For a moment Buffy was frozen with shock. One minute she had been fighting Faith and the next she was, somehow, looking at herself. Her body felt different, empty, and with a feeling of deep dread she realised what had happened.
"What have you done?" she asked, her voice shaky from shock.
"Never mind what I've done, B, what have you done?" Faith asked, her voice rising as she began to panic.
This was not meant to happen; the body she now occupied felt strange, swollen and wrong.
Spike and Giles had picked themselves up and were now edging closer to the two stunned women. The Watcher had an idea of what had happened, although not how, and his mind was struggling to cope with the idea. Buffy was speaking with a definite Bostonian accent and Faith sounded almost like Buffy. Put that together with their words and the conclusion became obvious.
"This is not meant to be happening!" Faith shouted. "What the hell have you done to yourself, B?"
In her fury she threw the Mayor's device against a wall and it shattered into hundreds of pieces.
"Oh yeah, now that's the way to solve things," Buffy said sarcastically.
"Well, I don't see you coming up with anything better," Faith said angrily, "and you haven't answered my question."
Joyce edged into the room and turned to the girl she thought was Buffy. "Honey, what's going on?"
"Ask your bitch over there," Faith retorted.
"Buffy, that's-"
"Mom, I'm over here," Buffy said quickly.
"Oh," said Joyce faintly.
"Buffy?" Giles asked hesitantly, looking at the dark haired girl.
"Yeah, it's me," she said.
"Well, isn't this nice. A family reunion," Faith said sarcastically. "Screw this - I'm out of here."
She took a couple of steps towards a window and was stopped by, well, by herself.
"Not so fast," Buffy said. "You're not going anywhere. I want my body back and I want my baby back."
"Baby?" Faith asked incredulously.
"Baby," Buffy confirmed. "Now, either you come with us while we figure out how to put us back . . ."
"Or?"
"Or we'll bring you," Spike said menacingly.
"Try me."
Faith attempted to kick the vampire but the unaccustomed weight of the growing baby threw her off balance and she nearly fell. Giles caught her and took a firm hold on her wrists.
"Get off me!" Faith said from between gritted teeth.
Buffy crossed her arms over her chest and glared at the blonde Slayer. "Not until you promise not to run off or try to hurt my baby."
Faith spat at her.
"In that case . . ."
She nodded to Spike and he rapped Faith smartly on the temple with a stake. The struggling girl went limp and Giles picked her up.
"I am going to have such a headache when I wake up," Buffy complained.
"Is she going to be all right?" Joyce asked. "That hasn't hurt the baby, has it?"
"She'll wake up with a headache in a few minutes," her daughter reassured her. "We just need to get her home and then I guess we'll tie her up."
"So long as you're sure . . ."
"Rupert, can you get her in the car?" Buffy asked.
He nodded and began to carefully pick his way through the decimated room.
"Mom, will you be ok?"
Joyce nodded as sirens began to sound in the distance. "I'll tell the police that you . . . she . . . Faith escaped."
"Thanks."
***
The ride home was made in silence, not even Spike making his usual sarcastic comments. Buffy watched the streets go by, for the first time in months feeling completely alone. She had no baby inside, something she had never thought she would miss, and Giles looked nervous every time he looked at her. Faith was lying on one of the back seats and Buffy found it to be a very strange sensation to watch herself sleeping. The sweater she had so carefully chosen that morning concealed the bulge of the baby a little, but it had been pulled tight across her as they manoeuvred her into the van. Buffy looked down at the clothes she was wearing and reflected that the dark Slayer could not have been comfortable in them. Her assessment that they were too small was correct and shoulders of the jacket pulled uncomfortably.
Shivering slightly, she wrapped the jacket tightly around her and tried not to cry. After everything she had been through, she was now even being denied her baby.
Pulling up outside the house Giles finally looked at her. "Are you all right?"
"I will be," Buffy replied grimly.
He reached over and hesitantly took her hand.
Buffy allowed herself to smile and said, more gently, "I will be."
***
Willow heard the scrabbling sound of a key in the lock of the front door but made no effort to go and open it. She sat in the living room with Tara, clutching a poker from the fireplace so tightly her knuckles went white. Tara's face was pale with fear but she had refused to go down to the basement with Amy, determined to face whatever Willow was facing.
"Would Faith have a key?" the blonde witch whispered.
"No . . . but then she shouldn't have shown up at college today so there's no telling what she'll do," Willow replied.
"Oh."
Willow reached over and patted Tara's arm. "I'm sure it's not Faith out there."
"Yeah," Tara said uncertainly.
