Sandra - Hey, there. Well, congratulations on being caught up.
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I'm honestly not sure if I'm more excited to see where Tara's enhanced powers take us, or where Faith and Dawn's relationship leads. I do know that I hope this story runs much longer than you have planned
Interesting that you're conflicted about that. I'd say that they are both sort of very intertwined. I would expect this story to be about 3-4 updates longer.
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Chills. I think I enjoyed reading the Tara/Faith interaction more than I enjoyed the shower scene, which is odd because...yeah...Willow being taken against the shower wall? That's hot...
Tee hee. How interesting.
Thanks for reading and for feedbacking.
nanotech - Boo for storms that cut off internet reception. Coincidentally I'm at work at the minute and I keep losing Internet connection (and there's not storm). I'm glad you're enjoying the story and the characterizations.
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No one is out of character - I can picture them living their lives in my mind.
You know it's interesting - Logo is rerunning Buffy on a nearly constant loop so I've seen some of the season 7 episodes recently. I'm pretty happy with my characterizations of everyone but maybe Faith. I think my Faith is much softer than the season 7 Faith was.
I'm glad you're enjoying both Tara being a Slayer and the Tara Faith interactions. There will be more very soon. Like now.
Thanks for reading.
dtburanek - Hello and welcome back! How lovely to see you here again. I'm glad you liked the first part. I've written quite a few stories since you've been gone as have a lot of other authors. You'll have to go browse through the completed fics archive when you have time. I'm glad you enjoyed it and there will be more very soon.
Chapter – 10 – The One where Nearly Everyone finds out Nearly Everything
Author – JustSkipIt
Pairing – Willow/Tara, Faith/Dawn
Feedback – Yes, please
Spoilers – None
Rating – NC-17
Disclaimer – Joss Whedon and Mutant Enemy own Willow, Tara, and the Buffyverse and Angelverse and all characters and locations from those universes. No copyright infringement is meant by this fic and I will not make any money from it.
Note – Catch the reference of the title?
"Yo, there's Red and Xan-man." Faith pointed with her free hand as she and Tara walked down the ramp from the gate. Something seemed a bit awkward between the blonde and herself and she wasn't sure what. Tara had been especially quiet since asking about Faith's non-existent wish which the dark-haired Slayer attributed to some sort of rumination on Buffy bringing her back. She had said something about alligators but wouldn't repeat it when asked so Faith just let it drop. The second they'd deplaned, Tara had dropped into a chair and turned on her phone to send a text telling everyone to meet in the morning. She'd received a few texts that had been waiting in her queue including one that said someone would pick them up and they didn't need to catch a taxi.
The broad smile on Tara's face let Faith know that the girl was both glad and surprised that her girlfriend had come to the airport and the Slayer felt disappointed that Dawn wasn't there as well. It was probably for the good seeing as if she had seen the teen, she would have wanted to kiss her senseless and damn whoever might be watching. Once again, she knew that she would have to talk to Buffy about Dawn soon. There was no chance that the other Slayer would take it well but it seemed that it would be better if Faith told her first than for Buffy to find out some other way, like walking in on them or something.
Once they crossed from the gate area to the baggage claim area -- Tara and Faith had carried on their bags -- the Blonde and Willow immediately embraced each other. Faith watched for a moment with a smirk on her face. It was hard to remember sometimes that Willow was the same girl who could barely hold hands with her high school boyfriend if people were watching. As the kiss went on for longer and longer, Faith finally looked away to see Xander glancing around the terminal. The two smiled at each other and then began to laugh at the discomfort of it all, finally shaking hands. "Welcome back, Faith."
The dark-haired Slayer shrugged. "I wanted to get these two back together. Maybe we can do away with Solar and Wind power and just let their sexual energy power the city."
"Hey!" Willow turned to look at the Slayer with a grin on her face. "Jealous?"
"Maybe."
Yes
Xander jingled the keys with one hand and reached out to pull Tara's bag off her shoulder with his other. "Let's get back to the hotel so Willow and Tara can do whatever without my having to watch and you can go patrol or whatever you want. Buffy took a few newbies with her and Gunn and Angel took some others."
Faith nodded and stretched her arms as they walked toward the car. "First thing is I want a shower. I can't stand the smell of an airplane."
