"Put her down. Now."
Dawn felt the uneven up-down of Spike’s gait stop abruptly, his strong arms pulling her closer to his body. Which was kind of comforting and kind of…disturbing.
"Look Slayer, just because Buffy’s not here…" he began and was interrupted by Faith as she stepped with violent intent into his personal space.
"Don’t you ever say her name!" it came out as more of a hiss, but the impact was the same as a high-decibel scream. Dawn’s vision was wobbly at best, but she could see the muscles in the Slayer’s jaw grind away with pent-up fury. Could feel a tremor in the vampire’s grip. "Scumbags like you don’t deserve to say her name.’
That’s why she calls her B, Dawn mused with some part of her brain that seemed to be floating like a helium balloon just over her left shoulder.
"Put me down Spike. Please."
The world shifted dangerously on its axis as her feet found the ground and her knees failed to hold up their end of the bargain. Faith’s arm was suddenly around her, righting the world to a gentle rocking motion. Like being on her father’s sailboat on a calm day. She knew it was the Slayer’s arm because it was warm and slick with sweat and probably about ten different kinds of demon blood. And Slayer blood too she thought with a frown. Lots of it. There was that rusty sweet smell she was too familiar with and something else. Kerosene? Or maybe turpentine. It smelled like art class. Did the demons have turpentine running in their veins?
"Look. I wasn’t gonna hurt her…" he began and trailed off with a frown.
"I know Spike." The words were hard to form and came out in a whispered sort of mumble. "It’s okay. Can we…just…." But she couldn’t seem to form words any longer.
She felt Faith growl low as she leaned into her shoulder. As they began to limp away all she could think was, when did Faith get so short? Have all the Slayers back through the ages or whatever, been so… vertically challenged?
"Well, I’m not leaving you two out here alone. State you’re in, a bloody fruitfly could take out the both of you and Bu--…that other Slayer’ll kick my ass if anything happens to the Little One. " Then the unmistakable sound of a Zippo and the vampire’s heavy boots trudging behind them.
They were so close to home now. One more block and she would be able to rest. Maybe. If the house wasn’t already a pile of kindling for Vra’al and his minions. For some reason The Three Little Pigs came to mind. "I’ll huff and I’ll puff…"
She hadn’t realized she’d said it out loud until she caught Faith looking at her with something between a smile and a frown of concern.
"And I’ll blow your house down. Almost there D. Just hang on," The Slayer’s voice was gentle and even, but she could tell by her breathing and their ever-slowing gait that she was weakening. So much blood.
She could see the house now, the yellow glow of the porch light that was always on. And that helped her find a little bit of strength somewhere. Enough to get her moving, to take some of the weight off of Faith. But there was someone on the porch, she could see the glint and shine of metal as the silhouette moved in front of the broken door. The square shoulders and fire engine red of a familiar tool box.
Xander. Her heart leapt at the sight of him. One more member of her family safe and…here. He was standing straight now, she could just see him squinting in their direction.. The tool in his hand suddenly became a weapon and he was marching toward them angrily and Dawn realized how this must all look. The vampire and the Evil Slayer dragging her home covered in blood.
"Great! Just fucking great," Faith hissed low and the wound at Dawn’s neck began to throb noisily.
"Dawn?" It was more of command than a question and the large metal tool she still didn’t recognize was now pointed at Faith. And he was still marching forward. Couldn’t he see that Faith was barely standing?
"I know how this looks, but it’s not what you think…" Faith began and Dawn felt the world shift in a vertiginous blur. If there had been anything on her stomach she would definitely have thrown it up.
"Oh I don’t know everyone’s covered in blood, the house is trashed, Buffy and Willow are missing so… of course," he threw up his hands in mock revelation. "Faith must be back in Sunnydale!"
The Slayer’s arm gripped her tightly, pulling her close and she became very conscious suddenly of the blood between them. And the weakness. If they could just get to the house.
"Xander, Faith’s here to help. Buffy and Willow are gone and…"
"Dawn I know you think Faith is like this supercool Slayer," he was speaking to her now in his most daddy-like voice. The one she hated. She didn’t remember him ever speaking this way before Willow went all dark magic. He’d just been Xander then. Cool, goofy, kinda cute Xander, but now….she forced herself to concentrate through the dizziness and nausea on his very important lecture. "…but she’s not. She killed people. And she hates Buffy. She’ll do anything to hurt her." He held her eyes for a moment and then looked back to the Slayer, his face full of rage and hurt and something else that she couldn’t really figure out.