They heard the 'snick' as the lock released and then the door opened and they heard footsteps. Moments later they saw Giles walk past the door carrying Buffy in his arms. Willow sprang to her feet only to see Faith walking nonchalantly behind the Watcher. Blind rage took over and the hacker rushed at the Slayer and hit her with the poker using all her strength. That strength must have been more than she realised because Faith stumbled when the poker slammed into her back and turned to face her. Willow swung the poker again and caught Faith on the arm. She would have tried again but the stronger girl caught her weapon, pulled it out of her hand and threw it down the hall.
"Willow, stop," the dark girl ordered.
"No," Willow said and began thumping Faith. "You hurt Buffy!"
"Will, you don't understand. It's me!"
"Of course it's you! You're . . . you're . . . say, why did Giles let you in?" Willow's punches lost their strength. "You didn't happen to cast a spell on him or something?"
"Would I do that?"
"Uh, yes?" Willow said uncertainly, ceasing to hit her but keeping her fists clenched tightly, just in case. "You're Faith and you do things like that."
Faith rolled her eyes in a gesture that was almost Buffy-ish. "I'm not Faith."
"Really?"
"Really."
"You're not? 'Cause the resemblance in striking."
"I know. You'll just have to - stop inching! You were inching!"
Willow stopped her gradual movements towards the safety of the basement.
"Look, let me get Giles and de-spell him and I can-"
"I'm Buffy."
Willow shook her head to clear it. "W-what? Could you repeat that? 'Cause I'm sure you said-"
"I'm Buffy."
"That's what I thought you said."
"I'll prove it - ask me something."
Willow thought for a moment. "Who's president?"
"We're checking for Buffy, not a concussion."
"Oh, right." Willow tried to think of something that Buffy would know and Faith would not.
As she paused Tara came into the hall from the living room to see what was causing the commotion.
"Hi Tara," Buffy said absently.
"Hi," Tara replied, looking at the dark haired girl intently.
"I've got it," Willow announced. "Who . . . wait, you know Tara? You're Buffy!"
Buffy rolled her eyes. "Of course I am. I've been trying to tell you for the past few minutes."
"You switched bodies with Faith? Why? I mean, she's so skanky, and slutty - why would you want to?"
"Believe me, if I had any idea of how it happened I wouldn't be standing here looking like this."
"She's telling the truth," Tara said suddenly.
"Thank you."
"How do you know?" Willow asked.
"Well, uh, a person's energy has a flow - a unity." Tara blushed when she realised she was the centre of attention. "Yours is fragmented. It-it grates, like something has been forced in where it doesn't belong. Plus, you're not acting all slutty and you haven't said five-by-five."
Buffy's face broke into a brilliant smile, which on Faith's face was an unusual emotion to see. "Thanks. Could you guys go downstairs and help Giles take care of me . . . uh, her. I need to change."
Willow nodded and tugged Tara in the direction of the basement while Buffy ran up the stairs. Once she was upstairs she paused, uncertain of what to do. A large part of her wanted a shower and clean clothes, preferably ones that fitted, but another part realised that it could become potentially embarrassing. But Faith would have been happy to run off with my body if I hadn't been pregnant. Stands to reason she wouldn't have had any embarrassment when it came to this stuff. Oh well, I can't stay feeling icky all day. She'll just have to accept it.
Decision made she headed for the shower.
***
Standing in front of her wardrobe some time later Buffy hit upon another problem. Faith was a couple of inches taller than she was and curvier, so most of her clothes were not going to fit. She pulled out a pair of jeans that she had bought but never returned when she discovered that they were a little too large and then took stock of her shirts. Most of her nicer shirts were going to be too tight, which left her with the large jumpers she had been wearing and an old rugby shirt of Giles' that she wore when she was in need of some 'slob' time.
"Decisions, decisions," Buffy muttered.
Eventually she decided on a dark green jumper and quickly dressed. It was a shock to stand in front of the mirror and see Faith rather than her so she barely glanced at herself before she rushed out of the door. The jeans were a little snug but the sweater was comfortable and she almost felt normal - apart from the emptiness inside where her baby used to be.
***
Giles turned to the stairs when he heard Faith - Buffy, he corrected himself - come down from the main house. She had changed and it was easier to believe that she was not Faith now. The dark Slayer would never have worn the big dark green jumper she now sported, although it complemented her colouring, and her expression was softer than he remembered. The dark jeans were as tight as Faith had worn, but that probably had more to do with Buffy's wardrobe than her desire to look good, and her face was devoid of makeup.
The Slayer paused at the bottom of the stairs, her eyes drawn to the blonde girl tied to a chair in the middle of the room, and Giles walked over to her.
