Strange Surroundings

Written By: Kaz

Disclaimer: Joss Whedon, Kuzui, Mutant Enemy, etc. own the characters of Buffy the Vampire Slayer and Angel: the Series. I own only the plot of this fic.
Pairing: Willow/Faith (friendshippy)
Rating: R for strong language
Distribution: Near Her Always, Saladin's Citadel and Forever Faith, also any list archives.
Spoilers: "The Gift."
Feedback: Pretty please? My first fic where Faith is a main character (well, I did one other, but that was with Chris so it doesn't count).
Author's notes: Thanks to Chris, as always, for his love and support. Oh, and for the beta. :)
Summary: Willow visits Faith in jail to let her know about Buffy's death



Willow sat silently in the waiting area. She rubbed her sweaty palms on the legs of her pants and took a deep breath. Glancing around, she shifted uncomfortably in the hard seat. It was an ugly dull orange plastic which fit in well with the mental image Willow had of prisons. She looked up as a female guard came to the door and announced a name. Willow saw another person stand and go through the door to the visitors' area.

Tapping one foot nervously, she found herself wondering what it was like on the other side. 'Not that I really want to know,' she reminded herself. 'Jail is somewhere I never want to be. Well, as an inmate anyway. And I guess I don't want to have to be a visitor again either.' She wrapped her arms around herself and tried not to think of the reason she was here in the first place. She didn't want to begin sobbing in the middle of a jail.

She jumped when she heard her name called. Standing quickly, she walked to the door, down a short corridor and was led to a small room. She blinked when she saw there was no divider-only a table and a few chairs. She turned quickly to the guard. "Um, excuse me. I thought I'd be, you know, behind glass or something. Maybe talking on one of those little phones?" She asked the guard, a tall gray-haired man.

He smiled at her. "Seen a lot of cop movies?" He asked. When Willow blushed and nodded he chuckled. "Well, you're not far off, little lady. But since you indicated that the news is less than pleasant, it's our policy to give the visitor and the inmate some privacy."

Willow swallowed. "Privacy? Um, how private is ... private?" She asked, feeling silly for asking.

The guard cocked his head, his brow furrowing. He pointed to a glass mirror on one wall. "See that? There's a guard in there, keeping watch over all the visits. If you're ready to leave before your time is up, just knock on the door and someone will come in to secure the prisoner while you leave."

Willow nodded. "Thanks," she whispered, her nervousness coming back.

"First time?" He asked as he turned to leave.

"What?" Willow looked at him confused by his non sequitur.

"Is this your first time in a correctional facility?"

Willow nodded again. "And hopefully my last," she muttered softly.

The guard chuckled. "Well, don't treat her any different than you would on the outside. She may be in for murder, but she's still a human being," he said as he walked out.

'Don't be too sure of that,' Willow thought to herself as she pulled a chair out. She chose the one nearest the door, in case she had to make a run for it. 'It's not that I'm scared of her. I'm just being ... practical. After all, she has kidnapped me and tried to kill me, so it's not like I'm being paranoid. Right?' She mused to herself. 'Though I can definitely take care of myself now,' she thought with satisfaction.

"What're you doing here?" A female voice asked from the door.

Willow jumped up quickly, tipping over her chair in her haste. She turned and fought down her dislike of the girl that stood defiantly before her. 'Pretty impressive,' Willow thought. 'Don't think I could be defiant while wearing handcuffs.'

Willow waited until the guard unhooked Faith's handcuffs and began to shut the door. Willow had the momentary urge to squeeze through the closing opening and run, but she restrained herself. 'You're here to tell her something. Just get it over with and you can leave,' she told herself.

Willow cleared her throat and leaned over to pick up her chair. She sat down on the edge, folding her hands in her lap. Faith just raised an eyebrow and grabbed the chair opposite her, spinning it around and straddling it, leaning her chest against the back. A few moments passed in which Faith calmly looked at Willow who, in turn, clutched her hands together and avoided Faith's gaze.

