Title: Passing Indifference
Author: Lowdeen
Disclaimer: The characters and show all belong to Joss Whedon, Fox, and Mutant Enemy. The story contains love between two women, so if such things offend you, don't read it and upset yourself.
Spoilers:Up to and including the fourth season
Author's Notes: This is a sequel to "Passing Time." I just hope it measures up as well.
Rating: R

Faith wandered all over the west coast, never staying in a town or city for more than a week at the most. She hitched rides with truckers, complete strangers, basically whoever would take her on as an extra passenger. And during her travels, she dusted vampires, laid waste to demons, and did her part to fight the nasty things that came out at night, not only because she was the slayer and it was her job but also because she needed money and the bad guys always seemed to carry some. In that way at least, she profited from destiny and she never went hungry. But the thing was, she was also miserable the entire time too. In the beginning, she foolishly thought that the pain would pass. It didn't. There was a hole in her chest that never seemed to close. She knew exactly why the feeling enveloped her so completely but she wasn't ready to deal with it just yet. She had been tempted on endless occasions to go back to Sunnydale or to pick up the phone and call back. Each and every time, she backed down, unable to face the situation she'd left behind. And, not only that, she also harbored doubts as to her welcome should she decide to go back. It wasn't on the best of terms with which Sunnydale and she had parted ways but that wasn't what she was really worried about.. She'd never much cared about other people's opinions, mainly because she'd never cared for other people. But that was the exact opposite when it came to Buffy. Everything was different when it came to Buffy.

When it came down to it though, Faith just decided one day that it was time to go back. It took her a couple of days to actually get back and during that time, it was pure torture as the different potential scenarios of her reception played through her mind. As she stepped foot in the town for the first time in several months, it was almost akin to stepping back into a dream that she thought she'd abandoned a long time ago. One of the advantages of dying was the anonymity it garnered. Granted, not too many people came back to take advantage of it but for Faith, it worked out perfectly. People that thought they recognized her attributed it to nothing more than seeing things. Of course, there weren't many people that recognized her in the first place.

She didn't want to go right up to Buffy and announce she was back so she did what came naturally. She scoped out the situation beforehand. The first time she caught sight of the blonde, her heart sped up almost as if it knew something important was fast approaching. Apparently, Buffy still lived in the dorm and she was still as achingly beautiful as the memory ingrained in Faith's mind. She followed her, unable to tear her eyes away, nearly walking into class with the blonde before catching herself. Moving down the hall a few steps, she tried bringing her breathing back to normal and succeeded somewhat. It seemed that her body still reacted with a mind of its own when it came to Buffy Summers.

For the rest of the day, she maintained a fair amount of distance when watching the other girl. It was as if nothing had changed for either of them. Faith still felt as if her world revolved around Buffy cause even when she hiked a hundred miles to get away, her mind was still on the other slayer. She couldn't move on with her life no matter how hard she tried because her life was here and no amount of distance could change that fact. As for Buffy, she still acted the role of a normal young woman, going about the college routine. And it was with a fair amount of dismay that she realized Buffy was also back on the dating scene. There was no mistaking the look that lit up the other girl's eyes when Mystery Hunk appeared and pulled her into a loose hug. She was on the cusp right now, ready to take the swan dive from intense affection to new love. Faith really wanted to turn away from the scene but a masochistic fascination held her eyes glued. He was really a looker, she had to give him that. Had that whole air of tortured art student written all over him. Kinda looked like Angel but without the ever present scowl and all-black ensemble. All in all, Buffy had managed to hook herself another "normal" guy that had definite hunkadelic assets. You'd think that type grew on trees around here.

Faith didn't follow Buffy into patrol, afraid that with her senses heightened and on alert, the blonde would discover someone following her in the first half hour. Instead, the brunette waited at the Bronze. There was a 50/50 chance that Buffy and her friends would come here and since she'd already spied Xander and his girl seated at one of the tables, she thought, and rightly so, that the odds were in her favor. Buffy arrived an hour later and Mystery Hunk came in a few minutes after that. Faith was really starting to think that he resembled his namesake, the hunk of Mystery Meat that appeared on cafeteria menus across the country. Faith didn't really know what made him tick but she had an overwhelming desire to stick a fork in him irregardless. It was a stupid analogy but that's what he reminded her of more and more. Turning away before she made good on that desire, she walked out the door. She should've expected it. Buffy never could stay single for more than a few weeks at a time.

It wasn't so much that she was jealous because she honestly wasn't. At least not in the seeing red, I'm gonna kill the little bastard jealousy mode. She hadn't come back, hoping to win Buffy over so they could live happily ever after. That dream just wasn't going to come true so instead, she was content to settle for Buffy's friendship. And part of being friends was the desire to see that they were happy. So Faith wasn't jealous but neither was she clapping her hands and leading the cheering squad. She wasn't a saint after all so how could she be expected to act like one.

"Faith?"

She froze at the sound of her own name spoken by that familiar voice that graced her mind almost every night. She hadn't planned for them to meet for at least a few more days until she got acclimated again but obviously that plan was now out the window. Quickly spinning around, she smiled. "Buffy, what's up?"

"What's up? We don't see each other for three months and the first thing out of your mouth when you get back is 'What's up'?"

"It's pretty neutral, don't you think?" Spotting Mystery Hunk walking up behind Buffy, she greeted him with as much enthusiasm as she could muster. "Hi."

