Title: Throwing Stones
Author: Karen U
E-mail: ksu2@juno.com
Rating: PG-13
Dislaimer: All characters belong to Joss Whedon, the WB, and Fox
Summary: Forrest and Graham are forced to work with the Scooby Gang
Spoilers: Through A New Man
Part One
Forrest Gates and Graham Miller walked briskly across campus, headed for
Stevenson dorm to see Buffy Summers, Riley’s new girlfriend. The men walked
in silence, both a combination of worry and anger. Worry for their friend,
anger about what had happened. Forrest was furious with Buffy, certain she
could have done something to prevent what had happened. Graham, on the
other hand, wasn’t so quick to lay blame.
He just wanted to know what had happened and get his friend back.
The two headed to the room Buffy shared with some redhead - Graham thought
her name was Willow, but wasn’t sure - and Graham’s pace increased as he saw
the aforementioned redhead stop outside the door, shifting her books in her
arms in order to reach the knob.
"Hey!" Graham called. "Do you know if Buffy’s in?"
The redhead turned, surprise registering on her face. After a moment she
relaxed, apparently recognizing them as Riley’s friends. She shrugged. "I
don’t know. I haven’t seen her since I left for class this morning. She
wasn’t feeling her best, so she may have skipped. Why?"
"We... really need to talk to her," Forrest replied somewhat evasively.
Willow raised her eyebrows at his tone, then opened the door.
And stopped short.
"Oh, my God," she whispered as she dropped her books.
Graham’s eyes widened as he saw what had caused Willow’s shock. He quickly
grabbed Willow’s books from the floor, then ushered Forrest and Willow
inside the room. He shut the door behind him and silently surveyed the
room.
It was a study in massive destruction.
Chairs were overturned, lamps were broken, and there was a hole in one of
the walls. The television lay on its side, the screen smashed, and the
telephone had been pulled out of the wall, which explained the busy signal
Forrest had gotten when he’d tried to call Buffy earlier. Clothes and books
were strewn everywhere, and someone had apparently pulled the curtain rod
from one of the closets and used it as some sort of a weapon. One of the
beds had been shoved a good five feet from its original position, and the
little dorm refrigerator was face down.
"What the hell happened in here?" Forrest said wonderingly. The damage was
even worse than what had happened in Riley’s room.
Willow didn’t answer the young man; her attention was instead focused on the
message that had been written above her bed in permanent marker.
‘Where, oh where, has the blonde Slayer gone?
Oh where, oh where is B?’
"Oh, my God," she whispered again.
Carefully, Graham placed his hands on Willow’s shoulders and led her to one
of the beds, urging her to sit down. He knelt in front of her so that he
was at the same eye level as the girl, then put his hand under her chin,
gently forcing her to look at him.
"Do you know who did this?" he asked quietly. He took a piece of paper out
of the pocket of his jeans. On it was scribbled the message that had been
left on Riley’s wall in much the same manner. He showed it to Willow.
"Because whoever did this not only has Buffy; he or she has Riley, too.
This was written on the wall above his bed."
Willow shook herself slightly, forcing herself to concentrate on the note in
Graham’s hand.
‘Roses are red
Violets are blue
I have B’s guy
Now what will you do?’
Graham waited for a moment, afraid the girl wouldn’t answer him. He was
surprised when she pushed herself up off the bed and kicked the phone. She
turned to the guys.
"I need to make a phone call. Do either of you-" she broke off when Forrest
tossed her his cell phone. She quickly dialed the number she wanted, then
waited. When someone answered, she spoke rapidly. "Xander, it’s me. I
need you to come to the dorm. Now. Damn it, Xander, I don’t care that you
have to work. Call in sick... or
dead... or whatever. This is important. We have trouble, and if you’re not
here in ten minutes, I’m going to hurt you severely. Bye." Sighing deeply
and shaking slightly, Willow ended the call, then tossed the phone back to
Forrest. Without looking at either man, she headed to her computer and
turned it on, thankful that it hadn’t been destroyed in the fight. She
quickly got online, then went to work.
"What are you doing?" Graham asked, coming up behind the girl. He was amazed
at the redhead’s sudden change in manner. One minute he was afraid she was
going into shock, the next, she was a whirlwind of activity.
"I’m hacking into the hospital’s files," she replied. "Do you have a
problem with that?"
