Chapter Seven

Coming back from taking Faith's class out on the obstacle course, sweaty, needing the toilet and desperate for a shower, Buffy brushed back her damp hair and smiled at Willow, who was making herself some lunch in the kitchen. "I think we should punish Faith for dumping her exercise class on me to go off shopping," she pouted. "She hates shopping! If anyone should ditch school to go shopping, it should be me! I have a shoe collection to add to!"

"It was Kennedy who had it planned, so really the blame should go to her," Willow replied. "But, I can't allow her to be punished because I like having my girlfriend in one piece."

"You're no fun. You know, we should ditch one day to go shopping," Buffy said thoughtfully. "A girlie day out, whilst they stay here in charge. When was the last time we had a girlie day out?" She licked her lips as she eyed her friend's food, her stomach rumbling.

"It's been too long. This place has needed so much time and energy..."

"Well, we deserve it then," Buffy decided, smiling affectionately at her old friend. "But only once we've found this stupid demon."

"I've never known you to... be like this over one demon, Buffy."

Buffy leaned against the counter. "It threw me across the cemetery with ease, Will. That scares me, it makes me worry for the younger girls."

"I understand that, Buffy, I do," Willow acquiesced. "But there's been no sign of it since that night. You and Faith have looked high and low for it, with no sign at all. You've checked in with all your sources around the area with no luck on its whereabouts. All the signs are pointing to it having left. I think we should let this one go for now."

"Have you called Giles yet?"

Willow shook her head, while she finished making her sandwich. "He was in a meeting, but I'm told he'll get back to me."

"That's what you were told the last time you called."

Willow glanced at the clock. "I think I'll go try again." Cutting the sandwich in half, the redhead neatly placed each half onto a plate.

Grabbing one half, Buffy headed for the doorway. "I'm gonna go take a shower. I'll come find you later to see if there's any news." She stopped when Willow called her name.

"Faith's new bed arrived while you were out, would you help me get it over to her apartment after your shower?"

Feeling her cheeks heating up, as she remembered how Faith's bed had broken in the first place, Buffy scowled. "Get a couple of the younger Slayers to do it," she replied. "There's always a few in the bad book, it can be their punishment." She walked away before Willow could say anything more.

* * * *

Reaching the exclusive jewellery shop Kennedy had an appointment for, the younger Slayer stopped at the window to let her gaze wander over everything on display.

"We going in?" Faith asked, eyes on the window display.

"Yeah," Kennedy nodded, shaking her hands to try and get rid of her nervousness. "Yeah, in a minute." She swallowed hard, eyes wide and scared. "Any minute now." She turned to face Xander and Faith, who looked back at her, waiting. "Am I doing the right thing? I mean she could laugh in my face, you know? She's like... super intelligent, wicked powerful..."

Faith and Xander looked at each other, then back at Kennedy, who was in danger of having a full blown panic attack. "She loves your stupid arse," Faith replied.

"You've been together for years now," Xander said. "Sure, you broke up for a while, but you got back together. Why would she laugh at you for proposing?"

"Because this is... this is major. This is..."

"The right thing to do," Xander told her in a brotherly tone. "Willow loves you a lot. You make her happy, which is good, otherwise I would have to sic Faith on you," he glanced at Faith, who smirked back at him. "All right, there's a chance she could laugh, a chance she could say no way, crazy lady. But I know her pretty well and I think you'll be getting the answer you want."

Kennedy smiled and swallowed hard again, this time to hold in happy tears. "Thanks, Xander," she got out through a tight throat. "Okay, let's do this." She hit the intercom button by the front door and waited for someone to respond.

"Yes?"

"Hi. I have an appointment with Benedict," Kennedy said, hearing the door buzz open. She led the way into the shop, taking off her sun-glasses as she entered, and smiled as she approached the glass counter. "Hi," she greeted the smartly suited man, who smiled back at her.

"Good morning, Madam. My name is Benedict," he greeted in a posh voice. "How can I help you today?"

"Well, you see, Benedict, I uhm... I'm looking for a ring. An engagement ring for my girl," Kennedy stuttered nervously, hands sweating, belly flip-flopping.

"Excellent," he said, eyes darting to Faith, who snorted.

"Not in this life time, pal."