"Hello." He waited expectantly for Buffy to introduce her friend but instead got shoved ignominiously back in the direction of the club's entrance with a promise to see him the next day. Grabbing Faith's arm in a tight grasp, Buffy led the other girl away.

****

Three months ago, when Faith had said she was leaving Sunnydale, a good part of her refused to acknowledge it. Even after it became clear that Faith had definitely left, that part of her still refused to let go and it stood up and cheered now that the other slayer was back. The rest of her wasn't cheering though and she let Faith know it.

"What are you doing back here? What do you want this time Faith?"

The brunette visibly winced at the harsh tone. "I don't think I deserve that B."

Buffy scoffed at the statement. "So what do you think you deserve? You left Faith. You just up and left. I didn't even know if you were going to come back."

"I had to leave. If I stayed another day, I would have suffocated."

"Because of me?"

"No!" Faith quickly shook off that question. Placing her hands on Buffy's shoulders, she made sure she had the blonde's undivided attention before speaking. "You know that's not true. You're the only reason I stayed as long as I did. You're the only reason I'm here right now. I've been missing you for a long time Buffy."

To Faith's complete surprise, Buffy pulled her into a fierce hug that almost knocked the breath from her body.

"Welcome back slayer." She heard the other girl mumble.

After that momentous reconciliation, they ended up walking back to the campus together, trying to regain the easy rhythm they once had.

"So what's been happening around here?" Faith asked, genuinely curious.

"The same old, same old. Vampires, monsters, and demons, oh my. Sometimes, it seems like that's all there ever is around here."

"At least it's never boring."

"Yeah, and I could've used your help if you'd stuck around," she said, unable to censure the accusing tone from her voice.

"I'm around now," Faith countered, refusing to rise to the bait and enter another argument she didn't wish to engage in.

"But what if you decide to take off again? How do you expect me to trust that you're going to be around if I need you?"

"The same way you'll trust that I won't stab you in the back or betray you to the first person who offers me a decent apartment. Either you do or you don't B. It's your call."

"That makes me feel a whole lot better," the blonde bit out sarcastically.

"If you want to feel better, go cuddle with your new boy. All I'm trying to do is be up front with you." Faith was definitely getting a bit too hot under the collar and delving further into this conversation would only defeat her efforts at reconciling as it was. "I'll meet you at the Bronze tomorrow night so you'll have time to debrief your friends...make sure they don't have a heart attack when they see me." Without giving Buffy a chance to answer, Faith left. It wasn't exactly what she'd envisioned the perfect homecoming would be but at least she was back at home, close to Buffy. And that was all that mattered in the end.

****

Watching in an impotent silence as Faith walked away, Buffy could literally feel her anger seeping away from every part of her body, leaving nothing more than a numbing lethargy to steal over her limbs. A strange sensation of displacement had accompanied her all day as if she was one step out of sync with everybody else. And not until she'd spotted Faith walking out of the club did her world snap back to normal. She'd nearly knocked over her chair in her haste to get up and run after the other girl, mindless of the astonished looks her friends threw after her retreating back. But her unmitigated elation at Faith's return dampened considerably at the other slayer's cavalier greeting which threw into question all of her own emotions. So she'd fallen back on the bitterness and anger that'd accompanied her in one form or another throughout the last three months until she finally got a rise out of Faith. Rubbing her forehead as if it hurt to even think, Buffy wondered why it was that her relationship with Faith always had to have an antagonistic edge to it. Confrontational was the last thing she'd wanted their conversational note to end on but that was exactly what was served up.

"Uhhnngh." Releasing a frustrated groan, she walked dejectedly into the dorms. But before she could step through the doors, she got tackled and tackled hard from the right side. Immediately rolling with the momentum, she dropped and quickly regained her vertical base, gasping slightly at the pain that no doubt was the result of a cracked rib. Buffy watched warily as whoever had attacked her slowly rose to its full height, silhouetted against the light from behind.

"You really caught me on a bad mood," she stated, getting ready to take it down.

"I timed it that way," the figure said in a decidedly feminine voice. "Wouldn't have been this much fun otherwise."

"Oh, you think this is fun, huh? Well, how about this--" Buffy aimed a roundhouse kick at its head but it flipped backwards, ending up a few feet away, directly under the fuzzy glow of the lights, affording Buffy a good look.

"The fun should be doled out. I'll see you again. Later." Waving in a taunting manner, it streaked away.

Trying to pursue was a useless endeavor as Buffy felt a sharp pain at her side at the slightest movement. It would heal over soon enough but not in time for her to go after that woman. The night was just getting better and better she thought wryly to herself. Next thing you know, she'll get jumped by the Pillsbury Dough Boy or something.

****

"So I got jumped by this woman with a leather fetish," Buffy summed up succinctly for Giles the next day.

"Can you describe this woman?" Giles asked, pacing slowly around his apartment.

"White, medium height, hair was in a braid, and she was dressed in leather---that I remember clearly."

"So it seems," he muttered.

"It was a hard thing to miss. I mean, it was a skin tight outfit; really showed off her..." Buffy made a gesturing motion with her hands.

"Assets?" Xander supplied, suddenly finding it hot in the room. The thought of Buffy getting it on with a leather clad, fully endowed woman made him gulp in what he hoped was a subtle manner. But glancing at his girlfriend, he knew it wasn't subtle enough.