Not knowing how to answer that little bit of information, Graham and Forrest
simply exchanged a baffled glance, then watched the redhead work. Both men
jumped in surprise when the door opened and a young man - they recognized
him as the young man who had come to get Buffy at a frat party a few months
ago and assumed he was Xander - entered, stopping short when he saw the
damage. He read the message on the wall quickly, then looked at Willow, who
had turned to face him.
"Faith?" Xander asked quietly, glancing beyond Willow’s shoulder to the
computer screen. It was obvious to him that she had pulled some sort of
medical file.
Willow nodded slowly.
"She’s awake."
Part Two
"Who’s Faith?" Forrest asked, none too pleased about being out of the loop.
Xander looked at Forrest and Graham, then let his gaze travel back to
Willow, a question on his face. Willow bit her lip, then spoke.
"She took Riley, too. That’s why they’re here."
"What? How?"
"I’m going with about the same way she took Buffy, only with slightly less
destruction," Forrest replied.
"Not that," Xander said through clenched teeth. "I meant, how’d she know to
take him?"
"She’s been awake for a week," Willow explained softly. "She escaped, and
the hospital’s been as discreet as possible. I guess they hoped they’d find
her before anything happened. She must have been watching us. She probably
saw Buffy with Riley and decided to take him, too."
"Who the hell is this chick?" Forrest asked.
"And how can you be so sure it’s her, anyway?" Graham added.
Willow stood and went over to her bed, staring at the message. "First of
all, she’s the only person that ever called Buffy ‘B,’ so big clue there.
Plus, the whole Slayer thing. It’s not exactly common knowledge."
"What is the Slayer thing?" Graham asked. He’d heard of the Slayer, but,
like Forrest and the rest of the Initiative, had thought she was a myth.
Now, it was looking like he was wrong.
"Riley didn’t tell you?" Willow asked. When both men looked at her blankly,
she continued. "Buffy’s the Slayer."
"That’s a myth. The Slayer doesn’t really exist," Forrest protested.
"Don’t be so sure of that," Graham replied thoughtfully. "I mean, this room
does not look like it endured an average chick fight. It looks like a
couple of bulls got set loose in a china shop."
"Yeah, but if Buffy’s the Slayer, shouldn’t she have been able to take on
this Faith girl? I mean, Slayers are supposed to have superhuman strength."
Graham turned to Willow. "Is this Faith person human?"
"Yeah. Actually, she’s a Slayer, too."
"That’s not even possible, is it? Everything I’ve ever heard says that
there is only one..."
"Yeah, that whole ‘one girl in all the world’ garbage," Xander said with a
nod. "Turns out there’s a way around it. If a Slayer say, drowns or
something, but is revived, it still triggers the next one."
"So Buffy died and came back, and this Faith chick was called?"
"Well actually, Kendra came along before Faith did, but that’s the basic
idea."
"And Faith wants to be the only Slayer?"
"Well, she kind of went nuts, joined the bad guy, and tried to kill
everybody," Willow told them matter of factly.
Forrest looked at Graham. This did not look good. He nodded his head
toward the door. "We need to go see... well, you know..."
"Professor Walsh?" Willow supplied. She smiled slightly when both men
turned to stare at her. "You are both in the Initiative with Riley, aren’t
you?"
"You know?" Forrest asked incredulously. "Riley really sucks at undercover,
doesn’t he?"
"He kind of had to tell us. He and Buffy ran into each other on patrol a
while back, and they told each other everything. And since we know all
about Buffy, he figured it was safe to tell us about the Initiative."
"Which we knew about anyway," Xander added.
"Excuse me?" Forrest replied, shocked. Graham couldn’t keep a small smile
from forming. He liked these people for some reason, and he didn’t imagine
there would be a dull moment around them.
"We’ve known for a while about how you guys capture demons and do
experiments that, among other things, render the creatures harmless. Which
I should thank you for, by the way. If it wasn’t for the implant you put in
Spike, I’d be dead right now. Although I’m still pissed about the guns in
my face thing," Willow informed them.
"Sorry about that," Graham said quietly. With a sigh, he looked back at the
message that Faith had left for them. "So what now? How do we find them
and get them back?"
Willow shrugged. "Faith was in a coma for eight months-"
"A coma!?! Can I ask what happened to put a Slayer in a coma?" Forrest
exclaimed.