Kennedy's eyes went wide as she caught on to what the sales assistant was thinking. "No! No, no, no," she shook her head. "Not her, she's not my girl. Not that there's anything wrong with her..."

"Damn right there's nothin' wrong with me!" Faith grumbled in response, elbowing Xander in the side when he snickered in amusement.

"I understand, Madam," Benedict told Kennedy. "I apologise for jumping to conclusions." He smiled politely. "I would be delighted to help you find the perfect ring."

Kennedy returned the smile, relaxing. "Great. I need all the help I can get! I'm Kennedy, this is Xander, my girl's best friend since childhood, and that's Faith. Sort of my friend."

"Don't sound too enthusiastic!" Faith scoffed sarcastically. "I'll be over there if you need me," she said, jerking her thumb in the direction of a glass case displaying necklaces. She doubted she could afford anything in this shop, but it didn't hurt to look.

"All right, if you would follow me, we'll take a seat and get started." Benedict led the way over to a small table that would give them some privacy from other customers and held out a chair for Kennedy, only sitting once she was seated. "Let's start with a basic question," he said, as Xander took a seat next to Kennedy. "What sort of ring would you like? We only have gold or platinum here..."

"Platinum has potential," Kennedy replied.

"A lady who has an idea of what she likes," Benedict smiled. "May I enquire about your budget?" he asked politely. "What price you are willing to go up to?"

Kennedy nodded. "I have a price in mind." She came from money and knew it was all about quality when it came to jewellery and quality came at a price. "I want the best for my girl, she deserves the best. But don't drag out any old expensive thing just because you're on commission." She felt her shoulders relax, this was a role she knew well, the spoilt rich kid role that she had grown up being.

Xander grinned and discreetly bumped Kennedy's shoulder proudly. He'd never seen this side of her.

"My girl won't like something large and too glitzy. She won't want it to catch on everything and with the job she has, glitzy is over the top." She neglected to say anything in regard to a price, knowing he worked on commission and would likely try to fob her off with the most expensive ring he could find.

"Understood, Madam," Benedict nodded. "Nothing glitzy nor large. What diamond shape would you like?" Was his next question. "We have quite a range here."

Kennedy smiled charmingly. "Talk me through what you have."

Benedict returned the smile, realising he had a proper client on his hands, someone who wasn't afraid to pay good money for a good ring.

"We have a round-shaped diamond, which comes in either a solitaire, three stone, diamond band, or side stone setting. That is available in either gold or platinum. We have a princess-shaped diamond, which only comes in a solitaire setting and is only available in platinum. We have a Lucida-shaped diamond..."

"Lucida?" Kennedy frowned. "I've never heard of that."

"That is exclusive to this shop only, and comes in a solitaire, three stone, or side stone setting. That's available in either gold or platinum," Benedict told her proudly.

"It makes my wrist look fat!" a woman being served across the shop complained loudly. "I don't want something that is going to make me look fat!"

"I understand, Madam," the bewildered sales assistant placated. "We have other designs you can look at."

Momentarily distracted by what was happening across the shop, Benedict smiled apologetically at Kennedy and Xander. "Sorry. We uhh... we have an emerald-shape diamond, that comes in either solitaire, three stone, or a side stone setting, and only available in platinum. We have an oval-shape diamond, which comes in either solitaire or three stone setting, and only available in platinum..."

"You're trying to make me look hideous!" the woman across the shop shrieked. "Look! Look how hideous you've made me!" Her hand waved about frantically, the new bracelet she had tried on shifting on her wrist. "I've changed my mind. I don't want a bracelet, you don't have anything that suits me. Show me your necklaces instead."

"Of course, Madam." The sales assistant glanced over at Benedict, a desperate "help me" look etched in her face. "We have some fine pieces. I'm sure we have something to suit your tastes, Madam."

Kennedy considered the options while Benedict was distracted by the troublesome woman, going over the list in her head. "I think platinum's the way to go," she decided. "I'd like to see the... round, the princess, the Lucida, the pear, and the marquise in all available settings."

Benedict nodded as he got to his feet. "Let me get a selection of rings for you to look at closely, then we can narrow your choices down further."

"Wow, you really sounded like you knew what you were doing," Xander said, once they were alone.

"I sort of do," Kennedy replied. "My family does come from money and I do know how to act in a shop of this prestige. You have to let them know you won't be walked all over just because you have some cash."

