AUTHOR'S NOTE: This series was originally inspired by Ripe Wicked Plums'Buffy/Spike fic - Castaway.
Castaway can be found at -
http://dreamwater.net/dmarkedlove/castaway.html

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Part 1 - Adjusting

Buffy unpacked while her mom sat on the bed looking at the little monkey. "I’m sorry, sweetie. What did you say his name is?"

"Mr. Peepers" The slayer carefully pulled Faith’s jacket from her suitcase. She laid it on her chair so when she went to bed it would be easily accessible.

Mrs. Summers glanced over. "Honey, is that your jacket? I don’t remember that one"

"Uh… yeah. Willow and Xander gave it to me a long time ago" Buffy went over to the bed and picked up the tiny monkey. He was trying to play peek-a-boo with Mrs. Summers, but she wasn’t playing along.

"What’s he doing?" Joyce tilted her head and looked at the monkey.

"He wants to play peek-a-boo" Buffy gave him a kiss and headed out of her room. "Mom, do you have something I can feed him?"

"Yes. I think we can give him some oatmeal. Does he like oatmeal?" Joyce followed her daughter down to the kitchen.

"Mom, I wouldn’t know. We didn’t exactly have oatmeal" Buffy laughed as she sat Mr. Peepers down in the high chair. Her mom had dragged it up from the basement shortly after they arrived. "I can’t believe you still have this thing"

"What? I figured I would have grandchildren someday. Granted I thought they’d be a little less hairy" Joyce smiled at the little monkey. "But he seems sweet enough"

Mr. Peepers clapped and put his bowl on his head.

"Mom, will you get him the oatmeal? I need to call Willow. I think everyone is coming over for dinner tonight. God, I hope she didn’t invite Riley already" Buffy frowned slightly as she picked up the phone.

"Why dear? I thought you liked that boy" Mrs. Summers offered the little monkey a cookie, while his oatmeal was cooking. Mr. Peepers’ eyes got big as he reached for it. He hadn’t had cookies for ages.

Buffy patted his head and turned away. "I just need time"

………………..

Faith stood peering through the bars. They would be letting her out soon, but she knew she was too weak to make a break for it. Doped up and hungry was no way to fight. Sighing, the brunette settled back in the corner to wait. She didn’t have long.

"Ahhh… Faith, so good of you to join us by waking up" The young watcher crouched by the cage. "Are you hungry?"

"What do you think, you asswipe?!" The slayer growled, reaching through the bars and grabbing him.

"Get her off me! Get her off me!" He screamed in terror as Quentin and the others entered the room.

Faith laughed and tossed him back. "Is this the best that you got?! Pretty sad there, Alfred!" She snickered and went back to her corner to sit down.

"Faith, that kind of behavior will not help you" Quentin warned, pulling a chair up and sitting down. He studied the sneering slayer carefully. "I would hate to have to use shock therapy on you"

"Listen, I ain’t doing nothing until I know Buffy is okay!" Faith crossed her arms over her chest. "I’ll make you deal"

"I don’t think you’re in any position to negotiate" One of the other watcher’s stepped forward.

But Quentin held up his hand. "No, I’m interested in hearing this deal"

Faith stood up and moved to the front of her cage. "You want to rehabilitate me or whatever, right?"

"Yes. That was the plan" Quentin watched her with great interest.

"Well, I’ll go along with all your crap if you prove to me that Buffy is okay. Prove it and I’ll cooperate" The slayer squeezed the bars, tense with worry. What if he refused? Then she’d have to fight them. There was no way that she could go on without knowing what became of Buffy.

"Okay, Faith. We’ll prove that Miss Summers is healthy and back in Sunnydale. But you must complete the program and follow all the rules. This is truly your last chance, Faith" Quentin warned her, waiting for her to agree to the terms.

"Fine"

Mr. Travers nodded toward the guard. Her cage was unlocked.

Faith stood up and moved to the front of her cage. "You want to rehabilitate me or whatever, right?"

"Yes. That was the plan" Quentin watched her with great interest.

"Well, I’ll go along with all your crap if you prove to me that Buffy is okay. Prove it and I’ll cooperate" The slayer squeezed the bars, tense with worry. What if he refused? Then she’d have to fight them. There was no way that she could go on without knowing what became of Buffy.

"Okay, Faith. We’ll prove that Miss Summers is healthy and back in Sunnydale. But you must complete the program and follow all the rules. This is truly your last chance, Faith" Quentin warned her, waiting for her to agree to the terms.

"Fine"

Mr. Travers nodded toward the guard. Her cage was unlocked.

