Rating: R (for language, violence, and sexual situations)
Summary: The slayers bond after defeating Kakistos. After a tragic incident,
the two become even closer. When they finally act upon their feelings for one
another, they must overcome a curse and more in order to stay together. Part 1
Part 2
Part 3
Part 4
Part 5
Part 6
Part 7
Part 8
Part 9 Faith froze. Though she could hear Buffy fighting near her, her eyes were
fixed on the figure approaching her. Kakistos! "Faith! Don't die!" she heard Buffy yell to her. She turned just in time to catch the crowbar Buffy had thrown to her. She
raised it to strike, but Kakistos was too fast and too strong. He punched her
hard, knocking her into a row of wooden beams leaning against the warehouse
wall. Both Faith and the beams went tumbling to the floor. As Kakistos drew near, Faith scrambled back against the wall, cowering in
fear, her mind overcome by the reality of the nightmare before her. She screamed
"no" as the vampire jerked her off the floor by her shirt, but any further
outcries were stifled as Kakistos began mercilessly pummeling her face. With a
final, massive punch, he made her see stars, and she barely felt the floor as
she slammed into it. When she came to, Faith saw Kakistos looming over a dazed Buffy. "I guess you need a bigger stake, Slayer!" she heard Kakistos say to the
blonde. In a blur of action, Faith grabbed one of the wooden beams near her, leapt to
her feet, and shoved its broken end into Kakistos's body, dusting him instantly. The next thing Faith knew, Buffy was beside her. They were breathing hard as
they grimly looked down at the vampire's ashen remains. "You hungry?" Buffy asked flatly. "Starved," Faith answered in the same tone. Then they both headed out of the warehouse. A short time later, Buffy and Faith were at a late-night diner, with a table
full of food before them: several hamburgers, with the works; three large orders
of fries, one of which was topped with chili and cheese; two side salads heaping
with dressing and croutons; and a couple of chocolate shakes. Faith watched Buffy take an especially large bite out of her second
cheeseburger. Then she gave a small laugh. "Glad to see your whole
post-slayage-nonfat-yogurt thing was a buncha crap." Buffy laughed too as she finished chewing. "If my friends knew how much I
really ate, they would die. They have no clue how much it takes to
keep a slayer running." "Bet your mom has a cow every time she adds up the grocery bills, huh?" "Are you kidding me? I'm sure she thought I had an eating disorder till she
found out I was the slayer. Now she understands." Buffy got a confused look. "At
least I think she understands." "Your mom seems cool." "I guess," Buffy said. "She's thrilled beyond words about you being here. I
think she thinks I can retire or something." Faith was silent a moment. Then she asked, "And what do you think?" "About retiring?" "No," Faith said, lowering her gaze to her hands. "About me being here." Buffy ducked her head and thought then looked back up with a smirk. "You're a
pain sometimes," she said, which caused Faith to look up too and flash a grin.
"But I have to admit…I like the idea of there being another slayer here."
Buffy's light tone vanished. "It's like…I'm not so alone anymore. There's
somebody out there that knows – really knows – what I'm going through, what it's
like. You know?" Faith looked back at Buffy as if she did indeed know exactly what the other
slayer was talking about. She didn't allow the serious expression to remain
long, though. Instead, she laughed and leaned back in the booth, resting both
arms on the back of the seat. "That's us," she said with a broad smile. "The
Chosen Two." Buffy smiled back, but the somewhat somber mood descended once again, and the
two slayers remained silent. They picked at their food and took a few drinks of
their shakes. After a few minutes, Buffy asked softly, "What will you do now?" "Not go back home, that's for sure," Faith replied. "It totally sucks." Faith
gave what she hoped was a nonchalant shrug. "Watcher's dead. Can't go back to
her place." Just for a second, Faith allowed a deep sadness to show on her face,
then it was gone. "She mighta been an uptight Brit like Giles, but at least she
got me outta that hellhole called home." Faith flashed an impish grin at Buffy.
"Maybe I'll just stay here and give you a run for your money for Slayer of the
Year." Buffy rolled her eyes. "Give me a pain in the neck is more like it," she
teased. With the mood lightened, the two slayers returned to their eating with gusto
and soon finished off their meal. Buffy and Faith came out of the diner with satisfied looks on their faces.