"Oh, yeah. I almost forgot," Buffy tried to slyly slip in. "Faith's back and she's going to meet us at the Bronze later." A moment of complete silence followed her announcement before everybody started speaking at once as if following an invisible cue. She patiently waited out the deluge of questions and in some cases, accusations.

"What is she doing back?" Seemed to be the main question everybody was wondering so as soon as the commotion abated somewhat, she tried to explain. "I don't know why she's back. She said she came back because of me."

"Buffy. You don't believe her, do you?" Willow asked harshly. "This from the same person who left you three months ago without so much as an explanation."

"Yeah, the same person who still refuses to tell you how exactly it was that she managed to come back from the dead," Xander chipped in with his two cents.

"So what do you expect me to do? Ask her to leave?" Buffy asked, her voice rising perceptibly. "Well, guess what? I don't want her to." She took a moment to review her own statement and found that she honestly didn't want Faith to leave...ever.

They spent several more minutes going over and over the Faith issue until Giles finally put a halt to it, reminding everyone that they had a more pressing problem on their hands, namely that of the mysterious woman who had attacked Buffy the previous night.

****

Faith swaggered into the Bronze, wholly aware of the attention she garnered with her entrance. Before she'd walked through, she had had to take a deep breath just to ground herself. Who would have thought she would get this nervous seeing the Super Friends again. Not so much nervous as apprehensive. After all, no matter how many times one gets glared at and slurred to ones face, you never really do get used to it, or like it for that matter.

Immediately spotting the close knit group, she walked over, showing none of the queasiness she was feeling inside. Standing as there were no chairs available, she waited for someone to say something. She didn't have to wait long.

"Hey, Faith, kill any people lately?" Xander spoke up with his irresistible charm.

"Yeah, I stored the leftovers in the fridge. You and me can have a late night snack later." Faith winked, smirking at Xander's evident unease. It seemed that everything had remained copacetic which was good cause she'd expected as much. Looking around to see if anybody had any other interesting comments to contribute, she received nothing but stonefaced silence. "Guess we're all talked out then." She extended a hand down to her fellow slayer. "Care to dance?"

Quirking an eyebrow at the unexpected request, Buffy nevertheless, accepted the invitation. As soon as they got on the dance floor, Faith pulled her partner in close, surreptitiously taking a deep breath, filling her lungs with Buffy's scent. She knew it was wrong; she knew it would only lead to an edgy, restless night but Faith couldn't help but indulge herself...just this once. Running her hands lightly over Buffy's arms, she involuntarily licked her lips wanting desperately to taste the other slayer's flesh.

"Faith, why are you looking at me like that?" Buffy whispered in a husky tone of voice.

"Because I can't help looking at you any other way." Faith raked her eyes over every inch of the blonde's body, relishing the slow burn she felt creeping throughout her own body.

"I thought we couldn't..."

"If we could, would you want to?" Whichever answer Buffy chose would no doubt put a nail through her heart but she'd always harbored a masochistic streak for pain.

Buffy was just about to answer when a tap to her shoulder drew her attention away. Faith looked up, all ready to put a stake through whoever was stupid enough to interrupt them. Buffy's new boy stood, looking at them uncertainly and Faith finally took that as her cue to leave gracefully, no matter how much it hurt like a bitch to do so. She left abruptly, going to get herself a drink, relieving Buffy of having to make a decision that wouldn't do either of them any good. When the drink was in hand, she walked back to the Scooby table, taking a vacant seat and ignoring the looks still getting flashed her way. "So who's the new boy?" She asked no one in particular.

Willow finally supplied an answer, ending the silence that had accompanied the question. "His name's Jim. He's normal and he's perfect for Buffy," she stated as if that were a personal critique aimed at Faith, which it probably was.

"Isn't that exactly what you thought of Riley?" Faith threw back, smiling sweetly at the murderous look she got in return.

The rest of their conversation didn't go much better, with each person trying to one up the other. But they all realized even when they didn't want to admit it that Faith was back and she had no intention of leaving. Eventually, the not-so-friendly banter got interrupted by the other slayer's return with Jim in tow. Buffy hesitated only a moment before introducing him to the newcomer. It was a forced smile at best that Faith aimed his way but he didn't seem to notice, probably because every last bit of his attention was focused entirely on Buffy. She couldn't blame him really. If she had a choice, she'd do the exact same thing. Actually, it was about the only thing she could do without the risk of an awful death. Look but don't touch---that was her own personal mantra now whether she liked it or not. It made for a pretty uncomfortable group all sitting around a small table and even Jimbo seemed to take notice.

He glanced uncertainly around, trying to figure out what the problem was and it wasn't long before he took note of how everybody, minus Buffy, was staring daggers at Faith. And Buffy was acting strangely too, fidgeting with her drink, putting it down only to pick it back up again and then the whole cycle would repeat. Reaching out a hand, he placed it over hers, temporarily stopping the compulsive motion. He received a wan smile for his efforts but she immediately turned to Faith, asking the brunette if she'd walk her back to campus. That made him frown. It was the second straight night that Buffy had left the Bronze without him. Jim had to wonder if he had done something to upset her and, for whatever reason, she was trying to avoid him. Even when they were dancing, Buffy seemed distracted and not all there.

