DISCLAIMER: The Buffy the Vampire Slayer and Angel characters are the property of Mutant Enemy, Joss Whedon, and Fox Studios. The story contents are the creation and property of Djinn and are copyright (c) 2001 by Djinn. This story is Rated PG-13.

Gravity

Part 7 – Restoration

by Djinn

"Come on, put your back into it. A Watcher scoffs at gravity." – Giles to Spike, Restless

It had been three days since Giles had called the Watcher's council on her behalf, and Buffy was tired of waiting to hear if they were going to help her regain her life. She paced the basement nervously.

Spike didn't look up from the book he was reading. "Would you sit down? You're giving me a headache."

"I just don't understand what the hold up is," she complained.

"Well, it's not like they're going to tell me, now is it? Haven't even got my union card yet." He closed the book. "Not that this isn't a pleasant surprise, you being down here and all, but what do you want, Buffy?"

She had thought he'd be happy to see her. Her mind went back to the last time she'd been down in the basement. She could feel her cheeks turning red. She had tried to put the memory of the kiss they had shared to rest but she couldn't. She looked over at Spike. His eyes showed only polite interest. He seemed to be doing fine not obsessing over what had happened between them.

"It was too quiet upstairs. With the others gone." She knew the excuse sounded weak. Why had she come down to see him? She didn't even like him.

He put the book aside and stood up. Moving past her, he started to lay down some mats. "This will help you relax."

"You're going to be my watcher?" she asked with amusement.

"Not bloody likely. Got my hands full with your sister. Just thought you could use a sparring partner. But if you don't want to..." he walked back to the chair and picked up the book.

"No. I mean yes. I want to. Sparring's good."

"Fine." He walked back over.

"Won't the chip make this hard for you?"

He shook his head. "It won't bother me as long as I'm not trying to hurt you."

She thought back to the night she had returned to life. She had tried to stake him. He had struck at her and the chip had retaliated, the pain had distracted him, nearly cost him his life in fact.

"Buffy," he said as he threw her. "Pay attention or I'm going back to my book."

"Right. Sorry." They circled each other. She looked for an opening, saw one and took it. He was on the mat in seconds.

"That's better," he smiled as he got up. His movements became more purposeful.

She lost herself in the motion, in the intricate dance that was the slayer's fight for dominance. Spike fought well, countering her moves with a skill she had forgotten he had. He feinted left but she caught him as he moved back, threw him hard. He turned the fall into a roll, was up quickly. She realized she was smiling.

"This is good, isn't it," his answering grin was almost feral. "What you're made for."

"Shut up and fight," she taunted as she kicked him hard and followed up with a move designed to trip him. He kept his feet though, and caught her with a hard kick of his own. She dropped and tried to roll but he followed her down and landed on top of her. His hands pinned hers.

"Give up?" he asked.

"Not on your life," she said as she called on strength that her small body shouldn't have held and kicked him over her. She was on him before he could rise. "You give up?"

"Not bloody likely," he tried the same move on her but she gripped him with her thighs, riding him easily.

"You're not getting me off you."

"God, I've had fantasies like this," he smirked.

"Did they include this?" she asked as she stretched his arms over his head.

"Do you even have to ask?" He wrenched his hands away with a violent jerk. She nearly crashed into his face but her hands landed hard on either side of his head. He took advantage of the moment, heaved his body up and sent her crashing to her back.

She expected him to follow her but he just lay there. She looked over at him. "What's the matter? Did I hurt you?"

He turned his head. "No. You didn't hurt me." He gave her a strange smile. "Just trying to tame the wolf inside."

"I thought the chip did that?" she teased.

He rolled over. His body was pressed against her side. "There's more than one wolf inside me."

"Is that supposed to scare me?" She watched his face come closer to her own.

"Hope not. Was going more for exciting you." His hand tangled in her hair.

She studied his face. His mouth was curved slightly in a small smile, his eyes were intent on her own. She knew he was judging what she would do. One move from her and he'd stop. One move from her and he'd realize what a bad idea this was.

She didn't move. His mouth crept nearer.

Just as his lips touched hers, she heard footsteps on the stairs, then Giles' voice calling out, "Buffy? Are you down there?"

"Crap!" She pushed Spike away, was on her feet in an instant. The vampire was only seconds behind her.

Giles walked in, followed by a stranger. "Oh, here you are, Buffy. Training I see?"

"Yes. Training. Working out. Very strenuous. Nervous energy and all that." She knew she was babbling so she turned a look of suspicion at the newcomer. "Judging from the high tweed factor, I'd say you're from the Council?"