They both looked refreshed and rejuvenated by their meal. They stood outside,
not quite knowing what to do next. "So…what do you wanna do now?" Faith asked. Buffy looked around. "It's kinda late," she said. "I should probably go
home." Faith scoffed loudly. "It's way too early for that," she said. "Come on, I
know where we can go." She started walking down the sidewalk, and Buffy went
along. "It's this cool bar I found. Really rocks. Way cooler than the Bronze." Buffy stopped walking. "A bar bar? As in we're-too-young-to-get-in bar?" "Ah, don't worry about that," Faith assured her. "I can get us in." Buffy hesitated. "I don't know…" "Oh come on," Faith persuaded. "We slayed the bad guy, we deserve to
celebrate!" Buffy looked unconvinced at first, but she was eventually swayed by Faith's
insistent and utterly irresistible smile. "Okay," she said with confidence.
"You're right. We saved the day. A little fun is definitely in order." At that, the two of them headed down the street, ready to party. A couple of hours later, Faith and Buffy were in the bar, heating up the
dance floor. They danced with half a dozen different guys and put on a show
dancing with each other. They never paid for a single drink the entire time.
After they finally grew tried, they headed for the exit, much to the dismay of
most of the patrons. As Buffy came out of the bar, she giggled and swayed a bit on her feet. Faith
followed, seemingly as steady as she could be. "I can't believe I let you talk me into drinking alcohol," Buffy said, the
rhythm of her words slightly off. "How did you get it anyway? How come we didn't
get carded or something?" Faith just gave her an I-have-my-ways smile. Buffy grinned and pointed accusingly at Faith. "You let me get drunk." Faith smirked but shrugged innocently. "Hey, how was I supposed to know you
couldn't hold your liquor, B? 'Sides, you needed to loosen up." Buffy put on worried look. "Oh…Giles will be so ashamed of me." She
didn't sound particularly repentant. "Only if you tell him," Faith pointed out. "Well I guess I won't tell him then, will I?" Buffy announced as she gave
Faith's arm a goofy poke. Faith grabbed Buffy's hand and swung her around in a sort of dance move
before pulling her close. She released Buffy's hand then put her own hands
firmly at Buffy's waist. Buffy laughed and rested her arms on Faith's. Faith caught Buffy's eyes and said, "Stick with me. I'll show you how to have
a good time." Buffy just giggled. Faith tightened her grip on Buffy, running her hand along the blonde's back.
She leaned closer, letting her gaze drop to Buffy's mouth for a moment before
meeting her eyes once again. "Yeah…I bet there's a lot I can show you…" "Yeah…" Buffy said, leaning unconsciously forward until her lips were just
inches away from Faith's. "I bet there is…" They stood there, practically frozen – glances darting from eyes to lips and
back again, breaths growing heavy and husky – until Buffy slowly closed her eyes. At that, Faith blinked. And blinked again. Then she cleared her throat and
put a little space between herself and her fellow slayer. Buffy opened her eyes. She seemed a little confused until Faith put on a
sparkling smile and teasingly linked her arm in Buffy's. "Come on, let me get you home, Little Miss Tipsy," Faith said. Buffy's momentary confusion was gone, and she snickered. "But it's your
fault I'm tipsy." "Yeah, yeah," Faith said as she led the drunken slayer away from the bar. Once Faith had gotten Buffy safely home and in her room, she slipped back
down the stairs and out the front door. She walked down the sidewalk but stopped
when she reached the curb. She looked back at the house, gazing up to the second
floor. For a moment, her expression was troubled – sparks of happiness tinged with
longing, followed by flashes of fear and doubt. She frowned and looked away. Without another glance at the house, Faith strode away. Early the next morning, Buffy lay a bit sprawled in her bed. The covers were
slightly askew, and she turned her head from side to side, clearly dreaming. In her mind, she was with Faith again, outside the bar. Faith was holding
her. She was laughing at something Faith had said, but when she stopped, she
found herself just inches away from the dark slayer. She could feel the other
woman's breath on her face, the heat rising between them, and although she tried
to keep her gaze on Faith's eyes, she was drawn repeatedly to the slayer's full,
red lips. Before she knew it, they were kissing. Hungrily, desperately… Arms pulling tighter and tighter… Open mouths, tongues exploring… Hands caressing backs and necks then tangling in hair… Fingers aching to roam elsewhere, not enough skin… Yes, touch me there, for god's sake don't stop, don't – With a gasp, Buffy awakened from her dream, snapping to an upright position.