Tara agreed readily about the airplane smell and Faith's Slayer hearing picked up a flirtation between the two witches regarding showering together to reach those hard-to-reach places. Damn if it didn't just make her want to see Dawn. She glanced up at a clock outside the terminal seeing that it was already after 11:00. With disappointment, she couldn't wake the youngster.
"I got the papers for the property. What else do I need to know?" Willow had obviously transitioned to business mode and Faith slid into the front seat next to Xander as the two witches took the back and began discussing the property and repairs that were necessary. When Willow wanted to know more about the "exotic population" as she put it, Faith described a few of their findings from the night before, but didn't let anyone know how much Tara had contributed. She found it strange but also somewhat of a compliment that the blonde trusted her to know something no one else knew.
Tara and Willow's disappearance from the lobby was so quick, Faith almost suspected them of using magic to get back to their room. She smiled and said goodbye to Xander with a glance at the young girls sprawled on most of the furniture and floors of the area. All of them had rooms but the fact that they were arrayed around the common area made the Slayer particularly glad that she and Tara had chosen the property they'd chosen. The building actually had one room that could be a "quiet" gathering room if the girls wanted to study or play games and another that would be outfitted with a large-screen TV, Wii, pool table, etc. A few of the girls waved or smiled at Faith so she went over to say hi, answer questions about her trip, and inquire about patrol. Even though she'd never wanted to be a leader, she was very aware that her role as one of the "real" Slayers meant that she needed to do so and she was finding it kind of fun. Most of the young women were nervous or downright afraid and she found that a few comforting words, a pat on the shoulder, or even saying "yeah, that's hard" could go a long way. After visiting for a few minutes she excused herself and shook her head as she realized that if she hadn't had a steady "girlfriend" as Tara had teased her, she could have had any amount of help with her post-airplane shower.
Damn, I've never turned down so many offers in my life. Dawn Summers!
The dark-haired Slayer was still half-cursing, half-wanting to go straight to the teenager's room when she reached her own. She quickly unlocked the door and slipped inside the mostly dark space, seeing a light on beside the bed and the object of her thoughts asleep in the bed. Faith smiled as she noted the bare shoulder and arm tossed casually across the spare pillow and the long bare leg wound around a tangle of sheets. She considered skipping the shower but thought better of it, instead quietly crossing to the bed and sliding the stuffed animal she'd gotten at the gift shop under the younger girl's arm, then entering the bathroom and pulling the door closed.
A few minutes later she finished toweling off and opened the door from the bathroom a crack to see Dawn still asleep and clutching the alligator. The Slayer flipped off the bathroom light and sat on the edge of the bed, bending over to kiss the bare shoulder and then Dawn's neck. "Mmm. My girlfriend is supposed to get home sometime tonight so this better be quick."
"I can't believe she left you here like this. Her loss." Faith continued kissing her lover, before gently removing the alligator and nuzzling Dawn under her chin with the creature's snout.
Dawn rolled onto her back and stretched before wrapping her arms around the stuffed animal with a smile. "You brought me an alligator? How did you know I love them?"
"Really?"
The teen reached her free hand up behind Faith's head to pull her close for a deep kiss. "Yes. Totally. I wish the one in
Romancing the Stone had eaten Michael Douglas. I can't believe he shows up at the end with the boots. Stupid movie."
"I've never even heard of that movie but you have the most adorable pout I've ever fuckin' seen you know." Faith lay down next to the teen, peppering her on the chest with kisses. "If I could just figure out a way to make that pout go away though..."
Dawn pushed the alligator away. "Maybe I could make a suggestion?" She began kissing the Slayer's neck, sucking on the pulse point and enjoying hearing Faith moan.
The Slayer pushed up onto her elbows. "Or you could tell me how you got into my room? I mean do I need to go harass Angel about his shitty security?"
The teenager pushed a pillow behind her back and leaned against it. "Can we say I have a way with locks?" She reached out her hands and began running them over her lover's chest.
"You mean you jimmied it with a credit card?"
"Buffy wasn't using it for anything."
"You stole B's credit card to break into my room? That's cold hearted you know, Kid." She leaned forward to kiss the other girl then pulled back. "I missed you."
Dawn smiled. "That's sweet, Faith."
"Naw. I'm serious. I mean I've never missed anyone before. I know I was only gone one night but still. And you want to know something? I nearly told Blondie all about you. I mean she guessed I had a girlfriend but I wouldn't say who but I nearly did. She's so easy to talk to."
