CHAPTER 22

Buffy slid her thumbs under the waistband of her panties, and slowly began to push them down. Willow’s body shook with minute tremors, hands gripping the sheets. “Buffy!” she begged. “Too slow.”

A teasing smile greeted her words, and hazel eyes met hers. “You said you wanted a show, Willow. I don’t want to disappoint you.”

Willow swallowed audibly as Buffy finally finished undressing and straightened. The view was even better than she’d imagined. Despite the strip tease, Willow noticed Buffy’s confidence wasn’t total. The blonde shifted nervously from foot to foot, and her arms moved restlessly, almost – but not quite – covering her front. “Oh, baby, I’m so not disappointed. Come here.” Willow held out a hand. “Please,” she continued when Buffy hesitated.

Moving with small steps, Buffy finally made it to the bed. “Sorry, Wills,” she mumbled. “I can’t believe how freaked I suddenly am.”

“And I’m not?” Willow asked with a grin. She poked Buffy in the arm. “I’m not exactly an expert on girl lovin,’ you know.” Relaxing slightly at Buffy’s laugh, she said, “We’ve been best friends for years. Do you trust me…us, enough to figure this out? Do you want us to figure this out?”

Buffy looked up, meeting her eyes. “I trust you with my life, Will.” A crooked smile flashed. “In fact, I trust you with my heart.”

Tears blurred her vision, and Willow choked down a sob. This wasn’t the time for tears. It also wasn’t the time for jumping up and down and squealing with joy; though, that was the feeling sending energy through her body. No longer afraid, Willow leaned in and kissed Buffy.

Buffy stiffened in her arms; Willow didn’t pull away, though. Brushing her lips repeatedly over the blonde’s, she simply waited.

Finally, strong arms wrapped around her. Cheering internally, Willow pulled back a little. Buffy’s eyes were dark and soft. “Everything OK in your head now?”

Buffy cupped Willow’s face. Lids growing heavy, Willow shivered at the touch of Buffy’s thumb on her lips. “Everything’s fine, Willow. Just fine.”

Catching the caressing thumb in her lips, Willow nibbled lightly before releasing it. “What are you waiting for, then? Did you suddenly decide to step away from the butch attitude you’ve been using lately?”

“Butch, huh?” Buffy frowned, eyes narrowing.

Willow scrambled to regroup. “Um, what I meant was…I mean, you aren’t really butch butch. No flannel in your closet. Maybe soft butch? Kinda butch around the edges?” she babbled. The flood of words tapered off when she saw Buffy’s grin. “Not nice. I was worried.” Willow pouted, lower lip stuck out exaggeratedly.

“Can’t have that, can we?” Buffy purred.

Willow shivered, heat and cold vying for supremacy at the sound. “What are you going to do to fix it, Slayer?” Her voice squeaked at the end.

The answer didn’t involve words. Closing her eyes, Willow tilted her head, giving Buffy’s lips better access to her throat. She combed her fingers through blonde hair as heat raced through her. Lips and tongue still traced over Willow’s skin as Buffy lowered her to the mattress.

Buffy made quick work of removing Willow’s bra, and her panties ended in a heap of ruined material on the floor. “Let me know if you need more fixing, Wills,” Buffy murmured as her lips slipped lower.

Willow arched and gasped when Buffy took her right nipple into her mouth. Her fingers gripped Buffy’s hair. A rough tongue scraped over a hard nub. “Buffy!” The word exploded from her mouth. “Dear Goddess.”

***

Faith’s eyes flew open at the sounds coming from Buffy’s room. “Uh, T?” she moved quickly, grabbing the hand raised to knock. “You don’t want to do that.”

“Mr. Giles asked us to get everyone for the meeting.” Tara looked confused, blue eyes peering at Faith uncertainly. “I-is som-something wrong?”