"Buffy? Are you feeling better?" he asked quietly.
"A little. I'll feel much better when I'm back in my own body with my baby," she replied, smiling sadly.
"Quite. I think we all will."
She turned her attention back to the other Slayer. "How is she?"
"Not too forthcoming I'm afraid."
"Too bad. If we want to sort out this mess she'll have to be."
Buffy stalked across the room and came to a stop in front of Faith, crossing her arms and glaring down at the other girl. "Talk."
"What about, B?"
"You know what. How did this happen and how can we get back?"
"I don't know."
"How can you not know?"
"Simple." Faith sighed and glared up at Buffy. "The Mayor left a present for me. He didn't really tell me much about it - just that it would get me out of the country and how to use it. I have no idea what it is and even less idea how to change us back."
"I don't believe you."
"Too bad. That's all I know."
"If you're lying . . ."
"B, do you think I want to be pregnant? I should be half-way to Mexico, not tied up here for your amusement."
"So this would all be fine and dandy if I wasn't pregnant."
Faith grinned. "Uh-huh."
"You are sick."
"Takes one to know one."
"What does that mean?"
Faith cocked her head to one side and smiled up at Buffy. "Well, last time I was around, you tried to kill me to save the life of a vampire. Now you're pregnant. I'm just putting the pieces together."
Buffy gave a humourless laugh. "You are so wrong it's almost funny. Almost."
The tension between the two girls increased as they glared at each other and Giles decided it was time to step in.
"Buffy, it's perfectly possible that Faith has no more idea of how it happened than we do. I think, in view of everything, we would be best to pursue other avenues."
"In other words, research," Buffy said with a sigh.
"Unfortunately, yes."
Buffy glared at Faith one last time and then moved to the bookshelves where she began pulling out thick volumes and thumping them onto the table. Giles winced slightly each time he hear a thud but said nothing, reasoning that in her present mood it would probably be more than his life was worth to object.
***
It was much later, closer to the early hours of the morning than late night, that Buffy rubbed her forehead and stood, stretching out the kinks in her back. Giles had gone upstairs to make some tea and sandwiches and Willow and Tara had fallen asleep leaning against each other on a sofa. She walked over to the chair where Faith sat, shifting slightly and tugging against her bonds.
"Uncomfortable?" she asked.
Faith nodded.
"Bet your ankles have swollen up too and your back is killing you."
Faith nodded again. "How did you guess?"
"It's the joys of pregnancy," Buffy said dryly. "If you promise not to escape, I'll untie you. I bet one of the sofa's would be much more comfortable right now."
"These ropes are so weak I could have left hours ago if I'd wanted to. But it's not really an option, is it? All I'll get is lumbered with a brat in a few months. Believe me, I want to be back to normal as much as you do."
Buffy paused for a moment and then nodded. "Strangely, I do believe you."
She knelt and began carefully picking at the knots tying the other girl to the chair. There was silence for a moment and then Faith cleared her throat.
"So, B, who's the lucky guy? Couldn't miss the rings, after all, and I can't really see the authorities letting you marry a guy who's been dead for two centuries."
"You wouldn't believe me if I told you."
"Try me. I'm not going anywhere in a hurry."
"You sure?"
"Sure."
"Ok. It's Giles."
It took a moment for her words to sink in, and then Faith's eyes went comically wide. Buffy winced and hoped that she had never looked quite so stupid when she was surprised.
"Giles? As in tweed and tea? As in 'raise your hands if eeew'? That Giles?"
Buffy sighed. "That Giles."
"Wow, B. What happened?"
"To cut a long story short, I fell in love."
"You fell in love?" Faith asked incredulously.
"Why do you sound so surprised?"
"No reason. I just never pictured you for the type to fall in love with someone like the G-man. He's not very . . ."
"He's different to Angel you mean."
"As different as you can get." Faith paused. "How did it happen? Did you suddenly wake up and think 'I must get pelvic with my Watcher'?"
Buffy blushed. "Not really . . . well, yeah, maybe it was a little like that."
"Pick one."
"Ok." She took a deep breath. "Someone cast a spell that got rid of all our guilt and inhibitions-"
"And the horizontal mambo commenced."
"Why do you have to make everything so crude?"
"Well, you did have sex, right? So what's crude about that?"
"You wouldn't understand." For some reason Buffy felt herself becoming annoyed so she concentrated on the knots tying Faith to the chair. "It's deeper than just sex - it's love."
"Never been in love so I have no idea what you're talking about," Faith said wistfully. The momentary softness was gone before anyone could see and she said, "So, that's how you got knocked up?"