The teen pushed the sheet off her body and began working her fingertips over Faith's nipples as they stood at attention, then pinching one and then the other. "I missed you too but did you want to talk about Tara because I thought you had a way to fix my pout." She leaned forward and began kissing and then nipping at the Slayer's neck. "And didn't you tell me you poofed some vampires last night? Usually that makes you all... Oh..." she ran her fingertips down the center of the other woman's chest and stomach to tease at her curls and then slid them along Faith's slit. "It did this time too..."
The Slayer groaned. "Uhhh. Don't you want... I mean...Oh, baby. Yes. Please..." Her words were almost a hiss.
"Climb into my lap, Faith." As the Slayer did as instructed, Dawn pulled her head closer and began kissing her deeply while sliding two fingers into the other woman's wet pussy. Sliding her hand down from the back of her lover's head to her lower back, she used it to pull Faith closer as she thrust into her wetness.
Within minutes the two women had found a rhythm as Faith ground herself against Dawn's hand, placing her own hands on the headboard on either side of the girl's head and rocking against the pressure. "I ... ahhh... how did you learn... oh fuck... too fast... no don't stop... more, baby... keep... fuck... I'm ..." The Slayer began to tense, bracing one hand behind her on the bed to arch her back as her body uncoiled into orgasm. As wave after wave of pleasure ripped through her, the Slayer finally stilled her head enough to look at her lover. Even as she did, Faith recognized the look in Dawn's face as pure astonishment and adoration. She lifted her hand to grasp her lover's face in her palms before pressing their lips together over and over again. "You're... just." She lifted one hand and made a sweeping motion. "Jesus, Kid."
Dawn's lips ticked up into a smile as she leaned forward to push Faith backwards onto the bed and lay between her legs, sliding out her fingers as she did so and licking them slowly. "I don't want to disappoint you, Faith."
The Slayer pushed off from the headboard to give both women more room on the bed and wrapped her arms around her lover. "I'm starting to think you couldn't, Kid. I mean... you've got crazy skilz."
The aforementioned kid ran her fingertips along Faith's arms. "It's you, baby. Your body just asks for what it wants."
"It wants you, baby." Faith kissed her lover again. On pulling back she realized that the girl had a doubtful look on her face. "Really." She lifted her chin with her hand. "You know that, right? I mean. Yo. I was in Cleveland and all I could think about was you. I come through the lobby and there's H and H girls lounging their asses off and half of them lookin like they want to help me reach my hard-to-reaches in my post-airplane shower and all I could think was if it would bother you too much if I call you to let me into your room so I can sleep with you tonight." She kissed the girl again. "You're turning me into a girl."
The teen laughed as she began running her lips along her lover's toned abs. "I'm turning you into a woman, Faith. You were already a girl." Her mouth reached the edge of the Slayer's dark curls. "Mmm. Woman..." Before she could get any farther, she suddenly found herself on her back with Faith lying on top of her.
Beginning to kiss her lover's neck and bringing up one hand to circle her hardening nipple, the Slayer commented, "It's so tempting to be selfish with you. So tempting." When Dawn's nipple was absolutely standing at attention, she wrapped her lips around it and began to suck gently, then less gently as the teen arched her back at the contact.
"You ... interrupted..." Dawn whimpered breathlessly, wrapping her hands in her lover's long hair as the other woman stopped sucking the nipple and instead scraped her teeth over the sensitive skin. "Fuck..."
The Slayer moved her attention to the other nipple in an attempt to bring it to the same condition and response. After eliciting a similarly excited reaction, the Slayer made an obvious attempt to slow down. She spent moments, seconds, even minutes it seemed exploring every inch of her lover's skin - some of them twice or three times -- until it seemed the other woman would explode. "Do you know how much I love making love to you, Kid? It makes me crazy." She whispered her confession onto Dawn's curls as she breathed in her sweet scent.
"Oh... please, Faith. Please don't tease me."
Instantly the older girl laid a soft kiss against her lover's clit before beginning to lick her sex in slow earnest strokes, intent on making this last as long as humanly possible. And making this last as long as she could took the form of gently tickling her lover's clit with the tip of her tongue, initially spelling
Dawn over and over and gradually realizing that she was writing
I love you. Before she could finish the word
you on the third repeat and before the part of her soul that she would have expected to run for the nearest exit even if that exit was a window on the fourth floor of the hotel could panic, she felt Dawn tense and then release and release and release. "Faith..." The teen tried to lift her hands but could hardly do so and the Slayer realized what she needed, lifting herself onto the other girl's body to wrap her arms around her as she shook.
