Buffy was back in Sunnydale.

 

She made sure her stake was tucked securely in her jeans, then she and Willow headed out. 

 

Buffy wouldn’t use the word patrolling, because that’s not what they were doing.  They were looking around; trying to see if they could find anything unusual – which in itself was an ironic statement.

 

Unusual and Sunnydale were usually synonymous.

 

“We won’t get much done in a couple of hours,” Willow said quietly.  “I’m sorry, Buffy.  I just don’t see the point.”

 

Buffy stopped and looked at Willow.  “I don’t know what else we can do.  We have nothing.  Figured if there was something to find, this would be the way to do it.”

 

Willow nodded and they continued walking, both woman chatting quietly and taking in their surroundings. 

 

Buffy figured they had time to check a few more streets, but then they needed to head to her house.  She wanted to make sure they had ample time to check it out before Faith and Xander got there.

 

She was so caught up in her thoughts she didn’t realize that Willow had stopped suddenly.  “What is it Will?” she asked.

 

“Unusual like that?”

 

Buffy followed Willow’s gaze.  “You have got to be kidding me.”

 

Sunnydale High School; the Old Sunnydale High School.

 

“It looks like it did before graduation; before the Mayor’s attempted ascension and before it went boom,” Buffy said.  “I remember… Fire Bad, Tree Pretty.”  She looked at Willow.  “Angel leaving.”

 

“How can it be standing there?” 

 

Buffy walked closer to the school, stopping on the sidewalk that ran along the front.  “I don’t know.”

 

“What do you think it means?” Willow asked.

 

“I have no idea.  We’ll ask Giles.  Maybe he’ll be able to make sense out of it.”

 

“Buffy do you think that the library is the same?”

 

Buffy knew where the question was leading.  “Research?”

 

“That’s what I was thinking.  If Giles’ stuff is here too, we may be able to help out, double up the researching, or maybe he could even come here.”

 

“We’ll come back tomorrow with the others and see what’s up.”

 

XXXXX

 

On the surface Faith appeared calm.  Inside she was going crazy. 

 

She had tuned out Xander’s incessant babbling an hour into their recon mission.  She knew it wasn’t his fault; she just didn’t like the way she was feeling and she didn’t want to take her frustration out on him accidentally.

 

Her trepidation alone was enough to have her feeling on edge.  That added to seeing the perfection of Buffy again was all she needed.  She finally couldn’t take it anymore. 

 

“Are you done now?”

 

“What?  Xander asked.  “I’m nervous.  When I’m nervous, I talk.”

 

“You must be really, really fuckin’ nervous then.”

 

They had covered pretty much all they could in the two-hour time allotment.  They hadn’t found anything remotely unusual.  Faith was starting to think that maybe it wasn’t such a big deal.  Sunnydale was back.  So what.  Not like it was any worse then it was before it fell into a hole in the ground.  They hadn’t even stumbled across any vamps.  Maybe the Hellmouth was closed after all.

 

If that was the case, then what was with all the uneasiness?

 

“Okay, this is pointless,” Faith said.  “What time is it?”

 

Xander glanced at his watch.  “We have a half an hour.”

 

“Close enough for me,” Faith said, turning around and walking back the way they had come.

 

Xander sped up to catch her.  “What are you doing?”

 

“Going back to B’s.  There isn’t shit here.  Maybe she and Willow had better luck than we did.”

 

“We still have a half an hour.”

 

“And if we walk really, really slow, we’ll get there exactly on time.”

 

He didn’t bother arguing with her.

 

Walking back to Buffy’s all Faith could think about was Spike.  She knew where he was and she had been tempted on more then one occasion to take off and go to him.  But no matter how much Xander was annoying her, she wasn’t going to leave him alone.  It wouldn’t be the right thing to do and if Faith was about anything nowadays, she was about ‘doing the right thing’. 

 

Sometimes she thought that the going back to doing the wrong thing would be a hell of a lot easier.

 

They turned down Revello Drive and headed towards the Summers’ house.  Faith took in her surroundings and didn’t find anything that seemed off.  She had done her best to place her fears on the backburner and so far, that’s where they were staying.

 

“Doesn’t look any different does it?” Xander asked.

 

“No it doesn’t.  There’s B’s house.  Light’s on and everything.”

 

“Wonder who’s home?” Xander asked pensively.

 

“About to find out.”

 

XXXXX

 

Besides the high school the only thing that Buffy and Willow found unusual was the lack of demons.  The didn’t find any.  They would run into people occasionally milling about, but nothing evil.  No one was afraid, and they were basically calm.

 

Buffy didn’t need to take her stake out, not once.

 

Now they were headed back to 1630 Revello Drive.

 

“You okay Buffy?” Willow asked.

 

Buffy didn’t answer at first.  She was a bundle raw nerves.  She knew her house was on the next block and the only thing she could think of was Dawn’s question, “What if Mom’s there?”

 

She also knew that Willow was waiting for an answer.

 

Buffy told her friend the first thing that sprang to mind.  “I don’t know, ask me again once we get to my house.”