Buffy released the last of the ropes tying Faith's legs to the chair and set to work on her arms. "If you want to put it that way."
"What other way is there to put it?"
The other Slayer was silent.
"B? What's up?"
"Nothing."
"Oh, come on. You only shut up when you're sulking."
"I do not."
"Do too."
There was silence again and Faith risked peeking down, only to see the top of a dark head looking down intently.
"I really got to you, didn't I?"
"You've taken my body and my baby and you want to know why I'm angry with you?"
"You're actually happy about this baby," Faith said, surprised.
"Yes. It's something I never thought I could have and now you've taken it away. Rupert barely looks at me and my friends are afraid of me. I'd say you've got your revenge."
Faith was silent for a moment before saying quietly, "I never wanted it to go down like this, B."
"Could have fooled me."
"When I came here I just wanted to meet the famous Buffy and maybe find a place where I could be myself. Then you persuaded me to stay and I thought I'd become part of the ultimate Slaying duo. I wanted to make people remember who I was. I wanted friends. All I got was your leftovers."
Buffy looked up at Faith. "You could have had friends here. You could have had a lot here but you decided to go over to the other side. We tried to be friends with you and we tried to help you but all you did was throw it back in our faces."
"You didn't try anything! All I got was 'why can't you be more like Buffy?' Like I wanted to turn into little miss too-good-for-her-shoes. And your friends? Every time I tried they just had to bring you into it."
"Faith, didn't you ever think that maybe that's because there was room in the group for both of us? It didn't have to be one or the other. Is that why you went to the Mayor?"
"He actually cared about me. About me - not someone else and I'm the next best thing - but about me."
"We cared about you."
"So much you let the Watchers try to take me to England," Faith said sarcastically.
"That wasn't our fault. We were trying to help you - none of us even knew that Wesley knew."
"A good excuse."
"It's the truth. I'm sorry about what happened - more than you can know - and I wish there was some way I could make up for it."
Faith looked at her for a long time and then let out a deep sigh. "You have really changed B. A year ago you would have had a grudge the size of the Hellmouth but now - hell, if I didn't know better I'd say you want to help me."
Buffy released the final rope tying the other Slayer to the chair. "I have changed. Now, you're going to be a bit numb at first so lean on me."
"Don't worry. I can manage."
Faith shook off Buffy's steadying hand but sat down again almost immediately. "Whoa. Maybe that wasn't such a great plan."
"Told ya. Now, are you going to let me help you?"
With Buffy's aid, Faith managed to stand and begin to slowly walk around the room. As the circulation returned to her limbs and the ache in her back subsided a little she became more energetic until within a few minutes she could walk happily unaided.
"B, this is kinda embarrassing," Faith began, "but-"
"You need the bathroom?"
Faith nodded.
"Babies sitting on your bladder do that. Want me to show you around the house a little?"
"Sure, that'd be great."
Buffy gave the other girl a brief tour so she could find some clean clothes for her and then showed her into the bathroom.
Faith attended to necessities and then stood in front of the mirror for a while. It was an odd sensation to see someone else looking back at her and she had fun for a while making faces at herself. That was when something strange happened - she felt something kick her. It wasn't painful, or very hard, but it was definitely a kick. Something was kicking her in the . . . kidneys? It came again and this time the kick was more around her belly than her kidneys. For a moment she could not puzzle out what was making the odd feeling until she looked down and saw her rounded belly.
"Is that you, little guy?" she asked quietly.
The weirdness of what was happening suddenly struck her and she laughed. I'm talking to a thing that probably doesn't even know I exist. This is beyond crazy.
But still, she could not resist a faint smile when the baby kicked her again. "You want your momma, hey? Well, I can't wait to give you back. She's really missing you."
***
When she came out of the bathroom she found Giles waiting there instead of Buffy.
"Checking up on me?" she asked, annoyed.
"Well, yes. Buffy's downstairs going through some more books, trying to find a way to undo whatever it is you've done to her."
"Look, if it means anything I didn't know things would turn out this way."
"It doesn't mean much at all, actually."
Faith's shoulders unconsciously slumped. "Do you think I wanted this to happen? You must hate me."
"At the moment I'm not sure what I think of you."
"But every time you look at me now, you see her and it hurts. I did that - I'm evil so you must hate me."
"Is that what all this has been about? You trying make us hate you?"
Faith looked at him and he could see the pain and self-loathing she had tried desperately to mask for so long. "No," she said shortly and turned away.
Giles sighed and followed her. She wants us to hate her but I can't. Buffy was right - she needs our help.
*finis*