Her chest was heaving, and sweat covered her body. She glanced around the room
in a panic as if she were unsure how she even got there. Her right hand went to
her heart, and she left it there until she finally got her breathing under
control. She looked out her window, her brow furrowed deep in thought. She lifted her
hand to her lips and gently touched them with her fingertips. Was it real? Did it happen? Buffy didn't know. She quickly dropped her hand. But when her thoughts returned to the details of the dream, she found her
heart racing once again. With her heart still racing from her dream about Faith, Buffy jumped out of
bed. Instantly, a wave of dizziness hit her, and a sharp pain hammered its way
into her brain. She grimaced and closed her eyes, tilting her head down and
resting it against her palm. When she opened her eyes, she noticed what she was wearing. She was still in
the same clothes from the night before, but she wasn't wearing her shoes. She
glanced around the room and found them sitting right beside her closet. She
didn't remember putting them there. "God…how much did I drink last night?" she groaned to herself. Just then her alarm went off, blaring loudly. Buffy grimaced again as the
shrill noise seemed to be intensified a hundred times. She quickly shut off the
alarm. Then she trudged away in the direction of the bathroom to get ready for
school. Later that day, in the Sunnydale High School library, Buffy was meeting with
Giles and Willow. Buffy was sitting on the long table while Willow sat in one of
the table's chairs. Giles stood nearby, holding a stack of papers. "The Council has approved our request," Giles informed them. "Faith is to
stay here indefinitely. I'm to look after you both until a new watcher is
assigned." "Good," Buffy said. "She really came through in the end." Buffy paused and
made a sympathetic frown as she recalled the previous night's events. Then she
shook off the memory and turned back to Giles. "She had a lot to deal with, but
she did it. She got it behind her." "I'm glad to hear it," Giles said. Buffy slid off the table. When her feet hit the floor, another sharp pain
invaded her skull. She groaned a bit and made a face. "Are you all right?" Giles asked. "Yeah…it's just the hangover." Buffy's head shot up as she realized what she
had just said. Giles was looking at her curiously. Willow was too. Buffy started
backpedaling. "Uh, you know…the, um, the post-battle,
feel-all-the-bruises-the-next-day thing." She gave a quick laugh. "I-I-I'm just
assuming it's similar to a hangover because, as an under-aged
non-drinking teenager, I would know nothing about hangovers." While Willow smirked behind Buffy, Giles merely stared at her intently. When
she didn't drop her innocent look, he chose not to say anything. Instead, he
cleared his throat and turned his attention to his papers. "I wanted to talk with you about Acathla again," he said in a serious voice
while sifting through his pages. Buffy's entire demeanor changed. Her face fell, and a deep sadness entered
her eyes. She directed her gaze to the floor and didn't speak. "I wanted to ask you about – " the watcher continued. "Angel was cured," Buffy said softly, interrupting Giles. Giles instantly looked up. "I'm sorry?" he said, not sure he heard correctly. Buffy met his eyes. "When I killed him, Angel was cured." Then she turned to
her friend. "Your spell worked at the last minute, Will." Willow looked on in shock as Buffy went on. "I was about to take him out, and, um…something went through him…and he was
Angel again. H-H-He didn't remember anything that he'd done. He just held me.
Um, but i-i-it was…it was too late, and I…I had to. So I-I-I told him that I
loved him…and I kissed him…and I killed him." Tears were shining in Buffy's eyes. She looked at the floor again while Giles
and Willow remained silent. When she had recovered enough, she looked back up. "I don't know if that helps with your spell or not, Giles." Giles pulled off his glasses. "Uh, y-y-yes, I, um, I believe it will." Willow stood up and walked around the table and touched Buffy's arm. "I'm
sorry." Buffy gave them a small smile. "It's okay. I've been holding on to that for
so long. Felt good to get it out." Buffy pushed her hands into her pockets and
rocked on her feet a bit. "So…have you guys seen Faith today?" Giles and Willow both shook their heads. Buffy looked a little disappointed. "Oh, well, I guess I'll just catch her later then," Buffy said. "I, um, I
should really get to class." After giving two quick waves, Buffy hurried from the library. Willow watched
her friend go then caught Giles before he could return to his office. "Giles, I know you don't like me playing with mystical forces," Willow told
him, "but I can really help with this binding spell." Giles sighed and said, "There is no spell." As the watcher headed for his office, Willow finally realized what Giles had
done: he had created the story of the binding spell in order to force Buffy to
admit what had really happened. Willow glanced at the door once again, a worried
expression on her face. As Buffy headed down the hallway between classes, she kept her head down and
wasn't really paying much attention to where she was going. As a result, she
bumped into someone coming out his classroom. When she looked up to apologize,
she was surprised to find Scott Hope standing in front of her. "Oh," she said. "Scott." She gave him a smile. "Uh, hello," Scott replied flatly as he pulled on his backpack. "I'm, uh, I'm glad I ran into you, actually," Buffy said awkwardly. "Oh. Why?" "I, um…I wanted to explain, if I could." As Buffy and Scott were talking, Faith came down the hallway. They didn't see
her, but she saw them. She stopped and ducked behind a corner to watch. Buffy kept her gaze on her hands. "There was someone a while ago, and, uh,
the ring sort of confused me." She looked back up. "But I liked what you said
about friendship. I liked it a lot. And Buster Keaton. Big fun. And I'm capable
of big fun, even though there's no earthly way you could possibly know that
about me." Buffy got a little embarrassed. "Wow. If I knew I was gonna go on
this long, I probably would've brought some water," she muttered. She let out a
deep breath and went on. "What I'm trying to say is…if you would still like to
go to the film festival – and I would understand it if you didn't – I'd pretty
much love to go with you." Scott looked around uncomfortably. "Uh…ahem…I don't know, Buffy. I'm…I'm
really gonna have to think about this." Buffy seemed a little hurt but nodded in understanding. Scott started to walk
away, went a few steps, then stopped and came right back with a grin on his
face. "Okay, you know what? I thought about it, and I'm in," Scott said, widening
his grin. "When do you want to go?" Buffy returned his smile. "Oh, well, I'm booked for tonight, but after that
I'm good." The two beamed happily at one another. Down the hall, Faith frowned. She watched Buffy with a mixture of sad longing
and miffed jealousy. Just then, Buffy happened to turn in Faith's direction. For the merest of
seconds, they locked eyes, and Buffy caught the expression in Faith's eyes.
