Faith and Buffy emerged from their shared coffin and stood alone under the soft light of the nearby torches, their pursuers hopefully long gone into the depths of the cave. Faith threw a half-hearted glance at the downward sloping path. Normally her curiosity would have gotten the better of her and she'd have been marching down there to see who or what it might lead to, but her attention already had plenty of focus.

That focus was busy pulling at her jumper, craning her neck over her shoulder to try and examine the material covering her back. “Please don't let me be covered in entrails,” Buffy mumbled, seemingly to herself. She looked back around, quietening completely when she caught Faith watching her. A shy smile crept over her face as her head dropped.

The silence that followed felt neither painfully awkward nor completely comfortable to Faith. She might have come up with something trivial to say to fill it had she not been too busy telling herself over and over again that she hadn't just imagined the previous ten minutes. She'd never been sure where the line between herself and Buffy lay. When it came to softly spoken words and gentle, caring touches, she could – with a smattering of well-earned pessimism – just about dissuade herself from believing they were meant as anything more than gestures of friendship. But while her life may have been light on real friends, she wasn't completely cut off from the world. She knew that, by and large, people didn't kiss their friends. At least not like that. That was something more. It was intense. And more importantly: Buffy had initiated it. OK, so Faith had extended somewhat of an open invitation, but Buffy had still taken it and that had to mean something. Didn't it? A look at her arms proved otherwise, but she still felt like she was shaking. Like she might just explode at any given moment – and not in a bad way.

Get a grip, she ordered herself. Be cool. Don't be a freak. The last thing she wanted was to scare Buffy off by acting like her life had just been turned upside down – even if that's exactly how it felt. “So what now?” she finally asked.

Buffy scratched at the back of her head as she looked up again. “Emm, I guess we should head back the way we came. I mean that's still our best bet, right?”

That wasn't what Faith had been getting at, and while she nodded her agreement she also mentally chided herself for being so vague. “Yeah, sure.” She didn't know why turning back would do them much good, but she didn't have any better ideas and wasn't sure if she cared all that much. Whether she wound up in Sunnydale or the very depths of Hell themselves, as long as Buffy was with her then she figured she could find a way to adjust.

Despite her own suggestion, Buffy still stood rooted to the spot, and Faith hadn't forgotten about Buffy's injury. “You OK to walk?” she asked.

“I think so.” Buffy lifted her leg and gave it a small shake, demonstrating that there was at least some life still left in it. “Though I wouldn't be completely opposed to taking it slow for now.”

Faith nodded again. She studied Buffy's face carefully, trying to decide whether the reassuring smile was only an act of bravery or if the worst of the pain had really passed. Of course if Faith was actually any good at reading Buffy then she might not have spent months on end questioning every single thing the girl said and did. Instead she did the only thing she could: she took Buffy's words at face value, she decided she'd simply kill anything that even tried to get close to her, and she'd make damned sure she got her home in one piece.

----------

“Good news, Ethan.”

Ethan gave the front door a firm push and left if to close of its own accord.“How is it that every time I come home there's unwanted guests waiting?”

Jacob shrugged. “The latch on your side window is broken. The thing comes right open.”

Ethan headed straight for it, easily sliding up the pane with a single pull. Looking at the latch at the base, he gave it an experimental prod. It fell loose and plummeted straight out of the open window. “Well what do you know. And that counts as a standing invitation around these parts, does it?”

“I could have come back later, but I figured since the Slayers are dead you'd probably want to know sooner.”

That caught Ethan's attention, and the broken and wide open window was instantly forgotten as he turned his full attention to Jacob.

“Or at least they will be soon,” Jacob added, the additional information enough to halt the smile that had begun to grow on Ethan's face.

“Ah. Well which is it? I hate to be a stickler for details, but until a new Slayer lands in the council's lap I doubt I'll be getting what I want.”

Jacob paced with no real aim, showing some minor interest in the various items Ethan had placed around the room. “You know, Ethan, you worry too much for a man your age.” He picked up a small, spherical object from above the fireplace and started turning it over in his hand. “Can't be healthy.”

