<!DOCTYPE HTML PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD HTML 4.0 Transitional//EN"><!-- saved from url=(0047)file://Q:\Jen\Documents\Forms\Docs\dominoff.htm --><!-- saved from url=(0047)file://Q:\Jen\Documents\Forms\Docs\dominoff.htm -->TITLE: Ghosts 3/?
AUTHOR: jodyorjen
RATING: NC-17
SPOILERS: AU Season 7, containing vague rumors and speculation.
DISCLAIMER: All hail Joss Whedon, UPN, the WB, FOX, Mutant Enemy and 20th Century Fox Film Corporation. GO team! Theirs, not mine.
DEDICATION: This one goes out to
the one I love.
AUTHOR"S NOTE: Angst, baby, with a bullet.
DISTRIBUTION: Please ask my permission first, just so I know where it’s headed. All of my stories may be found at http://www.willingslave.com
Faith was falling. Deep
down, she knew that there was something wrong here. But she felt so calm, and
safe, and secure. She didn’t want to listen to the nagging voice in her head.
Suddenly, she was in
Buffy’s bedroom. “Someone’s sleeping in my bed,” Buffy said, putting her arm
around Faith’s waist. Faith turned to look, seeing a nude man lying on his
stomach.
“Do you know him?” Faith
asked.
Buffy tilted her head.
“I don’t think so.”
They watched him sleep
for a moment. “He’s really hot,” Faith said. She slipped off her robe, leaving
her standing there in a bra and garter belt. “Let’s get him, B.” She tugged on
her friend’s hand, pulling her towards the bed.
“We can’t,” Buffy said,
standing firm.
“Because it would be
wrong?” Faith teased.
Buffy looked worried.
“Because something is really wrong,” she said. “Wake up, Faith.”
“Don’t be a drag,” Faith
said with a smile.
“Faith, wake up,” Buffy
said seriously. She put her hands on Faith’s shoulders and shook her.
Faith opened her eyes and
stared up at a white ceiling. She sat up in the bed and looked around. She felt
awful, her mouth dry and her head throbbing. She looked down at the crumpled
sheets next to her. A trail of blood was splashed across the bed, the shackles
that had held William were broken open.
With a curse, she ran
from the room. The door to the hotel room was wide open, and Faith went through
it. She looked down the hallway, and looked at the elevator. Turning her head,
she saw the staircase. Making a split second decision, she turned left and ran
up the stairs. She shoved open the door and burst out onto the roof, the orange
glow of sunset making her eyes tear.
William stood a few feet
in front of her, wisps of smoke rising in the air. “You’re one
stupid, predictable,
motherfucking idiot!” she yelled.
He turned to face her,
his eyes wide with shock. “Faith!”
She rushed him and
grabbed his wrist, pivoting and throwing him into the wall. He hit the concrete
blocks with a crash. She took his throat in both hands and squeezed.
“I thought I killed
you,” he wheezed. “Your heart stopped. I heard it stop.”
She slammed his head
into the wall. “Do I look dead to you?” she snarled, smashing his head again.
“I’m sorry I hurt you,” he said. “I couldn’t
help myself. I didn’t mean to hurt you. It was your scent, enslaving me, making
me lose my mind.”
“I’m not angry that you
bit me, I’m angry that you keep trying to kill yourself. You made me happy like
I’ve never felt before in my entire horrible life, and now you’re just going to
get dusty?”
“I made you happy?” he
asked incredulously. She was overcome with a wave of dizziness, and she let go.
He reached out and
caught her before she fell. “Stop catching me,” she said weakly. “Just let me
fall.” William took her into his arms as she passed out.
****
Giles took a last
spoonful of tiramisu. “Do you want a cup of coffee?” Buffy asked.
“That would be lovely,”
he replied. She filled a mug and set it in front of him, along with a sugar
bowl and a tiny pitcher of cream. He smiled up at her. “This was a wonderful
meal, Buffy.”
She sat down at her
place and smiled back at him. “Thanks! I’ve been working really hard on my
domestic side this summer.”
“Well, it’s quite
apparent,” he said kindly.