Benedict returned with a cushioned tray holding a selection of rings, all of which held no price tag. He smiled at the pair as he set the tray down between them. "I assume you know about the four C's, Madam?" he asked Kennedy.

"I do," the Slayer nodded. She looked over the selection before her, brown eyes carefully studying each and every one. "Which is this?" she asked, poking at one of the rings.

"That is the pear-shape diamond."

Kennedy shook her head. "I don't like that, you can take those away. And which is this one?" she pointed to another ring.

"Our very own Lucida-shape diamond."

"That can go as well."

Benedict carefully removed the rings Kennedy wasn't interested in, returning them to the glass cabinet and locking the doors, before returning to his client to continue serving her. "This is a round-shape diamond in the solitaire setting," he explained of the ring she was holding.

Kennedy nodded. "I like this. What carat is it?"

"This is a 2.5. But we have smaller if you think that's a little large."

"No, no, I like this." She put it to the side of the tray, then turned her attention back to the other rings. "This ring is nice as well," she said of the round-shape diamond set in a diamond band. "I like what I've seen," she said distractedly, eyes on the ring she wanted. "What carat is this?"

"That is a 2 carat diamond."

"This... this is the ring," she said softly, picking up the ring she liked, the round-shape diamond, with a diamond band. "It's perfect." She looked at Xander. "What do you think, Xand? Will she like it?"

The dark-haired man grinned and brushed away a fake tear. "It's perfect, Kennedy. Not too big, a good thing in our business, and discreet yet... so Willow. You know our girl, she doesn't like glitzy and over the top."

Kennedy nodded and glanced over her shoulder at Faith. "Hey, Faith! I found the perfect ring and Xander's given me the seal of approval. What do you think?"

Turning away from the display case she was looking in, Faith walked over to the trio and inspected the engagement ring. "That's so totally Red. You got a good eye, kid."

Grinning, Kennedy turned back to Benedict. "This is the one, Benedict. Slip it in a box and I'm good to go."

"An excellent choice, Madam," Benedict smiled proudly, taking the ring from her, along with her credit card. He quickly retreated to take care of her purchase.

"No browsing for us then," Faith said with relief. "Not sure I could take much more of this shopping malarky!"

Xander's gaze drifted across the shop to the woman who had been kicking up a fuss. "Me neither. I'm beginning to think there's something in the water today!"

Kennedy signed the slip Benedict presented her with, confirming her payment with her signature. She eagerly took the small bag he held out for her. "Thank you, Benedict. You were very helpful."

"The best of luck, Madam. I hope it all goes well for you," he replied sincerely.

"Thanks."

"And don't forget, we also sell wedding bands. For when she says yes," Benedict said helpfully, shaking Kennedy's hand.

Kennedy laughed. "I'll keep that in mind. Bye."

"Goodbye, Madam, and Sir." Benedict shook each of their hands as they walked out of the door and waved before closing the glass door behind them. He quickly hurried over to his colleague to help with the troublesome woman she was dealing with.

Now she had the ring, Kennedy couldn't wait to propose, couldn't wait to see Willow's face when she presented it. She just needed the perfect moment.

"I thought all this was gonna take longer," Faith said, reaching into her pocket for her sun-glasses.

"It all depends," Xander said. "I remember when I was shopping for an engagement ring for..." his mood changed suddenly as he thought of Anya. He cleared his throat and smiled weakly at Kennedy. "I knew right away which was the right one," he finished.

Faith wrapped an arm around Kennedy's shoulders, grinning at the younger woman. "So, you've bought the ring, when you gonna pop the question?"

Kennedy shifted nervously. "Not sure. The moment has to be perfect. I want Will to remember it for the rest of our lives, you know?"

"Can't beat doing it during an apocalypse," Xander spoke up. "That's what I did, and okay, it didn't go down so well at first, but in the end Anya forgave me and said yes." He smiled sadly.

"Yeah, seeing how you've done that, maybe I'll go with something of my own," Kennedy said. "Just requires a bit of thinking and planning."

"All right, enough talking about proposing," Faith said, stopping in front of a restaurant. "Let's grab something quick to eat, then..."

"Seeing how we have the day off, can we stop off at the entertainment store?" Xander asked. "I heard a rumour there's a box-set out that I've been waiting for."