He nodded. "That's right. Tristan Haversham. You can call me Mr. Haversham." The watcher turned to Spike. "And you must be the vampire who thinks he's one of us."

"I'm Dawn's watcher," Spike agreed carefully.

The new watcher turned to survey the basement. "And you live down here?"

"I've told you all this, Tristan." Giles sounded annoyed.

Haversham walked back to the stairs. "Miss Summers, if you don't mind, I have some questions for you."

She rolled her eyes but followed him upstairs. He sat down at the dining room table, gestured for her to sit opposite him. Taking out a notebook, he began to fire questions at her. "Who knows you're alive aside from the people in this house and Giles and Faith?"

"Xander and Anya. And Amy, but she's in LA right now."

"That's all?"

"Well, no. Angel knows. And I suppose he's told Cordelia and Wesley, and that Fred woman. And I think another guy works with them now. He might know."

He looked at her with irritation. "Perhaps it would have been easier to ask for a list of the people who don't know?"

"It's not that many people."

He ignored her. "How many times have you been outside since your return?"

"Twice."

He seemed displeased at her answer. "At night?"

"One was. The other was about 7:30 in the morning."

"That was foolish. To the best of your knowledge, did anyone see you?"

"I don't think so. I mean, it's possible, I guess. But I didn't talk to anyone, or see anyone I knew. I mean other than the gang."

"Ah yes. The 'gang.' Quentin Travers filled me in and gave me transcripts of the interviews he and his staff recently conducted with you and your associates. The new slayer wasn't interviewed."

"Her name is Dawn," she corrected, "And no, she wasn't a part of this then."

Haversham looked her over somberly. "Unlucky girl to be a part of it now. "

Buffy bristled. "She's all right."

"For now. It's hard to tell how a slayer will turn out. Take yourself, for instance. At that age you seemed to be full of potential."

"Sorry to disappoint you."

"Not me, Miss Summers. The Council."

"Well they were a bit of a disappointment to me too."

"I'm sure." He closed his book, then stood and walked over to the stairs, called down them. "I'm leaving, Rupert."

A few seconds later Giles came into the room. "You have what you need from Buffy then?"

"I do."

"So you're going to help me?" Buffy asked skeptically.

"I'm under orders to help you, Miss Summers. Whether I like it or not, that's what I'll do."

"Oh. Well, good." She couldn't resist a dig. "Too bad you can't stand me. Or is it slayers in general you don't like?"

"I'm sure I don't know what you're talking about."

"Denial is a river in Egypt," Giles commented archly.

"I guess you know little about that. Since you deny yourself virtually nothing where your other slayer is concerned." Haversham's face was pinched. "Disgusting."

Buffy defended her watcher. "Oh, like it doesn't happen all the time between watchers and slayers."

Haversham's eyes were like ice as they turned to her.

"Not between Giles and me." She clarified quickly. "But in the past. When the slayers didn't have anyone but their watchers to confide in. You think that they weren't finding some solace in each other?"

"If they were, the watcher should have been relieved."

"Giles and Faith aren't doing anything wrong." Buffy couldn't believe she was defending the other slayer.

"He's sleeping with an impressionable young woman. That is wrong."

"You haven't met Faith yet, have you?"

"No. That dubious honor has eluded me." He glanced at Giles. "She was out when I met your watcher at his apartment."

Buffy smiled meanly. "Well, you'll quickly discover that there is nothing impressionable about her. She's been making her own decisions for a while now."

"Yes. Decisions that landed her in jail. So much for not impressionable." He walked to the door, looked back at them. "I'll be back tomorrow at 5 pm sharp, Rupert. And I want everyone here."

"Of course." Giles glanced out the door to Haversham's rental car. "You can find your way back?"

"It's not that big a town, now is it?" Haversham nodded at Buffy. "Good day."

"Yeah. Bye." As soon as Giles shut the door, she let out a big sigh. "What a jerk."

"He is arrogant. But there is probably no better man for this."

"I hope so," Buffy whispered. "I've got to get out of this house before I do something really stupid."

"Something like what I nearly caught you at in the basement just now?"

"I don't know what you mean."

"It was awfully quiet down there. For two people sparring, I mean." He gave her a significant look. "Don't bother answering, I know you'll just lie."