"You don’t know anything about it…" Faith began angrily and then stopped. Dawn felt her take a deep breath and exhale slowly. "Look, you can go all Montel on me later. Right now we need to get…."
"Let’s get this straight, I don’t take orders from murdering psychos, I don’t care if you are a Chosen One," he shouted taking a step toward the Slayer, the tool Dawn now recognized as a hammer was held at a threatening angle. "Let go of Dawn."
"As much as I hate to admit it the Slayer’s right, Dawn’s…" Spike began only to be cut off by Xander.
"You shutup! Should have known you’d team up with the Slut Slayer first chance you got. Why don’t you go crawl back to whatever rock she found you under." The hammer was now six inches from Faith’s face and Dawn felt suddenly sick.
"Look, I’m trying to stay all cool here, but if you don’t get that out of my face…" Faith said evenly and shifted into what Dawn recognized immediately as a fighting stance. Rolling slightly on the balls of her feet. Probably trying to decide how to disable him without letting go of her.
"Oh, what? You gonna kill me? Guess you liked your little trip to the big house?" He appraised her injuries with a sneer. "I dunno Faith, that arm doesn’t look so good so I’m thinking I could take…"
This was insane. They had just battled, like, a thousand demons, they were bleeding and broken and they still weren’t any closer to the house. Her neck began to hurt with a dull, hard pain.
"Stop! Both of you!" Dawn yelled and brought her other arm around the Slayer’s neck to hold herself up. "Xander, I love you, you know, like a brother or whatever… but right now… you’re being a real…asshole." She heard Spike snort behind her and chose to ignore him. She was desperate. Desperate for the old Xander. The one with the jokes and the donuts and the heart big enough for all of them. "We need to get to the house and get the Med Kit and the weapons ‘cause this demon is frickin’ huge and he’s gonna be here soon." He stood staring at her for a moment, his gaze bouncing back and forth between her face and the Slayer’s. Finally, his frown deepened, but the hammer slowly fell to his side.
"How big?"
She sighed with relief as the Slayer’s grip relaxed. "Like, fifteen feet…and minions…" she tried to relieve Faith by standing on her own, but ended up falling forward. Xander caught her easily and swept her up into his arms. "Lots of minions."
"Buffy?" He asked softly, his voice hoarse with more than a little fear as he walked without another word toward the house.
"She and Willow…" her eyes met Faith’s over Xander’s shoulder and she was overwhelmed again by a tide of violent images. Soft animal print sheets and a man standing over her bed loosening his belt. The sticky feeling of blood on her hands as an old man in tweed slid down a wall. Sharp heat as she looked down to see her own knife embedded deep in her own abdomen. And worse the terror and relief of following the hand that held it up to Buffy’s face.
"Dawn?" It was Xander voice, but she wasn’t in his arms anymore. She was now resting on something soft and familiar. The sofa in the living room. How did they get here so fast?
Then more images of blood and anger. And fear coagulating hot and thick.
"Faith," she mumbled through the haze and felt a hot hand take her own. And it all stopped.
"Hey Half Pint. You okay?" Dawn blinked back to reality and relaxed slightly as she took in the familiar objects of home.
"Dawn." It was out of her mouth before she could stop it.
"What?"
"Could you please I mean, when it’s not like all an emergency or something… could you call me Dawn?"
Faith studied her with an unreadable expression on her own face then nodded. "Sorry, didn’t know ‘Half Pint’ bugged you so much."
"It didn’t…I mean it doesn’t. I just…I want you to call me Dawn. Okay?" She wasn’t sure what she wanted for why she even needed this, but it seemed important somehow. "I mean D’s okay, but…"
"No problem jefe." Faith smiled at her. "I mean, Dawn." She made a strange face around the name, like embarrassment, but managed to say it out loud.
"See it’s not so…"
A gunshot rang out making them both jump quickly followed by a long wail and she remembered. The room. It was down here too which meant it was taking over the house.
Faith’s head was thrown back as she stared up at the ceiling. The floor of that room. Her neck streaked with blood and dirt.