"She and Buffy fought. Buffy won. The point is, Faith was out of it for a
long time. She’ll probably head somewhere familiar. Her apartment, or the
library, or maybe even the mansion on Crawford Street."
"Then why am I still sitting here when you know where she might be? Come
on, Graham, let’s go find them."
"You ever fought a Slayer?" Xander asked. "It’s not easy, especially when
she’s a psycho. We can’t just go off half-cocked."
"Xander’s right," Graham added. "We need a plan before we head out."
"We?" Forrest asked. "This isn’t we, as in the four of us. This is an
Initiative operation."
"Excuse me?" Willow said, stepping closer to Forrest. The young man took a
step back when faced with the anger in the redhead’s eyes. "You think we’re
going to let you leave us out of this? I don’t trust you people to save
Buffy. You couldn’t even keep Spike locked up, and Faith’s a lot more
dangerous than he is."
"We’re trained to do this," Forrest retorted.
"Well, I don’t give a damn. I’ve nearly lost Buffy more times than I care
to remember. She’s run away from home, she’s face death I don’t know how
many times... Good Lord, she’s even died before! She is my best friend, and
I will not stand back and watch while she’s in danger. Besides, you people
don’t even know Faith’s weaknesses.
Xander and I do."
"You expect me to believe a little thing like you can take down a Slayer?"
Forrest snorted.
"I never said they were physical weaknesses."
"Oh, please," Forrest said. "I’m out of here." He turned to go, stopping
only when he realized Graham wasn’t following him. "Aren’t you coming?"
"I don’t think so," Graham replied.
Forrest shook his head in disgust, then left. Xander turned to Graham.
"You’re willing to work with us?" he asked the other man.
"It looks that way. Look, I want to get Riley and Buffy back. If you two
think you know how to stop Faith, then I’m going to work with you."
"Then I guess we’re partners."
Part Three
"So, um, do you two help Buffy often?" Graham asked as he walked with Willow
and Xander. He had no idea where they were headed, but he knew he had to
trust the pair to take him where they needed to go. Riley’s life could
depend on it.
"We’ve been helping Buffy out since our sophomore year," Willow replied
easily. She stopped at a crosswalk, looked both ways, then continued on.
"Wait a minute. You two have been fighting demons since you were fifteen?"
"You don’t believe us?" Xander asked a bit defensively.
"It’s not that I don’t believe you; I do. It’s just a little difficult to
wrap my mind around everything that’s happened today, you know?"
Willow sent Graham a sweet smile that just about made the young man’s heart
skip a beat. "It’s okay, Graham. We understand. It can be a little much
at times."
Graham returned Willow’s smile, then spoke again. "Is it just the two of
you? Helping Buffy, that is?"
"Not usually," Xander replied. "But Giles just got over the flu and
shouldn’t be facing Faith, and Spike’s pretty much useless because Faith’s
human. If it turns out we need more than just the three of us, we know a
few people in LA who have helped us in the past. I’m sure they would come."
"Good. Um, about this Spike guy... He’s the vamp that was in Willow and
Buffy’s room, right?"
"That’s the vamp. Score one for the commando guy."
Graham sighed at the reference to the Initiative, wondering what kind of
rescue mission Forrest was trying to pull together. It really worried him
that Forrest and company would basically be going in blind. The Initiative
knew nothing about this Faith girl. Willow and Xander did. However, there
were other things on the young man’s mind at the moment.
"Where are we going?" Graham asked as they entered what could only be
considered the bad part of town.
Willow grinned as she turned to face him, walking backwards with perfect
ease. "We’re going to see... Well, he’s a contact of sorts. With any luck,
he’ll know where Faith is, which will save us some time. Otherwise, we’ll
have to check out every nook and cranny looking for her." Finished with her
explanation, Willow turned so that she was once again facing forward, then
stopped under a sign that read ‘Willie’s Alibi.’
"This is it?" Graham asked skeptically. The building was grungy and
dilapidated, and it didn’t look promising.
Willow grabbed his hand and placed a stake in it, then pulled one out for
herself. Xander already had his out. She shrugged at Graham’s questioning
look. "Few of the patrons here are of the fangless variety; the ones that
are fangless tend to be demons. But we’ll be safe. Just trust us, okay?
We could really get some major information here; we have in the past. Come
on."
Graham nodded silently, then let Willow lead him into the dimly lit room.
It was definitely a dive, and Graham didn’t really want to know how Willow
and Xander had discovered this place.