Before she had time to wonder what was up, however, she saw Faith turn and walk
away. Later that day, shortly after sunset, Buffy returned to Angel's mansion. She
slipped in to the great room where Acathla had stood and where she had
sacrificed Angel to save the world. She looked down at the floor and began to
cry. She slowly crouched down and looked at her Claddagh ring, which she held in
her hand. "Good-bye," she said softly. Then she placed the ring on the floor. She stared at it for a long moment
before standing back up and walking away. After leaving Angel's mansion, Buffy headed for the cemetery to meet Faith
for patrolling. When she arrived, she saw Faith sitting on a headstone. Buffy
paused for a moment and took a deep breath. Then she made her way over to Faith. "Hey," she said. "Been waiting long?" Faith shrugged. "Nah, ten minutes or so." "I, um, I'm sorry I didn't get to talk to you at school…" "No prob," Faith said nonchalantly as she stood up. "Had to talk to Giles
anyway." Both of them were quiet for a long moment. They looked at the ground and
their hands but only fleetingly at each other. Finally, Faith put on a forced smile and gestured for them to begin patrol.
Once they had started walking, she said, "You seemed pretty chummy with Scott.
Are you two going out?" "Um…yeah," Buffy replied. "We are. Tomorrow. Some kinda film fest." "Good. Good for you," Faith said flatly, trying to hide her disappointment.
"He's a cutie," she commented. "Yeah, he is," Buffy agreed. "A-A-And he's nice, too." Once again, the conversation lulled, and the two stole awkward glances at
each other. After a full minute of silence, Buffy spoke. "So…has your hangover been as
bad as mine?" She cast a rueful grin in Faith's direction. "My head's been
killing me all day." Faith chuckled. "You gotta learn how to drink, girlfriend!" she teased,
giving Buffy a body nudge. Buffy nudged back, pretending to ignore how her heart leapt at the innocent
use of the word 'girlfriend'. "No thank you," she said firmly. Then she put on a
cavewoman voice. "Booze bad, make Buffy's head go boom." Faith gave a big laugh, with her wide smile in full-dimpled form, and Buffy
couldn't help but notice how beautiful the dark slayer was. It was several
seconds later before she realized she'd been staring. Faith was staring back,
with an expression of slight amusement in her eyes. Buffy cleared her throat and
looked ahead. "So…we, um, we had a lot of fun last night, huh?" Buffy asked. "'Cause, um, I
can't exactly remember everything that happened." "Ohhhh yeahhhh," Faith said with confidence. "We definitely had a lot
of fun." Buffy worriedly cut her eyes toward Faith. "How much fun?" Faith grinned. "Don't worry, B. Nothin' happened that'll land ya on the front
page of the Sunnydale scandal sheet." Buffy laughed, even though she didn't appear to be particularly reassured.
Then her face took on a look of gratitude. "Thanks for bringing me home," she
said sincerely. Her expression immediately changed to worry and she stopped
walking. "It was you that brought me home, right?" Faith merely smiled and kept walking. Then she turned to face Buffy.
"Wouldn't you like to know?" she said teasingly before turning back
around and striding quickly away. Buffy raised her hand with her index finger up. "Ummm…yes, please…" she said.