Willow tried to think how to phrase her news and in doing so, realized she'd have to say the words again. Each time she said them, it made them truer. She forced her grief down before it could overwhelm her again.

Finally, Willow opened her mouth. "Buffy's dead," she said, her voice sounding harsh to her own ears as she struggled to keep from bursting into tears. She glanced up, quickly wiping tears from her eyes as she studied Faith's surprised e-xpression.

Faith's eyes widened and she swallowed visibly. She sat up straight momentarily, her hands holding on tight to the back of the chair. She then made herself relax and resume her previous position before shrugging with supposed indifference. "And?"

Willow's cheeks flared red with anger, her grief eclipsed by her incredulous fury. "And? And? Is that all you have to say?" She demanded, scowling at the brunette across from her.

Faith grimaced. "What do you want me to say then?" She asked the redhead belligerently, trying to keep her own grief hidden from the redhead.

Willow stood up and put her hands on her hips. "Maybe ask how? Or why? Or show some regret that she's dead? I knew this was a stupid idea. I thought you would care, but I guess I overestimated you ... again," she snapped, turning quickly on her heel and heading for the door.

Just as she raised her hand to knock for the guard, Faith answered. "How?"

The question was almost a whisper and so un-Faithlike that Willow turned back quickly to make sure Faith was still in the room with her. Willow looked at Faith for a moment before relenting and aking a step toward the slayer. "She sacrificed herself," Willow answered in a compassionate voice before reminding herself whom she was speaking to. "Something I doubt you would understand," she added harshly.

Faith met Willow's eyes again and rolled her eyes. "You certainly haven't changed," Faith muttered.

"What's that supposed to mean?" Willow asked, taking another step toward the other girl, her hands clenched by her sides.

Faith shrugged. "Self-righteous, stuck up," she answered, daring Willow to contradict her. Willow's eyes flashed to black and she opened her mouth to retort. Faith raised an eyebrow. "Better keep your temper in check, Red. Wouldn't want you to end up in a place like this," she warned, smirking.

Willow's anger diminished slightly. "What do you mean?"

Faith pointed to Willow's eyes, which were still black. "You're handling some pretty powerful mojo by the looks of those. And all I did was say that you were stuck up. What'll you do if something worse happens?"

Willow felt her cheeks heating as she recalled her vengeful attack on Glory in her apartment. 'But she hurt Tara! And it's not like I'd do that to a real person! Glory was evil and she deserved it!' She thought to herself.

"I don't need lectures on keeping my cool from a murderer, Faith," Willow snapped, willing her eyes back to their normal shade.

Faith shrugged, unsurprised by the witch's refusal to admit to wrongdoing. "Your loss," she answered. She waited a moment before sighing loudly. "Well? Are you going to tell me or not? 'Cause if you're not, then leave."

Willow glared at Faith before beginning to pace the small room, being careful to stay on what she thought of as 'her' half. "It was Glory, well Glorificus was her real name ... I think. She was a ..." Willow paused and looked around the room for monitoring devices. Muttering quietly under her breath she cast a silence spell so no one outside the room would be able to hear the rest of the conversation. She cleared her throat when she saw Faith looking at her expectantly. "A hell goddess. She was banished from her dimension to spend the rest of her existence here. But she found a possible way back."

"And so? Let the bitch go, good riddance," Faith said, knowing that there was more to the story but unable to resist taunting the redhead.

Willow crossed her hands over her chest. "Yeah that's a brilliant idea. Why didn't we think of that?" Willow said sarcastically. She pretended to think, pressing a finger to her temple and inclining her head slightly. "Oh yeah, because it would break down the barriers between the dimensions and there'd be hell on earth!"

Faith merely nodded and motioned for her to continue.

"So the only way she could get back was with a key," Willow went on. "But, she didn't know what the key was. Well, I guess I should say who."

Faith cocked her head. "Who?" She asked, somewhat intrigued.

Willow nodded. "The monks who were in charge of keeping the key safe were being attacked so they decided to send the key somewhere else for safekeeping."

