, she said, “Remember what I said about you being a good person? Well, I take it all back!”
Dawn and Tara shared a laugh.
========== BtVS ========== BtVS ========== BtVS ========== BtVS ========== BtVS ==========
“Hey guys!” Buffy’s voice rang out as the Slayer entered the mansion.
Dawn laughed as Willow squealed, “Buffy’s home!” and jumped up from the couch, throwing herself at the deceptively petite blonde.
She looked at Tara and saw a similar level of excitement in the blonde witch’s eyes, though she didn’t leap at the Slayer as Willow had. “You guys say I’m silly around Xander...” she said, rolling her eyes.
Tara just shrugged, her grin not abating one whit as she rose to greet her lover. “You are,” she said as she walked by Dawn. “I never said we weren’t.”
Dawn smiled indulgently and turned her attention back to the TV while the triad kissed their hellos. ‘They are just too sappy sometimes...’ she thought warmly.
“So where’d you go?” Willow asked as the three of them dropped onto the couch beside Dawn.
“Oh, I went over to Xander’s and hung out for a little while...” Buffy replied.
Dawn stiffened at Buffy’s words. ‘Great!’ she thought, annoyed with her sister. ‘She always makes Xander uncomfortable, cause she’s still not really accepting him and I being together...’
“Oh, that’s nice,” Tara said happily. “You guys haven’t spent much time together just the two of you in a while...”
“Too true, I’ve been the neglectful friend,” Buffy admitted. “Speaking of,” she leaned forward and turned to Dawn and said, “Hey Dawn, can I steal you away from your boyfriend tomorrow?”
‘Hmm, I think that’s the first time she’s actually referred to Xander as my boyfriend...’ Dawn thought pensively. ‘Not sure if that’s good or bad...’ Aloud, she replied, “What for?”
“Well, I thought maybe for your birthday present, I could take you out for a day of shopping?” Buffy asked with a hopeful smile.
“Really?” Dawn asked, her annoyance suddenly taking a back seat to excitement.
“Yep,” Buffy answered with a grin. “Just you and me and the mall.”
“I suppose I could fit that into my busy schedule...” Dawn said, her enthusiastic grin belying any diffidence in her statement.
“Cool!” Buffy chirped. “We’ll do the bonding thing the way sisters should...”
“By spending lots of money!” Dawn completed the thought, smiling happily.
“Absolutely!” Buffy agreed with a laugh.
========== BtVS ========== BtVS ========== BtVS ========== BtVS ========== BtVS ==========
“Come on, come on...” Faith muttered impatiently, staring at the door she’d just knocked on. ‘I could just knock it down...’ she thought as she anxiously waited for it to open.
Turning her head, she looked around the porch and meticulous front yard of the upscale, suburban home she was visiting. The home of Alex and Beth, her increasingly frequent ‘one-night-stand’ lovers.
She whipped around as the door finally opened.
“Faithy!” Beth gushed excitedly. “I thought you were meeting us at the bronze?”
‘Easy Faith, don’t knock down the pretty lady,’ the Slayer thought as she reigned in her impulse to just barge in. “Can I come in?” she asked agitatedly.
Beth’s eyes narrowed unexpectedly. “Since when do you need an invitation?” she asked with a note of suspicion in her voice.
The mood shift caught Faith by surprise and threw her mind off track for a moment. “Huh?” she asked.
Suddenly Alex appeared at the door behind his wife and coldly said, “It’s after sundown Faith.”
Faith looked around once again and saw that it was in fact beginning to get dark. “Right, stupid of me...” she muttered, angry now at herself. “forgot...”
Alex and Beth stepped back, leaving the door open. Their expressions showed mistrust as they waited.
“I’m not a vampire, guys,” Faith said, stepping into the room. “I forgot that you even knew about that stuff...”
The looks of relief and resumed happiness on their faces caused a simultaneous warm, fuzzy feeling and a pang of combined guilt, confusion and sorrow in the dark Slayer’s confused heart.
“Faithy, you had me worried there for a minute,” Beth said with a relieved exhale.
“Me too!” Alex exclaimed.
They moved towards Faith as though to embrace her when she held up her hand to stop them, saying, “We need to talk.”
Looking taken aback, Faith’s two lovers exchanged a worried glance. “Ok,” Alex said, gesturing toward the living room. “Let’s sit down and...talk...”
The couple took a seat on the couch, leaving an obvious space for Faith to join them. “What is it Faith? What’s got you all tied up in knots?” Beth asked softly, her voice filled with genuine concern.
Faith declined to sit, too agitated to even stand in one place, she paced back and forth with the coffee table separating her from the seated couple. After a moment, she stopped, crossed her arms under her chest and blurted, “What do you want from me?”
Alex and Beth looked startled by the question.
“This thing...” Faith continued, pacing once again as the spoke. “This thing with you two...it’s getting outta control!”
Again, silent shock was the only response from the couple on the couch.
“You two are hot, I’m hot- we hook up on the dance-floor, we go back to your place, screw, I go home and shower. That’s the way it works.” Faith stated. “Ok, it happens again a couple weeks later, but that’s it- end of story. I don’t do repeats again and again...I sure as hell don’t fricken make plans...that’s like...like a date or something!”
“Faith...” Alex started, sounding almost sad.
“No! No!” Faith interjected, pointing at him almost accusingly. “You don’t get it, I don’t date! I get some, I get gone! That’s what I do, ok?”
“Did we do something wrong?” Beth asked, her voice quavering and a tear in her eye.
‘It’s a lie!’ Faith shouted to herself, trying to ignore the burning in her stomach that came from seeing Beth near tears. “Why are you doing this?” she demanded, her own voice cracking with emotion. “Why do you keep asking me over here? Why do you keep trying to get me to stay the whole night?” her voice was rising to a shout as she continued, “What do you want from me!?”
“We want you,” Alex said simply. His jaw was clenched as he apparently tried to master his own emotions.