Ethan walked up behind him, grabbing it before Jacob could get much of a look at it. “I've found you need to show a little concern to make it to my age. Something you ought to bare in mind if you're going to go around touching things you know nothing about.”

Jacob continued to wander, though with his attention now on Ethan. “If they're not dead, they will be soon enough. Either way, I'd say that's mission accomplished. You can go back to England and put your feet up. Have a cup of tea. Whatever it is you like to do. I'll let you know if anything changes.”

“I'm touched, but if it's all the same to you I think I'll stick around. And if what you say is true then I think it's about time to clean up this mess before things get too out of hand. Wouldn't want an apocalypse on our hands now, would we?”

Jacob noisily sucked in a deep breath of air. “Right, the military. About that. Me and the guys took a vote, and it turns out there's been a slight change of plan there. ”

A knowing smirk emerged on Ethan's face. “Has there now?”

The front door clicked open and a broad man sporting the remains of a black eye stepped inside, closing the door again behind him. A third cultist appeared from the adjoining room, leaving Ethan surrounded. “You've honestly been a great help,” Jacob said, “and if you tell me where the army are camped out then maybe we can work together again some time.”

“And if I don't? Wait, no, I know this one: I'm not going to leave here alive,” Ethan said dryly.

Jacob shrugged, showing no real emotion. “That's about the gist of it.”

“I see.” Ethan tossed the small spherical object a short distance in the air, letting it land on the tips of his fingers. He looked down at it and sighed. “A pity really, but at least we can all go out with a bang.” With a single flick of his wrist he casually pushed the object forward. Jacob and the two others lost their smiles and dived for anything that remotely resembled cover in the sparsely furnished room. Ethan moved just as quick, turning to clamber out of the open window into the safety of the alleyway.

After hitting the floor with a loud thud, the small, heavy object continued to roll slowly across the room until it came to a stop against the wall. The three cultists stayed in place for several moments, the room remaining just as still and silent as each of them. Eventually Jacob risked crawling out from behind a hastily overturned table, remaining on his hands and knees as he cautiously approached the object. Once in reaching distance, he hesitated for a moment before grabbing it. He turned it over in his hand until he spotted the '$4.95” price tag still stuck on the slightly flattened base on one side. “It's a freaking paperweight,” he shouted at the others. “Get after him.”

----------

Buffy stuck close to Faith as they walked slowly through the forest, hanging back a single step so she could take the occasional glance at the other girl without being too obvious about it. Faith seemed to be on high alert, her eyes sweeping back and forth along the route ahead. They hadn't said a whole lot of anything to each other since leaving the cave, leaving the only sound Buffy could hear being that of her mind whirring away.

She felt strange. Not bad; just strange. Admitting there might be something between her and Faith – not only to Willow, but even to herself – had been confusing enough, but doing something about it had left her completely thrown. That wasn't her. She'd never been so brazen. Not even back in Los Angeles when she'd been the popular girl at the centre of every boy's radar. But the Buffy of recent years was especially reserved. Cautious. Bashful to the point that she sometimes annoyed herself. Sometimes it felt like Slaying was all she could to do these days; like she no longer knew how to fit in with the rest of the world. Like if she tried she'd somehow manage to mess everything up – and she very nearly had. But less than an hour ago she'd cast out her safety net, set the thing on fire, and then kicked the charred remains into the wind. She'd even been about three seconds away from disrobing Faith there and then – spatially insufficient coffin be damned – on two separate occasions in the space of five minutes.

And – a coffin! That was completely gross, and icky, and – and she hadn't cared one bit, she realized. It hadn't mattered because she'd been so lost in Faith's eyes. So at home in her touch. Oh, there was definitely something between them; she couldn't deny that any longer even if she'd wanted to. And she really didn't want to.

As it stood though, they were floating in some uncharted middle ground. Were they dating? She supposed not; she still didn't know if Faith was after anything more than physical intimacy. The plan had been to find that out before doing anything rash; unfortunately, like with much of her life, things just didn't seem to pan out the way they were meant to. Her heart had taken it up on itself to bound ahead on its own, and the rest of her had been left wondering if rejection now would still be enough to shred her insides.