“Nah.” Faith shoved her hands in her pockets, rocking on her heels. “Just, uh, Slayer hearing and all. B and Red are talking right now.” Faith steered Tara down the hallway. “It sounded intense.” She stifled a smirk. “Very intense.”

She got a bewildered look in return. Tara seemed to crumple in on herself. Faith watched as she hunched her shoulders, hair slipping forward to obscure her face. Even after such a short time in her company, Faith guessed the hair hid a bright blush.

Reaching out hesitantly, Faith laid her hand on the other girl’s arm. “Hey,” she said softly, “it’s no big. The girls have a lot to talk about. B’s been kinda all over the place lately. I’m sure Red’s getting the ‘best friend’ low down,” Faith lied, surprised at her need to make Tara feel better.

Her actions were rewarded with a tiny smile and a pair of blue eyes peeking through the waterfall of hair. “Th-thanks, Faith. I’m sure you’re ri-right.”

Faith smiled in return – then remembered herself. The smile mutated into a smirk. “Whatever, T. Let’s see what the gang has to say this morning.” She spun on a heel, striding for the living room.

Only Buffy and Willow were missing. Faith grabbed one of the ever present “Scooby Meeting Doughnuts” and flopped onto the couch. Giles cleared his throat just as she took a huge bite. “Are Buffy and Willow on their way?”

She rolled her eyes at him, chewing exaggeratedly. Faith barely resisted the urge to answer him with her mouth full. However, she could feel Joyce staring at her, probably waiting for her to do just that. Finally, she swallowed. “They seem to be in the middle of their own meeting.” A grin broke out of her control. Meeting. That was a good word for it. “I’m sure they’ll be out when they’ve finished…talking.”

Ooops. Faith’s eyes widened, her grin dying, as Joyce stood up. “I’ll go hurry things up. If Buffy is planning on going after this Adam thing, she and Willow need to be here.”

“No!” The disagreement might have been a hair too enthusiastic. Faith scowled at the confused looks she got from the gang. “Look, I just think B and Red need a chance to work out their issues, that’s all. I’m here.” No one appeared reassured by that statement. Muscles tightening at their lack of confidence, Faith ground out, “I’m the one that’s got this all figured out. Not B. I ain’t waiting while you go interrupt and drag them out here.” She glared at Joyce. “It’s now or never, Mrs. S. You’re stuck with me as the Slayer for the moment.”

Joyce hesitated, and Faith felt her stomach knot. “Look, I get you still don’t trust me.” She forced herself to look around the room, meeting the five pairs of eyes. “I ain’t here to join the Dark Side or try to kill anyone. Can we just do this?” The words were angry; inside, though, Faith was braced for rejection.

“Alright, honey. Don’t panic.” Joyce shrugged. “Buffy has a habit of trying to avoid big and important conversations, that’s all. I didn’t want you to have to deal with all of our questions and then have to explain a second time when the girls showed up.”

Shit. Faith leaned back on the couch, trying to regain her cool. “No big.” Joyce’s eyebrow rose as she returned to her chair. “Just wanted you to know I can handle this without B holding my hand.” That was better. For safe measure, she smirked. “Nice to know you all trust me so much, too.”

Sounding irritated at the delay, Giles interrupted. “Perhaps we should get started some time today?”

“Sure. I’ll get us started.” Xander leaned forward from his position at the other end of the couch. “Unless I miss my guess, Faith and I are on the same page.”

Faith nodded. “Think so, too, X-Man. Freaky.”

He grinned at her. “Very.” Giles clearing his throat brought them back to business. “Um, yeah, moving right along.” Xander’s leg bounced in counterpoint to Faith’s as he continued. “We think Adam sees the Slayer as the ultimate soldier. He – and maybe Professor Walsh – used that drug to push Buffy to the edge, wake up the Slayer.”

“I still don’t see the significance of that.” Giles whipped his glasses off, chewing on the earpiece.