"And they chose the Hellmouth?" Faith asked incredulously. "Not the sharpest knives in the drawer were they?"

Willow noticed that Faith's hand inadvertently traced over her abdomen when she mentioned knives. Willow shrugged. "Well, it's better than sending Dawn someplace where no one could protect her."

"Dawn's the key?"

Willow nodded.

"Well that's a major mind fuck," Faith muttered. At Willow's curious e-xpression, Faith grimaced. "Well, they could've given B a choice whether to protect it or not. But they didn't. I know B and she would've defended it anyway, but making the key her sister is just screwed up. Sick. Takes the choice out of the mission, you know? Though I guess that's kind of a given for a slayer."

Willow nodded. "But would she have given her life for it if it wasn't Dawn?" Willow asked, not really knowing the answer herself.

"Yes," Faith said confidently. She looked at Willow for a moment. "You don't-didn't believe in B?"

Willow shrugged. "I think she would have. I want to believe she would," she said softly almost to herself. She shook herself out of her thoughts when Faith replied.

"That's the whole problem you had with me and B being friends," Faith pointed out.

Willow turned to face the slayer. "What do you mean?" She asked, confused.

"You don't get it. You think you do, but you don't," came the answer.

"Get what?" Willow asked, her frustration evident in her voice.

"What it means to be a slayer," Faith answered. She gazed at Willow who once again began pacing the room angrily. "It's not your fault. Not like you could choose to be a slayer. It's in our blood, in our bones. It's our calling. We know we're gonna die young, so you get used to the idea that you'll die to save someone. In B's case it was to save her sister. And the world."

"And what do you think I do every night when I go on patrol? I'm risking my life to save people!" Willow pointed out, not liking the idea that her status as a Slayerette was being belittled.

"Yeah, you are. But if you decided one day to just stop, you could," Faith answered. "You could just walk away from it all. And don't tell me you haven't thought about it because I know you have. That's the difference between us slayers and you, Xander, hell even Giles. One day, you'll be able to stop. You'll get too old or too pregnant or too important and you'll decide it's not worth risking your life. I don't have that option. Neither did B."

Willow sat down in the chair, suddenly deflated. "I know that," she answered. 'I just didn't want to admit it to myself,' she added to herself.

"So how's that girlfriend of yours?" Faith asked, uncomfortable with the direction of the previous discussion. She had just wanted to make the other girl annoyed, but Willow's agreement with what she said made Faith feel a bit guilty.

Willow smiled faintly at the thought of Tara. "She's good. She's still dealing with the whole Glory brain-suckage thing, but she's getting better." Willow answered almost absently, used to the daily inquiries to her lover's health. She winced inwardly when she realized she had answered the slayer. 'What's she up to? What's she trying to get me to say?' She thought suspiciously.

"Brain suck?" Faith asked, curious despite herself.

"Oh, guess I left out that part," Willow said, surprised that Faith seemed interested. "Um, Glory kept herself alive by sucking brains. Kinda like vamps, except her victims went insane," Willow told her, pleased with her analogy.

Faith nodded sagely. "How're Giles and Xander? And Dawn?"

Willow looked at her strangely. "Why do you care?" She asked bluntly.

Faith's face hardened. "I don't. Just trying to make conversation," she said sullenly, annoyed at herself for showing she still cared about what happened to those still in Sunnydale.

Willow looked at her hands, shamefaced. "Oh, sorry. Guess I'm still ... I mean, it's not like you ever cared about anything that had to do with any of us before so I thought you were ... " She trailed off.

Faith squirmed in her seat slightly and nodded, not knowing the redhead couldn't see her movement. "Oh. Yeah, well, I do."

"Um, well, they're going to be okay. I don't think it's hit Dawnie for real yet, though."

"Poor kid," Faith said. She looked around the room before blurting out the question that had been plaguing her since she first saw the redhead. "Why'd you come?"

Willow huffed. "I told you. Because I thought you'd care," she answered, folding her arms across her chest.