She watched him walk away into the kitchen. As she heard him on the phone she felt guilty for what he had almost seen. Or part of her did anyway. The other part was just angry that the kiss had been interrupted. That part of her was dangerous. It needed to be locked up. No more trips to the basement during the day, she resolved. But somehow her inner voice didn't sound very sure about that resolution.

---------------------------------------

Giles was relieved when he heard the British accent at the end of the other line. He really wasn't in the mood to deal with Cordelia. "Wesley, it's Giles."

"You don't sound very happy."

"I've got a Council representative here to help us get Buffy back into mainstream life. He's clearly not pleased at his assignment. What do you know about Tristan Haversham?"

"What do I know? Correct me if I'm mistaken, but weren't you two good friends?"

"That was a long time ago," Giles said with some bitterness. He and Tristan had been the golden boys of the Council. Even with his youthful follies, Giles had been one of the chosen, and Tristan had been right there with him. They had been close once but hadn't spoken since Giles had been fired. "You've got better connections, Wesley. I thought you might know what he's been up to lately."

"He's been doing special projects for the Council. Things of a rather sensitive nature. Oh and you do know he was supposed to be the Watcher for the next slayer?"

Giles smiled cynically. "That explains a great deal."

"Yes. Must grill him quite a lot to have to help, especially with the special circumstances surrounding Dawn's current watcher."

"Do you think Spike is accepted in that role?"

"I wouldn't hold your breath waiting for him to get an invitation to the Watcher's Retreat. And I'm not sure if they would help him if he called on them. But they seem to have given up any ideas of trying to get rid of him."

"But they were thinking about it?" Giles wasn't really all that surprised.

"I think so. But when it became clear that he was doing quite well in the role, I think they decided to leave well enough alone." Wesley chuckled. "No one really wants to get involved with the current batch of slayers. There were a number of disappointed people when Dawn was called. A new slayer, free of the rather rebellious ties of the Sunnydale strain, would have been welcome."

"Welcome perhaps, but not to be. I feel as if I'm overseeing a dynasty."

"Three slayers is rather an embarrassment of riches." Wesley cleared his throat. "I was in the vicinity when Angel was talking to Buffy. I heard about you and Faith."

Giles felt his hackles go up. "And?"

"Well the phrase, 'Have you lost all reason?' comes to mind."

"I don't expect you to understand."

"Why? Perhaps because I was the one that she tortured?"

"As Angelus tortured me. But I managed to put that behind me."

"Angel wasn't himself when he did that."

"Faith has changed. Although if she wants to torture you again, I just might let her."

Wesley sighed. "We just can't seem to stay civil to each other for very long, can we?"

"I'm sorry. That was uncalled for."

"No. It's none of my business. I'm sure you know what you're doing. Frankly your instincts about Faith have always been better than mine. I was as much to blame for her turning to evil as anyone."

"Probably more," Giles agreed.

"Well I don't know if I'd go that far."

"I'm sure you wouldn't." Giles saw Buffy watching him. "I have to go, Wesley. Thank you for the information."

"Of course." The other man sounded as relieved as Giles did that the conversation was over.

"So?" Buffy asked with concern. "What did the gutless wonder have to say?"

"You should be nicer to him. He really does want to help."

She laughed meanly. "Well yeah, since the council fired him. So what's the story on Haversham?"

"He was slated to be Dawn's watcher."

"That explains his antagonism toward Spike. Not that it takes much to dislike him."

Giles looked at her carefully. She appeared to mean what she said. Why then did he have the feeling that something was going on between her and the vampire? Part of him was appalled, even as another part pointed out that no one would have picked Faith and him for couple of the year, and they were doing quite well. He tried to be generous. Buffy should be with whomever made her happy. But Spike?

Buffy had started to pace. She was ranting about Haversham's attitude.

He interrupted her, "If you want your life back, Buffy, you'll need to work with him."

"I know." She sighed. "I just don't want to." She pulled her arms close around her body. "I get nervous whenever the Council is in town. And this guy bothers me almost as much as Quentin does."

"It'll be alright. Just give him the chance to help you."

"I will. I'm just worried. I've got a bad feeling about this."

Giles didn't want to tell her that he did too.

---------------------------------------------

Dawn thought school would never end. It was last period and the teacher had been droning on forever about Reconstruction. Like she was ever going to need to know about the rebuilding of the South. She turned her thoughts to the next patrol. Things had been dull for the last two nights. Maybe tonight they would see more action.

It took her a moment to realize that the bell had rung and her classmates were getting up. She looked over at Lisa Mathis. Her friend's eyes were suspicious. "What?" Dawn asked defensively.