“We made up menu cards,”
Dawn said. “Alternating each week. Buffy can now make twenty different
entrees.”
Buffy blushed. “Some are
easier than others. Once a week is pizza.”
“It’s really easy to
make a pizza,” Dawn said excitedly.
“Xander bought us a bread machine, and you can make dough with it.”
“I have professional
experience,” said Xander. “I sling a mean dough.” Dawn turned and smiled at
him.
Buffy served herself
some more tiramisu. “So, are you back, back now?” she asked Giles. “For good
back?”
Giles nodded. “I gave the tenant of my apartment one
month’s notice. The reconstruction of the Magic Box is nearly complete, and I
can begin having fittings installed in a few weeks. I’ve already ordered the
new inventory, we should reopen for Halloween.”
“That’s great news,” Dawn
said. “When is Anya coming home from Bath?”
Giles took a long sip of
coffee. “She’s decided to stay at the estate indefinitely.”
“Why?” Buffy asked.
“She’s fond of my house,
and selling off the Alexandrian collection alone could keep her occupied for
years,” Giles said. “There’s a great deal of interest in the occult area of
antiquarian books. Anya is very aware of it, and she’s willing to wait for the
right buyers and travel across Europe to sell each volume, if it means the
right price.”
“Doesn’t she want to
come home?” Dawn asked.
“Not really,” Giles
admitted. “She feels there’s nothing here for her any more.”
“But that’s stupid,”
Dawn said adamantly. “She has all of us, and the Magic Box.”
“And the demon biz,” Xander
said. “Let’s not gloss over that one.”
“She’s not active as a
vengeance demon,” Giles informed the younger man. “She no longer finds it
fulfilling.”
“So that’s one more
person who is going to just disappear out of my life and never come back?” Dawn
asked, hurt.
“You can call her in
England,” Giles said. “She’s not gone.”
“On another continent, I
think it’s safe to say she’s gone,” Dawn said. She folded her napkin and set it
aside. “I need to go.”
“Don’t you want to stay
and visit with Giles?” Buffy asked.
“I have plans,” her
sister said.
“Okay,” said Buffy. She
stood up and hugged her. “You’ll be back by midnight?”
Dawn kissed her sister’s
cheek. “Yep. I have money, I have my cell. I’m cool.”
Buffy reached up and
smoothed an errant lock of Dawn’s hair. “Have fun. Be careful.”
Xander stood up. “You
need me to drop you at Janice’s?”
“Sure,” Dawn said. “That
would be great.”
“Sorry to cut the party
short, G-man,” Xander said. “It’s my mom’s birthday, and I have to go over
there. I figure they’re both plastered by now, so I won’t have to stay long.”
He turned to Buffy. “Want me to come back over after?”
Buffy shook her head.
“Giles and I have a lot to catch up on.”
“Okay,” Xander said
agreeably. “I’ll bring you girls some donuts in the morning then.”
“Great,” Buffy said.
Xander hugged her tightly.
“Let’s go, Xan,” said
Dawn. She grabbed her purse and left,
Xander following behind.
Buffy turned to Giles.
“Okay, now tell me what is really going on with Willow. I’m totally not buying the
‘she’s just tired and jet lagged’ thing. Tell me what’s the matter with her.”
“It’s complicated,”
Giles said. “Knowing the technicalities of it, won’t make the situation any
better.”
“Stop being all wishy
washy and tell me, Giles,” Buffy said. “I’m a big girl now. I can handle it.”
Giles took her hand and
led her into the living room, sitting her on the couch. He filled two glasses
with whisky and handed one to Buffy. “It can’t be that bad,” she said.
He sat next to her and
set his glasses on the coffee table. He turned and looked at her, and she saw
the pain and despair in his eyes. Slowly, she drank her whisky, shuddering
slightly. Giles drank his as well, and took her hand. “She’s lost her soul,”
Giles said softly. “We’ve tried everything, and we cannot bring it back.”
The color drained from
Buffy’s face. “No,” she said.
“Magick has a price,”
Giles explained. “She had to pay for what she did-“
“No!” Buffy cried out.
“No.” She shook her head. Giles closed his arms around her and held her
tightly, rocking her as she broke down.
