We Need Each Other

--





"Oh Faith. You really didn't have to. I mean..I didn't expect.."

"Did you really think I'd forget your birthday, B? Just shut up and open it ok?" Faith grinned eagerly as her girlfriend stared down at the brightly wrapped package in her lap.

Buffy reached down and tore the wrapping with her fingernails, tearing the paper off and discarding it. Then, opening the rectangular box she gasped. "Oh Faith. You're so sweet."

Buffy reached into the box and pulled out what was hidden inside. It was a roughly ten inch long wooden dowel, an inch in diameter and delicately tapered to a point, at one end. Buffy examined closer and saw the words: `Mister Pointy Junior' engraved on the side in stylized italics. On top of that, it was even varnished and coated with a polished shine. It was beautiful.

"You shoulda seen the girl at the gift shop's face when I took it to have it engraved. She looked at me like I had three heads, or some shit." Faith said, grinning. "So you like it? I made it with my own two hands."

"I love it," Buffy said, smiling "and I love you." She reached out and hugged Faith, for all she was worth. When they finally separated, Faith spoke.

"Just do me a favor? Jab it right into preacher-man's eye for what he did to Xander, ok?" Buffy looked down at her gift, thinking over the occurrences of the past few weeks.

"You're incredible." Buffy said, smiling.

Faith just grinned, "And you're mine." she brought her girlfriend into a sweet kiss.

"Do you really think that we're ready for this?" Buffy asked, the subject still in the back of her mind. "The preacher I mean?"

"I know it. Let's kick his ass."

--


"I dunno, Buffy." Willow said "Every locator spell that I've tried comes up dry. It's like this guy has some funky mojo, keeping him from being detected."

"I checked the mission." Spike said, coming in the door. Everyone looked up when he entered. "Ran into a couple of his whiny little cronies, but he's not held up there anymore. He's not that stupid."

"Well there's gotta be some way to track him down. As far as I know turning invisible ain't one of this guy's super powers." Faith paced back and forth across the Summers living room, restlessly as the rest of the gang peered over texts and old dusty books. Not exactly Faith's area of interest. After a while she decided to go out on the front porch and have a smoke.

She walked out of the living room toward the door, and just as she reached for the handle there was a knock. Who could that be? Faith hesitated for a moment and then opened the door.

She was pleasantly taken aback by who was standing there and smiled broadly.

"Angel.."

The vampire smiled back at her, or more accurately became a little less broody. That was as close to a smile as Angel liked to get.

"Thought you guys might need a little help." he said.

--

"Faith, who was at the..door..?" Buffy called. Her heart fell about a foot.

Everyone looked up as Angel walked into the living room. His classic black clothing and brooding demeanor were shining, imposingly, to all the Potentials who had never met or heard of him before. He stopped, placing his hands in his pockets.

"Hi." he said, noncommittally, to the room full of people.

Strangely enough, the first person to get up to meet him was Spike. The British vampire walked the few steps that separated him from his former mentor and stood facing him. You couave ave cut the tension with a knife.

"Uh-oh.." Xander quipped out.

Everyone sat staring in stark silence as the two stared each other down. Their eyes burned into each other, each sizing the other up. A few moments passed and something silent happened between them.

"Spike.." Angel nodded, his expression never changing.

"Angel." Spike returned the acknowledgement.

"You in on this fight?"

Spike gave him a slight smirk. "Yeah."

A few more moments passed. "Alright then." Then Angel moved around him and walked further into the room. Spike walked into the kitchen. They might be fighting together, and they might have had a mutual understanding but it didn't mean they had to be chummy.

--

Buffy and Angel sat on the back porch talking. They had been for quite some time.

"Somehow I always knew that Cordelia was the source of something evil." Buffy laughed.

Angel just smiled slightly at Buffy's joke and shook his head. "I can see you feeling that way."

They sat in an uncomfortable silence for a while. Buffy finally broke the time of silence.

"So why'd you come?"

"I figured you might need some help. Preventing an apocalypse seems to be our area of expertise, judging by our past experience." Angel still didn't meet her eyes. He couldn't.

Buffy put her hand on his shoulder, and if Angel's heart was functioning it would have skipped a beat. He felt the familiar warmth of Buffy's touch flood through him. He closed his eyes as old and familiar memories began to come back to him, and he forced them from his mind the best way that he could. But, finally he looked up into her eyes, and lost all his resolve.

"I'm glad that you're here." she said.

He leaned in close to her, and she felt his presence. She leaned into him, in response bringing her face close to his. Her first love. Their lips were close to each other, waiting to be explored. Then, suddenly Buffy pulled away.

"Angel..I can't." Tears were beginning to stream down her cheeks. "I can't. I'm with..someone."

She ran into the house, leaving Angel alone on the back porch. She rushed into the house, pushing past Faith who tried to stop her and find out what was wrong. Once upstairs she shut the door and collapsed on their bed, sobbing.

--

Faith walked out the backdoor and onto the porch where Angel still sat, and stared at him angrily waiting for him to meet her gaze.

"What the hell did you do to my girl?"