"Buffy, can we talk for a minute?" he asked hurriedly before she could get up.

"Yeah, sure. We'll talk tomorrow," she answered, already shrugging into her jacket and walking towards the door.

He watched her walk out with Faith and when he turned back around to the group, he received some looks that he could've sworn held nothing so much as pity.

****

The two slayers walked out the club's doors and it took Buffy only a few steps before she asked her first question.

"Faith, where are you staying? Because you can always stay in my room if you like...that is if you don't have anywhere else to go."

"I appreciate the offer, B but I'm fine. All set up. You don't have to worry about me. Besides, I don't think Red would appreciate the company."

"Willow's living with Tara now. They were already spending so much time together that it was the next natural step I guess."

Faith cocked her head, processing this new information.

"Oh and before I forget," Buffy added, "I got jumped yesterday right after you left--"

"What?" Faith came to an abrupt halt. "What happened? Are you all right?" Grasping Buffy's arms, she looked her up and down as if an injury would suddenly pop up right before her eyes.

"Faith, I'm fine," the blonde assured her. "My side's just a little sore. It was a woman, decked out in leather. Couldn't miss her if you tried."

Faith reluctantly let the other girl go. "So what did she want?"

"Besides some fashion tips? Didn't say but we should be on the lookout for her." Hooking her arm through the younger girl's own, Buffy started walking again. "Faith?"

"Yeah B?"

"I would like to...if we could."

Faith had to think a moment to figure out what Buffy was talking about. She sucked in a quick breath once she realized what that meant and deflated just as suddenly when she realized what she couldn't have---what THEY couldn't have. "What about Jim?" she asked absently.

"Jim's great, we have a good time together and he's the nicest person...but he's not you." She threw a sideways glance at Faith but the other girl didn't respond in the least. In fact, it was almost as if she hadn't even heard, continuing to put one foot in front of the other, eyes staring straight ahead.

"Do you know how much it hurts to hear you say that now?" Buffy could barely make out the strangled words as Faith finally looked her way with such a wounded expression on her face that it almost made her want to cry out in shared pain. "I want to be with you so badly. I dream about you every fucking night--" Faith choked up, unable to speak as months of pent up frustration chose that exact moment to rupture through the fine facade she'd built around herself.

Buffy immediately pulled the other girl into a hug in an effort to comfort both of them. She had absolutely no idea of what to do now so she ended up burying her head even more deeply into Faith's shoulder, not ever wanting to let go. And they didn't, at least not for a few minutes. When they did finally separate, it was only to come together once again as two pairs of lips found each other, hungrily devouring what they'd been starved of for so long.

"Am I mistaken or are you two not allowed to do that?" The familiar voice intruded, forcing Buffy to move away from Faith's still intent grasp. She swivelled her head, coming face to face with the same woman that had attacked her the previous night but instead of greeting her with a knockdown, the woman instead planted a kiss on Buffy's nose before swiftly moving a few steps back. Smiling wickedly, the woman held her arms behind her back and proceeded to lick her lips in a knowingly sensuous display. "My, you are a sweet one, aren't you?"

"Who the fuck are you?" Faith asked, menacingly taking a step forward.

The other woman's eyes peeled themselves away from the blonde slayer to stare intently at her companion. "Don't you remember Faith?" She asked, allowing a harsh edge to cover her tone. Whether that was intentional or not, she never let tell. "But I guess you wouldn't. You don't look like the type to keep track of the people you've screwed." Laughing at Buffy's horrified gaze, she amended, "No, not in that way sweetie. More like the stab you in the back and sell you down the river way. Isn't that right, Faith?"

"I've never met you in my life," Faith stated emphatically.

"And I hate you even more because of that!" She hissed before quickly regaining her ruptured composure. "But don't worry my dear. We'll have lots of time to get acquainted." Catching both slayers by surprise, she charged at the two of them, managing to knock Buffy to the ground with a hard backhand but, at the same time, receiving a kick to the back from Faith. She recovered quickly though, throwing an elbow back into Faith's face as the brunette all but walked into it in her haste to take the other woman down. Buffy got up and did some damage of her own, getting in some effective punches before getting kicked again when she left her side unprotected as she tried throwing those punches once too often. Unfortunately, it was the same side that had been so grievously mistreated just yesterday and although it had healed to a good degree, it was not yet a hundred percent and when the kick connected, she went down hard, fighting for breath. By the time Faith got up, shaking her head in an attempt to clear the double vision, the woman was just turning to run. She took a half step in pursuit but almost tripped over her own feet when she noticed that Buffy was down on the ground.

"B? Buffy? Are you all right?" She asked, crouching down next to the curled up body of her partner.

Buffy took a long, coughing breath, somehow managing to convey the fact that, yes, she was going to be all right, given enough time to hack up a lung or two. Helping her stand, Faith inadvertently bumped Buffy's injured side, making her double over in unbearable pain.

"Oh, shit...sorry," Faith apologized, wincing in sympathy. Supporting her more carefully, the two of them eventually made it up to Buffy's room without too much more additional pain. "I'm guessing that was the leather wearing woman who jumped you yesterday," Faith hazarded as she helped Buffy onto the bed.

The injured slayer grunted by ways of an answer, moving gingerly on the bed to avoid doing any more damage to her body. "I can't believe she got me two days straight."

"Don't be too hard on yourself. You were kinda...preoccupied this time around."