But Faith didn't answer; she just laughed and continued walking. "Faith!" Buffy
said with a bit of a whine before hurrying to follow the other slayer. It was late at night, about a week after Kakistos, and Willow was "Oz
sitting" in the high school library. It was some time after midnight when Xander
came in to do the last shift. Willow was giving Xander the run-down on watching
Oz. "…he's more manageable tonight and on the third night. Tomorrow night, the total full moon, that's when he's a real wolfer." Willow reached across the
table for something. "But in case there's trouble…there won't be, but if…" She
held up the tranquilizer gun. Xander took it from her and slipped his finger into the trigger guard.
"Sleepy time," he said. "Gotcha." "Thanks again for doing this," Willow said. "I wouldn't have asked, but I
have this test and…" "No big," Xander said. "You can count on me. I got my coffee, magazines.
Figured I'd read, maybe run the stairs over there a little bit. I'm good." Willow didn't look happy with the way Xander was waving the gun around, so
she eased it out of his hands and set it aside. Then she made her good-byes and
headed out. After Willow had left, Xander climbed onto the long table, put a book under
his head for a pillow, and settled in for a nap. In the locked cage, Oz let out
a loud growl. At the same time, Faith and Buffy were in one of the local cemeteries,
strolling through on patrol. While Buffy carefully scanned a nearby row of
graves, Faith had her eyes on Buffy. She watched the blonde intently until Buffy
suddenly turned to face her. "So…" Faith said, putting on a smirk and pretending that she hadn't been
staring, "…you ever catch kids doing the diddy out here?" "No," Buffy replied. "There's a smooch spot up by the woods. That's usually
where kids go." "Yeah? Bet you and Scott have been up there kicking the gearshift." Faith
grinned as if she were teasing, but behind the façade, she didn't want to hear a
confirmation from Buffy. Buffy gave Faith a look. "Hardly," she said. "Only been on a few dates." Faith forced herself to go on, to press a little further, all with a big
smile on her face. "But you like him," she said. "And when you think about him,
you get that good, down-low tickle, right?" "No, not really," Buffy said, shaking her head. "I mean, I like him. It's
just a little early for—" When Buffy realized what Faith might have meant, she
stopped and gave Faith the eye. "Wait…how low?" "You tell me," Faith said, more seriously than she intended. She covered by
giving Buffy a playful nudge and another grin. Buffy rolled her eyes. "How about not?" The two slayers walked along in silence for a time until Buffy spoke up once
again. "He asked me to the homecoming dance," Buffy announced. Faith nodded and tried not to frown. "Good. Good for you." Buffy could feel the awkwardness of the conversation, but wasn't sure why it
was happening. "A-A-Are you going to the dance?" she asked. Faith didn't answer immediately; instead, she kicked the ground with her
feet. Yeah, right, she thought to herself. Me in some fancy dress.
Faith pushed the thoughts aside and looked up at Buffy. She shrugged
nonchalantly and said, "Nah…school dance…way too tame." Buffy seemed a little disappointed at the news, but quickly covered it up.
"Well, tame or not, it'll be fun to go, especially with Scott. He's nice, and
he's funny…" "And quite a muffin," Faith added. If you like the wimpy, sensitive type,
she thought to herself. "Blueberry…with that crunchy, munchy stuff on top," Buffy confirmed. "But my
most favorite thing so far…is that he doesn't seem to be any kind of hell
beast." "All men are beasts, Buffy." Buffy was surprised by Faith's statement. "Okay, I was hoping to not get that
cynical till I was at least forty." "It's not cynical," Faith replied. "It's realistic. Every guy has beast in
him. I don't care how sensitive they act. They're all still just in it for the
chase." Buffy reluctantly nodded, forced to agree that Faith might have a point. Elsewhere in town, in a wooded area, a boy ran through the bushes in a panic.
From behind him came the sounds of a creature growling and breathing heavily.