Another quick glance. She wasn't even sure what she was looking for, knowing full well she wouldn't discover any huge revelations without gathering together the courage to ask, but what she did find that time was Faith looking back at her. “Something up?” Faith asked.

“Nothing,” Buffy replied without hesitation, getting a questioning eyebrow in response. She really, really did want to talk to Faith about what had happened, but she couldn't quite bring herself to yet. Mostly because she was scared of the answers; if she was going to be shot down then she'd prefer it to be done with the nearby comfort of her bed and Mr Gordo. That left deflection as the far safer option and so with a bit of quick thinking she added, “Just making sure you weren't all wrinkly and grey.”

“Making sure I wasn't what now?” Faith's eyebrow wasn't going anywhere but further up.

“Well, alternate dimensions can have different, err, time flows, I guess. Like one day here could actually be a hundred years to you and me.”

“Oh. That part of the Slayer curriculum or something? Because I must have dozed through that one.”

“More past experience.”

Faith eyed her with disbelief. “Hang on. You're seriously telling me you've been sucked into some weird ass dimension before?”

Buffy frowned slightly. She wasn't sure why that would be so hard to believe; it's not like they weren't in that very predicament right then. “Only briefly. More of a drop-in visit really.”

Faith took some time to consider that new information. “OK, so then how'd you get out last time?”

Buffy paused for a long moment before replying. “Would you believe I climbed up through the ceiling?”

Faith slowly tilted her head to the sky, holding it in place for a couple of seconds before she looked back at Buffy. “Not sure that's gonna work out too well, B.”

“Probably not.” Buffy turned to start walking again. She stumbled as she took her first step but managed to remain on her feet. That didn't stop Faith's arm from reacting quickly, her hand shooting out to steady Buffy.

“You OK?” The concern was rife on Faith's face, her piercing eyes questioning Buffy.

“Yeah. Yeah, I'm fine.” Buffy forced a brave smile to her face. “Just being a klutz.” She hesitated briefly before trying again, that time managing what should have been a simple feat. “See? All is good.”

Faith didn't look entirely convinced, but Buffy wasn't about to offer anything more. She was trying not to pay too much attention to the way the pain continued to slowly spread through her leg. She was still trying to cling to the hope that it would magically begin to fade, and it wasn't as if Faith was a qualified doctor with a specialization in otherworldly bites. Besides, so far Faith had remained surprisingly positive about the entire ordeal, and Buffy wasn't about to take that away from her.

----------

Dusty pathways, the occasional heap of rocks, and patches of greenery stretched out in every direction. Since leaving the forest that's about all the two Slayers had seen, and it was leaving Buffy thoroughly unimpressed with their hell away from home. Sure, Sunnydale wasn't exactly the most happening town on the planet – supernatural activity aside – but this was pretty much a huge, glorified field, she thought to herself. Would one single Starbucks – preferably with some nice, comfy seats and a handy first aid kit – have been too much to ask for? It sure seemed that way.

For the lack of anything better to do, she waited, watching sceptically as Faith surveyed the area. Faith was searching for some remains from the makeshift portal that had brought them there, but Buffy wasn't even wholly convinced they were actually in the same place they'd started out. It wasn't that it didn't look similar enough, only that so had every one of the the last half dozen miles. She didn't point that out to Faith, knowing that it didn't really matter; if it wasn't the right place then she doubted they'd accidentally stumble across it anyway. All she knew was that there was no handily placed 'Exit' sign and that she could have done without the long, gruelling walk to get there. She needed Giles or even Willow. She was way out of her element, stuck grasping at straws, and she couldn't help but feel that nothing short of dumb luck was going to get her and Faith back home.