"Okay, one really heavy MedKit," Xander grumbled as he struggled into the room with the enormous metal box. Another wail stopped him, his eyes growing wide as he tried not to look up. "So when, exactly, did the house get all haunted?"
"It’s kind of a long story," she mumbled absently. Faith withdrew her hand gently to rummage through the Kit and she felt the world slip again.
"Dermabond!" Faith exclaimed like a child on Christmas morning and Dawn couldn’t help smiling. "And a medical stapler. Hella cool!" She ripped open a sterile swab and reached toward Dawn’s neck and the teen felt the cool burn of alcohol.
"Faith, your arm…"
"Nope." The Slayer ignored her protests and grabbed a tube of something called Emla. "Me Slayer, remember. Me strong." She ended with a cave grunt and Dawn noticed out of the corner of her eye that Xander was watching them both carefully. Which was strange ‘cause he never shut up.
"But your forehead is just gross…" she backed up slightly as Faith approached her with some smelly beige cream. "What is that stuff?"
"Magic." Faith wiggled her eyebrows and then winced. Dawn’s stomach turned over as the gash on the Slayer’s forehead began to bleed again.. "Pain killer." She offered weakly and smeared it on the bite at her neck before placing a bandage over the area. "Now your arm."
"No, Faith," she began but was cut off by Xander.
"I’ll take care of Dawnie," he said a little too loud and then softened. "You should do something about that arm. And your forehead." He finished with a frown and there was a long silence. Finally Faith nodded at him once and grabbed the tube of Dermabond and a few other things. With a wink for Dawn she was off to the bathroom still holding her wounded arm carefully against her body.
As Xander rifled through the kit, Dawn sank back gratefully into the chair. Faith was right, that stinky cream was magic. The pain in her neck had almost completely disappeared. She touched the rough bandage with the tips of her fingers and remembered the reason it was there in the first place. Spike.
Scanning the room for him, she remembered that Willow had replaced the vampire lock on the house. It was the only magic Buffy had allowed near the house since she had gone dark magic. Everything magic-related had been banned to the now-destroyed Magic Box or just thrown out.
An orange flare from the dark front porch gave him away. As Xander wiped down her arm with antiseptic she called out to the front porch. "Spike, you can come…"
"No!" Xander and Faith said it simultaneously and she stopped in shock. Faith now stood facing the door, her face set in hard lines. Dawn noticed that the gash on her forehead was now sealed and the cut on her arm, though still open and bleeding had been cleaned and covered in a yellow antiseptic.
"Spike is permanently uninvited to the Summers’ house," Xander said with finality and then ripped open a bandage. "That’s the way Buffy wanted it."
Dawn’s first inclination was to argue. It wasn’t just Buffy’s house. It was hers too. Then she remembered what Spike had done and frowned, her eyes falling to the floor.
Another ghostly gunshot ripped through the room and she felt Xander jump.
"S’okay Little Bit. I’d rather be out here." The orange glow intensified and then flicked away in a high arc. "Where I can smoke. Plus there’s some serious witchiness going on in there." He came close to the open doorway and stopped with an exaggerated shudder. "Gives me the willies."
There was a burst of light and a familiar voice, cutting through the room like glass. "Okay, I said I would help, but no one said anything about the penis." Anya. Dawn smiled with relief. Maybe she had answers. "Or penises," she said studying the vampire’s skulking form with obvious distaste. "Or is it peni? I’m never really clear on that whole plural…"
Faith, she noticed had slipped over to the couch and was busily stapling her arm back together, wincing with each pop of the gun.
"Oh, no, no," Xander rose to his feet and Dawn rolled her eyes. This could take days. "You didn’t say anything about Anya being..."
"You know what? Do me a favor and never invite me in," Spike chimed in from the porch. She heard the sound of his Zippo as Xander continued his angry rant.
"…no more demons, no more vampires. From now on this is strictly a humans-only operation, so both of you can just…."
"Look, I’m no fan of Willy out there, but he did us a solid with the demon hordes and he’s pretty good in a fight." Faith interjected absently as she concentrated on stapling her arm back together. Dawn knew from experience that this entire confrontation was heading toward an explosion. An ugly one. "Same with the VD here. So," she shrugged, her eyes moving from Anya to Xander. "As long as they’re on the right side they’re five by five with me." She returned to her stapling and Dawn noticed that Anya had crossed her arms and was now smiling smugly at Xander.