‘It’s a trick! Don’t fall for it!’ Faith’s internal voice yelled. “Want me? You don’t know me, how could you possibly want me?” she hissed, unintentionally letting some of her own insecurity show with her question.
“You’re right,” Alex admitted, sounding defeated. “We don’t.”
“But we want to!” Beth quickly interjected. “We keep hoping...th-that you’ll let us in...even just a little...”
“That’s crap, you don’t want me!” Faith interrupted, feeling angry and confuse and afraid all at the same time. She immediately went on the offensive, shouting, “You just want a screw-toy for the occasional threesome. I was just an easy target.”
“That’s not true!” Alex objected loudly. He immediately dropped his voice and his expression became one of affection as he tried to reassure her, “We were drawn to you Faith...it’s not like...look, there hasn’t been anyone else but you, ok? It’s only you that we want.”
“Only you!” Beth agreed, nodding her head intently.
“Stop it!” Faith screamed. “Stop freaking saying that!”
The couple recoiled in shock at Faith’s vehemence.
“You don’t want me! You don’t know me!” Faith shouted, a look of hatred on her face. “If you knew anything about me you’d never have even looked at me! I’m a freaking mess!”
Faith’s posture became one of defeat as she whispered, “I’m damaged goods, ok? If you knew the truth about me you’d be kicking me out the door so fast...”
“Try us.” Beth said challengingly.
“Huh?” Faith asked, thrown.
“She said try us,” Alex answered. “You might be surprised”
Faith stood silent, the turmoil in her heart spilling over and causing actual physical pain. ‘It’s not real, it can’t be real...’
“Faith, please!” Beth cried softly. “We care about you, please...trust us not to hurt you...”
“That’s right, Faith. We do care about you, and for you...” Alex started to say.
“No...you can’t...” Faith muttered- as much to herself as in response to them. “You can’t care about a murderer...”
‘Oh God, I said it!’ she yelled at herself in horror. The voice of her insecurities sneered at her in response, ‘Now they know, now they’ll shut you out like you deserve. No one will ever love you; not them, and certainly not Buffy. Why did you even bother to think that they could?’
“Oh, Faith,” Beth’s soft voice washed over the dark Slayer.
Faith felt her body and mind harden against the guilt she felt, against the rejection she knew was coming. Instinctively she lashed out, “You care now? Well I don’t. I don’t care at all. I’m not built to care, I’m built to kill- that’s what I do. I’m a killer, you understand?”
In the midst of her fervent rant, she wasn’t even seeing the two people in front of her. She was yelling at herself primarily- her surroundings not really even registering anymore in her fit of self-loathing. “I should be locked up in prison, that’s where I belong, that’s where I was, but I’m such a damn good killer that they let me out when they needed some more killing done!”
“Faith, please don’t...” Alex softly said, reaching out to touch her.
“No!” Faith recoiled from him violently, nearly falling backward over the chair behind her. “No! Don’t freaking touch me! Don’t you get it? I screw and I slay- that’s what I do, that’s all I do, it’s all I’m good for! You’ve had the screw...You keep hanging around me and you’ll end up dead too!”
Full of rage and self-hatred, Faith spun around and ran from the room. She nearly tore the door off of the hinges in her need to escape. Filled with the immediate need to hurt something she headed at full Slayer-speed for the nearest cemetery.
========== BtVS ========== BtVS ========== BtVS ========== BtVS ========== BtVS ==========
“She’s gone...” Alex said, walking back in through the now loose front door. “I think we’re going to have to replace these hinges,” he muttered as he struggled to get the door closed.
“Where did she go?” Beth asked, her voice filled with worry and sadness.
Alex shook his head in wonder as he answered, “I don’t know. God, she’s so fast! By the time I made it past the porch she was already out of sight.”
“Oh God! Alex, what are we going to do?” Beth whispered frantically. “How are we going to get her back?”
Alex wrapped his wife in his arms and held her tight. “I don’t know, Bethy” he admitted. “What ever we come up with, we’d better do it fast!”
Beth nodded silently against his chest. “He made it clear that he wasn’t going to accept failure on our part...”
“Ha, don’t worry about him, my love,” Alex said with a humorless laugh. “That old fool doesn’t know his ass from a hole in the ground.”
“Still,” Beth cautioned. “We are supposed to be working for him...”
“I’m not concerned about him, as much as I am about them!” Alex whispered. “If we can’t get her back- quickly- I’m afraid they’re going to pull us off the case!”
“You think?” Beth asked; her voice filled with worry.
“At the very least!” he whispered with evident fear in his voice. “Maybe even worse...”
She leaned back to meet his eyes and softly gasped, “You mean...?”
“Terminal option...” he answered with a slow nod.
========== BtVS ========== BtVS ========== BtVS ========== BtVS ========== BtVS ==========
========== BtVS ========== BtVS ========== BtVS ========== BtVS ========== BtVS ==========
“Morning Sleepy-head!” Dawn said as she heard Xander enter the kitchen behind her. “Coffee’s ready and I’m just about done making breakfast...”
“Mmf,” he grunted. “Coffee...”
Dawn smiled. ‘Still half-asleep...not surprised after the night you had,’ she thought.
She turned around to look at him, saying, “You feeling any better this...morning...ulp!”
‘Oh mama!’ she thought, licking her lips as she took in the sight.
Xander was pouring a cup of coffee, not an unusual thing to see, but he had entered the room wearing nothing but the boxer shorts he normally slept in.
Dawn began to salivate as she stared at his naked chest and arms while he rapidly downed half a cup of hot coffee. “Screw the scrambled eggs, I want a double helping of Xander for breakfast please!” she said huskily.
“Oh, Hot!” he mumbled, sucking air into his mouth to cool it.
“I’ll say!” Dawn agreed in a lascivious voice.
“Huh?” Xander said, blinking rapidly and focusing on his girlfriend at last.