Gradually Dawn's shaking slowed and Faith began kissing her again as if to bring her back. When the teen began returning those kisses with equal energy the Slayer surprised her by sliding a finger into her wetness. "Faith!"
The older girl began to set a rhythm to her motions as she felt Dawn responding and heard her groan long and low, adding another finger. Faith couldn't believe how turned on she was by the sounds the other woman was making. As she continued thrusting into her wetness, she brought herself to kneel over the teen, pleased as Dawn instantly bent her leg and tightened it against Faith's center. "Fuck... Oh yeah... do that aga..." Bending her head she quickly captured the other girl's mouth with her own. The Slayer realized very quickly that neither of them could hold out for long, given the pace she was setting. "Ready?"
Dawn's eyes snapped open as she realized that her lover wanted them to come together and she smiled. "Oh God, Faith... Yes... Now... Now... Now..."
When she felt capable, Faith propped herself onto her elbow and looked down at her lover who looked nearly asleep. Glancing around the room she took in the destruction of the bedclothes and reached for a pillow to put beneath the teen's head before nuzzling into her neck and wrapping the smaller girl in her arms. "Stay?" She placed a kiss on the girl's shoulder.
Dawn's sleepy answer was barely audible. "Of course, Love." Long seconds ticked by as Faith stared at the teen's lips, waiting to hear what else she might say as she drifted to sleep. "I wanted to tell you someth..."
---
Given her travel and how strenuous her night had been, Faith was surprised at the lack of sunlight filling her room the next time she awoke. She reached for Dawn but the teen wasn't in bed. "Kid?"
She heard movement as the Kid crossed the room from where she must have been staring out the window. "Right here, Faith. I was thinking."
Faith tried to reach for her lover to pull her back into the bed. "I always try to avoid stuff like that this early." Realizing that Dawn stood by the bed but was avoiding getting into it, the Slayer sat up. "Hey?" She grabbed hold of the teen's hand. "What's going on?"
Dawn took a breath. "I ... I need to tell you something, Faith. Something... something I should have told you ... before."
Faith shook her head trying to clear the sleepwebs. "What? I mean. Kid?"
"Really! Faith. I ... I should have..."
Faith sat forward to grab both hands. "There's nothing you could say that's going to change the way I ... I mean... what is this about, Kid?"
The teen kneeled down in front of her lover by the bed, still holding her hands. "I ... please let me explain this before I chicken out again, ok?"
Faith nodded.
"I ... I think part of the reason you like me is that I'm normal. Just a normal girl. I mean the Slayer's my sister and I spend time with witches and werewolves and Slayers but I'm just me. Dawn Summers."
"Ok..."
Dawn bit at her lip. "The thing is, Faith, I'm not a normal girl exactly or at least I wasn't always."
Faith shook her head. "What? That's crazy; of course you are. You're Buffy's kid sister. I remember you from years ago." She smiled. "What a brat."
The teen pushed up to standing and began to pace. "Yeah.... you think you remember that. You don't, Faith."
"Ok. What are you talking about, Kid? I think I'd know that I remember you as a little brat. You used to steal your sister's clothes and you had all these Pink posters on the wall and you had a Hello Kitty diary and one time I snuck you out with me to patrol when Buffy had the flu and she found out and about went ballistic because you could have gotten hurt." Dawn turned to look at her lover and Faith could see the tears in her eyes. She quickly stood up and wrapped her arms around the younger girl, guiding her back to the bed. "Now sit here and tell me what you're trying to say."
Dawn looked at her feet. "Right. Did you know that ... did you know Buffy died?"
Faith nodded her head. "Right. She jumped into some portal or something. Some hellgoddess or something Angel said."
"Ok. The hellgod's name was Glory and she had been expelled from her dimension. She was looking for the key to get back to her dimension." She shrugged. "Unfortunately her getting back to her dimension would have destroyed every other dimension but that wasn't really important to her."
"Nice.”
"Anyway, she needed to find the Key to get home and the Key was a big ball of energy. It had been guarded by these monks for like thousands of years."