To her horror, Buffy could feel the start of a vicious blush creeping across her face at the other girl's reminder of what exactly they had been engaged in at the time. And she only reddened more at seeing the almost smug smile on Faith's face. "If I wasn't hurt, I'd kick your ass."

Faith smiled even more widely at that threat but finally made a conciliatory gesture towards the pissed off slayer. "Tell you what. As soon as you feel better, I'll stand real still and let you have a crack at my ass. Sound good?" She narrowly dodged the pillow that flew by her head as Buffy chose to respond in a physical manner. "I'll take that as a no," Faith guessed with a good-natured smirk prominently settled on her features.

That night, Faith got reacquainted with a fact pertaining to Buffy that she'd missed horribly in the months when they were apart. Buffy mumbled in her sleep. Not any complete sentences that made any kind of sense but more like half words and syllables accompanying the occasional grunt or moan. The brunette stared up at the ceiling of the dorm room, stretching a bit on the thin carpeting in an attempt to get more comfortable. The two slayers had mutually come upon the decision for Faith to stay the night---just to make sure that their attacker didn't come back of course. Another mumbled, half slurred word came floating down to the brunette's ears, bringing an involuntary smile to her face. Slowly sitting up, she turned her head, intently focusing on Buffy's sleeping countenance. She had to hug herself in order to keep from reaching out and touching what couldn't be hers anymore. Now she truly knew how Angel felt and it really blew the big one; not being able to love someone because of a stupid, little condition that held no rhyme or reason. It really sucked. And unlike Angel, she didn't have the will power to leave Buffy for good. No matter what happened, she always found herself coming back to Sunnydale and back to the one person who held her heart.

But with the situation like it was, she'd probably receive the Good Citizen's Award before she got some, coz that was all it boiled down to---sex. Not just any sex with a skanky ho or an available dick. No, that would be too easy. It had to be that the only person she wanted to make love to was the only person off limits to her. If she cared to think about it some more, she'd probably say that it pretty much summed up her life in a nutshell. Want, take, have? Never could take what she really wanted. Crouching on her knees, she gently brushed the hair from Buffy's face and placed a light kiss on a silky, smooth cheek. As she was backing away, fully chastising herself for getting so sentimental all of a sudden, a hand stopped her retreat. Not quite awake or asleep for that matter, Buffy had grabbed onto the front of Faith's T-shirt and was now insistently pulling on it. Faith tried resisting, she really did, but the blonde slayer would not be denied so she ended up happily ensconced in her love's warm embrace. Not so bad, she thought absently, feeling the drag of sleep weighing on her eyes. Not too bad at all.

****

Buffy sat in class, her pen tapping out a rhythmless beat on the open notebook in front of her. The professor was busily writing on the blackboard, lecturing on some arcane mathematical theorem that would do her no good whatsoever during the course of her life. Justifying it that way, she didn't feel so guilty not listening to a word he said. Instead, her whole attention was still focused on the girl she'd woken up next to earlier that day. She vaguely remembered waking up sometime in the night and feeling someone slip into the bed beside her. A small smile flitted across her features as she remembered the total sense of security she felt holding Faith in her arms and being held in return. Right now, she regretted ever leaving that room and coming to this class. Blowing out a soft sigh, she tried focusing back on the lecture when something even more pressing vied for her attention. The ground was shaking, and with it, everything else in the room. She heard several screams and yells as she tried to get out of her seat without ending up with her face planted on the ground. Everybody was really starting to panic and with good reason. The shaking had gotten even more violent as pieces of the ceiling began raining down. Buffy tried leaving the room but not before a piece of tile caught her on the forehead, right above the left eyebrow, tearing a gash in the skin which began to bleed profusely. Right then, she wished even more fervently that she'd never left her room that day.

****

Faith rolled out of bed, banging her shoulder hard against the sharp edge of the nightstand. The pain as opposed to the quaking was what brought her fully awake and cognizant of the fact that something was awry. Never having experienced anything like this before, she wasn't quite sure what to do. Was she supposed to get under a table or stand under a door frame or something? For the moment, she just decided to hold on because everything else was falling down around her. She thought it'd never stop but eventually, the shaking and shimmying ended and she slowly extricated her grip from the bedframe. Donning her pants and shoes, she opened the door and looked around the hallway, spotting several people with panicked expressions on their faces. The word "Quake" slipped from a couple of lips as everyone started collecting their wits about themselves. Rubbing her still hurting shoulder with one hand, she leaned against the open door and looked up blankly when someone rushed up to her.

"Faith?"

A few seconds passed before she realized that she should actually recognize this guy and it took a few seconds more for her to realize it was Jimbo. Mornings, especially mornings right after an earthquake were definitely not her best times.

"Where's Buffy? Is she all right?" He asked, trying to peer over her and into the room when she didn't respond right away.

"She's not here Jimmy. She went to class," Faith answered irritably, slamming the door shut behind her.

"Oh..." Looking quizzically at her rumpled clothes and putting that together with the fact that she'd just come out of Buffy's room, he opened his mouth to ask something but Faith beat him to the punch.

"Girl's night yesterday. Y'know, there was this whole slumber party deal."

"Oh," he repeated, looking satisfactorily enlightened.

They each looked around, not sure exactly what to say now that the 'where's Buffy' topic had been exhausted.