“Hot! Definitely!” Dawn said as she stepped over to him and pressed against his nearly nude form. She ran her hands around his sides and to his back, rubbing her face against his chest. ‘God you smell good!’ she thought as she kissed and nuzzled his warm skin.
“Oh! Oh my!” Xander squeaked at her unexpected assault.
Dawn kissed between his pectoral muscles for several long seconds, resisting mightily the urge to taste his skin. ‘Oh, somebody’s waking up!’ she thought, forcing herself not to slide her hands down inside his low-slung boxer shorts and take hold of the rapidly awakening part of her love that she could feel stirring against her.
She looked up at his wide eyes and couldn’t help but giggle at his wild bed-hair. “Good morning!” she said once again, this time in a low, seductive voice.
“Um, oh...uh, good morning...” Xander stammered.
“I missed my xandersmoochies last night!” Dawn pouted. She slid her hands up his chest and into his hair, pulling his head down for a kiss. ‘oh good, the coffee killed most of the morning breath,’ she thought as she snaked her tongue past his teeth to twine with his own. ‘Not that that woulda stopped me!’
Dawn again giggled as she stepped away to stir her eggs before they burned. ‘That’ll teach you not to wait up for me!’ she thought at the vision of him, bent partway over, stunned look on his face and partial erection pushing out the front of his boxers. ‘And he still managed to hold onto the coffee cup!’
Xander remained frozen in place for several seconds before coming to his senses. “Unh...oh, um, yeah. Sorry about that,” he mumbled. He turned to the counter and began to pour himself some more coffee. “What time did you get in?” he asked.
“About eleven,” she answered, turning the fire off on the eggs and moving down the counter to get plates. “You were already out when I got home...”
“Um, yeah...I was really tired last night,” he mumbled.
‘Should I, or shouldn’t I?’ she wondered, setting the table in silence as she mulled it over.
‘I should,’ she decided.
Xander sat down as she spooned a little over half of the eggs onto his plate. She dumped the rest on her plate and sat down herself. “So, what happened with Buffy?” she asked.
“What did she say?” he asked, sounding slightly nervous.
“Nothing,” Dawn replied evenly. “In fact, she was in a really good mood when she got back home.” She ate a couple bites of her breakfast before continuing. “She even called you my boyfriend...I’m pretty sure that’s the first time she’s done that, around me at least.”
Xander smiled a little at that. “Yeah, we talked about some stuff...she actually apologized for how she’d been handling you and me being together.”
‘Wow!’ Dawn thought with raised eyebrows. ‘That’s...wow!’
“Yeah, I was shocked too,” Xander said at her stunned look. “She said she was being stupid, and it was clear that we were perfect for each other and then she said she was glad we pushed for it despite the way she acted about it.”
“Xander, that’s awesome!” Dawn said happily. “I know how much it hurt you that she was acting like that.”
His eyes widened in surprise, then he smiled sheepishly. “I can’t get anything past you, can I?” he said ruefully.
Dawn laughed. “I don’t know why you even try anymore,” she answered lightly.
“I wonder that myself sometimes,” he mumbled, half smiling, half frowning.
They continued to eat in comfortable silence for a minute before Dawn asked, “So, how did she go and ruin it?”
“Ruin it?” Xander asked pretending surprise.
Dawn rolled her eyes. “Please, didn’t we just go over this?” she remonstrated. “You were asleep at eleven on a Friday night- never happens. You didn’t wait up for me- that never happens.” Her voice softened and grew concerned as she added, “Plus, you had nightmares last night, worse than you have in months!”
He looked down, but a small smile played across his mouth. “I have this vague memory of waking up, terrified, only to find myself in the arms of a beautiful Angel...” His voice grew dreamy sounding as he continued, “She held me and stroked my hair...she whispered to me, telling me I was going to be alright...”
Dawn blushed and ducked her head as Xander sighed dramatically and asked, “What do you think? Did you see any angels running around the apartment last night?”
‘Xander...God, you make me feel so special sometimes!’ Dawn thought, warm shivers running through her body.
“I think...,” she began with a warm smile. “I think that you’re avoiding the question.”
Xander chuckled a little. “Well, maybe...just a little.” His grin morphed into a genuinely happy smile as he said, “Thank you Dawn.”
Dawn’s answering smile was tender and loving. “You’re welcome, Xan.” Her smile shrank into an impish grin and she added, “Now, answer the question.”
Xander grimaced and said, “She started asking why we hadn’t moved. Then she noticed that I haven’t really spent any of the money that she and the girls gave us...”
“Oh!” Dawn said, visceral realization setting in.
“Yeah, I kinda freaked out and started babbling...I thought I was so busted...” Xander continued.
Dawn’s stomach rumbled at the thought. ‘God I can imagine...he must have been so scared!’ She got up and went over to sit on her boyfriend’s lap, holding him tight and burying her face in his neck. “Oh, my poor baby...it must have felt horrible! But, what happened then? I mean, she was totally cool when she got back home...like nothing had happened.”
“I dunno!” Xander said, shaking his head slightly and giving her a squeeze. “She just dropped it! She said something about details, and not wanting to know, and then she was all, ‘oh it’s getting late, I gotta go!’ but not like she was running from the subject or anything...she just dropped it like it was no big deal!”
‘My poor sweetie!’ Dawn thought. ‘God, I still get cold chills at the thought that Buffy might find out about me shooting those two knights...’
“After she left I went an threw up, took a shower and stuff and went straight to bed,” he recounted. “I was so wiped! I felt like I’d been in a fight with a room full of vamps all by myself...and lost big-time!”
“God, you must have slept for, like, twelve hours straight!” Dawn whispered in surprise.
Xander shook his head. “Oh no, I’m pretty sure I woke up screaming about every hour or so...” he pulled back far enough to look down into Dawn’s eyes. “That is, until my Angel came down from heaven to rescue me.”
‘I am so in love with you Xander Harris!’ Dawn thought ardently.