"Oh, look!" a falsely cheerful voice called from behind the bar. The rather
greasy-looking little man had a false smile pasted on his face to match his
voice. "If it isn’t the Slayer’s friends." He emphasized the word
‘Slayer’s,’ and Graham could see the shadows shift in the back of the room
as the few patrons left, leaving the place empty save for them.
"Good to see you, too, Willie," Willow said as she approached the bar. The
young men unconsciously flanked her protectively, even though the bar no
longer had patrons, human or otherwise.
"So, uh, what brings you here?" Willie asked nervously. "I haven’t seen any
of you in a while. Buffy hasn’t even come around lately."
"No, she hasn’t needed to. Has Faith been here recently? Say, in the past
few days? Or have you heard anything about her being around?"
"Ah, so it’s information you want? That’s going to cost you."
Willow sighed in exasperation. "No, Willie, it isn’t. You see, Faith’s
back, and she’s got Buffy. If you know something, you had better tell us
now."
"And if I don’t?" Willie asked nervously. He didn’t like the way the
redhead was glaring at him. He’d always considered her the weak one, but he
was beginning to think that maybe he was wrong.
"Well," Willow replied, leaning in so that she was nearly nose to nose with
the snitch, "I could always call Angel. He’d come down and beat the hell
out of you faster than you could say ‘Ouch, that hurt,’ or I could let
Graham here have a go at you. It’s your choice, Willie. Tell us now and
avoid some massive pain, or get the crap beat out of you and tell us later.
Either way, you’re going to tell us. I’m not too particular about which
method you choose."
Willie glanced at Graham. The kid was definitely human, but he was
obviously in great shape. He knew he wouldn’t stand a chance against that
kind of muscle. Besides, Willie liked Buffy in his own way, and he didn’t
want anything to happen to the girl. However, Willie still made a show of
reluctance.
"Fine," he sighed. "I’ll tell you what I know. But only so I don’t get
pummeled, you understand?"
"Sure we do," Willow replied, playing the game. "We understand completely."
She crossed her arms and leveled a glare at the bartender. "What do you
know, Willie?"
"Not much. But I hear things, you know? I get the whispers..."
"And?" Xander broke in impatiently.
Willie jumped; he’d been watching Willow so intently, he’d nearly forgotten
the others were there.
"Well, the whispers have been saying the crazy Slayer’s back, crazier than
ever. She’s slain a few of my customers, and let me tell you, not everyone
who comes here deserves to be slain."
"Human?" Graham asked.
"One of them was. Seems she’s out for revenge; a vamp that survived his
fight with the bitch said she was making noises about the other Slayer."
"Where is she, Willie?" Willow broke in, clearly losing her patience.
After taking a deep breath, Willie told them.
Part Four
The rather unlikely trio left Willie’s, and the guys followed Willow as she
headed briskly walked down the street.
"Now what?" Graham asked. He had a few ideas as to what they should do to
Faith, but he had always been taught that murder was a bad thing, so he kept
his mouth shut. Besides, three years with the Initiative had left him used
to taking orders from others.
"Head back to the dorm, finalize our plan, then take Faith down," Xander
replied.
"Sounds simple," Graham commented. "But I have a feeling it won’t be."
"Hey! Graham! Willow! Xander! Wait up!"
The trio turned in unison to find Forrest coming towards them. He came to a
stop once he reached them, and he was slightly out of breath.
"What do you want, Gates?" Graham asked, an edge of annoyance in his voice.
"To help. If you’ll still let me."
"Why the sudden change of heart?" Willow asked as the group resumed walking.
"I thought you were going to the Initiative."
"They won’t help us get Riley and Buffy back," Forrest blurted out,
surprising Graham into stumbling.
"What?" he said incredulously. "Riley’s just about the top agent we have.
Getting him back should be top priority."
"Not to mention the fact that Walsh knows Buffy’s the Slayer. She knows
about a lot of the things Buffy has done. I would think getting her back
would be pretty damn important, too," Willow commented angrily.
Forrest snorted. "No wonder she didn’t seem too surprised when I tried to
explain about Buffy. She already knew."
"Why won’t they help?" Xander questioned.
"Apparently there’s some demon in town, and they’re determined to get it and
take it to the lab. Bagging a new hostile takes precedence over rescuing
two human beings, I guess."