"I don't get you, anymore." Lisa grabbed her book bag and hurried out of the classroom.

Dawn sighed, then realized that she wasn't alone in the room. She turned to see Kevin Berman staring at her.

"Still got a lot of stuff going on, huh?"

"I guess." She tried to be casual, to not act goofy like she always did every time he talked to her. But he was just so cute, she thought to herself.

"You're really out of it. If you want to be a stoner that's cool, I guess." He turned away and walked to the door.

"I'm not a stoner," she said hotly, following him into the hall.

Lisa was standing there. She looked at Kevin. "I told you she'd say that."

"What is this? You're ganging up on me?" Dawn was angry.

"We care about you. Which is a good thing because you don't seem to care about anything anymore."

"Yeah, well how about you lose your mom and your sister? See how you like it." Dawn spun away from both of them and walked away. She blinked back hot tears. Lisa had been her closest friend. They had told each other everything. And she'd thought that Kevin was becoming more than just a classroom chum. But it was obvious they looked down on her now. She already felt lonely. Being the slayer really sucked sometimes.

Faith was waiting out front for her. "Hey kid. What's got you so upset?"

"I don't have any friends." Dawn realized how that sounded. "I mean at school."

"I know what you mean. Yeah, that bites. But maybe a little kicking vampire ass will improve your mood? Ready to clean out a nest?"

Dawn nodded.

Faith laughed. "You know, not too long ago, I wouldn't have waited till you were done with school. Did I ever tell you about the time I got Buffy to leave class in the middle of a test?"

"No way."

"Way." Faith launched into the story. By the time she finished they were coming up on an abandoned warehouse. There were boards nailed over the windows. Faith grinned evilly as she pulled the first one off. Dawn helped her clear off more. They moved down to the next window and did the same.

"Lame-asses. Maybe next time they'll nail the boards up on the inside." Faith smirked. "What? Were they expecting a hurricane?"

Dawn laughed. "Are any of these vampires very smart? I mean really?'

"Does seem like there are two schools. The idiots we fight every night, and then those like Angel."

"And Spike."

Faith grinned. "I forget he's even a vampire half the time."

"Don't let him hear you say that." Dawn led Faith to the next window. "He hates it when people act like he's all harmless."

"I don't mean that. I just guess I trust him. Like when I turn my back on him, I don't have to worry he's gonna try to cop a drink. Can't say I feel that way about most vamps." Faith found a crowbar in the rubble below the window. "Wicked useful." Using it, she made short work of the boards. They moved around to the back. "Not like I worried around Angel, but he's got that whole soul thing working for him."

"Spike has the chip."

"Yeah. But it's different. Angel doesn't want to do the whole vampire shtick. Spike probably still does but chooses not to. You told me he could have gone off with Drusilla if he'd wanted to."

"He stayed for Buffy. If it weren't for her, he might have left."

"But now he stays for you. Seems to me, Spike's always finding a reason to be good. That should tell you something."

The windows were all uncovered. They walked back. Faith pulled out some stakes, handed a couple to Dawn. Pausing at the door, she looked at the younger slayer. "You ready?"

Dawn took a deep breath, dropped her book bag at the door. She could already feel the adrenaline pumping. "Ready."

Faith kicked the big door open. Light rushed in ahead of them. "Cock-a-doodle-doo," she taunted as she stepped into the room.

Ten vampires stood in shadows in the middle of the room. There was very little space in the warehouse not flooded with sunlight.

"Gosh, guess we went and ruined your nice place, huh?" Dawn laughed. She couldn't help it. She loved this. She stepped deliberately close to one of the vampires and he reached for her. She countered quickly, grabbing him and tossing him into the sunlight. He scurried for the shadows, but not before his coat started to blaze and nearly lit one of the other vampires on fire. The second vamp threw him back into the sunshine. He fell on the ground, then was gone.

"So who wants to be next?" Faith asked. She looked disappointed as the sullen vampires just stared at her. "Looks like we have no volunteers, squirt."

"This one'll do," Dawn pointed to a male in the front.

He snarled at her. His leg came out to kick her and she grabbed it and pulled him into the sunshine. He fought her but she kicked him toward the open door. He hit the full sunshine and exploded into dust.

Faith strode into the group, fighting with several of the vamps before tossing two more out the front door.

Dawn liked the odds better. She stepped into the shade and immediately went after a female. The woman fought well but she made the mistake of stepping too close to the border of the shadows. Her hand began to sizzle and she screamed. Dawn staked her and turned to find a huge male blocking her way.