“That’s where you have to look outside the box, G-man.” Faith rubbed her hands together. “If he’s willing to go to all that trouble, then maybe Adam thinks adding the Slayer to the new demons makes them better.” She frowned when Giles still looked confused. “Hell, Giles, think about it. It’s an improvement. Maybe Adam can’t beat the Slayer. That’s why he wants to add it to the next generation of monsters.”

Tara raised a hand before saying quietly, “Didn’t Bu-Buffy say he was too strong for her, though?”

Nodding, Faith pointed a finger at Tara. “That’s just it, T,” she said excitedly, “he beat Buffy. B ain’t really been good at making friends with the Slayer. She’s always too in control for that.” She stood abruptly and paced in front of the couch. “Once that drug started working on her, though, she was way different. Violent, angry. The Slayer was out and ready to play. I don’t think Adam stands a chance against that.”

“That’s-“ Giles broke off, leaning back in his chair and peering at the ceiling.

Faith stopped pacing, watching him tensely. She knew she was right. It felt right. Still, Giles has to agree. Faith needed him to agree.

Finally, he leaned forward. Faith forgot to breathe. “I cannot imagine how Professor Walsh came up with that idea.” Oh, God. Impossibly, Faith’s muscles tensed even more. He wasn’t going for it. “However, it does make a rather interesting theory,” Giles continued.

“Yes!” It exploded from Faith’s mouth before she could censor it. Grinning hugely, she pointed at Xander. “See, we aren’t always the fuck ups.” They shared an enthusiastic high five.

Giles, of course, wasn’t amused by the display. “While that may be Adam’s reasoning, we are no closer to finding a solution to the problem, Faith. Do you and Xander have any ideas about that?”

“Uh…” Eyes wide, Faith looked at Xander, “I thought that was someone else’s job.”

Tara came to her rescue. “We n-need to find out how he pl-planned to separate the Slayer from Buffy. Willow and I can maybe find a way to block the spell.”

“That still leaves us the problem of how to beat Adam himself.” Joyce leaned against the wall, arms crossed. “Faith, with both you and Buffy here, is it possible you’d be strong enough to fight him?”

Faith might have basked in the trust that question implied if she’d had a real answer. “No way to tell, Mrs. S. B might have a better idea; or we may have to test it out.” She frowned, hands rubbing restlessly on her thighs. “T, you still up for letting Adam find you?”

The blonde head nodded. “Yes.” Tara looked at all the Scoobies. “I’m ju-just wondering, though: does Adam know about Faith?”

“Well, I-“ Giles sat back, idly twirling his glasses. “I would have thought so; however, Faith would have been an easy target for any experimentation in her coma.” He glanced sharply at Tara. “Do you have something in mind?”

CHAPTER 23

Xander interrupted before Tara could answer. “Wait, guys.” He wiggled his eyebrows when everyone looked his way. “As sorry as I am to break the new Faith/Xander connection, there is no way we should get Adam here until we’re set for the final showdown.”

Stiffening, Faith felt a new wave of insecurity. “Why? I thought we needed to test our thing about the Slayer.” Her voice was rough, tight, and she hoped the gang didn’t notice how much she wanted them to back her up.

Xander turned so he was leaning against the arm of the couch, looking directly at Faith. “It was a good plan. When we still thought the answer was some magical fireworks.” Running a hand through his hair, he smiled slightly. “Things change. From the conversation, I’m getting we don’t think Adam knows you’re here. Or that there is even a you to be here.”

“So?” Faith didn’t want to relax too soon. He might still say she was a poor substitute for the ‘real’ Slayer.

“If he doesn’t know, why tell him?” Xander asked.

It still wasn’t making sense; although, Faith didn’t think he was bashing her for the earlier suggestion. “Sorry, Xan. I’m still not with you.” She met his eyes and shrugged. “Guess our new Wonder Twin powers were a fluke.”