"At least with them out there, we won’t have to worry about chasing the
demon ourselves; we can leave that to them. All we have to deal with is
Faith," Willow reasoned, although she was seething in anger over what she
considered to be the poor priorities of the Initiative.
"Isn’t that enough?" Xander said wryly.
"What did Walsh have to say?" Graham asked suddenly.
"That the demon’s top-"
"Not that. I mean, when you left to find us."
"She didn’t really say much," Forrest replied with a shrug. "She told me I
needed to reexamine my priorities, and I threw the comment back at her. I
told her getting Riley and Buffy back was more important than some stupid
demon. It’s not really that big, and it doesn’t even seem dangerous."
"Then why are they after it? I mean, if it’s harmless..." Willow said
softly.
"Yeah, well, to the Initiative, a demon’s a demon. If it’s out there, they
want it."
"I don’t think I like the Initiative."
"Right now," Graham asserted, "neither do I."
"So," Forrest began, changing the subject, "what’s the plan? Or do we even
have one?"
Graham and Xander exchanged a glance and shrugged. All they’d really done
was figure out where Faith was; they hadn’t really come up with a plan.
"We aren’t entirely sure what we’re doing next," Graham admitted.
Willow smiled slightly and spoke. "Um, guys? I have an idea. But I’m
going to need you two to go get something for me, and Xander will have to
make a stop at Buffy’s house."
"Just tell us what you need," Graham replied.
~~*~~*~~*~~*~~
"Is this the place?" Forrest asked as they stood in front of the house.
Graham checked the address that Willow had given him, then nodded. "This is
it." He knocked quickly, and the door was almost immediately opened by
Xander.
"Did you get it?" he asked as he stepped back to allow the men entrance into
the Rosenberg home.
"Yeah, although I’m not entirely sure why Willow didn’t just ask for a
tranquilizer dart. That would have been easier."
"I learned a long time ago not to question Willow. Her ideas tend to work.
Besides, you could miss with a dart and get Willow instead of Faith; using a
syringe is a little more sure. Come on; we’re in Will’s room."
Forrest and Graham followed the third young man through the entryway and
living room of the house, surreptitiously looking around them. Graham was
surprised by the complete lack of personal touches the home had. There were
no family photographs, nothing out of place. It looked like one of those
model homes that you took tours through. He didn’t like it. It didn’t seem
like a very welcoming environment to grow up in.
Willow’s room, however, was a different story. Though it was obvious that
the young woman no longer lived there, the room still housed some personal
touches, including an abundance of pictures of Willow, Buffy, and Xander.
Graham smiled as he caught sight of a picture that had to be the three of
them at the prom. They looked so young and happy; it was hard to believe
they had already spent over two years fighting evil by then. He glanced
around the room, searching for Willow, and he quickly came to the conclusion
that she was behind the dressing screen.
"Hey, Wills," Xander said, "they’re here. They got what you asked for."
"Good," Willow replied. "Um, do you think someone could help me back here?
I can’t get this tied," she continued as she came out from behind the
screen. Graham was pretty sure that his jaw hit his chest as he took in the
sight before him.
Willow.
Dressed completely in leather.
Shaking himself out of his trance of sorts, Graham went over to Willow. She
turned her back to him, and he immediately saw the problem. The black
leather corset she was wearing - which went oh-so-well with the black
leather pants and boots she wore - laced up the back. Graham quickly
tightened and tied the laces, his fingers brushing against her silky skin,
then went back to stand with the guys, trying not to show the effect she had
on him. He knew that if he had stayed near her any longer, he would have
been trying to untie the laces instead of the other way around.
"Uh, not that I mind, in fact, I think you look amazing, but why are you
dressed like that?" Forrest asked, then turned to Xander. "And why aren’t
you staring at her like Graham and I are?"
"Well, I’ve seen her in leather before, and I pretty much have everything
memorized," Xander replied. A paperback book levitated for a moment and
knocked Xander in the head. "Ow!" he protested. "See, this is why guys are
never honest. When we are, we get hit."
Forrest laughed, then turned his attention back to the redhead. "Outfit?"
he prompted.
Willow smiled. "Well, with Faith, we have to play mind games. Throw her
off guard."
"Remind her of the whole Vamp Willow thing," Xander put in. At Forrest and
Graham’s confused looks, he explained. "A vampire version of Willow from
another world showed up last year. With Willow dressed like this, it’ll
really confuse Faith. If she thinks Will’s gone to the other side, she may
drop her guard."