“Thank you for putting up with me, Dawn,” Xander said softly as he stared into her eyes.
Dawn frowned slightly. ‘Putting up with you?’ she thought, not understanding what he was saying.
He dropped his gaze slightly as he continued, “I know you’ve been frustrated...I know it hasn’t been easy...waiting for me...”
She cupped his cheek and tilted his head back up until he met her gaze. “I would wait forever for you Xander...I mean, I don’t *want* to wait another second, let alone forever, but I would...I’ll wait for as long as it takes...you’re more than worth it!”
‘Mmm, that smile! It just makes my heart melt...’ she thought as warmth burst out in her chest. ‘Ooh, melts right down into my panties...’ she added as the warm feeling headed south.
“I promise, it won’t be forever...” Xander whispered.
‘No, it just feels like forever,’ Dawn thought, feeling a pang of guilt for her impatience combining with the lust that came with proximity to Xander.
“I love you, Dawn!” Xander’s soft voice carried a note of intensity that belied its volume.
She was so worked up that she nearly missed it. ‘I just wish...wait a minute...’
Dawn blinked furiously for a second, stammering, “You, I...what?”
“I love you!” he repeated, his voice louder now.
‘I’m on fire!’ Dawn’s mind cried; stunned at the throbbing heat that was racing through her veins.
“L-love?” she squeaked, a smile of epic proportions growing on her face. “You...?”
Xander smiled happily back at her and pronounced, “I, Xander Harris, am completely, head-over-heels in love with you, Dawn Summers!”
‘I knew it!’ her mind exulted. At the same time her heart was pounding, her breath was coming in pants and the fire in her veins was continuing unabated. She began kissing him as though she were trying to quench the fire with his mouth.
What started out fierce, transformed in to the warmest, softest, sweetest kiss they had ever shared. When it finally ended an eternity later, Dawn rested her forehead against his and wept with joy. “Oh God, Xander I love you so much!” she cried. “I love you, I love you, I love you, I love you!”
“So you have at least some fondness for me, then,” Xander quipped with his characteristically goofy grin.
Dawn laughed exultantly.
He sobered slightly and said, “Dawn, I really am sorry that things have been frustrating for you. I...it’s really important to me that we do things right.”
“Hey...” she replied softly at the sad look in his eyes. She gently cupped his cheeks once again and stared into his eyes as she said, “I’m on board here. I won’t lie and say I haven’t gotten frustrated and impatient...I know you have too.” She grinned at his blush. “Unlike me, you leave a little more ‘evidence’ of your frustration...” she teased, deliberately provoking an even deeper blush. “Seriously, though. I meant what I said- you’re worth the wait. I want us both to be absolutely sure.”
‘Of course, I’m already there...’ she thought. ‘I’m really sure...waaay sure! If I was any more sure, I’d be a stick of deodorant...’
“Dawn, we’re both pretty young, as humans go anyway. A lot of people would say we’re way too young to be thinking like this...but you grow up pretty damn fast on a hellmouth...we’ve both seen stuff most people never see, no matter how long they live. We’ve both done stuff that most people will never do as long as they live...” Xander said hoarsely.
She stroked his hair reassuringly as he spoke. ‘We’ve both suffered for it too,’ she thought in understanding of his point.
“Whether we live another year, or a hundred years...” he started again.
“I’ll take the hundred, please,” Dawn interjected, feeling a pang of anticipated sorrow at the thought of losing him.
He smiled at that, but continued, “Either way, I want this to be the last relationship I’m ever in...It’s that important to me...you’re that important to me, Dawn.
The youngest Summers again felt tears start at her eyes. ‘Could you possibly be any sweeter?’ she wondered.
“Please believe me Xander, I feel exactly the same way...” she replied with a wide smile. “I know a fifteen year-old shouldn’t be able to imagine their entire future, but I see it. And there’s no part of it that’s Xander-free...”
“A Xanderful future?” he said with a laugh.
“All Xander, all the time!” she laughed back.
He pulled her into another lingering kiss and she thought, ‘I’m pretty sure this is the most wonderful day of my short little life! And as much as I’d love to sit here and make out all morning...’
Dawn pulled away with a whimper and said, “Unless you plan on tearing my clothes off and making an honest woman out of me...” she pressed herself down against Xander’s semi-erection, eliciting a groan from her boyfriend. “I have to go get ready for Buffy...”
She gave him one more quick peck on the lips and then got up out of his lap.
“You are an evil woman, Dawn Summers!” he whined.
Dawn stepped back with a laugh and took a moment to look at her love. ‘Mmm, mussed up hair...bulgy muscles...bulging underwear! Damn you look sexy!’
“You need to shower and get dressed, Mr. Man!” She said teasingly. “I love Buffy, but there’s no way I’m sharing this with her, sister or not!” she added, gesturing at Xander’s body.
“Aww,” Xander mock-pouted.
“Nope, she missed her shot years ago,” Dawn laid down the law. “This hunk of manly goodness is all mine now.”
Xander stood up and stretched his arms up and back, his body like a drawn bow. When he relaxed back upright, he winked at her and said, “Hmm, not yet...”
Dawn shuddered when he stroked her cheek and ran his fingers back through her hair. He leaned forward almost as if to kiss her and she could feel his warm breath on her face as he continued his thought; “...but soon!”
Then he walked away toward his bedroom.
Dawn stood still for several moments, trying to regain her equilibrium. ‘Evil, evil man!’ she thought before heading for her own bedroom to change her underwear.
========== BtVS ========== BtVS ========== BtVS ========== BtVS ========== BtVS ==========
“Almost there...” Faith muttered as she approached the entrance to her apartment building. She was stumbling, stopping every few steps to lean against the brick façade, needing a few breaths before she could motivate her battered body forward once again.
“Unh, crap!” she grunted through clenched teeth as she took too deep a breath. ‘Damn, I think I cracked a few ribs...those Fyarl demons pack a wicked punch!’ she thought, wincing at the pain.