"Are you all right?" He asked finally noticing that she was gingerly rotating her shoulder.

"Could be better."

The awkwardness and general unease was relieved by the timely arrival of the blonde whom they had both been discussing.

"Is everyone okay?" Buffy asked, running up to the two of them.

Jim immediately took out his handkerchief and tried to press it to Buffy's still bleeding forehead as Faith ushered them both inside the room.

"It looks worse than it is," she said, trying to reassure the anxiously watching Jim. "Really." She nevertheless allowed him to sit her on the bed.

"I'm guessing that was an earthquake," Faith commented lightly, sitting on the bed next to the blonde. "Can't say my first experience with it was all that fun."

"You and me both," Buffy added, smiling despite the pain.

"Oh shit." Faith's sudden exclamation was accompanied by Buffy's sharp intake of breath. The slayers both felt it---the slight trembling beneath their feet that soon grew to a violent quaking that rivaled if not topped the earlier quake. Buffy grabbed onto Faith, Jim grabbed onto the dresser and Faith tried her damnedest not to topple over.

"Don't tell me that's gonna keep happening." Faith looked up as the last of the tremors subsided.

"I think that was an aftershock," Jim said, going over to stand shakily in front of the two girls. He couldn't help but look at them askance since Buffy was almost sitting atop Faith's lap. He had to wonder what their history together was given how comfortable they seemed together. But this was definitely not the greatest time to ask. "Hopefully that's the end of it."

Buffy continued using Faith as a comfortable seat cushion, blatantly ignorant of how it looked to anyone watching.

"We should get that gash looked at," Jim said, pointing at Buffy's bloody forehead. "I can take you to the hospital--"

"No, see it's stopped bleeding...almost. I really don't think we need to go to the hospital."

"C'mon Buffy. I know you hate doctors but that cut needs stitches." Jim held his hand out as Buffy reluctantly took it, finally vacating Faith's lap and looking none too happy for it either.

Even with her best puppy dog look pasted on her face, Buffy couldn't get Faith to accompany them to the ER. So they eventually left the brunette to her own devices. Before she walked out the door, she tossed one last pleading gaze to the seated slayer but Faith only looked up sweetly, giving her a little wave good-bye.

****

The emergency room was in total chaos. There were nearly a hundred people sitting around the usually empty waiting room, each with varying degrees of injuries. Nurses and doctors were frantically moving around, ignoring calls for help. There wasn't a vacant seat to be found so Jim and Buffy ended up standing, coupled with the further indignity of having to move whenever someone wanted to get past them. More and more people streamed in every minute and the room was really starting to split at the seams. Even Xander came in awhile later with Anya in tow, a really nasty gash on his own head.

"Hey, we can be twins," he exclaimed, spotting Buffy.

"Yeah, the needs medical attention cause we're bleeding from the forehead twins. Do you want to wear matching clothes too?" Buffy asked wryly.

"We can tour the country and charge people to see our hideously bloodied heads."

"Can we not joke at a time like this?" Anya interjected, visibly irritated. "We need some medical attention here." She went off in search of said attention, leaving Xander to press a rag to his open wound.

"It's a mad house in here," Xander commented just as he was pushed aside by a guy being pushed in a wheelchair.

"Should have expected it, considering this is the aftermath of a natural disaster."

"Speaking of which, do you know if Willow and Giles are all right?"

"No...I haven't spoken to them yet. You call Giles, I'll call Willow." Buffy and Xander immediately went to look for a public phone as Jim was left feeling the odd man out. He knew as soon as he was introduced to Buffy's friends that they were a close knit group but he never would have guessed it'd be this hard to break in. No matter what he did, it always seemed like he was being shut out of something. He didn't think they did it on purpose but it was disconcerting nonetheless. And now, there was the added element of Faith thrown into the mix. She didn't like him; it was clear enough. But what really bothered him was how close Faith and Buffy were---a little too close as he saw it.

****

Faith woke up slowly, feeling something hugging her side. Yawning and opening her eyes, she glanced down and saw Buffy burrowing her head on her chest. "Back from the doc?" She asked, folding one arm under her head.

"Yeah," Buffy muttered, snuggling even closer. "It was hell...never going to the hospital again."

"Went that well, huh?" Chuckling at the other girl's apparent misery, Faith cruelly moved, extricating her body from Buffy's grasp. "Let's go get something to eat, I'm hungry."

The blonde groaned loudly, choosing instead to bury her head under a pillow. After standing around for three hours waiting to get stitched up and suffering through a blistering headache to boot, she wasn't about to move now that she was comfortable. She heard Faith walk out the door a minute later, and promptly fell into an exhausted slumber.

She was rudely awakened by the harsh ringing of the telephone. Glancing around, she saw that darkness had already descended and before she picked up the phone, she briefly wondered where Faith was.

"Hello?"

An unanswered pause greeted her ears and just when she was about to repeat the standard greeting, a scream ripped through the line. "Know who that is?" A voice immediately asked. "C'mon guess."

Buffy's heart had started beating triple time as soon as she heard that pained scream. Choking out Faith's name, she received immediate praise from the mysterious caller. "Very good. You got that on the first try. Now here's another question for you. Do you know why she's screaming so pitifully right now?"