Graham didn’t like the idea. "Isn’t that dangerous for you? If she figures
it out-"
"I really don’t care if she figures it out. You’ll be close enough to see
what’s going on, and you’ll have the syringe. I have a few things I want to
say to her, and while I distract her, Forrest and Xander can get Buffy and
Riley out."
"And if she attacks you before I can get close enough to inject her?" Graham
asked.
Without speaking, Willow walked over to her desk and picked something up,
then quickly unwrapped the weapon she had taken from Buffy’s room. She held
the knife - the still-bloody knife the mayor had given to Faith - up to show
them.
"Whose blood is that?" Forrest asked.
"Faith’s."
Part Five
The abandoned jail was dark and damp, and it was just a few blocks from
where Faith had lived when she first came to Sunnydale. It wasn’t exactly
the Ritz, but it suited Faith’s purposes perfectly. Unlike the Ritz, the
old jail had chains on the wall.
Faith grinned wickedly as she paced around the room that had once been used
for solitary confinement. The room was small and square; it let in no
light, and the walls were solid. It was the perfect place for keeping
prisoners. With a small laugh, the brunette Slayer stepped in close to
Buffy’s blonde boyfriend. She ran her hands down
his chest, laughing when he cringed away.
"Well, B, it looks like you ruined him for women," she taunted the blonde
Slayer. Buffy shot daggers with her eyes, but the gag Faith had shoved in
her mouth prevented her from retorting. Smiling widely, Faith stepped over
to where Buffy was chained and patted the girl’s bruised cheek. "But then
again, none of your guys stick around for long, do they? You gave it up to
Angel, and he went evil. Scott didn’t even stick around long enough for you
to give it up." She slapped Buffy, causing the girl’s head to hit the wall.
"And now Angel’s gone for good," Faith whispered cruelly. "Did the poison
take him slowly? Did he shrivel up and die, or did he just become a big
pile of dust?"
"Actually, he moved to Los Angeles and started his own detective agency," a
voice piped up from the doorway.
Faith spun around wildly, shocked by what she saw.
"Hey, F. How’s it going?" Willow asked coyly, carefully avoiding making eye
contact with Buffy and Riley. She could hardly take the sight of her
friends all bruised and bloodied.
"What do you mean Angel’s in LA? That’s not possible."
"I meant exactly what I said. He didn’t die. He’s off in la-la land,
helping the innocent. Or whatever passes for innocent in LA," she amended
with a laugh.
"What are you doing here? Why are you dressed like that?" Faith asked,
clearly confused. The brunette had never seen the vampire version of
Willow, but she had heard descriptions. She didn’t think this Willow was a
vampire - her Slayer sense would have probably told her that, especially
since she was purposely trying to figure Willow out - but she was beginning
to wonder if the real Willow had decided to take a cue from her doppleganger
and take a walk on the wild side.
"Well," Willow replied in the same almost sing-song voice her doppleganger
had used, "I heard rumors that you were back. Had to see for myself."
"And now?"
"Bored now." Willow gestured to the wall where Buffy and Riley were
chained. "This is no fun. There’s no screaming."
Faith smiled. She could learn to like this Willow, even if the redhead
seemed a little off. "You want to make them scream? We could do it
together. I’ll take B, you take her little boyfriend."
Willow cocked her head to the side, appearing to consider it. With a sigh,
she turned and walked out of the cell, thrilled beyond belief when Faith
followed her. The men were hidden behind various barrels and other things
that had been left over the years, and Willow felt safer knowing that they
were close. Besides, she had to get Faith away from Buffy and Riley so that
Forrest and Xander could save the couple.
"Work with you?" Willow asked.
"Well, yeah."
Willow laughed harshly, the childlike quality leaving her voice. "Why would
I want to work with you?"
"What do you mean?" Faith asked, confused.
"Oh, please," Willow said in her best imitation of Cordelia in the tenth
grade. "Who in their right mind would actually want to work with you? You
ruin everything you touch."
"I do not," the brunette Slayer protested.
"Oh, right," the redhead laughed. "You keep telling yourself that."
"And what about you? You call yourself a witch, but you can’t float
anything heavier than a pencil. You’re worthless."
