Faith Takes A Holiday
By Belinda

Disclaimer:  Buffy & all her friends & family, heck, even her hometown belong to Joss Whedon & Mutant Enemy & the WB & anyone else who's not me.  I own my laptop, & you can't have it.
Rating:  PG-13 (two cuss words, shame on me)
Spoilers:  This Year's Girl
Summary:  Faith gets Buffy's body & decides there's something else of Buffy's she wants.  Response to Julez' challenge archived in digest 66, though I didn't follow the challenge guidelines very well.  Call me delusional, but I like Faith, & I still wish she were one of the good guys.  Sigh.  Besides, the counsel would only get in the way of my fun.
Timeline:  season 4
Distribution:  Solo.  Anyone else, ask & ye shall receive.
Feedback:  No flames.  I got my muse to switch to mousse, but she's still
plenty flammable:)

"Hey, Giles!  You here?" Buffy's voice called from the foyer.

"Hello, Buffy," he said, coming out of the kitchen.  "Weren't you going to the Bronze to celebrate after patrol?"

"It was lame, so I left."  She was looking everywhere but at him.  "Thought I'd come see you.  I've missed you," she finished softly.

"Missed me?  You just saw me a couple of hours ago."

"Look, if you don't want me here, I'll go," she said, turning to leave.

"Buffy," he called, becoming alarmed, "I never said I didn't want you here. I'm just surprised, that's all.  You don't usually drop by for a visit."

"Well, maybe I should."

He hesitated.  "Look at me."

Suddenly, she flung herself into his arms.

"What is it, Love?  Is it Faith?"

"What about Faith?  Why would you ask about her?"

"Buffy, I know you held yourself responsible for what happened to her, but she's awake now.  She's alive.  And she gives every indication--"

"Do you love me?" she interrupted.

"I--what?"

"You heard me."

"Buffy, you know I care for you deeply."

"But do you love me?"

He thought for a second, trying to figure out what she was aiming for.  "Of course I love you, Buffy."

"Ok," she said, nestling into his embrace. He relaxed for a moment, just enjoying the feel of her in his arms.  He assumed she thought he meant a father's love and allowed himself to hold her a bit longer than necessary, pretending he was merely comforting her.  Right.  He nearly jumped out of his skin when he felt her lips on his neck.

"Buffy!"

"Hmm?"

"What are you doing?"

"Exactly what you want me to."  She continued to trail kisses up the side of his neck until she had to stand on tiptoe to reach his ear.  He hissed, trying hard to grab hold of his raging senses.

"Buffy, please stop this.  You don't know what you're doing."

"Don't I?"

"You're distraught.  You're not thinking straight."  She sucked on his earlobe, and he moaned.  "What about Riley?"

"Riley's a boy.  I want a man."

She kissed his mouth, hard, possessive.  He tried to break away, but her slayer's strength made that impossible.  The sensation of her tongue in his mouth drove away all thought, and he kissed her back with just as much passion and need.

Grabbing the front of his shirt, she turned him and pushed him into a sitting position on the couch.  Straddling him, she began to kiss him again.

"Buffy, stop.  We can't."

"Stop fighting this, Giles.  You want me, I can tell you do."  She ground herself against his erection, and he moaned.  "I want you, too.  So shut up and fuck me."

"What?"  The harsh phrase shocked him back to reality.  His Buffy sould never treat sex like that.  She'd been hurt too badly by it.  It was too important to her.  He grasped her head, forcing her to look at him.  When he looked into her eyes for the first time since she'd walked in the door, what he saw wasn't Buffy, but rather...

"Faith?!"

"What the hell is going on here?"  Giles looked up at the outraged exclamation and saw Buffy's eyes blazing out of Faith's face.

"Buffy..." he breathed, despairing.

*       *       *

"Thanks, guys," Buffy said to the gang as they left.  The emergency research party hadn't lasted as long as they'd thought it would.  Willow had cast the spell to reverse the body swapping that Buffy and Faith had done, and shortly after 1am, they were on their way to some much-deserved rest.  Buffy, however, still had things to deal with.

"Ok," she said, turning back to the pair in the living room.  "What, exactly, did I interrupt?"

"What did it look like?" Faith answered.  "I was about to nail your watcher."Buffy sat down a whole couch length from Giles & sighed. 

"Faith, please?" Faith looked up at the gentle reproach in the voice and tried to get riled at the condescention she thought she heard, but when she met Buffy's gaze, she saw only sad kindness.  Taking a deep breath, she forced herself to remember her decision to be more honest, and less harsh with these people who, despite everything she'd done, still cared about her for some strange reason she'd never begin to understand.