*****
Dawn walked through the
cemetery, stake in hand. She felt that tingling feeling in her hands and neck
and turned, spearing a vamp through the heart. He dusted, and Dawn smiled in
satisfaction. Someone grabbed her from behind, and she kicked him away. She
jabbed her stake to the side and took out another, then and turned around and
staked the one she had kicked to the ground.
She breathed heavily,
enjoying the buzz that ran through her veins, the adrenaline high that was
unlike almost anything in her life. She strode through the gravestones, and
opened the door to a crypt. She stepped inside and fumbled in her jacket pocket
for a lighter. She flicked it on and lit the pillar candles she had left on the
floor. She stepped inside the circle and lit the very last one.
“I am the Key,” she said
in ringing tones. She closed her eyes as the flames shot up in the air. “I am
the bridge between the worlds. I command you to bring forth the one I seek.”
Swirling smoke coalesced
in front of her, and a figure stepped forth. “Hey, Dawnie,” the shade greeted
her.
Dawn opened her eyes and
smiled. “Hey!” She tried to hug her, but passed through the figure.
“You forgot to modify my ectoplasmic
essence,” Tara reminded her.
“Right,” Dawn said.
“Invocato substantio!” Tara’s shadowy form solidified, and Dawn hugged her.
“You want to pick up
where we left off with the herbalism, or do you want to study some more
spellcraft?” Tara asked.
“I had something else in
mind,” Dawn said seriously. Tara looked at her expectantly. “Yahtzee!” She
pulled the orange box out of her backpack.
Tara smiled. “Cool. I
love that.”
*******
Faith opened her eyes
and stared up at the white ceiling. The whir of machinery and the smell of
disinfectant clued her in immediately to where she was. Panicked, she hit the
call button over and over. A nurse ran into the room. “Oh, good. You’re awake.
I’ll let the doctor know.”
“How long was I out?”
Faith demanded frantically. “Was I in a coma?”
“You were admitted a few
hours ago,” the nurse said. “You just need to stay overnight for observation.”
Faith pulled the IV out of her hand and unfastened the monitors that were
attached to her body. “You can’t do that, miss,” the nurse said.
“I can do whatever the
fuck I want,” Faith informed her.
“We have procedures,”
the nurse protested. “We have guidelines to be followed, for the safety-“
“My lawyer’s name is
Lilah Morgan,” Faith said crisply. “Wolfram and Hart.”
The nurse blanched.
“Fine, miss, I’m sure we won’t need to involve hospital administration.”
“Who brought me in?”
Faith asked.
“You were left at the
emergency room,” the nurse said. “We don’t have your contact or insurance
information-“
“Send the bill to the
firm,” Faith said. “Where are my clothes?”
The nurse pointed to the
chair, where the terry robe from the hotel lay. Faith rolled her eyes and grabbed the phone. She dialed a number
and waited impatiently while it rang. “Lilah Morgan.”
“Hey. I’m at-” She
turned and asked the nurse. “What hospital am I at?”
“Saint John’s,” the
nurse supplied.
“I’m at Saint John’s. I
need a car dropped off here for me and I want a set of clothes too. I’ve got no
cash on me, nothing, so I need some, and a cell phone. Two, actually.”
“Sounds like you’re
diving into the L.A. lifestyle,” Lilah said smoothly.
“Getting out of the
hotel is kind of a nice change of pace,” said Faith.
“Your friend seems to
think so too,” Lilah said. “He’s gone. We’ve got a couple of men out now trying
to round him up.”
“How hard can it be to
find him?” Faith said. “He looks like Freddy Krueger and he’s trying to off
himself, or get someone else to do it. Shouldn’t be hard in L.A.”
“Find him,” said Lilah.
“He’s your responsibility.”
******
A slight blonde figure
in a flowing white robe stood before a large screen. She held her hand above
the image of a barefoot figure running down a dark alley, dressed in a flapping
white bathrobe.
“He is no longer your
responsibility,” said a deep voice behind her.
“That’s not true!” Cordelia
said adamantly. She spun to look at the tall horned demon.