"Yeah. I’m sure Angel thought that when I gave him his soul back. It’s a
pity that one worked, though," Willow huffed as she edged down the hall a
bit, getting closer to Graham. She sensed more than saw Forrest and Xander
shift their position, preparing to go in for Buffy and Riley. "Angelus
could be so much fun."
"True," Faith said with a smile, remembering the time she and Angel -
playing Angelus - had chained Buffy up. That had been fun, until she had
found out she had been played for a fool.
"How would you know?" Willow taunted. "You couldn’t even steal Angel’s soul
properly. You’ve never seen Angelus. Face it, Faith. You’re a failure.
Everything you touch falls apart. Everything."
"That is not true," Faith protested. Her entire body had tensed up, and
Willow knew she was getting to her.
"Yes, it is. You even managed to bring the mayor down," Willow said as she
pulled out Faith’s knife. "It’s your fault he’s dead. We blew him up. Now
he’s nothing but mayor meat - extra crispy."
"That was not my fault," the brunette said, closing her eyes. Willow could
see she was on the verge of losing it, so she pushed on with her verbal
attack, drawing ever closer to Graham’s hiding place. Out of the corner of
her eye, she saw Forrest and Xander head into the room where Buffy and Riley
were locked up.
"How do you think Buffy got good old Dick to follow her? This knife. This
sharp little knife with all your red blood on it. All Buffy had to do was
show it to him, and he was ours. He was so upset about losing you, he just
went right into our trap. Giles may have been the one to detonate the bomb,
but you’re the one who killed him. You’re worthless, Faith. You’re nothing
but a waste of perfectly good space."
"No, I’m not!" Faith cried as she lunged for Willow, landing a punch that
knocked the redhead to the ground.
Graham tackled the brunette Slayer, his eyes widening in admiration as he
saw Willow get immediately back to her feet. She was obviously tougher than
she looked. Changing his grip on the Slayer slightly, he plunged the needle
into her hip, then pushed himself away from her. The drug worked quickly,
and Faith was unconscious almost instantly. Sighing, Graham accepted
Willow’s offered hand and stood, then pulled the redhead into his arms.
"You okay?" he asked her, cradling her injured cheek in his large palm.
"Yeah." Willow stood in Graham’s embrace for a moment, then stepped away,
turning to face the doorway that Riley and Buffy were currently walking
through. Smiling brightly, Willow went to her friend and gave her a hug.
"You okay?"
"Yeah. I knew you guys would come," Buffy said, returning the hug. She
glanced to were Faith lay prone on the floor. "What are we going to do with
her?"
Willow shrugged. "We aren’t sure. We should probably chain her up while we
decide, though. She could wake up any minute."
Without waiting to be asked, Forrest grabbed Faith and dragged her into the
other room, returning only after she had been chained securely. He glanced
at Buffy and Riley, both of whom looked the worse for wear.
"I don’t know about the rest of you, but I think we should get these two
somewhere where they can rest and clean up. Psycho Slayer can wait."
Buffy smiled slightly. "I couldn’t agree more."
Part Six
Willow sat quietly on her kitchen counter while Graham applied an ice pack
to her injured jaw.
"Did you really have to egg her on so much that she punched you?" he asked
softly.
"Hey, it worked, didn’t it? I mean, we saved Buffy and Riley."
"Yeah, and you put yourself on the line. She could have really hurt you."
"But she didn’t," Willow said softly, her hand momentarily covering Graham’s
before dropping back to the counter. "I knew what I was getting myself
into, Graham. I knew what the dangers were."
"But you did it anyway."
"Isn’t that what you do with the Initiative?"
"I guess so. But I’m more comfortable when I’m the one out there. I just
don’t particularly like the idea of you getting hurt, you know?"
"I know. I don’t like the thought of you getting hurt, either," Willow
whispered.
Wanting to get away from the serious subject matter, Graham smiled slightly.
"So, you’re a witch?" he asked randomly.
"Yeah."
"I kind of wondered about that when you floated that book at Xander earlier.
You should be careful about that, you know. Some people don’t react too
kindly to the supernatural."
"Believe me, I know," Willow replied, thinking about the time she, Buffy,
and Amy had nearly been burned at the stake. "But I figured you and Forrest
were safe; I mean, guys who hunt demons are probably pretty used to the
supernatural."
"True," Graham allowed. "It’s still a little weird, though." The young man
removed the ice pack from Willow’s cheek, wincing slightly at the sight of
the bruise that was already appearing.