"Ok... so big ball of energy ... monks in charge."
Dawn started to stand up and walk away but realized that Faith wasn't letting her go. "Right. So the monks knew Glory was getting close to finding the key so they... they took the key and they made it into a person thinking it would be safer."
"That's fucking stupid. If they wanted it to be safe, why didn't they flush it down the toilet or something?"
"Yeah. Stupid. Right. Well, if you had something really valuable and you wanted it protected, who would you call?"
"Huh?"
"Who would you call to protect the most powerful thing you had?"
Faith shrugged. "I guess myself."
A little giggle escaped the teen. "Very close. They sent it to Buffy."
"Huh?"
"Faith. It was me. They sent me to Buffy so she would protect me with her life."
Faith stared at her girlfriend as she tried to process what she was being told, a smile finally breaking across her face. "Oh... good one. I mean like I can't remember you from always." She leaned forward and kissed the younger girl before attempting to pull her to laying down. "I think we both need some sleep, Kid."
Dawn shrugged out of her lover's grasp. "Faith! You're not listening to me. I'm trying to tell you this thing about me. I'm not... real. I... the monks made me up and I never told you that. I mean until now. But I'm not... you know... a regular girl."
Faith stood up and took a few steps from the bed before turning back with a look of puzzlement and anger on her face. "I remember you. I mean before you were..." she waved her hand up and down "you know. Before you became smokin hot. I
remember." She paced further and turned back again. "Before I fell ... before ... you knew this and you knew I didn't know and we've been... I mean... shit, Kid. Like... did you think I'd ... what want to go to another dimension if I knew... or do something... you didn't trust me... what... we've been... I'm your girlfriend... or I thought I was. Shit. Shit."
The Slayer picked up a pair of jeans off a chair and slid them on quickly followed by a bra and shirt. "I gotta..."
"Faith?"
"Look. I just... ya know things like this... Fucked up crazy shit. I need to I need to go kill some shit which means I gotta find some shit that's out in the fucking daylight." She had her hand on the doorknob when she caught a glance of the look on her girlfriend's face. In a few steps she crossed the room and kissed her softly on the lips. "I need a few hours or days or somethin to kind of process this but ... I don't want to lose... I mean ... shit, Kid, ball of energy or regular girl... you make me..."
Dawn smiled as broadly as she could while trying to hold back the tears she knew were threatening. "Go." As the door closed behind the Slayer she whispered, "But please come back, Faith."
--
A few doors away Willow was pacing her own hotel room. "So... let me get this straight? You're a Slayer? As in a Vampire Slayer? As in how long have you known this and why didn't you tell me and why does Faith know and what and what?"
Tara sat on the bed watching her lover pace and talk. In fact, the redhead had been doing those two things for about ten minutes without stopping. The blonde wondered if her lover were caught in a loop or needed slapped like in the movies but didn't really like the idea.
"Like a Slayer?"
"Sweetie?"
"Right. My girlfriend. The Slayer. The Vampire Slayer."
"Your girlfriend who loves you with her total heart."
Willow waved her arms as she spoke. "Who has known for a full day that she is a Vampire Slayer and forgot to mention that little tidbit to me even though she sat around having beers with Faith-by-Five and exchanging secrets about it for a day."
Tara smiled to herself. "Honey, do you think it's possible that you're kind of mixing up your feelings about Faith knowing before you with your feelings about Buffy and Faith from years ago? You know, your jealousy of not being part of the Vampire Slayer group?"
"Thank you for the insight. Yes, obviously that's a big part of it. I just... you're a Slayer. You could get killed any day. I mean... out battling evil and I can't protect you when you're... what if I lose you again?"
Tara stood and hugged her lover. "Honey. I died before standing in our bedroom. How much more dangerous could it be to battle demons?"
Willow waved her arms. "Don't curse us!" She finally smiled "Ok. I can deal with this." She got a smirk on her face. "So all of this ... holding me up in the shower...? You have like super strength?” She raised and lowered her eyebrows playfully.
Tara smiled back. "Vixen."
--
Faith came out of the church and looked at her cell phone to check the time. That meeting SB had set up wouldn't start for another 45 minutes. She started walking back toward the hotel without really thinking about her direction. When she had left Dawn, she had every intention of fighting some demons but she'd stumbled across the church, quite literally when she wasn't looking where she was going, and had gone inside. The early mass wasn't crowded and she enjoyed the familiar rhythms of the prayer although she'd skipped confession.