He grinned goofily. “Nah. They’re still here. Sometimes even Zan and Jayna took a while to catch on. Look. If Adam doesn’t know there are two Slayers, and he’s already beaten Buffy once, he thinks he’s got us. All he has to do is sit back and wait for us to resurface.”

“Good Lord.” Faith rolled her eyes at Giles’ excited comment. Didn’t people from England have any other phrases? “He may not have to wait for long.”

No one asked him to explain. They simply sat and waited. Faith’s leg bounced from the new tension until she couldn’t tale the silence any longer. “Spill, G-man. You think Adam is going to find us somehow? Through T, maybe?” She was already thinking about defenses. Maybe interrupting Buffy and Willow wasn’t such a bad idea.

Just before she jumped up, Giles shook his head. “No, Faith. When Buffy came to my apartment after Professor Walsh tried to kill her, she mentioned the Initiative containment cells were overflowing with demons. If Adam has access to all of the Professor’s files, he’s going to know Buffy won’t sit back and let him flood Sunnydale with them. All he has to do is open a few doors, release a few demons…”

“…and Buffy won’t be in hiding any longer.” Joyce’s quiet voice filled in the blank. “I guess being the Slayer makes you predictable.” She didn’t sound happy with that thought.

Faith was out of ideas. She looked blindly around the room, hoping one of the others would step in, bail her out.

“We still need more information on Adam.” Anya finally rejoined the conversation from her spot by Xander. “I mean, it’s great that Buffy on steroids is better than just plain Buffy. All you have, though, is some lame idea and no real information on what makes Adam tick.”

“An, honey, I think we all know that.” Faith hid a smirk as Xander patted Anya’s thigh.

Tara shifted on the floor, tucking her hair behind an ear. “We may know it. We aren’t doing anything about it.”

The words just added to Faith’s sudden feeling of inadequacy. When she’d been a Junior Scooby last year, Buffy always made this part look easy. The gang did the research, offered options, and then they went off to kill the demon. Why wasn’t it working the same way this time?

***

“You know, for two supposedly straight girls, we did OK with the girl lovins.” Buffy nuzzled her head into the hollow of Willow’s throat. Relaxed, sated, she refused to think of anything outside the room.

The body underneath her vibrated with laughter. “It’s not like we didn’t know all the parts, Buffy. Did you think we needed a manual? Maybe a diagram with little comments: rub here, lick there?”

Flushing slightly, Buffy nipped at Willow’s neck. “Meanie.” She nipped again, hearing the sudden inhalation of Willow’s breathing. “I was trying to tell you I’d never…um…” Breaking off, she tried to force the words past her own embarrassment. “It was good, Will. You were good.” Deep inside, Buffy felt the Slayer growl a sleepy agreement.

She didn’t get the response she expected. In fact, Willow stiffened at her compliment.

“Will?” Contentment flickered. “Will?” Buffy sat up, eyes immediately searching for Willow’s.

Long lashes hid the normally bright green eyes. Freckles stood out sharply against a fiery blush. Shy Willow had replaced her confident lover. Buffy could handle shy. Freaked, scared, or hurt Willow…Thankfully, none of those were in the room.

Buffy relaxed again, lips twitching into a mischievous smile. With slow, deliberate movements, she spread herself over the blushing redhead. “Hmmm. I’m still not getting an answer. Guess that means maybe I did something wrong.” She planted light, teasing kisses over a pale shoulder. “If I try again, maybe I’ll get it right this time.”

Unfortunately, the expected interruption finally happened. A shrill beeping cut through the room.

“Ignore it,” she ordered Willow. Tuning out the irritating sound, she went back to work on Willow’s warm skin. It didn’t take long, though, for her to realize the mood was broken.

“Aren’t you going to get that?” Willow asked, moved restlessly. Glancing up, Buffy noticed the redhead peering across the room toward the continued beeping.

With a not so muffled curse, Buffy rolled out of bed and stalked across the room, searching through the pile of discarded clothes.

“What’s going on?” Buffy heard the worry in Willow’s voice.