Her pessimism and bad leg gotten the better of her, and she sank to the floor to rest against a large rock. It felt like she'd spent the entire night slow-roasting her limb over an open fire and now it was becoming criminally overcooked. Despite her better judgement, she began to unravel the material from Faith's jacket to see just how bad it had gotten. It didn't take long to peel away the thin layer of protection, and even though she thought she was prepared for the worst, she gulped as her eyes set upon the damage hidden below.

Blood had already clotted over the wound, allowing her some solace from knowing she wasn't about to bleed to death. However the good news came to an abrupt end there. Black lines of various sizes, some of them thick enough to resemble liquorice pencil candy, lay visible just beneath her skin. The messy web of lines extended outward from the centre of the wound, spreading far enough to reach the sides of her leg. The sight of it made her skin crawl; or maybe that sensation was actually the dark, disgusting veins thrashing about beneath her skin.

“How bad is it?”

Forcing her eyes away, Buffy looked up to find she had Faith's full attention. Somehow her leg felt worse than it looked, which even she found hard to believe, but she wasn't about to admit to anyone but herself that she was about five seconds away from throwing up at the sight alone. “It's fine. I just need a couple of minutes,” she offered instead.

“Yeah, you look real swell. Seriously, how bad?”

Buffy frowned and let her gaze drop to the floor. “It's felt better,” she admitted after a short silence. She sighed as she ran her hands back through her hair. An undeniable realization was setting in; she wouldn't last long in her state, and if Faith stuck around, Buffy was going to end up getting them both killed. Catching Faith's eyes once more, she said, “I'm sorry, Faith, I really am. I just... I need you to know that.”

Faith looked at her curiously. “For what?”

“Oh, I don't know, how about getting us stuck here for one thing? And now slowing you down... ruining your birthday. All of it.”

“Not your fault, B,” came Faith's instant reply.

Buffy let our a short, harsh laugh. “Really? Then whose fault is it exactly? If I hadn't...” If she hadn't been a total idiot, Buffy thought. She still felt absolutely horrid for leaving Faith. Already struggling to hold herself together, she skipped over the details of the event itself and went straight to the consequences. “We wouldn't have been out there. We'd have avoided that fight. None of this would have happened.”

“Hey, in case you've forgotten: Slayers in cemeteries? Pretty much a thing. It was gonna happen sooner or later.”

Buffy gave a firm shake of her head, refusing to be let off the hook that easily. “No. Not that cemetery. Not at that time. The only reason this is happening is because... because I made a huge mistake...” Admitting that should have made her feel better, shouldn't it? But it didn't help at all, and she had to pause for a few seconds to make sure the tears stayed down.“If I have to pay for that then I will, but you don't deserve this, and I 'll be damned if I'm going to drag you down with me.”

“Buf--”

“No. Faith, listen. I want you to keep going. I want you to find a way out of here, and I want you to use it. I want--”

“OK, B, how about you shut up and try listening to me for a second. First of all, stop talking like it's already over; we'll figure something out. And secondly, you need to get over this 'leave me behind' bull, cause I'm telling you now: ain't gonna happen, no matter how bad things get. We're both getting out of here, even if I have to carry your whiny ass all the way back to Sunnydale. Got it?”

The interruption was stern – for all of about a dozen words before it softened considerably. By the time Faith had finished she was squatted down, her face level with Buffy's, her trademark grin plastered across her face as she waited expectantly for an answer.

Buffy began to mull over Faith's words before she realized there was no real point; it was clear that Faith was only willing to accept one answer. “Got it,” she said finally, and she couldn't keep back a small, genuine smile despite everything. She didn't understand how Faith could always manage to get that reaction from her with such ease, but she hoped that the tingling in her stomach would never stop accompanying it.

“Good.” Faith lazily slumped down by her side. “'Cause otherwise I'd have had to kick your ass until you saw sense.”

Faith's arm landed around her shoulders, and in an instant Buffy felt that little bit safer. A little bit less like she was doomed. After sitting there for a few minutes, her eyes slipped closed. It must have been approaching an entire day since she'd last gotten any sleep – and even then her head had been spinning far too fast to have managed more than a couple of hours at best. Throw in the fact that they'd spent some unknown number of hours on the move and it was no surprise that she was beginning to run on empty. But this was nice. Faith was barely touching her, but it was still enough to let her relax. The girl's steely resolve had even fed Buffy a twinkling of hope that maybe – just maybe – things really would turn out OK.