So the Kid was a big ball of mystical energy. Shit. Maybe that was why she had such a hold on her.
Maybe that's why I can't get her the fuck out of my head. No. That's not it. She's just... A few people were in the lobby of the hotel and she went through the lobby to the ballroom. Maybe she could get a bite to eat before the meeting.
"Hey, Faith." Buffy walked right up the moment Faith came through the door. "You're going to tell us all about Cleveland, right? I don't want you to have to repeat everything twice so you can tell me everything at the meeting."
Faith nodded dumbly as the blonde Slayer popped the remainder of a croissant into her mouth and washed it down with a coke.
"You ok?"
Faith nodded. "Uh... hey, B. Can we talk about... something?"
Buffy tossed the can into a recycling bin and nodded toward the side of the room. "What's up? Cleveland worse than you thought? What?"
Faith jammed her hands in her back pockets and kicked the floor. "I gotta tell you something, B. And I don't think you're going to like it."
Buffy shrugged. "We're not supposed to have apocalypses on Sunday, Faith." She laughed at her own joke.
"Yeah, that's pretty funny, B." Faith laughed along as well. "But I'm not really talking about that. It's just I uh... wanted to let you know something."
"Yeah. Hold that thought." The blonde jogged over to the counter table and picked up two bagels, coming back to hand one to Faith who turned it over in her hands. "Ok. You wanted me to know something."
"Right..." Not knowing what to do with the bagel, Faith turned and set it on a close table. "So the thing is... and it's not really something I had planned... but your sister..."
"Dawn? What did she do now?" Buffy took another bite of the breakfast food. "Look, I know she can be a pain in the ass but whatever she did, I can talk to her. And when we're not in this small space she can't bother you." The blonde reached into her pocket like she was pulling out her phone. "She didn't steal something did she? I mean I think she's over that little habit but if not, I can take care of it."
Faith shook her head as Buffy talked. "Look, B. I'm not trying to complain about the Kid. I mean... it's not that at all."
"Ok, so what's the deal then, Faith? Dawn is bugging you. Hell, she bugs me too. Just tell me how."
Faith smiled slightly. "Actually she's not bugging me at all, B."
"Thank God."
"Right. We're sort of dating, B."
The bagel froze half-way to Buffy's mouth as she stared at her fellow Slayer. Then seconds passed as she considered what Faith had just said, finally laughing. "That's hysterical, Faith. Really. I mean... ok. Thanks for making my morning." She continued laughing, now holding her stomach. "Will's going to love this one. Can I do it? I mean can I try it on her instead of you?"
"Yeah. Funny, right?" Faith could actually feel the blush rising in her cheeks. "Only, I'm not joking, B. I'm ... really. I'm totally crazy about your sister and I mean I wasn't like... you know looking to get involved with her or anything but it kind of got started and now. I just thought you should, you know, know?"
Buffy stared at the other girl. "Dawn's not gay. I mean she's a friend and all that to the gays and lesbians but she's not gay, Faith. Whatever weird thing you have here, she's not interested."
Faith took a deep breath. "Ok, B. I can't say if she's gay or whatever. I mean really only she can say that and make it true or whatever. But I'm not ... you think I'm just imagining or crushing on her or something."
Lowering the bagel from her mouth and looking around for a place to set it, Buffy narrowed her eyes at the other girl. "Ok. Let me get this straight. You want to date Dawn who isn't even gay and you've come to ... what get my permission? Well, you don't have my permission to even spend time with her let along date her because... like, a. not gay! and b. my sister and c. you're a killer and d. no fucking way, Faith." She shook her head. "Our meeting is in a little while; maybe we could just erase this absurd conversation from our memories?"
"Wow. This really is going to take my drawing a picture," Faith muttered.
"What?"
Faith took a deep breath. "Ok, B. I totally don't want to have to do this but you're not getting this. The Kid is my girlfriend. Like we've been together every night since before we left Sunnydale and we talk on the phone and text and you know... like go do stuff together?"
"You're serious?"
--
Tara knocked first on Dawn's door and getting no answer, moved to Faith's room and pounded on the door. She had told Willow that she'd meet her in the meeting room in a few minutes but that she needed to talk to Dawn on the way and the redhead had given her a kiss and said she'd see her in a minute. When no one answered either door, the blonde leaned against the wall across from Faith's room and pulled out her phone, texting:
"Are you going to the meeting?"