The boy attempted to look back, but ended up tripping over a branch. When he hit the ground, he rolled onto his back and tried to push himself
away with his feet. It was too late. The creature was upon him. He screamed
loudly before the creature attacked and dragged him away. The next day at school, Willow and Oz and Buffy crossed paths with Scott and
his two friends, Debbie and Pete. When the group stopped to talk, Buffy noticed
that Debbie was holding a bouquet of flowers. "Those are pretty flowers," Buffy commented. "Thanks," Debbie said. "Pete brought them for me." She smiled happily at her
boyfriend. "Yeah," Pete said, smiling. "Well, I-I-I'm sure Scott does that kind of stuff
for you, too, Buffy." "Oh well, we're not up to flowers," Scott interjected. Then he turned to
Buffy. "Are we? Up to flowers? Did I miss flowers?" "No, we are pre-posy," she reassured him. "Definitely." As Scott gave a
relieved nod, Buffy suddenly grabbed his watch. "What time is it? I have to go
see Mr. Platt today." "Platt? The school counselor?" Debbie asked. "I get to convince him that I'm 'Little Miss Stable' so I can stay in
school," Buffy explained. "Platt creeps me out," Debbie said disgustedly. "I would totally quit going,
but I'm flunking senior bio, and my teacher says I have 'success issues'." She
gave an unconcerned giggle. "Senior bio?" Oz said. "I kinda aced that final." "And how did you do that?" Willow needled playfully. "Oh, right. You showed
up." Oz grinned at Willow's jibe, then turned to Debbie. "If you want my notes,
they're yours." "Thanks!" Debbie said with a grateful smile. "That'd be great!" "Well, let me find 'em, and I'll give you a call," Oz said. "We can meet
sometime tomorrow." "Super!" Debbie said. Just then the bell rang. "We'd better go," Buffy said to Willow and Oz. Then she turned to Scott.
"I'll see you." "Yep," he said. Then the two of them shared a quick kiss. Buffy turned and headed into the building. After giving a final wave, Oz
followed Willow inside. Scott sighed and gave his friends a contented look. Meanwhile, in the library office, Xander and Giles were looking in alarm at
an article in the local paper. "We need to recheck every possible exit avenue," Giles said, heading into the
main area of the library. Xander followed anxiously after. "I'm telling you, it's a waste of time. I
was here all night." As the two headed for the book cage, Willow and Oz came into the library.
Giles and Xander stopped in place, a startled look on their faces. "Right. It's good to see you," Giles said to the couple, forcing a smile.
"Um, no need to panic." "Just a thought," Oz told Giles, "poker: not your game." "What's the deal, Giles?" Willow asked worriedly. Giles began to pace nervously. "Now, uh, bear in mind, uh, most likely,
there, there, there is no deal," he said, glancing at Xander briefly, "but um,
if, if, if there was a deal, then it, um, would concern murder…last night. A
male student was, was found i-i-in the woods." "Which student?" Willow asked. "Jeff Orkin," Giles answered. "Jeff? He was…" Oz began. He looked over at Xander, who just looked down at
the floor. "I knew him," Oz finished. "I'm afraid he was, he was, um, terribly mauled," Giles said. "Now, uh, much
as I hate to think it, i-i-it could be the handiwork of, of…" "Me," Oz said. Willow touched Oz gently, concern in her voice. "Wolf you, not you you." "But it's not," Xander insisted. "Not wolf you, not you you. The room was
secured, the gate was locked…" He headed into the cage to prove his point. "…and
the window was unbreakable, and…open!" He rushed out of the cage,
pointing at the still-open window. "Oh, God…" Willow said. Giles and Oz went into the cage to see for themselves. "Not to freak," Xander said. "I rested my eyes now and then. That's all." Willow shot a look of betrayal in Xander's direction. Giles and Oz came out
of the cage. Oz just stared into space as if contemplating the serious
implications of these events. Giles strode directly over to Xander. "How long…exactly…did you rest your eyes for?" Giles demanded with a
glare. "A little now, uh, a little then," Xander said. "But I never heard Oz leave,
and he was here in the morning when I, um…when I…" "Woke up?!" Giles supplied angrily. "You could put it that way if you want to, Mr. Technical," Xander said
defensively. Oz walked over to Willow and gazed at her sadly. She took his hand to comfort
him. He looked at Giles imploringly. Meanwhile, Buffy went inside the office of the school counselor, Mr. Platt.
She closed the door behind herself and stepped up to the desk. Mr. Platt was
sitting in his chair, facing away from the door, looking out his open window,
smoking a cigarette. "Two o'clock. Miss Summers," Mr. Platt said without turning around. Buffy pasted on a smile. "Buffy Summers, reporting for sanity," she said
cheerily. Buffy's smile faded when Platt didn't laugh or even turn around. Instead, he
just blew out a huge cloud of cigarette smoke. "Look," Buffy said in a serious voice, "I know that I have to do this, and
I-I-I'll cooperate, and I'll look at your ink blots and everything, but…I don't
wanna talk about my life or my childhood or…anything, for that matter, actually.
And, uh…I don't wanna be friends here." "We're not going to be friends," Mr. Platt said, finally turning around. He
gave Buffy a smile. "You have friends already…I hope. Friends are a good thing."
He took one last drag on his cigarette and then crushed it into the ash tray.