"I meant why did you come. Why not Giles or Angel?" Faith asked.

Willow shrugged. "Giles is still a mess. Xander has to stay with Anya and Tara's with Dawn, plus she doesn't know Angel or Cordy or you. So I got elected to come. I went to Angel's hotel to tell him but nobody's there," the redhead admitted.

Faith made a noise of surprise. "Weird. Bet they're out helping the hopeless or something," she said. She winced. "Better get used to that idea. It'll be me in a while."

Willow looked at Faith measuringly. "You're getting out soon?" She asked, some trepidation creeping into her voice.

Faith shook her head. "Not yet. But I know what I'll be doing when I do. I'm the only slayer now so it's my sacred duty and all that," she answered. She saw Willow looked at her with suspicion and sighed. "As I said before, no choice," Faith reminded her.

"Yeah well, you had a choice in Sunnydale too and you chose the Mayor," Willow recalled.

"I fucked up, I admit it. I even knew I was doing the wrong thing, just didn't know how to fix it. But I'm here now, doing my time," Faith said. "And its not like I'll be hurrying to come back when I get out. It's definitely not the Ritz."

Willow smiled slightly in spite of herself. "Yeah, well, hard plastic orange chairs are the latest in fine furnishings so excuse me for confusing the two."

Faith snorted. "Oh, my latest copy of Ethan Allen must have got held up in the mail," Faith joked back.

The two smiled at each other. Faith's eyes narrowed, causing Willow's smile to fade. "Are we having a conversation?" Faith asked, her voice serious.

Willow quirked her eyebrows. "Guess so. Weird, isn't it?"

Faith nodded, one corner of her mouth quirking in amusement. "Though not entirely bad, even if you are a self-righteous snob," Faith answered, grinning when Willow bristled. "God, Red, you need to relax and learn to take a joke."

Willow shrugged, feeling somewhat silly for rising to Faith's bait. "Not so much joking going on recently what with trying to defend ourselves from a goddess and her warty minions."

Faith inclined her head. "That was one of B's problems too. Never learned how to take a joke," she said in muted tones.

Willow raised her head, seeing the brunette's usually stoic face showing her pain at Buffy's death. 'Wow, she does care,' Willow thought absently to herself. 'Guess I didn't underestimate her after all.' When Faith noticed Willow's gaze, she immediately schooled her e-xpression to one of indifference.

A knock at the door startled them both. "Time's up," a guard told them in a no-nonsense tone after opening the door.

"Well, I guess I should get going to Angel's then," Willow said as she got to her feet, her grief once again hitting her like a ton of bricks. She was surprised to discover that she had been able to push it to one side while talking with Faith. 'I wonder if that's because she kept me on my toes,' Willow mused. She looked at Faith from the corner of her eye as she pushed her chair in. "Are you gonna be okay?" The redhead asked, allowing her growing concern for the slayer to come forth.

Faith shrugged then nodded, standing so the guard could handcuff her hands together. "I'm not five-by-five but I'll live. And I have one more reason to behave myself so I can get out of here sooner," Faith answered, a sad smile on her lips.

Willow frowned. "And what does that mean anyway? Five by five? It's been bugging the hell out of me for years!" She asked, annoyance evident in her voice.

Faith grinned genuinely. "Come on, Red! You're the research girl. You can figure it out!" She taunted as she was led from the room. Faith stopped at the threshold and looked back. She cleared her throat. "Um, and you know, if you're ever in town again ..." She trailed off, the loneliness in her voice finishing the sentence for her.

Willow looked at her in surprise before nodding. "Yeah. If I'm in town ..."

The guard led Faith out of the room.

Willow took a deep breath. 'Well, that went ... weird. We were talking and having a conversation and ... I don't hate her anymore. When did I stop hating her? And did I agree to stop by if I'm in town?' She wondered to herself.

"So, did everything go well?" The guard who escorted her back initially asked.

Willow nodded, surprising herself with a small smile. "Yeah, it did."

The End

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