 

Buffy walked up to her front door, indicating for Willow to stay behind.  Taking one last glance over her shoulder, she opened the door.

 

No body was home.  She still felt nervous, but the feeling didn’t intensify once she was inside, she figured that was a good thing.

 

She went from room to room, starting with the basement, and ending up in her very own bedroom.  Everything was the way it used to be, less the damage that was done after the Potentials arrived.

 

Her room was her room.  Dawn’s room was Dawn’s room and their mother’s room was the way Willow and Tara had it.

 

Buffy was more confused than ever.  She walked out the front door, “It’s okay, Will.”

 

Willow came out from behind the tree in the front yard.  “Anything?” she asked.

 

“Nope,” Buffy said relieved.  “Mom’s not here, and by the looks of it she won’t be coming back anytime soon.”

 

Willow met up with Buffy in the house.  Between the two of them they couldn’t find anything amiss.  There was food in the fridge, cans and cereal in the cupboard and fresh fruit on the counter.

 

“I think I would be less nervous if we found something bad,” Willow said sitting down at the kitchen table.

 

“I was thinking the same thing,” Buffy agreed.  She sat down with Willow and leaned her chin on her hand.  “I just don’t get it.  Why bring Sunnydale back?  Why would anyone want to?  Okay, maybe big evil dudes would want to, but why bring it back and then leave it so… pristine?  There isn’t anything bad here.”

 

Buffy didn’t want to let Willow know about the apprehension she had felt before the plane even landed, let alone how much it had intensified since then.  The unbridled fear was there and Buffy couldn’t see any reason for it.

 

Not to mention her newly acquired fear of the dark.

 

XXXXX

 

“B said we’d know before we made it up to the front door,” Faith said, not bothering to knock and walking right in.

 

“Maybe we should knock?” Xander said, following right behind her. “Or not.”

 

“Yo, B.  You here?” Faith called out.

 

“We’re in the kitchen,” Buffy responded.

 

“Anything?”  Buffy asked as Faith and Xander came into the kitchen.

 

“Not a thing,” Faith supplied.  “No vamps. No nothing.  You?”  Faith asked, pulling out a chair, turning it around, and straddling the back.

 

“Only thing we found out of the usual was the high school - the old one…” Buffy paused.  “Pre-Mayor Sunnydale High.”

 

“Hellmouth still there?”

 

“Didn’t take it that far,” Buffy said, going to the fridge.  After grabbing something to drink, she sat back down.  “That might be something we do during the day.  Willow and I figured we’d go back and check out the library – see if all of Giles’ stuff is there.  Kind of hard to see if the Hellmouth is there without ripping up the floor.”

 

“We need to call Giles, too,” Willow added. 

 

“We do don’t we?” Buffy asked.  “I guess now is as good of a time as any.”  She set down her drink and went to the phone. 

 

After what felt like forever, Giles finally answered the phone.

 

Buffy spoke to him briefly, the discouragement showing on her face.  Once she hung up, she reported back to the others.  “Giles still doesn’t have anything.  Having the Old Sunnydale High School here should tell him something, but right now, it doesn’t.  He’s really frustrated, us not having much to tell him didn’t help either.”

 

“So what are we going to do now?” Xander asked.

 

“Not much we can do.  I suggest we all stay here, get a good night’s sleep, and start fresh in the morning.”  Buffy asked looking around to see if everyone was in agreement. 

 

“I’m glad to be back and all,” Faith said slowly getting up and walking towards the backdoor.  “But I’m not one for PJ parties, so I’m going to take off. I’ll meet you back here in the morning.”  With that she was gone.

 

“Did that surprise anyone?” Xander asked.

 

“No,” Willow added.  “Faith’s not exactly a joiner.  Do you think she’ll be okay, Buffy?”

 

“She’s Faith.”

 

XXXXX

 

Faith didn’t stop until she got to the crypt door.  She didn’t bother knocking.

 

She stormed across directly to where he slept.  She didn’t wait for him to wake.  She was on him before he could move.  She whipped down the covers.

 

He was naked.  That didn’t surprise her.

 

Spike was awake now, still saying nothing, but watching her intently.  Faith wasn’t sure if it was out of surprise or curiosity.  It didn’t matter to her; she was doing what she wanted to do, what she had been thinking about ever since she left the Bronze.

 

She grabbed Spike’s legs and yanked him down to the foot of the bed, his arms flying out, pillows landing on the cold-hard floor; his hips  stopping where his feet had been just moments before.

 

Faith not wasting any time, took him fully into her mouth.

 

Spike tried to sit up, but she pushed him back down.  She didn’t want him moving; she didn’t want him talking; she didn’t want him questioning.  She just wanted him to lie there, let her do what she wanted to do.

 

“Bloody hell,” he moaned.  Spike was squirming so much Faith had a hard time keeping him still.  It didn’t matter; she had almost accomplished what she had set out to do.

 

Knowing he was close, Faith stopped, her mouth and her hand switching places momentarily, and then she stopped altogether

 

Spike looked at her as she grinned naughtily, pulled up her shirt and unfastened her jeans.