All of that was running through her head when suddenly her brow furrowed, almost as it if had a mind of its own. Her eyes opened back up, she pouted, and soon after that she realized why. “Do you really think I'm whiny?”

She heard Faith's short snort of laughter just before she was pulled in close, and she let her head drop to rest against Faith's cheek.

“You know what I think about you, B.”

But she didn't. Not really. Faith hadn't ever really said anything. Did she need to, Buffy wondered. Faith refused be pushed away, instead stubbornly continuing to stick by her side. And even after everything that had happened since Faith first arrived in Sunnydale, Faith was still there night and day, whenever Buffy needed her. Maybe that should have been enough to tell her everything she needed to know, but sooner rather than later she'd need to hear it. Where they stood. What Faith wanted. Whether they had a future together.

Before she'd had a chance to torture herself with too many questions, that earlier twinkling of hope turned out to be very short-lived. Night had already turned back to day, and sat in the middle of a flat, open plane, only a single rock to shield them, the two of them had been left completely exposed – they may as well have been holding up giant, blinking glow sticks for all the difference it would have made. The flip side should have been that they could spot any danger on the horizon with plenty of time left to react. However when the green-skinned mob finally caught up with them, neither girl had been paying much attention to their surroundings.

Buffy wasn't even really sure why she'd opened her eyes and glanced to the side, but she was the first to spot them. “Faith?”

“Mmm?” Faith murmured groggily, sounding like she'd been on the verge of getting some sleep herself. She shifted her head slightly, and Buffy fought to stay focused, ignoring the feeling as Faith's hair brushed against her face.

“You remember earlier how you said you'd stick around no matter what?”

That seemed to have the effect of waking Faith up instantly, and she groaned her disapproval. “B, I'm warning you--”

“No, it's just – well, now might be your last chance to reconsider.”

“Crap.” Faith's arm retreated from around Buffy as the girl hurried to her feet and, to Buffy's surprise, started straight toward the demons.

“Whoa, Faith, wait.” Buffy clutched at the back of Faith's jeans to try and hold her back, but Faith swatted her arm away and continued forward to meet the oncoming crowd.

“Start running,” Faith ordered.

“What? No way.” Knowing that Faith would need her help, Buffy sure as hell wasn't about to run – or, perhaps more accurately, hobble. She shifted herself onto her knees, and then with a deep breath she heaved herself off the floor, groaning loudly as her leg felt like it was about to implode in retaliation.

By the time Buffy was convinced she was steady enough not to topple over, Faith was already facing off against the group of six demons. Given their previous run-ins with the things back in Sunnydale, Faith must have known the odds were heavily stacked against her, but that didn't stop her from meeting them head on. Catching them by surprise, she kicked out without a word, her boot crushing into the front of one's face.

That was all the invitation the rest of them needed, and they quickly spread out to encircle Faith. She continued to kick out repeatedly, trying to keep them at a distance, but the time spent trying to hold off one only gave the others time to tighten the noose. Within a matter of a seconds they swarmed around her, leaving her with no space to properly manoeuvre. She thrust out her elbows to no avail, becoming lost in the see of green while Buffy forced herself forward.

Knowing she'd be better off sticking with her fists, Buffy drove one of them into the spine of the closest demon's back. It growled its disapproval and arched in its back, but it couldn't turn around before Buffy landed another two hits in the same spot. An unseen swing from the next demon over stung her cheek and was enough to knock her off balance. She took a step back to try and steady herself, but her bad leg simply abandoned her.

She crumpled to the floor where she caught a glimpse through the swarm of legs of Faith's limp body lying against the ground. Finished with one Slayer, the rest of the demons switched their focus Buffy's way, and she could do nothing more than grit her teeth and wait for her turn – and she didn't have to wait long.