"I'll kill you if anything happens to her. I swear--"

"Don't waste your breath. She'll die, I guarantee it. The last question you have to ask yourself is when she's going to die." The line went dead abruptly in her hand as she replaced the handset on its cradle. She couldn't help but tremble slightly.

****

"We have to find her!" Buffy shouted, daring anyone to disagree. She'd spent nearly half an hour explaining what had happened to the assembled Scoobies but that wasn't what had taken up so much of their time. What was frustrating her beyond human limits was the manner in which everyone, including to a slight degree Giles, was reacting to the news. Nobody seemed to give a damn that Faith was being held prisoner somewhere and in all probability, being tortured. Xander even had the gall to put forth the suggestion that it could have been some kind of elaborate trick by Faith to further some devious ends. Buffy nearly blew up at him then but decided it wasn't worth it. "Look," she said in frustration. "If you're not going to help me, I'm just going to find her by myself." She was already moving towards the door when Giles stopped her, trying to calm her down somewhat.

"Buffy, we'll help you---all of us," he said, staring down everybody else in the room. "And I'm sure everyone here will agree on that with me." Receiving rather reluctant nods from Xander and Willow and a more enthusiastic one from Tara, he turned to the slayer once again. "Now, you say that the same woman who attacked you the last two days is the same person who called you about Faith?"

Buffy nodded, walking back towards the group. "I recognized her voice. It was her."

"Supposing that Faith _is_ being tortured," Giles pondered, folding his arms across his chest, "That would make for alot of noise which would require she be placed in an abandoned or somewhat abandoned space. That would be the likeliest place for us to start searching---warehouses, the sewers, and anyplace else that fits the description. Meanwhile, Willow and Tara, would you please research a spell that could help us track her down?" He received two nods from the witches. "Good, everybody else with me."

Night had long since descended and was now in its waning hour before the light of day would once again make its routine appearance. The two groups had made no headway whatsoever in finding Faith or even finding so much as a lukewarm trail to follow. It was almost as if the other slayer had disappeared off the face of the earth. Willow and Tara hadn't been able to locate any sort of trace on the missing girl while the other group had turned up equally empty handed.

Buffy paced around the interior of Giles' apartment, growing ever more aggravated as the minutes ticked by and they were still as helpless as they had been when they'd started the search. "This isn't working," she said for the second time. "We don't even know who she is or what she wants. She doesn't even seem to want anything."

Giles poured himself another cup of tea as he tried coming up with any other avenues they hadn't explored yet.

"There was something blocking our spell," Willow said, speaking up. "It's almost as if someone's using magic to conceal Faith's location. We can't get a fix on her aura."

"So we'll just have to keep looking," Buffy stated. "Maybe--" The ringing of the phone stopped her in mid-sentence. It reached three rings before Giles walked over to pick it up.

"Hello?" He asked, listening intently to the voice at the other end of the line. Gripping the phone tightly, he held it away from his ear, indicating that Buffy should take it. Handing it over to the blonde slayer, he proceeded to sit down heavily on the couch. There was not a sound in the room as Buffy listened, her face growing ashen as her body coiled even tighter. The silence was finally shattered by the protracted scream that ripped through the lines which abruptly cut off after a few agonizing seconds. Buffy slammed down the phone and kicked it off the stand for good measure, her body visibly shaking.

"Was that Faith?" Xander asked, hesitatingly.

Buffy turned her head, staring through him as if he wasn't even there. "She has my mother."

****

"You can stop the pain anytime." This time, the voice was so close that she could feel the breath warm against her neck. "Just ask me and I'll make it all go away. No pain, no guilt, nothing but ecstasy." The voice had been all she'd heard since her world had gone black. There was something over her eyes, tied so tight that she could barely move her head an inch in any direction. She was seated on something hard which seemed to be fixed solidly to the ground. Her arms were tied behind her back. Her hands felt sticky and numb, probably because most of the circulation had been cut off and the ties were biting into her skin whenever she struggled which happened so rarely now. "Tell me, Faith. Tell me you want to be turned," the voice coaxed again in honey velvet tones. She wanted the voice to remain sweet because it never hurt her when it was sweet. But she knew it wouldn't last too long...it never did. Soon, it would turn harsh again and soon, the pain would rip through her body. A part of her wanted to give in, wanted what the voice promised and as she felt the knife cut slowly across her arm, that part of her gained strength. She doubted she could resist too much longer as a choked sob racked across her body as something hard slammed against the recently opened cut.

"Why do you make me do this to you!" The voice shouted in her ear. She couldn't even cringe back cause every part her body was tied down. A hard slap to the face caught her completely by surprise and she could feel the small trickle of blood running from her mouth pooling on the front of her shirt which already stuck to her body with the copious amount of blood already there. She heard as much as felt the air being displaced as something was swung at her. Faith prepared herself as best she could but whatever it was hit her savagely across the face and she could hear as the bones in her jaw and cheek broke under the impact. She wondered idly if it was a nightstick that had rearranged her face so effectively but it was only a brief thought that passed through her mind before she slumped in her seat, blessedly unconscious once again.

Joyce watched in terror as her captor efficiently swung the club, pushing down the sickening feeling inside as it connected solidly with Faith's face. No matter what Faith had done, she didn't deserve this punishment. Nobody did. Watching warily as the auburn haired girl proceeded to drop the weapon and turn her attention her way, she suppressed a quick shudder. The girl had changed from what she had on before to a black outfit which left nothing to the imagination. Joyce could do nothing as the girl slipped behind her chair. She couldn't move, being as tied down as Faith. All she could do was watch---watch as Faith was tortured, brought awake and tortured again. Joyce's mouth was gagged so she could make no noise. Her chair was not ten feet from Faith's, directly facing each other but Faith could never know that.