‘Just get to bed...sleep for a couple days...I’ll be fine,’ She thought, trying to motivate herself to start forward again. ‘I so kicked their asses though! Who needs B and the superwitches?’
Not two steps from the door, her right knee gave away, dropping her to the ground for the fifth time on her trip home. “Ssss! Damn it!” she hissed as the impact caused pain to spike through every joint in her body. The taste of blood as she licked her lips let her know that one of the cuts on her face was still bleeding. “Ok,” she mumbled as she painfully rolled to her side to try and push herself up against the wall. “Maybe I could have used a hand...”
‘Still, they’re all dead; and I’m alive...mostly,’ she thought as she pushed up with her good leg, ignoring the pain shooting through her thigh. ‘Sonofabith had to go and hit me with the fricken table!’ she groused angrily, remembering when one of the demons had torn a table top from a booth and swung it her. ‘If I’d just jumped a little higher!’ she lamented. The far corner of the table had clipped her just two inches above her bent knee as she lept, breaking the corner off of the wood and spinning her into a midair flip that ended with her forehead smashing his- right between his ram-like horns. The resulting impact had left her stunned and the Fyarl unconscious.
‘Too bad one of the others got a good one in while I was shaking that off,’ she thought. That had been the blow that sent her ten meters across the room and cracked her ribs.
She took several shallow breaths and gingerly put weight on the bad leg, leaning against the wall in case it gave out again. “Come on, two steps to the door, then five or so to the elevator, then ‘bout ten more to the apartment...” she once again tried to pep-talk her body into motion. “I could just collapse inside the door there and crawl to bed...hell, I could just sleep right there on the floor.”
The knee held and Faith made it to the door. The glare of the rising sun through the lobby windows and the glass door before her made her wince. ‘Damn, that was a long walk!’ she thought. ‘I’m pretty sure it was around 2 am when I left Willey’s...’
The twinge in her back and shoulder as she pulled the door open actually struck her as funny. She chuckled weakly and muttered, “Damn, I haven’t been in a fight like that since...” the humor of the situation leached away as she finished the thought. “Not since B put me in a coma.”
Her agitation over the memories that arose with that thought distracted her from the task at hand and she stepped forward without thinking. She actually made it half way to the elevators when her knee again gave out and she pitched forward, knocking over a standing ashtray as she crashed to the floor.
“Sonofa*bitch*!” she shouted over the crash of metal. She was showered with sand and ash and cigarette butts as she hit the floor with a loud grunt. Tears of pain and frustration filled her eyes as she rolled onto her side.
“Faithy?” a tremulous voice sounded out, startling the Slayer.
Faith looked up at the bench which graced the wall opposite of the elevators and saw the horrified faces of Alex and Beth staring back at her. Wet cigarette ash and sand stung her eyes as she began to cry softly. “Aww, Dammit!” she whispered weekly as her mortification added to her physical pain, stealing away the last bit of her strength.
“Aww, lassie...look what they’ve they done to you...” she heard Alex’s grief-filled voice quietly cry as her consciousness slipped away.
========== BtVS ========== BtVS ========== BtVS ========== BtVS ========== BtVS ==========
“Oh my God, that was so much fun!” Dawn said, dropping handfuls of bags to the floor by the table Buffy had picked out.
“I know! I missed power-shopping...” Buffy said with a happy smile as she set their mocha’s down and sat across from Dawn.
“Being able to try everything on and actually buy everything you like!” Dawn gushed. “I’m still so used to having to pick just one thing...it still feels weird.”
“But, good weird, right?” Buffy smirked.
“Oh yeah! I think I’ll finally be able to fill my closet!” Dawn said happily.
“Are you really going to wear that stuff to school?” Buffy asked. “I mean, you didn’t get any jeans, or t-shirts, or anything like that. It’s all skirts and dressy stuff...”
“Well why not?” Dawn asked.
“I dunno...I guess I always thought you were more into the comfy-casual look...” Buffy said hesitantly. “This stuff’s kinda more of a Cordelia-look...”
“Hey, a girl could do worse than to look like Cordelia Chase in high-school...” Dawn defended. “I wouldn’t want to *be* like Cordelia, but she sure knew how to dress.”
“I guess...” Buffy allowed.
Dawn took a drink of her mocha and then casually added, “Besides...I’m kind of going for a little more sophisticated look.”
Buffy smiled at that. “You mean you’re going for an ‘older’ look, right?”
“Hmm, I hadn’t really thought of that...” Dawn answered nonchalantly. “I suppose it might seem a little more mature...”
“Uh huh,” Buffy said, her smile indicating that she wasn’t fooled.
‘Ok, busted,’ Dawn thought with an embarrassed grin. “Well, I don’t want Xander to feel uncomfortable when we’re out together...” Her grin turned sly as she added, “Besides, I look *good* in those clothes.”
“I never thought I’d hear myself say this, but...” Buffy began.
“But...?”
“You did look good in those...sexy even,” Buffy said.
“Thank you, Buffy!” Dawn said. ‘Wow, an actual compliment...who’da’thunkit?’
“I think you’re still going to make him uncomfortable...” the Slayer added in a muttered voice.
“Yeah, but in a good way!” Dawn giggled.
“Ugh,” Buffy said with a bit of a grimace. “Look; you and Xan are like mom and Giles...I mean, I’m totally supporto gal here...”
“As long as I don’t tell you any of the intimate details...I know.” Dawn said with an understanding smile. “Don’t worry, mom gave me the same speech.”
“I want you to know, Dawn...” Buffy began in a more serious voice. “I really am happy for you. I don’t ever remember you being happier than you have been lately.”
“He told me he loves me this morning,” Dawn said with a dreamy look of joy.
Buffy’s eyes widened. “Really? This morning was the first time?” she all but squealed.