She got back:
"Yes. I'm just about to head downstairs. I'll meet you there."
And sent:
"I want to talk to you on the way down. I'm waiting by Faith's door."
The door swung open as Dawn looked at her friend in astonishment before glancing both ways and pulling the door shut behind her. "Whatever you're going to say, I don't think I want to hear it today."
Taking a look, Tara realized the teen's eyes were red as if she had been crying. "Are you ok, Dawnie? Did you two have a fight?"
Dawn sniffled and took a deep breath. "Not exactly. I told her about being the Key. She freaked and said she needed to go kill stuff."
"Was she mad?"
Dawn shook her head. "I don't think so. I don't know. Maybe. Mostly she seemed confused and hurt that I hadn't told her. Do you think I should have told her?"
The two women stopped walking for a minute. "Do you m-mean before this or today?"
Dawn shrugged and started walking again. "Either. Both. Are you mad at me?"
The blonde smiled. "First, Dawnie I'm not mad although I can't speak for Buffy or Willow who I would expect will both lose their ... as they say shit. Second, I c-can't say if you should have told her before this but I was coming by to tell you that you needed to tell her before the meeting."
Dawn stopped to hug her friend then started walking again, reaching the conference room door. "Why did I need to tell her..." She trailed of as the two women entered the room to a crowd gathered around some sort of altercation near the side of the room. Pushing through the crowd, finally spotted Buffy kneeling on the floor above someone and hitting her victim over and over.
Tara ran forward to reach out and stop Buffy's hand on its forward swing before it could make contact again as she yelled to the crowd. "Someone h-help me!"
Seeing that the younger Slayers seemed unsure what to do, Dawn singled out a few of them to help Tara.
"You can just keep your fucking hands off her!" Buffy shouted as the three women pulled Buffy up and managed to get her on the other side of a table although she still struggled against them.
Tearing her gaze from her sister who seemed completed unaffected by the confrontation, without a scratch or bruise on her although her knuckles were bloody and pink, Dawn spotted Faith on the floor and quickly ran to her, sliding onto her knees but unsure where to touch. The dark-haired Slayer's face was bruised and battered with a deep cut on her left cheek and another above the right eye. Seeing that Faith was trying to lift her head, Dawn turned to sit behind her and prop the older girl's head on her lap. "Oh, honey. Do I even need to ask what that was about?"
Faith laughed then winced at the pain of the movement, crossing her arm across her ribs which were quite obviously sore. "Hey, babe. So I told B about us. I think it went well." She laughed again, trailing off to cough and then wiping blood from her mouth.
Dawn tried to gently push the hair out of the blood caking on her girlfriend's face. "You could have waited until I was with you. Maybe she would have taken that better?" The teen could still hear her sister screaming at Tara.
"Do you know what she says she's been doing? Who she's doing it with? My sister. Dawn. You know, Dawn? Why aren't you as mad as me, Tara?"
Dawn could hear Tara's voice attempting to soothe Buffy and then Willow's voice as she entered the room, clearly directed at Buffy. "Do I hear shouting and why are you all bloody and yelling at my girlfriend?"
"I didn't hit her." Faith's voice was nearly a whisper. Dawn glanced down at her lover who was obviously trying to sit up and began to help her sit up so she could lean against the teen. "Not once."
The teen pulled her t-shirt over her head, exposing a sports bra underneath and obviously not caring who saw to dab at Faith's face. With a smile she told her, "I hope you don't mind my saying you look like it."
The Slayer laughed again, and again had to wrap her arm across her ribs.
Seeing another junior Slayer standing around Dawn yelled at the girl. "You! Go get some wet towels." The girl standing next to that one she instructed to bring back some ice. "And the rest of you can just fade away. This isn't your business." The girls were back quickly and Dawn took the towels and ice with a quick thank you and then worked to clean Faith's face, hearing Xander's voice as she did so.
"Whoa. Are we demonstrating battle techniques and why did Faith play the part of the innocent and clearly outclassed bystander?"
"C-can I help, Dawnie?" Dawn looked to the side to see Tara kneeling next to her.
"I'm ok," Faith said as she sat up a little more.