………………………

Part 2 - Separated

"Hold your arms up. That’s right Mr. Peepers" Willow held her arms up and the little monkey imitated. Quickly, Tara got the measuring tape around his chest. She read off the measurement and Mrs. Summers marked it down.

Buffy walked into the bedroom. "What are you guys doing?"

"Taking his measurements, dear" Mrs. Summers pointed to the baby clothes on the bed. "Willow and Tara bought him a few things to wear but they don’t fit as well as they could. I thought I would make some adjustments"

"Oh brother!" The blonde rolled her eyes and headed downstairs to answer the door.

"Hi Buffy" Riley smiled and held out the flowers he had brought her.

"Riley, um… hi" Buffy hesitantly reached for the flowers. "You shouldn’t have"

"Well, I thought now that you’ve had a chance to get settled I could take you out tonight. We can go to dinner… and talk. We haven’t really had a chance to talk yet" The farm boy noted.

"No, we really haven’t" The slayer headed into the kitchen with the flowers. As she arranged them in a vase she spoke. "Riley, there are some things that I need to tell you"

"Good. Have dinner with me tonight, and we’ll discuss them" Riley smiled and nodded as Mrs. Summers walked into the room. He frowned when he noticed the tiny monkey holding Joyce’s hand. "Wow, I’m surprised you’re letting Buffy keep that animal. I hear monkey’s can be really difficult pets"

"Oh, I don’t know about that. He’s been a delight so far" Mrs. Summers smirked and leaned close, whispering. "Besides, I get the feeling he thinks he’s a person" Joyce chuckled as Mr. Peepers ran to the cookie jar.

Crossing her arms over her chest, Buffy leaned back against the counter. "Fine. Pick me up at seven"

Riley’s face lit up as he bent down to give Buffy a kiss. The little monkey shrieked loudly and pushed Riley away from Buffy. Nobody was to kiss his blonde mommy except his dark haired mommy. Mr. Peepers screeched until she bent down and picked him up. "Sorry Riley. He’s a little possessive, aren’t you baby?"

Riley scowled as the slayer kissed the monkey on his cheek; the little simian turned and stuck out his tongue at the Iowa farm boy.

……………….

Faith sat at the table, poking her food with a displeased expression.

"Is there something wrong, Faith?" Quentin studied the young slayer with some annoyance.

"Yeah. What is this crap?!"

"Your dinner. Eat it or you can go to your room" Smith snapped.

"Who died and made you boss?!" Faith glared across the table at the younger council member.

"Enough! Eat your dinner, Faith" Quentin instructed, pointing to her plate. "It’s very healthy food. We want you in tip top shape for training"

"Yeah?! Well screw this! I’m not doing anything until I have proof Buffy is safe" The dark haired beauty stood up and crossed her arms over her chest.

"And what would constitute enough proof?" Mr. Travers asked, arching an eyebrow.

"Lemme talk to her on the phone. I know Buffy’s voice"

"I’m sorry I can’t allow that" Quentin pointed to Faith’s chair. "Sit down"

"Bite me!" Faith picked up her plate and flung it at him. "The deal was that I get to talk to Buffy"

"No, Faith. The deal was that we provide proof that Miss Summers is alive and well back in Sunnydale. There was never any intention of letting you reestablish contact. I’m afraid that would be detrimental to your rehabilitation. Miss Summers isn’t exactly a model slayer" Quentin brushed the food from his jacket, glancing back up at the outraged brunette. "Take her to her room"

"Fuck you!" Faith screamed as six councilmen pounced on her, one of them brandishing a syringe with tranquilizers. *Ugh!* Faith groaned as she felt the needle go in. Her last thought was that Buffy would be so pissed if she knew how high they’ve been getting her.

"Bite me!" Faith picked up her plate and flung it at him. "The deal was that I get to talk to Buffy"

"No, Faith. The deal was that we provide proof that Miss Summers is alive and well back in Sunnydale. There was never any intention of letting you reestablish contact. I’m afraid that would be detrimental to your rehabilitation. Miss Summers isn’t exactly a model slayer" Quentin brushed the food from his jacket, glancing back up at the outraged brunette. "Take her to her room"

"Fuck you!" Faith screamed as six councilmen pounced on her, one of them brandishing a syringe with tranquilizers. *Ugh!* Faith groaned as she felt the needle go in. Her last thought was that Buffy would be so pissed if she knew how high they’ve been getting her.

………………

Part 3 - Dealing, But Not Well

Buffy sat fidgeting so Riley reached across the table and took her hand. They had just ordered dinner, and now that it was time to talk Buffy suddenly wished that she was elsewhere.

"Buffy, what is it? I’m ready to listen" He held her hand gently, giving her a reassuring smile.