"Did you like that?" The voice hissed behind her. "Pretty soon, you'll be in her place and someone else will be in yours, watching...I'm sorry I had to hit you before. That was all for your daughter's benefit. I don't like to sample my toys too early," she said, walking to stand in front of Joyce. Leaning down slightly so that they were eye to eye, she continued. "We'll have fun together. Just as much as my Faith and I are having. I bet you can't wait." A huge grin spread across her face as her attention turned behind her once again. "I think it's time for Sleeping Beauty to wake up again."

Joyce's breaths were coming in short gasps as the cycle began to repeat itself. She couldn't even close her eyes though she desperately wanted to because if she did, their tormentor had promised to bring Faith additional pain. And even though she couldn't begin to imagine what else could be done to the poor girl, she knew their captor did so her eyes remained open and watching.

****

Buffy was working twice as hard in her search. Ignoring sleep, food, or anything else that didn't help move her towards her goal. She worked tirelessly to look for Faith and her mother. A focused air permeated the Scoobies and each one was now committed to the task at hand. Even so, they still were no closer to finding the missing pair than when they started. The frustration level mounted, especially for Buffy as they continued to come up empty each and every time. And then, like a bolt from the blue, they had an inspiration---actually it was Willow who had the inspiration. She was able to look up the number that had called Giles' apartment and, from that, she tracked down the location associated with the number. It was such a straightforward approach that nobody had even thought of doing it before. Buffy could've kissed her best friend if she wasn't already busily arming herself to the teeth in preparation for the imminent rescue attempt. The address pointed to a warehouse at the outer edge of town which Buffy had visited already. Her earlier search had revealed nothing but Willow insisted that was where the phone call had originated from. Leading the way through the large bay doors, Buffy clicked on her flashlight as the others followed suit. The place looked as desolately abandoned as the blonde remembered from her earlier foray but with Willow's assurance, the group began combing over every inch of the room.

It was Xander who finally shouted excitedly, pointing his flashlight at the floor for everybody to see. The outline of a trapdoor could vaguely be seen beneath the thick layer of dust that had collected over the years. Buffy immediately reached down and yanked with all her strength, feeling the door slowly creak open against her determination. Looking around at the resolute faces of the group, she nodded and began to descend the rungs lining the shaft.

****

"They're here," the blue green demon rasped out through the hole it called its mouth.

"I can see that." The auburn haired girl looked intently at the video screen which currently showed the group of humans walking cautiously down the corridor. At the head of the merry little band was the slayer---the original one, the one so beloved that her substitute had crawled back from death to be near her. She frowned, unable to see what was so special about this person. Snapping her attention out of its useless meandering, she ordered the demon to start evacuating. Much as she would like to destroy this group right then, it still was not the time for such foolhardy actions. Turning to walk away, she remembered the guarantee she'd made to the blonde. Yes, she had had every intention of killing Faith but that was just too easy. No, what she did accomplish and what pleased her was the knowledge that she'd broken the slayer. A tiny grin lifted the corners of her mouth. Yes, that was much more fun.

****

Buffy was stopped at the end of the tunnel by a steel door. The lights reflected off its polished surface as she tried to find a way to open the obstruction.

"Now what?" Xander asked, going to stand beside the slayer. "This thing doesn't look like it's--" There was an audible click and the door began to open of its own volition, moving slowly inwards. "I stand corrected but before we go in, we're all agreed this is a trap, right?"

Buffy didn't answer as she pushed the doors the rest of the way and stepped into the room that was revealed. She gasped, almost unable to take in what she was seeing with her own eyes. Her mother and Faith sat, strapped to two steel chairs facing each other. There was so much blood under the other slayer's chair, smeared and splattered across the white tile floor that it looked like it belonged to two people instead of just one. Faith was slumped over as far as she could, considering the ties binding her back but she sat motionless, not even seeming to breathe. The utter stillness contrasted harshly with her mother's anxious struggles as she tried uselessly to speak around the gag in her mouth. Giles and Xander hurried over to untie her while Buffy walked slowly over to the bloodied mess that had been Faith. She barely realized that words were coming out of her own mouth as she knelt in front of the seated girl.

"Please be okay, please be okay, please be okay..." The words were spoken in a whisper as she attempted to undo the binds that held Faith in place. She registered the presence of other people coming to her aid but couldn't, wouldn't acknowledge them in any way. She was focused entirely on undoing the tightly knotted ties because, to do otherwise would be to accept that her hands were growing sticky from the blood that covered almost everything and to accept that Faith still looked as lifeless as she had on first glance.

Faith's body sagged into her arms as the last binding was removed. She heard as if from a great distance, her mother calling for her to let go. The next thing she knew, she was sitting on the floor with Faith's body lying a few feet away being attended to by Giles. Rising to her feet with a maniacal purpose shining in her eyes, she took off for the door directly across from where they'd come in, unheeding the shouts and yells accompanying her abrupt departure. She was going to find the monster who had done this and kill it just as surely as it had done to Faith.

Continued in Part 2