"Sorry, habit."  Buffy nodded, smiling.

"Why, Faith?" Giles asked finally.  "Why me?"

"Because you love her.  When I looked around and realized I was in B's body, the first thing I thought of was you.  I knew if I could just convince you, you'd make love to me.  I've never done that before.  Oh, I've had plenty of sex, but I've never made love.  I wanted to know what it felt like, just once, to have someone who cared about me touching me like that.  Even if it wasn't me he was touching."  She sighed.  "I guess it doesn't make much sense."

"No, I understand," Buffy said, and Faith believed her.  Maybe it was a chick thing.

"I'm sorry, B."

"I'm not really the one you should apologize to," Buffy responded, casting a significant glance at Giles before rising and heading for the kitchen.

"Guess you're pretty mad at me, huh?"

"Yes, actually, I am," he said, but there was only wearyness in his voice. 

"My feelings for Buffy are an intensly private thing, Faith, and you toyed with them."

"I didn't mean to."

"I know, but you did all the same.  Faith, if you're going to be trusted, you have to act in a trustworthy manner.  You're going to have to start thinking of the way your actions will make others feel."

"I know.  I'm trying.  This whole family thing is kinda new to me."  She looked at him shyly.  "I'm sorry.  I'm really, really sorry."

He smiled at her.  "Apology accepted, Faith.  Now," he went on, standing, "you should be getting along home.  Mrs. Summers will be worried about you."

She brightened.  "Yeah.  You know, that's new to me, too."

Giles chuckled.  "You'll get used to it," he said, leaning down to kiss the top of her head.

"I hope not," she answered, and then bounded her way toward the kitchen. 

"'Night, B.  Catch your act tomorrow."

"'Night, Faith.  Sleep well."

"Oh, do me a favor?"

Buffy quirked an eyebrow at her.

Leaning in close, Faith whispered conspiritally, "Pick up where I left off.  He's a great kisser."

"Faith!" Buffy hissed back, trying to sound outraged, but not quite able to stifle a giggle.

"Hey, one of us should get something out of this."

"Go on, get out of here."

Impulsively, Faith hugged Buffy, trying not to be surprised when Buffy returned the embrace.  Faith turned and went back to the living room.

"Your turn," she informed Giles as she headed for the door.  He sighed, and she grinned impishly.  "'Night, G."

"Don't call me that," he responded absently, already moving to the kitchen, where Buffy was pretinding to make tea.

They looked at each other in silence for a moment.

"Well, I know why she did it," Buffy began, unable to stand it anymore, "but why didn't you stop her?"

"I tried...at first."

"And then?"  He hesitated.  "The truth, Giles.  Now more than ever, I need the truth from you."

He decided it was time to walk the plank.  "I thought my fondest wish was coming true."

She was quiet for a moment, absorbing that.  "So, you really do want me."

"I love you, Buffy.  I don't just want you.  You're the center of my life.  You are my life.  I love you."

"Why didn't you ever tell me?"

"First, you were too young.  I would've been thrown in jail, or at the very least, fired.  Then you were grieving for Angel.  Then, suddenly, you were dating Riley.  It was never the right time, and quite frankly I never expected you to respond favorably.  I feared it would irrevocably damage our relationship."

"All this time, and I never knew," she mused.  "I should be shocked, you know.  I mean, it never once occured to me.  So why am I not shocked?  Why have I never been this not shocked in my life?"

"I don't know," Giles said, not daring to hope.

The realization was not sharp or abrupt.  Rather, it was like a gentle breeze, soft music from nowhere.  It just was.  For the first time, she looked at him and her breath caught, and she realized she'd been using Riley as a substitute for something she'd never dared admit, even to herself, that she wanted.

"I love you, too, Giles."

The statement hung between them for a moment, and suddenly they were across the room and in each other's arms.  The kiss was everything he had dreamed it would be, everything that had been missing when it was Faith in his arms.  When they came up for air, Buffy smiled up at him.

"You know," she said, trailing kisses along his jawline, "Faith suggested (kiss) that I pick up (kiss) where she (kiss) left off (kiss)."

"Mmm...really?"

"Mmm, hmm (kiss)."

"Well," he said, gasping when she reached a particularly sensitive area just behind his ear, "when Faith left off...we were on the couch."

She grinned, took him by the hand, and led him into the living room.

END