"They like you, agree with you, tell you what you want to hear." He pulled a can
of air sanitizer from his desk drawer. "That's not what you need right now. What
you need is a trained, not too crazy professional who will always give
you his honest opinion." While Platt sprayed the air around himself, Buffy didn't say anything. She
just looked at him oddly and waited. "Which I offer," the counselor finished. He met Buffy's eyes and then
gestured to the chair in front of his desk. "Have a seat." While Platt returned the can to his desk drawer, Buffy sat down in the chair.
"Not too crazy?" Buffy commented. "Those are your credentials?" Mr. Platt grinned, got up, and came around his desk to sit in front of Buffy.
"Look, Buffy, any person—grownup, shrink, pope—any person who claims to be
totally sane is either lying or not very bright. I mean, everyone has
problems. Everybody has demons, right?" Buffy glanced away and stared at her hands. "Got to say I'm with you on
that." "Excellent," Platt said. "So, the hope I bring you is: demons can be fought."
Buffy looked up at him in surprise as he went on. "People can change. You
can change." He paused a moment and then said, "Now. Your turn. Let's start with
why you ran away." Buffy began to fidget. "That's a long story." Platt shrugged. "Bore me." Buffy once again pasted on a smile. "You know, I'm…I'm really over it.
I-I-I'm moving on, I feel good, I'm…I'm even dating someone new." "All good things," Platt noted. "But still…you're bringing me in at the end
of the movie." "I was dating someone," Buffy answered awkwardly. "Uh, i-i-it ended badly. My
mom and I were fighting, and I…kinda freaked." "Well, tell me more about this guy. The 'Bad Ending' guy." For a long moment, Buffy didn't say anything. Then she let out a deep breath
and looked down at her hands again. "He was my first…I loved him, and then he—" "—changed?" Buffy looked up at him, surprised that he filled in the blank so perfectly.
"Yeah," was all she could say. "He got mean." "Yes." "And you didn't stop loving him," Platt said. "In fact, you still love him
now, don't you?" Buffy stared in shock for a time. Then she finally admitted, "A part of me
does." When Platt simply waited for her to go on, she said, "But he's gone now.
A-A-And it's over. I'm ready to move on." Platt stared at Buffy intently, trying to read her. Buffy wouldn't meet his
gaze for more than a second or two at a time. When Buffy didn't crumble under
his stare, he leaned back in his chair and said, "Glad to hear it." After her session with Mr. Platt, Buffy made her way into the school library.
There she found Giles pacing nervously. Willow, Oz, Xander, and Cordelia were
sitting on the steps looking worried. Buffy set her bag on the table and
approached the gloomy group. "I'm afraid to ask," the slayer said, steeling herself. "Oz ate someone last night," Cordelia announced. "He did not!" Willow instantly denied, giving Cordelia a glare. Xander tried to smooth over the situation. "Oz does not eat people. It's
more…werewolf play. You know, I bat you around a little bit, like a cat toy. I
have harmless, wolf fun. Is it Oz's fault that, you know, side effect, people
get cut to ribbons, and maybe then he'll take a little nibble and…I'm not
helping, am I?" "No," Giles told him before turning to Buffy. "Oz may have gotten out of his
cage last night." "Or maybe there's a…another werewolf roaming the woods," Oz said with
hope-filled eyes. "Perhaps," Giles said. "Perhaps it's something else entirely." "It's okay," Buffy said. "We'll work together, and we'll figure this out." Giles thought a moment then began doling out the plan of action, albeit
somewhat hesitantly. "Buffy, uh, you, uh, patrol the woods. Uh, the others, um,
check out the morgue. I have some research materials at home I need to look up,
and Oz…" Giles looked up at the clock. Oz followed the watcher's eyes, and when he realized it was close to sunset,
he sighed and headed for his cage. Buffy moved closer to Giles and tilted her head slightly toward Oz. Giles
leaned over and whispered, "I'll call Faith and have her watch him tonight."