Dawn nodded, a blissful smile still gracing her face. “His exact words were, ‘I, Xander Harris, am completely, head-over-heels in love with you, Dawn Summers!’ I almost cried!”
“Wow. That’s just...wow!” Buffy said, sounding a bit stunned. “Well, that certainly explains why you’ve been all walking-on-cloud-nine this morning.”
Dawn laughed. “Between that and power-shopping...There’s only a couple things I can think of that would be even more fun than this!”
“Whoa, I don’t need to know,” Buffy quickly interjected, holding up her hands as if to ward off an attack.
Dawn laughed. ‘You’re too easy,’ she thought. ‘I have this image of your face after I tell you some really graphic, x-rated thing that Xander would do to me...someday when he actually does something x-rated and graphic...’
They drank coffee in silence for several moments.
“Dawn, can I ask you something,” Buffy started tentatively.
“Sure Buff,” Dawn said, frowning slightly at her sister’s hesitancy. “What’s the what?”
“Have you guys been thinking about moving...um, away?” Buffy asked uneasily.
“Away?” Dawn asked, somewhat confused. “You mean away...from Sunnydale?”
“I mean, it would be totally ok if you were...I mean, who would want to stay in demon central if they didn’t have to? I know I sure wouldn’t...” Buffy began babbling.
“Whoa, Buffy...” Dawn interjected. “I think Willow’s rubbing...” she paused with a grimace as she realized where that analogy was going. “And there’s pretty much no way that that was going to not sound dirty...anyway; you were babbling.”
‘Not unlike myself,’ she thought self-deprecatingly.
“Well, I just...I’m just asking,” Buffy said softly. “I didn’t want you to think I’d be mad or anything if you were.”
“Buffy, why would you think that we would be leaving Sunnydale?” Dawn asked, now truly confused.
“Well...I-I was talking to Xander yesterday...”
‘The money,’ Dawn realized immediately. ‘Crap, how do I get out of this?’
“...and I noticed that he hadn’t really spent any of the money that you guys got...and then what you said just now, that you’d finally be able to fill your closet...” Buffy explained.
“So you thought we might not be spending the money because we were planning on leaving town,” Dawn interjected, summing up what Buffy was implying.
“Well, yeah...kinda,” Buffy said sheepishly.
Dawn shook her head sadly. ‘Man, she really has no clue about Xander. It’s too bad that I can’t make her see the truth...’
“What?” Buffy whined as Dawn shook her head in silence.
“Not counting your trip to Jamaica, what have *you* guys done with the money?” Dawn asked with a wry smile.
Buffy recoiled in surprise at the question. “We, um...well...” she pondered for several moments before coming to a conclusion. “Oh, I know! We decorated the mansion,” she said with a ‘so-there’ smirk.
“Buffy, you decorated two rooms,” Dawn corrected. “Wiccaworld and the living room; and it’s not like you went all-out on either of them.” She laughed at the crestfallen look on her sister’s face before continuing, “Face it, none of us are used to having money. Look at mom and Giles, they’re still in his little loft apartment, Faith hasn’t moved out of her place...though she did buy about a cattle-herd’s worth of leather...”
“I guess you’re right...” Buffy said, sounding discomfited.
“What is it really?” Dawn asked. “Is it really about the money, or is it that you’re worried about us leaving? We aren’t leaving you, Buffy. That’s never gonna happen,” she explained; her voice a combination of consolation and ‘Duh!’
“I dunno, Dawn. I guess...I...It just feels weird, somehow,” Buffy mumbled, bewildered. “I guess part of me thinks you guys should go; get away from the hellmouth and be safe...but part of me wants to keep you close, where I feel like I can protect you.”
“Away doesn’t guarantee we’d be safe, Buffy,” Dawn said gently. “And close doesn’t guarantee that you can protect us from everything.”
“This conversation is rapidly becoming depressing,” Buffy said with a pout.
Dawn laughed. ‘Buffy Summers, Ms. Short Attention-Span 2000’ she thought. “Well, I know a good cure for that,” she answered her sister’s complaint.
“What?” Buffy asked, clearly eager for a change of subject.
“More shopping, of course!” Dawn laughed. “I want to hit Victoria’s Secret for sure!”
Buffy’s smile at the prospect of more shopping changed to a look of horror at the thought of that store.
Dawn laughed even harder at her sister’s cringe. “Ha, deal with it Slayer, I’m gonna get some sexy outfits so I can seduce my man!”
“Ach, Dawnie! Absolutely not!” Buffy whined.
“Don’t worry Buffy, I’m sure we can find you something nice to make your Mistress salivate...” she added, knowing Buffy’s weaknesses...
“I...well...” Buffy temporized.
“And I’d bet we could find a nice prezzie for Willow that will make you salivate...” Dawn continued with a smirk.
“Ok,” Buffy said, quickly gathering up bags.
‘And they say *men* are easy...’ Dawn thought with a chuckle.
========== BtVS ========== BtVS ========== BtVS ========== BtVS ========== BtVS ==========
“Buffy’s going to be mad that she missed this!” Willow said, licking the barbeque sauce off of her lips with relish.
“Hmm...well, we’ll just have to do it again, soon!” Tara answered, her own tongue sweeping the dark sauce from her pink lips.
They were sitting on a blanket in the courtyard of the mansion. Having seen a commercial for ribs on TV, Willow had suggested take out from an old favorite of hers and Xander’s that she hadn’t indulged in since before meeting Tara. When she had returned with the food, she found her girlfriend had set up an impromptu picnic for them.
‘Oh my...’ Willow thought, suppressing a shudder as she watched her lover. ‘I’m thinking that by the time we finish these ribs, I’m going to be a sticky mess! In more ways than one!’
“How can a town so evil have barbeque this good!?” Tara moaned as she slurped and chewed at the rib in her hands.
Willow paused in her own consumption of pork goodness to answer, “I think even the vampires leave Redhill alone. It’s been the same guy there for as long as I can remember.”