 

Taking advantage of her Slayer speed, Faith was up and on him faster then he had expected, riding him harder then she ever had before.

 

Faith could tell by the way he was moving under her that he was trying to reposition himself, but she wouldn’t let him. 

 

She didn’t realize it until it was too late, but somehow Spike had managed to maneuver his hands under her legs, and with one fast lifting motion she was no longer on top.  He was.

 

“No!” she cried out.

 

“Oh, yes,” he said, the husky tone of arousal now evident in his voice.

 

Spike quickly got up on his knees, grabbing her in the process.  He pulled her to him, lifting her up, and back on.  They made their way to the edge of the bed so Spike could use the floor for support, all the while locked in a passionate kiss. 

 

Faith was trying to regain the upper hand, but Spike would have nothing of it.  They were fighting for control.  For domination. 

 

The more they fought.  The more turned on they both got.

 

Spike stood, still holding onto Faith.  He turned around and dropped her onto the bed.  He withdrew for a split second, and then pushed in as deeply as he could, speeding up as he went, going a little deeper each time.

 

It didn’t take long for either of them after that.

 

XXXXX

 

“You’re going back to L.A.,”  Faith said matter-of-factly, getting out of bed to get dressed.

 

“What?” Spike asked.

 

“You’re leaving…. Take the car.  I don’t care.  You just need to get out of Sunnydale,” she told him, not giving him the consideration of actually looking at him as she spoke.

 

“And why would I do that?” he asked, getting out of bed and throwing on a pair of jeans that were lying nearby.  “Why in bloody hell would I be going back to L.A. at this very moment Faith?  Enlighten me with your wisdom.”

 

Faith tried to ignore the sarcasm that was in his voice.  She had too many reasons why Spike couldn’t stay here and she wasn’t about to elaborate on any of them.  “Because I said so.”

 

Spike laughed humorlessly.  “Oh, so now you’re telling me what to do?  Is that what’s happening here?”

 

She finally looked at him.  “Look, this is too distracting for me.  The entire time I was with… them.  All I could think about was you and,” she pointed to the bed, “that.” 

 

Spike eyed her curiously.

 

“We don’t even know what’s going on yet.  There’s nothing weird.  There’s nothing dangerous.  The high school is back. Besides that we got nothing, nada, zip.  So what’s the point in you staying?” Then she added rather offhand, “Besides you getting laid.”

 

Spike moved so quickly Faith didn’t know he was on her until it was too late.  He grabbed her by the shoulders and slammed her against the wall.  “Do you think that’s all there is here?  Bleedin’ sex?  You have so much to learn about men.  About me, Faith.”

 

She loosened herself from his grip, ducking under his arm, and stomping away from him.  “Oh, and you’re going to be the one to teach me?  Is that what you’re trying to tell me, Spike.  The all-knowing vampire is now going to teach me about men.  That’s okay, but I think I know enough already – I’ll pass.”

 

Spike sighed loudly and went and sat down in his chair.  “Why do you make this so hard all the time?”

 

Faith was taken aback, not knowing how to respond.  “What are you talking about?”

 

“This,” Spike said motioning with his arms.  “Here we are, getting along famously.  Then outta bloody nowhere you’re pushing me, telling me to leave, closing yourself off – again.  Why can’t you just admit to yourself that we have a good thing going and accept that?  Why do you make it so bloody difficult?”

 

Faith was in Hell. 

 

When had all these emotions come into it?  They were fucking.  Plain and simple, damn it!  Why did he need an explanation for everything?  They had fun and now she was done.  Admittedly he was a friend she supposed.  Lord knows she didn’t have tons of experience with those.  But still... she said leave.  He should leave now, not talk about it, not discuss it.  What she said goes.  Why didn’t he see that?

 

“I’m not leaving.”

 

Confusion creased her brows.  “What do you mean you’re not leaving?  Yes you are.”

 

“I’m not leaving… Pretty simple, innit?  I’m not going anywhere and you better get used to ‘aving me around.”

 

Faith blurted the first thing that came to mind.  “You stay, I’ll tell Buffy you’re here.”

 

Spike laughed.  “You wouldn’t dare.”

 

“Try me.”

 

Spike crossed his arms in front of him.  “Tell her.  Save me from doing it.”

 

He was calling her on it?  How much more infuriating could one man be?  What in the hell was she going to do now? She hadn’t meant it when she said she’d tell B.  Now she wasn’t so sure.  Only thing she did know what all this arguing was giving her a headache.

 

“God!  You are pissing me off.  Why can’t you just make this all easier on everyone and go?” Faith said, walking over to where he was sitting.

 

“On everyone or just you?” Spike asked, unfolding his arms and taking Faith’s hands in his.

 

She resisted at first, but she knew her fight was gone, at least for the moment.  It was almost sunup and she hadn’t gotten any sleep.

 

Spike motioned for her to sit on his lap and Faith sat.  “Are we done now?” he asked.

 

Faith didn’t say anything, she just laid her head on his shoulder.

 

They stayed that way for the next hour.

 

XXXXX