The teen wiped at her eyes and nodded toward the group she could hear gathered behind her. "Maybe you can calm them down?"
Tara nodded and reached down to take Faith's hand. "I think they'll get over it." She looked at the dark-haired slayer. "Can I..." Faith nodded although it obviously hurt her to do so. "Ok, Dawnie, please stop touching her ok?" When the teen did, Tara closed her eyes and spoke a short incantation, allowing her healing power to flow into Faith's body.
When she stopped the Slayer smiled at her. "I think that helped, SB. Thanks." She coughed again. "You two want to help me up?" They did so as gently as possible.
Tara looked at the Buffy, Willow, Xander huddle. Buffy still clenched and unclenched her hands although she had wiped them off on a towel the same Slayer sent by Dawn to get wet towels had apparently handed her. Willow looked both angry and bewildered and Xander looked shocked. "Do you want to go up to your room and rest for a while?" she asked, making it clear to the three core Scoobies that she wanted to take care of Faith first and foremost.
"Don't we have a meeting?"
Tara glared at Buffy as she spoke. "We can delay it for a few hours to let you rest and let your Slayer healing work. I want you and Dawn both at the meeting and ready to talk about solutions." Faith nodded and let the two women help her from the ballroom.
Once they had her in the bed with ice on the worst of the bruises on her face, Dawn pulled Tara aside. "Tara, I know it's asking a lot but can you stay with her for a few minutes?"
Tara nodded and sat in a chair near the Slayer's bed to rest while she waited.
A minute later the teen entered the ballroom to see Giles, Buffy, Willow, and Xander sitting at one of the tables. "Are you insane, Buffy?"
Buffy stood up to meet her sister half-way across the room. "You're sleeping with an evil Slayer and you're asking me if I'm insane? You know what she's like. She uses people and she's a complete slut. You could get hurt. You could get diseases. And since when are you gay? I thought you had a crush on Xander who Faith slept with!" The Slayer took a breath as the others watched the interaction.
Dawn crossed her arms over her chest. "First off, yes. I'm sleeping with Faith and she's not evil. Second, I know what you said she used to be like but I don't believe she's like that anymore. Third, I'm not saying I'm gay but I'm in love with her and I have been for a really long time." She turned and looked at Xander. "And sorry, honey."
The blonde took a deep breath and reached out try and take her sister's hands. "Dawn, I just don't want you to get hurt. Can't you see that?"
Dawn pulled her hand out of the Slayer's. "What I can see is that you beat the crap out of my girlfriend while she didn't lift a finger to stop you."
Looking at Giles and Willow, Xander stood up to join the two sisters. "Dawn, I think maybe we're all just kind of shocked including Buffy."
Buffy still hadn't sat down as she paced like a caged animal. "I'm going to teach her a little more about shocked when she comes back downstairs and I'm not ok with this."
The young man looked at his friend. "As I was saying. Maybe we could all just cool off a little bit and reconvene in ..." he looked at his watch... "2 hours?"
"Ah yes. We do have the apocalypse to tend to." Dawn looked at Giles sideways.
Leave it to Giles...
For the first time, Willow spoke up. "I think Tara has an idea of how to fix it."
Dawn looked at her running watch. "Faith and I will be back in 2 hours for the meeting." Without another word or look at Buffy she turned and left the room.
Buffy looked at the others, finally throwing up her hands. "I don't want to hear anything from anyone. I'm going out." Before anyone could answer she left the ballroom.
--
By the time Dawn got back to Faith's room, the Slayer was asleep in the bed while Tara dozed in the chair beside her. The blonde jumped up to let her into the room and gave her a hug. "How did you know?"
Tara took her seat again as Dawn gently sat on the edge of the bed. "Faith told me what Whistler said."
"Oh."
"Dawnie?"
The younger girl looked up.
"You should have told Mr. Giles or s-someone."
The teen shrugged, tears filling her eyes. "I would have lost her, Tara. I mean ... how would I explain any of it? That her prophecy was about a key or what it meant, not to mention that I hadn't told her about being the Key until today."
Both of them turned their heads as heard a sleepy voice speak in an almost-whisper. "You couldn't lose me, Kid."
Dawn lay gently beside her lover. "Shh. You should sleep for a few hours so we can go meet the others."
When Tara heard Faith whisper a request for the teen to sleep with her she decided she was intruding and quietly crossed the floor and exited the room.