His hands came up around her neck. "That was my woman!" he roared.

"Join her then," Faith suggested as she staked him from the back then turned back to the three she was fighting.

Dawn went after the vamp nearest her, staking him quickly before turning to help Faith. She could feel the other slayer as she fought, their movements perfectly in tune. Faith kicked one of the vampires back toward her, and Dawn staked him with one smooth motion. Faith dusted another. The last vampire went after Faith, all fighting style abandoned as he tried only to get his hands on her. Dawn hit him from the back as Faith stabbed him from the front. They both pulled back and he was gone in a shimmer of dust.

"Hey!" a voice sounded behind Faith. She spun, her stake already coming down to take out the unexpected opponent.

"No!" Dawn screamed as she saw who stood there.

With an almost superhuman effort, Faith managed to pull the blow and the stake just grazed Lisa's shirt, ripping it but leaving Dawn's friend unharmed. Faith stared down at the stake, all color leaving her face for a moment. She seemed very far away.

The girl looked at Dawn, then at Kevin who stood behind her. She turned and stared up at Faith. Lisa's mouth was moving, but words weren't coming out.

Kevin did better. "What the hell is going on?"

Dawn stuck her stake into the back of her pants. "Nothing. What do you mean?"

"What is that thing," Lisa pointed to the stake, then ran her finger over the long tear down the front of her shirt.

"We saw it all." Kevin looked around the room. "We were outside when you threw those first few out. They like blew up or something when they were in the sunlight. And these others." He tried to touch the stake, but Faith jerked it away. "That's a stake isn't it? And those are vampires."

Dawn's laugh was brittle. "Vampires are make-believe." She looked at Faith.

The other slayer just shrugged.

"This isn't make-believe," Lisa said, still touching the rip. "Being almost killed isn't make-believe."

Dawn tried to distract her. "What are you even doing here? Were you following me?"

"Yeah," Kevin said. "We were worried about you."

"Oh, like you care," Dawn retorted.

"I do care. I thought after your mom died that you and I were really talking, you know communicating. But then you disappeared for a while and we heard your sister had died and suddenly you were back in town, but you never called me."

"Or me," Lisa jumped in. "We used to talk every day."

"And when school started, you were all different." He looked at her. "We saw you go off with her," he pointed at Faith. "And we didn't know what to think. So we followed you."

"And here we are." Lisa met Dawn's gaze with steely resolve. "We've been best friends forever. Or have you forgotten that?"

Dawn looked at the other girl. She did feel as if they'd been close for a long time. But in her heart she knew that before the monks did their spell, Lisa had probably had another best friend. Or maybe no one. Dawn considered that. Did it matter how it happened? Lisa was the closest friend she had. And Kevin, well he might be more someday. She decided to trust them. She pointed at the other slayer, "This is Faith."

"Hey," Faith said evenly.

"And she is sort of like a big sister to me. Well except that..."

Faith cleared her throat, then shook her head slightly when Dawn looked over.

She realized she'd been about to talk about Buffy being alive. She had to leave that part out, at least until they knew how they were going to explain all that. "Except that she isn't related or anything."

"Yeah, ok. So were those vampires?" Kevin seemed determined to get his original question answered.

Dawn nodded.

"Like suck your blood, hissing at crosses vampires?"

"Pretty much, yeah." Dawn looked over at Lisa.

"This is too weird." Her friend sat down suddenly. She looked up at Dawn with awe. "You were fighting them."

"Yeah. That's what we do." Faith replied

"We're slayers," Dawn offered. "Vampire slayers."

"Vampire slayers," Kevin repeated. "How do you get that job? Did you like apply for it or something?"

"Slayers are called. One girl in all the world to fight the vampires and other evil."

"One girl?" Lisa looked at both of them with a confused look as she stood back up.

"Well ok, thr..two right now." Faith started to explain, then thought better of it. "Look, we'd be here all day if I told you the whole story. And you really don't want to be in this neighborhood once the sun sets, believe me."

"We'll walk you home," Dawn said.

Her friends were quiet at first as they walked back to their neighborhood. Then Lisa whispered. "I heard things, about your sister. That she was always in fights. But that she was usually protecting people. She was a slayer too, wasn't she?"

Dawn nodded.

"But she died." Kevin thought about that. "Fighting vampires?"

"Something worse." Dawn didn't want to think about that night. "When she died, I was called."

"That doesn't seem fair, somehow," Lisa observed.