"It’s just that things feel different. I don’t know that I’m ready to pick up where we’ve left off" The slayer peered up at him, guiltily.

"I don’t understand. What has changed? I’ve waited for you. I’ve been faithful" Desperation crept into his voice.

"Riley, that’s not the problem. It’s just that things have changed for me" Buffy struggled to explain. "I was gone almost a year, and I didn’t know if I was every coming home"

The soldier’s face changed. He let go of Buffy’s hand. "You mean you weren’t faithful?!"

Buffy looked down. "No, I wasn’t"

"Who?! Who was it?! It was that one native who followed you like a puppy, wasn’t it?! What was his name?… Malaki, wasn’t it?!" He spit the accusation venomously.

"Huh?" The little slayer shook her head. "No, it wasn’t Malaki or any of the natives"

"I don’t understand" Riley paused, obviously puzzled.

Buffy took a deep breath, preparing to tell him, but just at that moment Anya and Xander walked up.

"Hey, you two" Xander grabbed a chair and sat down. "Do you guys mind if we join you? The place is really crowded and we don’t have reservations"

Before Riley could object, Buffy waved for them to sit down.

……………………

Handing Mrs. Summers the bowl of popcorn, Willow took a seat on the floor next to her girlfriend. "What movies did we get?"

"Wizard of Oz and Dr. Dolittle" Tara nodded toward the tiny monkey. "I was trying to pick something that Mr. Peepers would enjoy too"

"Ooh, I don’t know about the Wizard of Oz. Aren’t the monkeys in that movie evil?" The red head glanced back him and smiled. Mr. Peepers looked so cute. He was wearing a little cotton nightshirt and a sleeping cap.

Sitting contently in Joyce’s lap, he munched his popcorn while clutching his new doll. The witches had been unable to resist and had bought him a Curious George doll despite Buffy’s objections. The little slayer was worried that Mr. Peepers might become overly spoiled and demanding. But so far it appeared that the tiny monkey was taking all the attention in stride.

Tara handed her girlfriend the tape. "You’ve got a point. Put in Dr. Dolittle"

As soon as the credits started Mr. Peepers clapped and screeched with excitement. The magic box was new to him, but he liked to look at it. And now he got to stay up late with all his new mommies to look at the pictures on the box and eat snacks. Mr. Peepers was delighted with his new home, and new friends.

………………….

Riley got out off the car and walked Buffy to the porch to say goodnight. Xander and Anya were in the back seat since he had offered to give them a ride. "No sense in walking when I can give you a ride" Now the soldier wanted to kick himself for saying those words. He and Buffy still hadn’t gotten any time to really talk and now the date was over. It was apparent that the blonde was itching to go inside.

"Wait" Riley turned her around at the door. "Where do we stand?"

"I don’t know. It’s all too much for me right now, Riley. And I don’t think it’s fair to ask you to wait" Buffy felt terribly guilty at the pain she saw in his eyes. He was a good guy, and he always treated her well.

"Buffy, that doesn’t matter to me. I’ve waited this long. A few more weeks or months won’t matter. As long as I can still see you and be in your life, you can tell me when you’re ready. I’ll always be here for you" He pulled her into his arms and kissed her.

Crouching low, the councilman kept the video camera trained on the couple as he was supposed to do. A sound off to his left distracted him, and he lowered the camera. Something was creeping toward him in the bushes. He quickly slipped the lens cap on and headed for his car.

Buffy stepped back and pushed at Riley. "What do you think you’re doing?! I tell you that I’m not ready and you grab me and pull me against you to make out!!! What’s wrong with you?!" The little slayer had to hold back from hitting him. *Ugh! You’ve got a lot of nerve!* Her green eyes flashed her outrage as she took in his wounded look.

"But Buffy… Things couldn’t have changed that much! If you just give us a chance… Look, I’m sorry. Please, think about it. I still love you" With that the Iowa boy turned and left, somewhat heart-broken but still hopeful.

Buffy shook her head as she entered the house. She needed to see him again. She had to tell him. She felt that she owed him that. Wiping her eyes, the little blonde went up to her room. *God, I miss Faith… so much…*

Collapsing on her bed, she grabbed her pillow and used it to muffle her sobs. It was her ‘before bed’ cry, not to be confused with her ‘first thing in the morning’ sob, or her ‘midday’ bawl. If only she new what had happened to Faith’s body, maybe, she could get Willow to try a resurrection spell. *But that would be wrong… but I don’t care… I just want my Faithy back…* Buffy wailed, burying her face further into the pillow. Eventually exhaustion would give her the peace of sleep.

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