“Wills, I think you’re right,” the blonde admitted reluctantly. “We need to get some distance between ourselves and Sunnydale. Los Angeles seems like the obvious choice with Angel and his resources there.”
“And what about Robin and the injured girls? We just leave them behind?” Giles looked at his former Slayer incredulously. His tone belied his concern.
“We do – because they’re broken and they need time to heal. It’s all about the Big Picture, Giles.” Buffy stared at her former Watcher, her jaw set and resolved. “We don’t have time to wait around for their Slayer healing to kick in. We need to move on and establish some new roots.” She took a deep breath before continuing. “Our Slayer army has grown from two to two thousand and all these new girls are going to need some kind of stability right away. I can’t fail them in this way for a handful of injured girls.”
Giles frowned and lowered his eyes, seemingly conceding to the Chosen One’s decision.
Buffy continued to verbalize her plan to the group. “Andrew, you’ll stay behind.”
The young boy opened his mouth as if to protest, but was quickly silenced by the blonde’s words. “It’s not up for negotiation,” she told him sternly, holding up a hand. “It will be your responsibility to track down everyone’s medical histories and contact information and then to notify us in LA when everyone has healed.”
The boy beamed at the prospect of such responsibility. He threw the blonde Slayer a mock salute. “I will not fail you, Buffy Summers, Slayer of the Vampyres.” He gave the group a quick wave before skipping down the long hospital corridor, quietly humming to himself.
When Andrew had disappeared around a corner, Buffy continued her commands. “Anyone else who’d like to stay behind is more than welcome to do so. I won’t hold it against you.” She scanned the many somber faces in the group, as if daring someone to challenge her authority.
When no one made a motion of protest, she gave the group a grim smile. “Back on the bus then. We should be able to get to LA before the end of the day if we leave now.”
After bidding a few goodbyes to the few injured slayers and Robin Wood, the group filed solemnly out of the hospital and boarded the school bus once again. Giles sat behind the driver’s seat, and turning the key in its ignition, waited for the vehicle to roar back to life.
“Wanna be seat buddies again? I promise to keep my breasts to myself this time,” Buffy lightly joked as she and the dark Slayer waited for the others to board the bus before them.
Faith gave her sister-Slayer a lopsided grin. “Tempting, Buff. Can’t promise I’d keep my hands to myself though,” she winked. ”But…I’m kinda beat,” the raven-haired woman admitted. “Was thinking I’d just crawl up in one of the empties and get a few winks.” She paused. “Rain-check though?”
The blonde gave the younger woman an easy smile and nodded her understanding. They all had been without solid sleep for the past few months.
Buffy hesitated before stepping into the bus, unconsciously allowing her eyes to wander to the brunette’s curvaceous backside as she ascended the bus stairs. Their recent light banter had helped the elder slayer stay sane over the past few hours, and she found herself once again appreciating the kind of unique bond the two had formed so many years ago. Realizing she had been staring, she felt a slight blush creep onto her cheeks and the slayer quickly looked around to see if anyone had noticed her wandering eyes.
Satisfied that everyone was on the bus, Buffy gave one final glance towards the small town hospital. As much as she hated abandoning Robin and the resilient new slayers, she knew this was for the best. She stepped up into the bus and tried to push the nagging thought of leaving anyone behind from her mind.
Buffy crawled into her own empty seat. Resting on her uninjured side, she pulled her knees up to her chest, curling into a small ball. Although her body hadn’t originally felt tired despite the recent activities, she found herself being lulled into a peaceful calm as the bus vibrated down the road. Her eyelashes fluttered briefly before she surrendered herself to well-deserved sleep.
+++++++++++++++++
As the sun began to dip into the horizon, the school bus continued to rattle down the deserted county highway. Nearly everyone was asleep, exhausted from not only the day’s events but also from their adventures in the months leading up to the epic battle.
Giles and Xander had traded positions a few hours ago to afford the Englishman an opportunity to rest. The carpenter, now driving, periodically looked into the rearview mirror to check on the status of the sleeping fighters.
Without warning, high beams flooded the bus’s numerous windows, bathing the vehicle’s interior with harsh light. Although neither Xander nor Giles had passed any vehicles since leaving the small town of Buellton, the one-eyed driver now found himself surrounded by noisy diesel vehicles. A large black Hummer with tinted windows sped in front of the school bus and began to break, forcing Xander to slam on the breaks, bringing the yellow vehicle to a halt in the middle of the road. The sleeping girls wearily awoke, jarred from deep sleep from the sudden stop.