"Tell me about it." Dawn looked over. "I'm sorry about the way I've been acting. It's just so much has happened and then this. It was all too much, I guess."

"So now that we know, you won't be all weird around us, will you?" Lisa's face got stern. "I mean I don't care if you are the slayer. You used to care about school and your friends."

"I know. I'll try to be better." Dawn stopped in front of Lisa's house. "Don't tell anyone, ok? Either of you?"

Lisa gave her a quick hug. "Don't worry, your secret is safe with me." She began to laugh. "I guess this explains why you're suddenly so good in PE?"

"I guess it does," Dawn smiled sheepishly.

Her friend just nodded, then headed up the walk. Once she was safely inside, they started walking again.

Kevin looked over at her. "You look different too. Older."

She smiled.

"And scarier."

Her smile faded.

"You were really getting into that fight, Dawn. That's kind of creepy."

"Might as well enjoy your work," Faith offered breezily.

Dawn tried to explain, "They aren't really alive. I mean, they had to die first before they became a vampire. And they're monsters, you know?"

"Yeah. I guess. But you two were really going for it. Like you got off on it or something."

"Maybe we do." Faith's voice was defiant.

"Would that be so bad? Would it really be better if we had to be dragged out every night kicking and screaming?"

"You do this every night?" He seemed disturbed at the thought.

Dawn nodded. "Till we die."

"Dawn," Faith looked at her in concern.

"Well it's true. Nobody ever says it but it is."

"Till you die. And then someone else gets called."

"That's right, Einstein," Faith strode on ahead.

"What's her problem?"

Dawn shrugged. "It's a touchy subject. And she doesn't like too many people."

"What about you? Do you like me?" Kevin looked at her seriously. "Because I thought we were hitting it off and then you got all weird. Kirsty said you were on drugs."

"I thought we agreed not to listen to her," she said sternly.

"Yeah, we did, but that was before you zoned out on me. I didn't know what to think."

"I like you, Kevin. I like you a lot." She looked down, feeling suddenly very shy.

He reached over and took her hand. "Well, I like you a lot too."

They walked the rest of the way to his house in silence. He didn't let go of her hand till he had to.

Faith stepped close to her as they watched him wave from the front door, then close it behind him. "Somebody's got a boyfriend."

Dawn blushed. "What? Don't you approve?"

"No, he seems nice. They both do." She smiled at the younger girl. "Hell, Buffy's got a bloody back-up group, why shouldn't you?"

"Bloody?" Dawn laughed. "I think Giles is wearing off on you."

"It could happen." Faith laughed. "Don't tell him I said that. He'll be way too pleased."

Dawn grinned. "Do you love him, Faith?"

The other girl smiled. "Yeah."

"That's cool." Dawn looked over at the other slayer. "Race you back to the cemetery?"

"You're on," Faith said and took off running.

"No fair," Dawn laughed as she tried to catch her. She didn't really care though that Faith was winning. All she could think of was Kevin and how she could still feel the touch of his hand on hers.

------------------------------

Faith slept in late the next morning. Giles was already up when she finally opened her eyes. She walked down to find him drinking coffee and staring out the window. "What's wrong?"

"Tristan."

"Oh. Can't you just ignore him while he's here?"

Giles gave a soft laugh. "I wish I could."

"You want me to kill him?"

He turned to her in surprise, relaxed when he saw the teasing smile. "Best not."

"Suit yourself." She snuggled in under his arm. "Did he say something about us?" She could feel him tense. Knew she was right. "It doesn't matter what any of them think. Isn't that what you've told me like a thousand times?"

His arm tightened around her.

She kissed his cheek. "I love you. You love me. Bunch of old geezers in England don't get that, too bad."

He looked down at her, a grin of pure affection transforming his face.

"That's the look I like to see." She pulled his mouth down to hers. "We have lots of time before that meeting."

He laughed. "Yes I suppose we do. Did you have an idea for how to spend it?"

She leaned up, whispered in his ear. He blushed but let her lead him back up to the loft.

Much later, he whispered into her ear, "Don't fall asleep. We have to go soon."

She roused herself. "And I want to look my trashy best." She chuckled and got out of bed. Reaching into the closet she pulled out her black leather pants and a low cut top. "What do you think? Push-up bra too much?"

"Probably." He got an evil smile. "Although if you want to wear it later..."

"You're a very bad man," she replied as she headed downstairs for a shower. Minutes later, she was drying her hair and putting on makeup. She resisted the urge to go all out with the kohl.