Willow laughed at his expression. "Well, I guess my modeling career just
went down the toilet," she said a bit sarcastically.
"Very funny," Graham replied. He opened his mouth to say more, then thought
better of it.
"What?" Willow prompted.
"It’s just... the whole Angel thing you and Faith were discussing. I don’t
understand what the hell you two were talking about. Do you care to explain
it to me?"
Willow shrugged. "It’s not really my story to tell. But I can tell you
that Angel’s a vampire, but he’s not evil."
"You gave him a soul. That is what I heard you say, isn’t it?"
"Yeah. He has a human soul. He’s been a vamp for 247 years, and only had
his soul for about a century. He lost it again junior year, and I restored
it. He has a real guilt complex about what the demon did when he didn’t
have a soul. Angel’s probably the world’s best brooder."
Graham nodded slowly, trying to imagine the guilt that Angel must feel. It
was unfathomable for the young man. "You’ve got a lot of interesting
stories, don’t you?"
Willow shrugged. "I guess. I mean, they’re my life."
"I’d love to hear them. Your stories. All about your life... Maybe we
could get together sometime..."
"Are you asking me out?"
"Yeah, actually, I am. Rather badly, I might add."
"You can’t be doing too badly," Willow told him with a smile.
"Why is that?"
"Well, I’m going to say yes. So, you know, success."
Graham laughed, then leaned towards Willow. The young witch closed her
eyes, and she couldn’t contain the shiver she felt when Graham’s lips
touched hers. She opened her mouth slightly, and nearly moaned when she
felt Graham’s tongue sweep inside.
"Hey, you two, and oh God, I’m interrupting."
Willow and Graham jumped apart and turned their heads to look at Buffy, who
was standing in the doorway wearing a pair of Willow’s sweatpants and a tank
top.
Willow grinned at her friend and slid off the counter, bumping into Graham.
"It’s okay. This time."
"But next time I should run the other way?"
"Something like that," Willow answered with a laugh as she approached her
friend and hugged her. She was just so glad Buffy was okay.
Graham walked over to the two young women, and he put his arm around
Willow’s shoulders. "How’s Riley doing?" he asked the blonde Slayer.
"Riley’s doing just fine," the man in question responded as he came into the
room. Forrest had made a run to the house, so Riley was actually wearing
his own clothes, and he looked much better than he had when they had rescued
him an hour before. Riley smiled at his friends, then raised his eyebrows
as he noticed how close Willow and Graham were standing. He hoped that the
two would get together. Willow and Graham were two of his favorite people,
and he wanted them to be happy.
"What about Faith?"
"She’s probably been picked up by the cops by now," Forrest said as he and
Xander entered the room. "We made an anonymous call from a pay phone
telling them where she is."
"I really hated to do that, though," Xander commented. "Now that the
mayor’s not here to protect her, she wanted for murdering the deputy mayor
and that professor who had the books about the Ascension. If we’d hauled
her in ourselves, we would have gotten a reward."
"And we would have had to explain to them where we got the stuff to drug her
with," Willow reminded her friend.
"What was in that stuff, anyway?" Buffy asked.
"Basically the same stuff we used on Oz when he was in wolf mode with some
added muscle relaxers, which should take away her strength. With any luck,
by the time she regains it, she’ll be stuck inside a padded cell in the
Sunnydale mental hospital," Willow replied.
"Do you think that will happen?" Forrest asked.
"Well, I did kind of alter her medical records a bit. She’s now severely
schizophrenic, and I gave her a dissociative personality disorder."
"Remind me never to make you angry."
"So, what now?" Buffy asked. "Do you guys go and report back to Professor
Walsh?"
"I don’t think I’m going to be doing that anymore," Graham said. "Not with
everything that happened today." He and Forrest had explained the situation
with the Initiative to Riley, and the three had come to a decision.
"You’re leaving the Initiative?" Buffy questioned, confused.
"Yeah," Riley answered. "We just don’t think we like the way they work
anymore."
"What are you going to do now?" Willow asked looking up at Graham.
Smiling slightly, Graham pulled Willow closer to him and kissed her
forehead. "We were thinking about asking if we could help you guys. What
do you think?" he asked seriously, looking at the others. "Partners?"
Willow and Buffy grinned at each other, then looked up at Graham and Riley,
respectively, while Forrest and Xander shook hands.
"Partners," they all said in unison.
The End