"Well…that’s…that’s…" he sputtered angrily, his facing growing redder by the moment. He looked like her Uncle Freddy did before the heart attack. "That’s a hell of a recommendation coming from the Slut Slayer who stabbed Buffy in the back…"
Faith turned to face him, stapler held like a weapon, "B stabbed me remember? Put me in a fucking coma, but of course you could never see that ‘cause you’ve been hot for her since.…"
"Thank you!" Anya yelled. "Finally somebody says it. You’ve been all moony-eyed over Buffy for years…"
"Hey I’m not the one who slept with dead boy out there," Xander interjected, redirecting his anger at the vengeance demon. "So did you sleep with Faith too Anya? Or was it a threesome with Spike…"
"Now that would have been…" Spike interjected from the porch wiggling his eyebrows.
"Hello! B’s the one with the undead fetish, not me…"
"Two whole minutes of sex with Spike is more than enough for one lifetime," Anya interrupted. "Although at least it was more than you could ever manage."
Dawn shook her head as Spike puffed up to defend himself.
"Hang on! It was at least three minutes and…"
Xander seemed to actually inflate with anger as he stepped toward the vampire, bandage in hand.
"Shutup! I should have staked you..."
"Ohmygod, shut the fuck up! All of you!" Dawn screamed and then stood silent for a moment shocked at her own outburst. "Hello! Big demon coming. Plus lots of medium-sized demons! We need to…" Another loud wail echoed through the room. Anya was now staring up at the ceiling, her eyes unfocused.
"You go Dawn," Faith said, nodding her head with more than a smug smile, until she noticed the vengeance demon and grew suddenly serious.
"When did this happen?" Anya demanded sharply. "The spreading? When did it start?"
"It was like this when we got back," Faith responded and picked up a roll of gauze, her gaze was still fixed on the vengeance demon who was now shaking her head.
"This is not good." She clucked a few times in what Dawn knew to be a nervous tick. Definitely not a good sign. "This is really not good. Really, really not good."
"Okay, ‘this is not good’ in a bad hair day kind of way? Or in an end of the world…"
"End of the world," she interrupted Xander’s question, still focused on the ceiling. "It’s, um, it’s the Heart." She was now glancing around the room, gesticulating wildly. "Willow’s magic is probably making it unstable and if she doesn’t fix it soon, it’ll explode into this reality. And not in a good way."
"So what does that mean?" Dawn asked, her voice shaking with fear.
Don’t cry. Don’t cry. Be tough like a Slayer.
Dawn glanced over at Faith who met held her eyes for a moment and blinked slowly to let her know that it was going to be okay. It was reassuring for a moment, like the connection they had shared, but without all the violent images.
The vengeance demon returned her eyes to Dawn’s and sighed loudly before continuing in a matter-of-fact tone. "That means…" she paused for a moment as if she was searching for the right words. "Oh! Like Glory. Kind of a mini-version of what the hell-bitch was after." She nodded emphatically, happy with her analogy and then added. "Only without the Key. So…hey," she squeezed Dawn’s arm "Lucky you."
"Yeah…lucky me," the teen mumbled.
"So that’s what Cordy saw." Faith stated without any emotion. "Red and B and the end of the world?"
Anya nodded cheerfully. "Yep."
"Well how do we stop it?" Dawn blurted out in desperation and heard a ‘bloody hell’ behind her on the porch. "I mean, can’t we cast a spell or call up a spirit or…" she was in tears now, past the point of caring how it looked. Because she wasn’t a Slayer. "How do we stop this?"
Anya’s expression actually softened into something sad. She shook her head slightly. "You don’t. Willow does…or," she frowned, "She doesn’t."
Edited by: lipkandy at: 3/5/03 8:34:20 pm
by lipkandy » Sun Mar 02, 2003 3:33 am 
or would that be bump issues?
heh. I'm with you on the beating about the head for Xander. especially the last couple of seasons (although watching older episodes I notice that he tended to get awfully preachy back in high school as wel). and Dawn's finally finding her place. she's the only one without the baggage, so she can play referee.
. Spike on the outside looking in. Dawn trusting Willow, even as the gunshot she must truly hate echoes above.
And I will, too!