When she joined Giles he looked at her in approval. "You're beautiful."

"You have to say that."

"No, I don't. I could say you were sexy, which you are. Or pretty. Or handsome. But you are beautiful."

She felt something crack inside of her. It was as if he knew where all the walls were around her heart and was systematically battering them down in his gentle way.

He pulled out a box. "This was my grandmother's. I want you to have it."

She opened the box, hoping that it wasn't something formal like a cameo, and was pleased to see a small onyx figure on a heavy silver chain. "It's beautiful. What is it?"

"An Indian deity. Kali or KaliMa. She was the protector of women. And occasionally the destroyer of men. And demons. She is sometimes referred to as the slayer."

"Cool." She held it up, admiring the fearsome goddess. "This was your grandmother's?"

"Yes, well, grandmum was not your average woman." He took the necklace and fastened it around her neck. "And neither are you."

She walked over to the hall mirror. The four-armed goddess sat on Faith's skin as if she were made to be there. The old onyx shone with a velvet gleam as the chain caught the light. It was perfect. She hugged Giles. "I love it."

"I'm glad. I realized that I've never given you anything."

"Giles, you've given me more than you will ever know." She kissed him, felt him respond.

Then he gently pushed her away. "As much as I would like to continue this, we must be going."

She nodded, grabbed her jacket, and followed him out. The short ride over was quiet, their silence comfortable and full. Faith pulled down the visor so that she could admire her new necklace in the mirror. She saw Giles glance over at her once and she smiled at him. He looked very pleased with himself. His pleasure faded as soon as they parked the car at Buffy's. Tristan had also arrived, was just getting out of his car.

"Ah, right on time, Rupert." The watcher walked over and inspected her as she sat in the convertible. "And you must be the elusive Faith."

"In the flesh."

"Yes." He sniffed. "Quite a lot of it."

"You don't like my outfit?"

"Faith..." Giles tone was warning.

"It's alright, Giles. Your girl, and my how that phrase conveys a multitude of meanings, can dress however she pleases."

"Wicked generous of you," Faith got out of the car and walked toward the house.

"Miss—"

She cut him off. "Just Faith."

"Right. Faith. I'd like to talk to you for a moment. Alone." He turned to Giles, who had begun to protest. "This has nothing to do with the relationship between you two. I just want to talk to the slayer."

Giles finally walked inside.

Faith narrowed her eyes. "Just one of three."

"Pardon me?"

"I'm not the slayer. I'm a slayer. There's a difference."

"Quite. That's what I wanted to speak to you about." He sighed heavily. "I want to talk seriously about what's going on here. All this fuss to get back Miss Summers' life. A worthy cause I'm sure, but quite a lot of effort for one girl. One girl that might be more than a little affected by her experience in the portal."

"Affected?"

"Faith, let me be perfectly candid. I want you to do the same. Haven't you had some doubts about her mental stability? Are we doing the right thing putting her back into the line of fire?"

"You want me to say that I think she's crazy?"

"I can't ask Dawn to go against her sister. I know she wouldn't, even if she agreed that something was wrong. But one signed statement from you and we could take Buffy back for counseling...get her some help."

Faith laughed. "Like you were going to get me some help?" She shook her head. "Buffy died saving the world. That's me and you and everyone else on the friggin' council. Seems to me we kind of owe her." She headed for the steps.

"Faith, if the girl needs help, can you really afford to walk away?"

Without turning, she shot back, "Buffy's fine. If you think I'll help you, you're an idiot." She took a few more steps, then turned. "Oh and Tristan?"

He looked at her, irritation written on his features.

"Don't call us girls." She hurried up the stairs and into the house.

Buffy stood by the window. "What did he want?"

"Don't trust him, B. He's a scumbag."

Buffy's face tightened. "Thanks."

Faith nodded and hurried over to Giles.

Haversham opened the door and walked through. He ignored the glares from both slayers and started to speak without preamble. "Are we all here?"

"Dawn's on her way home," Willow replied.

"She should already be here."

"Yeah, well she's not. So deal." Buffy's tone was hostile.

"Fine, we'll wait. I need to make some calls," he pulled out a cell phone and walked into the kitchen.

Xander scowled at the door Haversham had disappeared into, then turned to Giles. "How come you're the only normal person we've met from the Council?"

"It's probably why they fired him," Anya offered.

Spike walked into the room. "I miss anything?"

"Just an irritated watcher," Willow answered.

Dawn rushed in from outside. "Am I late?"