Grabbing the pager out of her pants pocket, Buffy held it up. “Initiative pager. I didn’t expect to hear from them again with the Professor dead.” Frowning, the euphoria of her time with Willow faded. Satiation was replaced with a growing tension. This couldn’t be good. She brought the small box down and peered at the backlit display.

Rustling sounded from the bed and then a warm body pressed into Buffy’s back. Looking away from the pager, Buffy met Willow’s eyes. “Huh. Graham says he’s got some info for us. Wants a meeting.”

A tiny chin rested on her shoulder. “Looks like it’s time to go back to work.” Willow’s voice was quiet in the large room.

Buffy’s head dropped forward. “Yeah,” she mumbled. “Looks like.” Body and mind protesting, she wiggled out of Willow’s embrace. Starting to dress, she tried to refocus on her job, her Calling. That was hard at the best of times. Now, Buffy struggled with the desire to toss the pager back onto the floor and take Willow back to bed.

“Hey.” Buffy’s head snapped up at the single word. “It’s not the end of the world, Buff.” Soft lips lifted in a wide grin. “Not yet, anyway. After you beat Adam, maybe we can sneak back here and hide out for a while. You know, have a private celebration.”

Some of Buffy’s happiness returned. Enough that she was able to return the grin, wink at Willow. “Excellent plan, Will. Except…we live together. You could just magically lock the dorm room door. All the comforts of home, interruption free.”

“Good point,” Willow acknowledged. She, too, grabbed her clothes. Once they were both presentable, Buffy ushered Willow from the room, hand resting lightly on the small of Willow’s back.

It was a short journey down the hall to the living room. Buffy frowned. The gang was there; though, no one appeared to be researching, and the room was filled with uncomfortable silence.

“Maybe I’m missing something,” Buffy said to the quiet group. “Aren’t research parties places of turning pages and muffled yawns?”

Willow moved away, heading for a spot on the floor. Buffy stuffed the hand that had been touching Willow into a pocket to avoid reaching out for her girlfriend. Work first. Coming out announcements later.

“Ah,” Giles finally responded to her comments, “we seem to be at an impasse.”

“Yeah, and we’re kinda out of ideas, too,” Faith mumbled. “Sorry, B. Hoped we’d have some answers waiting for you after you and Red finished your talk.”

Watching Faith closely, Buffy noticed the look of defeat. Faith’s shoulders slumped, her head bowed. Needing time to figure out why Faith looked like they’d already lost, Buffy addressed the last part of Faith’s statement. “What talk?”

Faith’s body language changed so fast Buffy blinked. “You know, the one you just had with Willow.” Wide brown eyes tried to send a message. “Tara and I stopped to get you for the meeting, and I could hear you talking inside.”

Oh shit. Buffy was sure her blush went from head to toe. “Ah, that talk.” Swallowing hard, she carefully avoided looking at Willow – or her mother. “Thanks for letting us take care of that. We really needed to…talk.” Buffy rocked on her heels and desperately changed the subject. “So, what was with the long faces when we came in?”

Xander summed it up. “Adam on the loose, no way to beat him.”

“Well,” Buffy said, feeling on firmer footing with the work-related issue, “I may be able to get us some answers.” She tapped the pager once again hooked to her belt. “Graham wants a meeting.”

CHAPTER 24

“Is that wise, Buffy?” Giles queried.

Buffy frowned. “We need information. He has some. Isn’t that a good thing?” She wandered over and sat on the floor – near Willow, just not so close to cause comment. Buffy didn’t want to push their relationship into the already tense situation. Adam first.

She saw Giles shift in his chair. “We certainly can use information. However, Buffy, I am afraid it might be a trap rather than an actual meeting.” He met her eyes and shrugged. “Is there a way to contact Graham and verify the request?”

“I could call Lowell House, I guess.” When Giles grimaced, Buffy said defensively, “It isn’t like we have a secret code or anything. There was never a problem before Walsh turned out to be some mad scientist and her experiment started killing people.”