"Dude, you've been hanging out with Andrew too much," Faith teased.

"You know, he's kinda an okay guy in small doses," Xander replied.

Faith shrugged, having no desire to spend a small amount of time in Andrew's company. "I don't mind browsing." They both turned to look at Kennedy for her answer.

"Hey, I got what I came for," she said, jiggling her bag, before putting it in the inside pocket of her jacket. "We have to buy something other than a DVD box-set, otherwise everyone will get suspicious."

Xander rubbed his hands together excitedly. "I'm thinking computer games! We haven't had a good tournament in a while."

Faith grinned and nodded in agreement. "I heard the latest Call of Duty is a good shoot 'em up and of course, the latest Need For Speed."

Xander nodded eagerly. "And I heard of one called uhh... Sniper something or other." He frowned, trying to think of the title. "Sounds good though, right?" They looked at Kennedy. "We can pick up snacks and booze and have a tournament."

"I'm in. We can pull an all-nighter," Kennedy grinned, feeling light-hearted and blissfully happy. "Lead on, my friends."

* * * *

Buffy walked out of her bathroom dressed in comfortable sweatpants and a tank-top. Her face was scrubbed clean, her teeth and hair brushed. After eating half of Willow's sandwich and throwing up, the blonde had opted to have a luxurious bubble bath to make herself feel better.

She felt in need of a nap after taking Faith's class around the obstacle course, but couldn't sleep because she had an afternoon class of her own to teach. Cursing Faith's name as she left her cottage, she looked like a mad woman not to be messed with.

Cursing Faith meant she was thinking about Faith, and thinking about Faith gave her warm fuzzies, much to her disgust. Whilst she couldn't explain what was between them, she had to admit she liked it. Faith was a talented lover, a caring lover who took care of her needs before taking care of her own. That had surprised Buffy, the blonde expecting Faith to be all about her own release.

The sudden... thing... between them was confusing though and Buffy was sure it was something to do with her mysterious demon. She and Faith were once enemies and you didn't go from being enemies to bonking each other's brains out.

"Buffy!" Willow called out from her office, as the blonde made her way past.

"Hey, Wills. Any news from Giles?" The blonde walked over to the couch and sat down.

"I gave him all the info you and Faith gave me. He didn't give me the impression he'd have much luck finding whatever demon it is. Then, I got in touch with Dawn and told her what's going on, and she said she'd look into it. I figure she's got more time on her hands than Giles these days."

Giles had rebuilt the Watchers Council and was the overall boss. Having taken care of Buffy for so long, he had the knowledge of what a Slayer needed in order to do her duty and what was required of a Watcher. Dawn was with him in London training to be a Watcher herself.

"Good thinking," Buffy nodded. "How is she? I haven't called since this damn demon popped up."

"She's good. Busy with her studies and London night life!" Willow smiled.

"Anyone in her life I need to threaten?"

"Not that she mentioned. You look tired, Buffy. Are you all right?" Willow asked in concern.

"Tired, sick, hungry," the blonde frowned. "Is that normal?"

"Sick because of whatever's going around. Hungry, maybe because you're not keeping anything down. Tired..."

"Because I had to take care of stupid Faith's class," Buffy pouted.

"But that's nothing you haven't done before," Willow said. "Though, you are sick so maybe that's what made a difference. You should get some rest."

"I wish I could, but I have a class to teach," Buffy said, getting wearily to her feet. "Did you get someone to move Faith's bed?"

Willow nodded. "All taken care of."

"I better get going. You know what the girls are like if they're left unsupervised for too long. See you later."

"I'll come find you if Dawn gets back to me," Willow called out. "I don't expect she will this soon, but if she does..."

"Thanks, Will."

* * * *

The planned all night computer tournament had to be postponed, due to the fact Faith was on patrol duty. Buffy was still sick and banned from going out. Kennedy offered to go with Faith, along with Nina Samstat and Tania, who had proven she could patrol without fainting.

"Why do we have to do demon research?" Nina asked the two senior Slayers. "Isn't that what Watchers are for?"

"You have to know your limits, know what you're capable of," Kennedy said, in full teacher mode. "We can't baby-sit you all the time. That's why you train, you get patrol experience, you do lessons on different types of demons out there and how to kill them. So when the time comes, you'll be okay if you find yourself alone."