"Fraid so," Tara said.

"Damn." Dawn grimaced at Buffy's glare. "Darn." She rolled her eyes as she joined Willow on the floor.

Haversham walked back out. "Well, I see we're all assembled. Finally."

Faith thought the watcher's attitude was getting old fast. Looking at Buffy she could see her fellow slayer agreed. Their eyes met in a rare moment of understanding.

"Very well then. I have laid the groundwork for Miss Summers' return. There are two prongs to the plan. The first will be taken care of by my operatives. We'll be switching the bodies in the gravesite. You said, Rupert, that there was no autopsy, nor any question of the body's identity?"

"We called the police directly. Identified her at the scene. There was no autopsy at our request."

"We'll still check the police and coroner files. Make sure no dental records or photos of the corpse exist."

Faith saw Buffy swallow and look down.

"Could we not talk about Buffy's body that way?" Dawn said.

"I don't see why not. It's not your sister, as you well know."

"But it was my sister."

"Let it go, Niblet," Spike suggested.

Haversham looked at the vampire in surprise. Spike stared back, his expression neutral.

"Won't they be able to tell that you disturbed the grave?" Tara asked.

"We have quite a lot of experience in this, Miss Maclay. No one will question."

"Won't the person have to look an awful lot like Buffy?" Willow glanced at her friend. "Do you just have bodies on hand?"

Haversham nodded. "Actually we do. I can't really go into it but think of a worldwide network of morgues and funeral homes willing to provide us with whatever we need. This body will look enough like Miss Summers to be easily mistaken for her by you. We'll come up with a convincing story for why she was here in Sunnydale. No one will question it. Especially when the real Miss Summers drives back into town."

"Huh?" Buffy looked at him in suspicion.

"We need to provide you with a story for the past few months."

"So we're going to say that I just left town?"

"Yes, you were so distraught over your mother's death, at the responsibility that entailed, that you snapped, ran away."

"Nobody's going to believe that."

Haversham smiled meanly. "Why not? They believed you committed suicide."

Faith could tell that Buffy had never considered that. But it was the easiest explanation. The other slayer wasn't done arguing.

"This is ridiculous. I'd never just leave Dawn, not when Glory—"

"The authorities don't know about Glory," Haversham countered. "All they know is that there were two dead bodies under that tower and yours was an apparent suicide."

Buffy's voice was very quiet. "Two bodies?"

'That's right. Glory's host also died."

"Ben?" Her face was horrified. "But that's impossible. He was alive when I left him."

Faith looked over at Giles. He met her eyes firmly, then almost imperceptibly shook his head. She felt confusion wash over her. Wasn't he going to say something?

Haversham continued. "Massive injuries. Beaten to death by a heavy object. Police were mystified at the connection. I doubt any of you were any help."

The Scoobies sat silent in affirmation.

"So I killed Ben."

Haversham corrected her. "No, you killed Glory, his death was unfortunate but not unexpected. You're really getting upset over nothing."

"A life is not nothing." Buffy turned away from him, looked at the others. "Ben helped us, he saved your life, Giles. Shouldn't we care that I killed him?"

Spike's voice was bitter. "Bugger took that bitch Glory with him when he died. Think that justifies whatever happened. She'd have come back for us eventually."

Anya spoke. "It was really Glory that killed him. She wouldn't give up, wouldn't stop fighting you even when you were really hurting her. Maybe if she had, he wouldn't have died."

"I beat him to death." There was raw pain in Buffy's voice.

"So what?" Dawn stood up, went to her sister. "He wasn't good. I don't care if he helped us or not. He really wasn't good. He could have let me get away, but he didn't. He took me back to her so that he could live."

Willow agreed. "And even before that he knew Glory was after the key. He could have told you the truth before she found out it was Dawn. But he didn't."

"You can't blame yourself, Buffy," Spike said. "Glory took him down with her. And he'd chosen to fight on her side. He wasn't an innocent bystander."

"I was so mad at her, though. I kept hitting her. She was down and I didn't stop. I couldn't stop. Maybe if I hadn't been so out of control?" She looked at Giles in appeal.

He finally spoke. "Maybe what? He'd still be alive? Then so would Glory. And Spike's right. She'd be after us even now. Making us all pay. It's a terrible thing, but ultimately for the best."

Faith sat silently, watching Buffy process her watcher's words. Faith's eyes again met Giles. His look was wary. She nodded slightly. She would not betray him. He seemed to relax.

"Can we move off this point now?" Haversham looked at his watch.