“Dawnie’s going to have to add this to her list...” Tara mumbled through a mouth full of meat.
“Um...her list?” Willow asked, distracted by the sounds her lover was making as she tore into her lunch.
“Yeah...you know...her list of...what men are good for?” the blonde witch mumbled as she finished off the meaty rib in her hands.
‘Goddess!’ Willow’s mind began swimming with images of naked Tara-flesh as her lover loudly sucked the last bit of sauce from the bone in her hand. “Uh...right...good for...” she mumbled, not sure what she was saying, and not caring either.
“Because these are absolutely amazing!” Tara went on, picking up another rib and attacking it with gusto.
“Amazing!” Willow parroted, dropping the half-eaten rib in her hand to the plate in front of her.
Tara paused her assault, swallowing what was in her mouth with a loud gulp. She moved her hands down as she frowned and asked, “Willow? What’s wrong?”
The smear of barbeque sauce covering Tara’s mouth and sweeping from her lips almost onto one cheek was the last straw. Willow fairly leapt across the blanket, tackling the surprised witch to the ground.
“Willow!” Tara screamed in surprise. It was the last thing she said before the redhead began licking and sucking at her sauce-covered mouth. Sticky hands tore open the blonde’s shirt as Willow’s lust overcame her.
‘Goddess, taste so good!’ Willow thought as she feasted on her lover’s mouth. Her hands made a trail of saucy residue down Tara’s torso, and she followed it with her tongue, nipping and sucking at the blonde’s flesh hungrily.
“Goddess, Willow!” Tara shouted again, this time an answering tone of desire coloring her voice.
Willow’s hands frantically worked at opening Tara’s jeans while the redhead nibbled on turgid nipples and soft breasts. ‘Oh so good, so yummy, so Tara!’ she thought over and over as she dined on tasty witch-skin.
When she finally opened the denim barrier between her and her goal, Willow yanked Tara’s pants and panties down to her ankles. Not bothering to fight with Tara’s shoes, Willow lifted the blonde witches feet and pushed up, spreading her legs at the knees. She quickly moved into the opening, uncaring that Tara’s denim-bound feet fell to rest on the redhead’s lower back.
Tara’s voice was reduced to moans of pleasure as Willow tasted her treasure. The powerful witch put her other magical talents to use; slurping and sucking at Tara’s wet flesh, making noises reminiscent of the lunch sounds that had set her off in the first place.
Tara met the sonic challenge; deep grunts and loud cries of “Harder! More!” escaping her lips.
Willow barely felt her lover’s hands in her hair, pulling her head tightly against the witch’s dripping need. She barely felt it because she was herself pressing deeply into Tara, as though trying to reach the depths of her very soul with her straining tongue.
Tara’s shrieking orgasm flooded Willow’s mouth with the succulent essence she had been seeking, and she drank it as though it were ambrosia itself.
Tara’s hands pulled at her hair, leading her up till she was face to face with the blonde witch.
Panting, Tara huffed, “What...was that!?”
Willow grinned widely, not at all ashamed of her behavior. “You and those ribs!” she said with a shrug. “I couldn’t help myself!”
“Wait a minute!” Tara exclaimed with a look of shocked realization. “Is this why you stopped going to Redhill with Xander?”
‘Oops, busted!’ Willow thought with a laugh.
========== BtVS ========== BtVS ========== BtVS ========== BtVS ========== BtVS ==========
========== BtVS ========== BtVS ========== BtVS ========== BtVS ========== BtVS ==========
“...Willies Place?” a softly spoken question caught Faith’s attention.
“Huh?” she groggily asked, blinking her eyes open.
“You were talking about Willey’s place...Is that where you got hurt?” a familiar woman’s voice gently asked.
Faith again tried to open her eyes only to find one of them working. “Who...Sssss!” she hissed in pain as she turned her head to try and see who was speaking.
“Shh, slowly baby...move slowly. You’re pretty banged up Faithy,” Beth said, wearing a quiet smile.
‘Blurry smile...’ Faith thought, still trying to focus. “Unh...Beth?”
“I’m right here Faithy!” Beth said intently.
Faith tensed at the feel of Beth's fingers in her hair, but the touch was so gentle that there was no pain. ‘Mmm...s’nice...’ she thought, relaxing slightly. Blinking her working eye rapidly, Faith again looked at her sometimes lover and whispered, “Blurry...can’t see too good...”
“Well, your left eye is swollen shut, and you right eye is still pretty blood-crusted...” Alex’s voice rolled out.
“We didn’t want to push too hard when we were cleaning you off and hurt you worse,” Beth said simply. “Here, I’ll drip some eyewash in, blink really fast,” she instructed.
Faith began to blink her eye as rapidly as she could when a cool liquid stream hit it. She could feel a soft cloth against the side of her face catching the liquid and keeping it from running down into her ear.
“Close your eye, Faithy, I’ll blot it off,” Beth said softly.
“Hmmm,” Faith hummed as the cloth was gently blotted against her eye. She felt a twinge from her aching jaw when she clenched her teeth to try and keep from crying. The care and concern evident in Beth’s voice and touch was starting to make her emotional.
“Why are you guys here?” she croaked out. ‘Damn I hurt!’ she thought as even the effort of speaking brought pain to her aching muscles.
“We live here Faith,” Alex said.
Blinking her eye open Faith gingerly moved her head to see that she was indeed in her sometime lovers’ bedroom. “Why?” she asked with a rattling sigh.
“Faith...” Beth began, her voice tremulous. “Faith, you were hurt...”
Even though it was agonizing, Faith laughed at that...“You think?” she asked sardonically. “Look, I don’t need your pity...”
“Dammit Faith!” Beth said angrily. She stood up and Faith felt a twinge of guilt at the look of hurt and confusion on the lithe beauty’s face. “I don’t understand why you’re so angry with us! I don’t know what we did wrong...” she cried plaintively. Her voice hardened as she went on, though. “And, right now I don’t care. You’re staying here until you get better, and I don’t want to hear any argument about it!”