"There aren't enough Watchers to go around," Faith added. "There are too many of us now."

"Can't they do the research then pass on the info to us?" Tania asked. "Then we'd be free to train in weapons and hand-to-hand combat."

"I understand where you're coming from," Faith told them. "I've never been big on research. But Red, Miss Rosenberg, is in charge of setting your curriculum and thinks it's best that you have some basic knowledge."

Noticing the ground shifting up ahead, Kennedy pointed to the final resting place. "Heads up, someone's about to join us."

"Moody, take the left," Faith said to Nina. "Tania, you go right." She settled back to watch the two teenagers handle the lone vamp, sighing heavily. With the way she was feeling, she could've done with doing this patrol on her own. She really had some aggression to take out on the evil of the night.

"You remember that day in your office when you told me you had grown up and wanted more than just someone to screw?" Kennedy said softly, eyes on their two charges.

Faith frowned, wondering where this conversation was heading. "Vaguely. That the day you asked me to go shoppin' with you?"

"Yeah," Kennedy nodded. She turned her head to look at Faith, wanting to see the older woman's reaction to what she was about to say. "You were talking about being with Buffy, weren't you?"

"What? No!" Faith exclaimed, taken completely by surprise. "Where'd you get a crazy idea like that?"

"Uhh... Faith," Nina called out. "He says he's stuck."

Rolling her eyes, Faith marched forward and knelt down in front of the vampire. "Okay, this is how it's gonna be. You're a vampire, they are junior vampire Slayers. They need the practice and you're gonna give it to them. Get me?"

"What?" the vampire asked in confusion. "I'm... I'm a vampire? How did... they don't... am I dead?"

Rolling her eyes again, Faith grabbed the front of his suit jacket and hauled him up. "Yeah, you're dead. Sorry we weren't around to save you." She threw him in Nina and Tania's direction. "But don't worry, soon, you'll be floatin' on a cloud. Or, you know, hog roastin' in hell." She shrugged. "Have at it, girls." She walked back over to Kennedy. "You're crazy, Ken. B hates my guts."

"Bull," the younger woman replied. "Deny it all you want, but I know the truth. You two were all friendly with each other, stuck to each other's sides..."

"And now we can't be in each other's company. She won't talk to me, won't patrol with me..."

"Lover's tiff," Kennedy shrugged. "Look, Faith, I'm not stupid. Something happened that night you two went out and got attacked by those demons. How do I know this? Buffy's been throwing around the fact she thinks they've used magic on her, on you, on the school, all without any proof. And ever since that night, she's been all weird with you."

Faith watched the vampire charge at Nina and Tania, his momentum bowling them all over. She put out a hand, stopping Kennedy from rushing over to help. "They need space to breathe and grow," she said softly. "They need to make mistakes so they can learn from them."

"If they end up dead, it's your fault."

They watched as Tania knocked the vampire off his feet with a sweep of her leg. "Nicely done, Tania," Faith praised, as the two junior Slayers got to their feet and moved in for the kill.

"Incoming!" Nina called out a warning, alerting the two older Slayers to an attack.

Spinning around, Faith smirked at the two vampires that stood facing her and Kennedy. "Lookie here, Ken. Got us something to play with after all."

"It's like Christmas morning!" Kennedy said cheerfully. Bouncing lightly on her toes, getting her balance, she waited for her vamp to attack.

Faith wasn't that patient. She launched a high kick at the head of the female vamp closest to her and sent her flying through the air. "I should thank you for showin' up," she said conversationally. "I've got some wicked tension to burn off."

With a growl, the vampire got to her feet and swung a flurry of punches at the Slayer. "You Slayers talk too much."

"Ha, you should meet Buffy!" Kennedy laughed, backhanding her vampire. She glanced over her shoulder to their two students and saw them high-fiving each other, their vampire blowing in the wind.

"She's right," Faith agreed. "B can quip like no other." Taken by surprise, Faith found herself on the floor, the vampire hovering over her.

"Maybe I'll track her down and have her for dessert," the woman chuckled.

With a growl of her own, Faith flipped the vamp off her and wasted no time in dusting her. "Or not," she said, as the woman disintegrated. She stood up and looked around at her group. "Wooo! Let's go dancin'!" she grinned, throwing her arms up above her head and stretching out the kinks.

Continued....