As the bus stopped, a number of unmarked cars and SUVs surrounded the unassuming school vehicle. The blinding lights were relentless and the bus’s riders squinted out the windows and into the light, attempting to ascertain who had stopped their travels.
Buffy slowly stood from her bench seat and began to walk cautiously towards the front of the bus. “Everyone stay quiet and stay in your seats,” she instructed, her voice firm and steady. “I’m gonna find out what the hell is going on.”
“ATTENTION PASSENGERS.” A megaphoned male voice boomed through the sky. “EVERYONE OUT OF THE VEHICLE WITH YOUR HANDS UP.”
Willow stood from her seat. “Is this for real?” she asked, unable to hide the annoyance and disbelief in her voice. Buffy gave her long-time friend a small encouraging smile.
“Come on, everyone,” the blonde leader stated. “The sooner we get off the bus, the sooner we’ll get back on the road.”
One by one, the group slowly descended the bus stairs only to be greeted by the blinding light of flashlights as they stumbled in the dark, allowing their eyes to adjust to the violating lights. They clumped together in a tight bunch just beyond the bus’s front doors.
Giles began to walk towards the front of the group to approach their captors, but was halted in his steps by the threatening clicking of shotguns. “This is bloody absurd,” he muttered, removing his glasses and glaring defiantly at the group of highly armed military personnel.
“Which one of you is Buffy Summers?” barked one of the soldiers.
The small blonde Slayer emerged from the center of the group and confidently walked toward the man, her head held high.
“Stop right there, Ms. Summers. That’s close enough,” the man warned, training his gun on her lithe form. “When was the last time you were in Sunnydale, California?”
The Chosen One narrowed her eyes at the man. “Who wants to know?”
“Ms. Summers, you and your little cadre of followers are being charged with violating the Patriot Act. Does the term ‘domestic terrorism’ mean anything to you?”
Kennedy growled from among the slayer ranks. “You ignorant fuckers,” she snarled. “We just saved the world.”
Buffy turned to look at the young slayer and quickly flashed her a warning look. Now was not the time to regale the United States military with tales of uber-vampires, Hellmouths, and the First Evil.
The soldier rested his weapon on his shoulder and eyeballed the small blonde, clearly a mixture of confused and interested that such an attractive, unassuming girl could be a threat to the United States government.
“I’m gonna have to ask that you all return to your vehicle. We’ll be escorting you with our transports to a nearby military complex where you’ll be detained for questioning,” the man instructed curtly. “The less you resist, the easier this will be for all those involved.”
The Chosen One and the soldier stood silently staring at one another, daring the other to make a move. Finally, Buffy nodded toward her slayers silently indicating for them to comply with the commanding officer’s orders. When the last of the group had filed back onto the bus, Giles started the vehicle again to find the bus once again swarmed on all sides by the military escort.
Buffy sat in her seat alone and stared out the bus window. She narrowed her eyes in thought as she looked at the numerous military vehicles surrounding the school bus as they continued to rumble down the empty highway.
She jerked slightly in her seat when she felt someone slide next to her in the bench seat. Turning quickly, she found herself immediately drowning in the deep chocolate pools of Faith’s concerned irises. The brunette’s tempting mouth was twisted into a tight grimace.
“I don’t know if you’re up on your politics or whatever, Buffy,” Faith muttered. She spoke in hushed tones so as not to worry the other girls. “But this Patriot Act is bad news. We could disappear into the system without ever being tried.” The brunette ran her fingers nervously through her hair as a sudden thought struck her. “Fuck, B. I’m an escaped convict. I can’t let them find out who I am.”
The golden-haired Slayer tore her gaze away from the desperate eyes of the rogue slayer and stared wistfully out the bus window again. Still looking out the window, she slid her hand across the seat, towards the younger woman, and wordlessly laced her fingers with Faith’s.
As each minute ticked by, they crept closer and closer to a foreboding government complex. The time to hesitate was over. Buffy had to make a decision now.
Life had been so much easier when all she had to worry about was vampires and a prom date.
Contributed by Lizardmm
Where Do We Go From Here?
- If Buffy allows the military to escort their bus to their facilities, click here.
- If the Slayers and the Scoobies resist, click here.
Home