‘Damn, she’s a fiery little thing!’ Faith thought, guilt and lust warring for dominance in her head and heart.
“Now, I’m going to go make you some soup- you lay there and...” Beth’s determined voice cracked and a choked-sob escaped her lips. She close her eyes and turned away, virtually fleeing the room.
‘Aww Dammit!’ Faith thought guiltily.
“You know, Faith...” Alex’s voice was soft and caring. He took her hand in his as he sat down on the edge of the bed before continuing. “We were really worried about you when you ran off yesterday.”
Unable to meet his gaze, Faith looked away. “Shoulda just let it go Alex,” she said in a defeated voice. “I ain’t worth the hassle, believe me.”
He sat in silence for several moments, just holding her hand in his, ever-so-gently stroking his thumb across the backs of her knuckles. Finally he spoke quietly, “I get that you don’t trust people much. I don’t know what happened...but it’s pretty obvious that the world hasn’t been too kind to you Faith.”
‘That’s a freaking understatement,’ Faith thought bitterly.
“But you can trust us Faith,” he continued, his voice earnest and intense. “You may not yet, but we’re planning on sticking around long enough to prove it to you!”
“You’ll just get hurt. It’s what I do...I hurt people, I even kill,” Faith whispered wretchedly. “You hang around me...try to, ‘care about’ me...I guarantee I’ll hurt you.”
“Guess what Faith,” he replied gently. “It’s too late. We already care about you...and you’ve already hurt us.”
Faith looked back at him with a frown. ‘Huh?’ she thought, confused.
He had a soft smile on his face as he looked at her. “Running away? Us finding you so badly beaten...that hurts, Faith. Bethy was in tears all day until you finally woke up!”
Faith closed her eye, spilling a tear as guilt pangs made her tender abdominals clench painfully.
“And look,” he continued. “We’re still here.” He gently picked up her hand and brought it to his lips, closing his eyes and ever-so-softly kissing the swollen knuckles. “We still care about you.”
Hot tears began spilling from Faith’s eyes, stinging the cuts on her face and her swollen eyelid on her left eye.
“Chances are that you’ll hurt us again, and we may hurt you too...that’s life sometimes; but we’re not going to let you push us away Faith.” He finished firmly.
‘This can’t be happening,’ Faith thought in disbelief and distrust.
He set her hand down as gently as he’d picked it up, and then he stood up and walked to the door, saying, “You think about that...I’m going to go help Bethy put together something for you to eat.”
Hot tears streamed down Faith’s cheeks. ‘This can’t be real...can it?’
========== BtVS ========== BtVS ========== BtVS ========== BtVS ========== BtVS ==========
‘Great googly moogly, that’s a hot outfit!’ Xander thought for the hundredth time as he watched his girlfriend ring the bell at casa del triad.
“Xander!” Dawn said, rolling her eyes at him with just a little annoyance in her tone.
‘Yeah right,’ Xander thought. ‘Like you didn’t hope for exactly this reaction...’ Shaking his head with a rueful grin, he said, “What can I say, you look amazing!” he explained.
Invited to an unexpected Scooby meeting, Dawn had decided to wear one of the new outfits that she had acquired on her birthday present/shopping expedition with Buffy. The top was purple, with a reasonably-modest shallow V-neck and three-quarter length sleeves. However, it was made of a stretchy silk blend that hugged every curve. The front was sewn with an elastic seam right down the middle that pulled the material into horizontal puckers that ran from side to side all the way up the front. This served to emphasize the flatness of her stomach and the fullness of her breasts in a way that had Xander salivating when she first modeled it for him. The top was accentuated by form-fitting jeans in shiny black glove-leather. The outside seam of the jeans was split the last eight inches or so to flare out over black boots with a tapered box toe and four inch heels.
The way she stepped into his side and laid her head on his shoulder told him her true feelings. He wrapped his arm around her and let his hand fall on her hip- almost, but not quite, cupping her ass. “I can’t decide if I love the top or the pants more...” he said in a low voice.
“Hmm, from the way you keep touching my butt, I’m gonna say it’s the pants...” she teased him lightly.
‘Man, I really love this girl!’ he thought with a light blush and a big grin. “Now, now; you shouldn’t rush to judgment on something like that Dawn,” he refuted. “I can get away with this in public,” he said with a gentle pat of the hand. “If I touched your top the way I’ve been imagining, I could get in trouble...”
“Pervert!” Dawn admonished, bumping him with her hip as if to push him away, but with far too little force to be taken seriously.
‘I love the way you blush!’ he thought happily. “Yeah, I’ll have to work on that...” he whispered into her ear, following it up with a tiny nip to the lobe.
“Xander!” Dawn again protested, this time with more frustrated desire than annoyance.
“OK you two cut that out!” Buffy’s voice interrupted Xander’s teasing.
‘Oh man, how distracted am I?’ Xander thought with a rueful grin. ‘I didn’t even notice the door opening!’
“Spoilsport!” Dawn said with no real rancor.
“Wow, that outfit looks great on you!” Willow said, appearing at Buffy’s side.
“Thanks!” Dawn gushed.
‘Oh my God, I think Willow’s checking Dawn out!’ Xander thought as Willow looked his girlfriend up and down while sporting a hungry look.
“Xander, you are a lucky man...” the redhead said softly without taking her eyes off Dawn.
The witch seemed to realize what she was doing as her eyes widened and she shot a quick glance toward the Slayer before shaking her head and saying, “Well, come on...we should get started.”
“Yeah, don’t stand out there all night,” Buffy added before turning to follow her lover.
Both Xander and Dawn stood in place for a moment before moving to enter the mansion.
“Is it just me, or was Willow checking you out?” Xander whispered into Dawn’s ear, only half teasing.
“Um, I think so...” Dawn said in a surprised voice. <