“The Powers have removed
him from your care,” Skip pointed out. “Your job is to facilitate and assist
destiny, not to directly intervene. You crossed the line too many times for
Spike.”
“What good would it do
to just stand there doing nothing while he burns to a crisp?” Cordy asked.
“Your job is not to
question the Powers,” he said. “As your superior, I am going to remind you,
once
again, that this decision is final. You are
not to intervene in any way with this case.”
“He doesn’t know
anything yet,” Cordelia argued. “He hasn’t been coherent long enough for us to
explain anything about his soul. He has no idea of the limitations or
ramifications-”
“He will learn them
through the course of events,” her boss told her. “It is not in your hands to
change the world. Eventually, you will appreciate the power that you hold, and
be grateful for it.” He smiled at her gently. “You still think in human terms.
With time, your scope will widen, and you will come to understand.” He patted
her shoulder and disappeared.
Cordelia turned back to
the monitor, her eyes fixed on Spike.
******
“Thanks,” Giles said, as
Buffy fluffed the pillow and set it down on the couch.
“You’re the very first
guest to try out the brand new sheets,” she said. “No more inflicting my
childhood castoffs on you.”
He smiled. “I’m very
grateful for the couch, whatever the linens.”
“There’s spare towels in
the bathroom upstairs,” she said. “There’s lots of stuff in the hall closet if
you’re missing anything.”
“Sleep well,” he said,
as she dimmed the lights and walked upstairs. She brushed her teeth and washed
her face in the bathroom. In her room, she changed into her nightgown, brushing
her hair back and pulling it into a ponytail.
She climbed into bed and
closed her eyes. She stared up at the ceiling, her mind swirling with Willow,
bills, Dawn worry, and the Xander situation before she crashed into sleep,
exhausted.
Buffy walked into the Bronze
and pushed her way through the masses of people, finally making her way to the
bar. Harmony smiled at her and handed her a glass of punch. “You’re finally
here!” she said excitedly.
Darla passed her a plate
of cookies. “It’s very impolite to show up late when you’re the guest of
honor.”
Dru grabbed her hand and
led her up on the stage. “Here she is, boys!”
Angel, Spike, Riley, and
Parker were smoking cigars and drinking at a banquet table. “Slayer!” Spike
said cheerfully. “We thought you weren’t going to make it.” He wore a “Hi! My
name is” sticker on his shirt, with a large 4 written on it.
“There’s my girl,” said
Angel heartily. He stood up and kissed her cheek. “We were just talking about
you, baby.” He wore a badge too, with a 1 in bold red marker.
“Yeah,” Spike said. “I
was telling them that you went down on me all the time. They didn’t believe me,
said there’s no way you’d do something like that.” He laughed. “God, that was
the least of what I got you to do, wasn’t it?”
“You must have gotten
her really drunk,” Parker said. “When I was with her, she just sort of lay
there.”
“Me too,” said Angel.
“Much ado about nothing, really. Nothing to lose your soul over.”
Xander jumped up on the
stage and put his arm around her. “Hey there,” he said. “Having fun?”
“I want to go home,”
Buffy whispered.
“Party’s just getting
started,” he said, surprised. He wore a badge like the others, a ? written
across it.
“You could take her
upstairs to the balcony, do her there,” Spike suggested.
“And be sure to tell her
you love her,” Riley said. “That’ll really get her to open up.”
Angel laughed and
slapped the other man on the back. “Damn straight.”
Xander helped her down
from the stage and led her towards the stairs. Someone pulled on her wrist. She
turned around to see Anya. The demon smiled and handed her a box of condoms.
“Xander’s little swimmers work, so don’t forget the safe sex,” she said. “And I
wanted to tell you, he really likes being on top, so definitely act like that’s
your favorite. And he likes lots of noise, so be sure to have really, really
loud orgasms.” Her face lit up. “Oh wait, let’s ask her.” She grabbed a passing
girl. It was Faith. “Do you have any tips for Buffy? She’s going to have sex
with Xander.”
“Don’t blink, you’ll
miss it,” Faith replied. Something caught her eye and she smiled. “I’ve got to
go. Spike’s waiting for his champagne.”