“What if you don’t go to the meeting?” Buffy twisted to look at Xander after his question. He grinned a little. “We need the info, Buffy. Are you the only one who can get it?”

Without thinking, Buffy nodded. “I am the one with the neat Initiative pager.”

“Jesus, B. Get over yourself,” Faith mocked. “Just because you got all friendly with that uniformed boy toy doesn’t mean someone else can’t check out the meeting, make sure it’s safe.”

Buffy glowered at Faith, searching for an appropriately nasty response.

“Hey, before this gets all violent, can we maybe talk about why we think it’s a trap and how to deal with it if it is?” Willow broke in. “Everyone take a deep breath and calm down. It’s like you’ve all been drinking the Professor’s potion. Less anger, more talking and logic.”

Buffy slumped back. Willow was right. Scooby meetings were usually tense; they’d never been so openly hostile before. “Sorry, guys. Guess I’m still a little wound up.” She scanned the room, grinning sheepishly. “I’ll try to cut back on the psycho bit. I promise.”

“My bad, too, B.” Buffy’s eyes widened. Had Faith actually apologized? “I think we’re all kinda tired of the Scooby togetherness. Let’s figure this out so we can all go back to our own thing.”

“Good idea. Any plans on how to do that?’ Willow asked.

Faith glanced at Xander. “Think so. Xan and I’ll meet your connection, B. While you were having your big talk, the rest of us decided Adam doesn’t know about me. Means he probably isn’t on the look out. Xan’s got enough military know how to pass for one of the Initiative guys. We’ll take a little stroll across campus and see if this Graham has some real information.”

It went against the grain to sit back and not be on the front line. Buffy tapped her fingers on the carpet, trying to find another solution. She couldn’t come up with one. “Fine.” It sounded grudging, so she added a small smile. “Graham saw Faith when we dropped off Riley. It should be enough. If he gives you any trouble, head back and we’ll think of something else.”

***

Faith wasted no time. Once Buffy was on board – even reluctantly – she sprang off the couch. “Let’s go, X-man. Time for a little action.”

“Now? Don’t we need to make a plan? Grab some weapons?” Xander climbed off the couch, kissing a pouting Anya before following Faith out of the room.

“Plan on the way. And weapons?” She raised an eyebrow. “It’s daylight. No vamps. We’re going instead of Buffy because Adam probably isn’t looking for us. You want to pack to visit the co-eds?”

Faith grinned when Xander held up both hands in a gesture of surrender.

Smacking him on the shoulder, she opened the kitchen door and led the way outside. “Besides, think about it. Did you want to be there when B finds out she has to get all cozy with the Slayer?”

“Good point. Very, very good point.” Xander squinted in the bright sunlight. “Alright. We avoid a Buffy freak and maybe find out how to beat Adam. Both good things.” He stuffed his hands in the pockets of his camouflage pants, jingling his keys. “You think this is a trap?”

“Don’t know.” Faith walked as fast as she dared. Leaving Xander behind wasn’t an option, but the sleep hadn’t helped with her excess energy. “This Graham seemed OK the other night, and he wasn’t too happy with his bosses. Maybe it’s exactly what B said. A chance to pass on some information.”

Downtown Sunnydale looked deserted. Not even midday shoppers or business people wandered the sidewalks. Faith frowned. It wasn’t normal. Only at night were the streets quiet. Despite the bright sunlight, she let her senses roam. Nothing close.

Xander noticed her preoccupation. “Something wrong?” He tensed, eyes roaming the street.

“Can’t feel anything.” They’d picked up the pace by unspoken agreement. “Just wasn’t expecting the whole lack of people.” Faith glanced at Xander. “Kinda thinking I should have let you grab the gun.”