“Buffy? Buffy?” Buffy
opened her eyes and looked up. Dawn stood at the foot of the bed. “I had a bad
dream.”
Buffy scooted over and
Dawn climbed into the bed. The sisters spooned together and went back to sleep.
*****
Faith walked out of the
hospital and hit the button on the keychain that had been dropped off by the
courier. The lights on a black Mercedes sedan blinked on and off. She walked
towards it, when suddenly her neck tingled. She turned around and scanned the
parking lot. She walked back in the direction that she’d come from, and spotted
William in an alley, hiding behind a dumpster.
“What are you doing?”
she said, grabbing his wrist and pulling him forward.
“I wanted to make sure
you were going to be okay,” he said.
“Do you have any idea
how stupid you look, standing in an alley in a bathrobe?” she asked him.
“I hadn’t really thought
about it,” he said.
“Well, you look like an idiot,”
she pointed out.
“I didn’t have any
clothes in the hotel room, and I was more concerned with saving your life,” he
snapped at her.
“You nearly killed me,
didn’t you?” she asked. “I passed out, because you drained me.” She touched the
bandage on her neck.
“That’s right, I did,”
he said softly.
“Is it always like that,
for you?” she asked. “Does it feel that good every time?”
He looked uncomfortable.
“No. You’re a Slayer, that’s why I lost control like that. Your blood, it’s like
the headiest wine, the smoothest drug.”
“You made me come,” she
said. “Over and over. Without doing anything more than putting your fangs in my neck.”
“I know,” he said. “I
raped you, really. Stole your blood, used your body-”
She put her hands on his
shoulders, running her thumbs along the rivulets of scar tissue that covered
his collarbone. “It was great.”
He looked down at her,
his face half cast in shadow. One side of his face was dark, the other harshly
highlighted, showing every tracery of livid red and pallid white that
disfigured his face. “You could have died.”
She opened the throat of
his robe, her tongue sliding across his neck. He shuddered, his hand clenching
on the leather of her jacket. “It was worth it.” She slipped her hand inside
his robe and wrapped her hand around him. “You’re hard just thinking about it.”
“Yes,” he whispered. “I
can’t help it. My demon, it craves your blood, and my body, it wants yours.”
She pulled open his robe
and lifted her skirt. “Want,” she said in his ear. She wrapped her arms around
his neck and sank down on his erect cock. He moaned, burying his face in her
neck as he cupped her ass in his hands. “Take,” she said breathily, as she
moved up and down, taking him in and out of her slick depths. He kissed her
neck, murmuring softly as he thrust his hips against hers. “Have.” She pressed
his neck, and he slid his fangs into her neck. They both cried out as her blood
hit his tongue, their bodies accelerating as they careened towards release. His
throat moved convulsively as he drank her blood. She pulled his mouth away from
her neck, and their lips met in a greedy, passionate kiss.
They came as one, their
bodies locking and stiffening as pleasure exploded between them. They kissed,
the embrace slowly ending as Faith’s pulse returned to normal, her breathing no
longer labored. She pulled away and straightened her clothes, then fixed his
robe. They looked at each other for a long moment, each flustered and taken off
guard by what had passed between them.
“I’m sorry,” he said
finally.
“I’m not,” she said,
smiling. Her eyes were bright, her color high. “I’ve never felt so alive.”
“You really are happy,”
he said in amazement. “I thought I’d lost my touch in that department.”
“Never so good,” she
said. “I feel like I have the world at my feet.”
He smiled back at her
and took her hand. “Shall we hit the town then, Slayer?”
She laughed. “Yeah!” She
took his hand in hers and they walked toward the car. “We should get you some clothes
though. I don’t think we’ll get in anywhere good with you in a bathrobe.”
“Works for Hugh Hefner,”
he said.
“He’s rich and
powerful,” she replied.
“Whereas I’m neither,
with an ugly mug to boot?” he said wryly.
She stopped and turned
to him. “Anyone makes fun of you, I’ll snap their fucking head off,” she said,
running her hand over his scarred cheek.
“I think you really mean
that,” he said.
“You ain’t seen nothing
yet, William,” she replied.
-TBC-