“No.” Surprised by the response, Faith turned her head. He smirked. “Look, we don’t want to call attention to ourselves. My outfit is bad enough. Luckily, with the Initiative running around, anybody we meet won’t think too hard about it. Add a gun…”

It made sense. “Right. Guess I’ve got a lot to learn from the new Xander.” Faith smirked. “Not much of the Zeppo left, huh?” Wanting to keep things from spiraling into a rehash of the past, she jostled his shoulder. “Looks good on you. All that confidence is sexy.”

She thought she’d overplayed her hand for a minute. Xander stiffened, glaring at her. Scrambling for a way to undo her error, Faith wasn’t expecting the return shove to her shoulder. “Be careful, Faith. Anya gets a little touchy when women ogle her personal sex toy.”

The laughter felt good. Faith grinned at Xander. “Possessive, is she? Must mean you’re worth keeping.” Her dimples flashed as a blush covered Xander’s face. “No worries, then. I’ll just have to be on the look out for my own toy. Don’t want your girl to come after me.”

As they left downtown behind and entered the edge of the UC-Sunnydale campus, Faith and Xander sobered. Faith’s Slayer senses screamed. “Damn. What the hell’s going on here? My head’s about to blow off from all the demons and shit.”

“Welcome to Adam’s playground.” Xander swept the area alertly. “The Initiative base is under the campus. You’re probably picking up the demons Buffy saw in the cells.”

Faith swallowed hard. From the strength of her internal response, the demons numbered in the hundreds. Even being in City Hall with the Mayor’s crew hadn’t been this bad. “I can see why B’s so hyped to take care of this. Adam’s bad, yeah, but all those demons…Even without him in the picture, she’d have a tough time taking on numbers that big.”

The sound of footsteps heading their way interrupted. Faith raised her hand, signaling Xander to stop. Muscles tensed for a fight, she waited.

Graham pounded down the sidewalk. “Change in plans,” he gasped out, not slowing. “Run. “

***

“OK, gang. Someone want to fill me and Will in while we grab some breakfast?” Buffy stood up, rubbing her stomach. “I’m starving.”

Joyce stood as well, moving toward the kitchen. “I can get you some eggs, toast, and bacon. If we’re going to be here much longer, I’ll have to do another supply run. Two Slayers and Xander mean we go through a lot of food.”

Willow hesitantly joined her best friend/girlfriend in the kitchen. She’d known Joyce since the early days; suddenly, her favorite mom-type figure made her nervous. Perching on a chair, she watched Joyce quickly beat some eggs and pour them into a skillet. “Did you guys come up with anything?”

The sound of Joyce moving the slowly hardening eggs around was loud.

“Um, hello?” Willow tried to smile. “It was just a question. Feel free to jump right in with answers.”

Eventually Giles spoke up. “Yes, well, Faith and Xander believe that two Slayers can defeat Adam.” Willow watched as he snatched off his glasses and began cleaning them.

“That’s it? That’s the grand plan?” Buffy sounded incredulous. “I know the Chosen Two were a force to be reckoned with; I just don’t think you realize how bad Adam kicked my ass the last time.”

Giles replaced his glasses. “Indeed.” He cleared his throat, fidgeting where he stood in the doorway. “There…ah, there were a few suggested alterations to your last battle plan.”

“You mean the one where I tried not to become a grease spot on the floor?” Willow winced as Buffy’s voice rose. The blonde’s impatient comments weren’t helping. Giles stared at the floor, lips pressed tightly together.

“Buffy, give him a chance to explain, OK?” Willow met hazel eyes with a muted version of Resolve Face.

Buffy resisted, and Willow turned up the volume on her resolve. Buffy crumbled. Slumping into her seat, she waved an apologetic hand at the room.

“Oh, for God’s sake,” Anya burst into the conversation. “Just tell her already.” Giles remained silent, and Willow hid a grin as Anya threw her hands in the air. “Fine. I’ll do it. Buffy,” she announced, voice ringing, “you can’t beat Adam. Your Slayer can.”

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