Buffy gave a nod of approval. While Willow, Xander, and Cordelia were breaking and entering at the morgue,
Buffy checked out the woods where Jeff Orkin had been attacked. Buffy spent
several hours patrolling that area and others, but she found nothing that could
explain the vicious attack. Having come up empty, Buffy decided to return to the
school library. In the library, werewolf Oz growled and paced in his cage. Faith paid no mind
as she danced to the loud music blaring in the headphones of her portable CD
player. When she felt a tap on her shoulder, Faith instinctively spun around and
landed a swinging backhanded punch to the person behind her. She ripped off her
CD player and headphones, pulled out her stake, threw the person to the floor,
and raised her stake—ready for the kill. Then Faith realized who it was. "Oh! Buffy!" Faith said, surprised. "Are you okay? What are you doing here?" Buffy groaned but gave a smidgen of a smile. "Uh, bleeding internally, but
I'll live." "God, I'm sorry," Faith said. Then she shrugged in the direction of the CD
player lying nearby. "I guess I didn't hear you." "Figured as much," Buffy said. As Faith put away her stake and moved aside, Buffy sat up. After Faith helped
her to her feet, Buffy shook her head a little dizzily. Faith steadied the
blonde with a hand on her hip and another under her forearm. "Damn, that's quite a punch you've got," Buffy said, rotating her jaw a bit. Faith touched Buffy's cheek and looked deeply into her eyes, trying to gauge
her steadiness. "Are you sure you're okay?" The two locked eyes, their hearts thudding in their chests. After a long
stare, Faith let her gaze drift to Buffy's mouth, and she gently brushed Buffy's
cheek with her thumb. When she brought her eyes back to Buffy's, she found the
blonde still staring. Then, as they had done before, on the night of Kakistos,
the two slayers began to move almost imperceptibly closer to one another…until
Buffy finally looked away and cleared her throat. "Yeah, I'm fine. Really," she said, backing out of Faith's arms. The briefest moment of confusion and hurt flashed in Faith's eyes, but then
she just stuffed her hands into her back pockets and gave a nonchalant shrug. "So…what're you doing here?" Faith asked. "Find something on patrol?" "Oh, um, no," Buffy said, wringing her hands nervously. "Woods patrol was a
total strikeout. No sign of any maul-y type beasties. So…I figured I'd come give
you the rest of the night off." "Get out of jail free, huh?" Faith noted. "How come? You know you could just
go home and get some sleep." "I-I-I don't think I could sleep. Figured I'd, uh, cram for my French test." "That's cool," Faith admitted. "I was going kinda crazy in here, but I can
get in a few stakings before sunrise." She smiled and handed the cage keys to Buffy,
ignoring the spark of attraction she felt when their hands touched. As Faith headed for the door, Buffy followed the slayer with her eyes, a
worried expression on her face. She called out her name. When the brunette
turned around, Buffy said seriously, "Be careful, okay?" Faith grinned widely and held out her arms. "You know me, B…" Buffy rolled her eyes. "Exactly. Hence the 'be careful'." Faith just laughed and gave Buffy a wink. Then she left the room. After Faith had gone, Buffy turned away from the door, let out a deep breath,
and hugged herself. Her brow furrowed as she sank into heavy thought. It took
only a few seconds before she turned back around and looked longingly at the
library door. After leaving the library, Faith walked quickly away, a serious expression on
her face. She stopped at the water fountain and took a long drink. When she was
done, she wiped her mouth and slowly turned back toward the library entrance. What are you doing? she asked herself. This girl's got 'mistake'
written all over her. You two are actually getting along…like real friends even.
Don't screw that up. Faith gave a big sigh and let her head drop back against her shoulders. She
looked at the ceiling briefly, then shut her eyes and took in a deep breath. She
let her breath out gradually and lifted her head. Then, without another glance
at the library, she strode away. The next morning, Giles came into the library carrying a cup of coffee. He
first checked the book cage and found Oz safely transformed into his human self.
Giles unlocked the cage and headed over to where he saw Buffy asleep in a chair,
her French book lying open in her lap. As he sipped his coffee, Buffy slowly
woke up and looked up at him. "Hey," she said in greeting. "Hmm, hello," Giles replied, taking another sip of his coffee. Just then, they heard the doors open, and when they turned to look, they saw
Willow coming in with a box of donuts. Willow looked at Buffy curiously. "I thought Faith was on duty," Willow said. "Oh…change of plans," Buffy said. Willow held up the box of donuts. "Glazed or cake?" She gave a goofy grin.
"It's fun to watch them make them. They use this spritzy thing, and they drop
the batter into this—" "Couldn't sleep, huh?" Buffy cut in. Willow sighed in affirmation. "I've been at Mister Donut since the TV did
that snowy thing." Behind Willow, a half-dressed Oz came out of the cage. "How come you're the Wakey Girl?" Willow asked Buffy. "I mean, this
time, it's not your boyfriend who's the cold-blooded…" Willow trailed off when she saw Buffy's eyes widen. Still slipping on his
shirt, Oz walked up next to Willow. "…Jelly donut?" she said with extra cheeriness as she held out the box to her
boyfriend. Oz ignored the donuts. "Everything all right?" he asked. "Yeah," Buffy told him. Then she turned to Willow. "Uh, what happened with
the inspection of the body?" Willow kept up her fake smile and stayed on the topic of donuts. "Anyone?
They're yummy delicious!" "Willow, come on," Buffy prompted. "Was it a werewolf?" Willow's smile disappeared, and she set the box down on the table. Then she
forced herself to say, "I-I-It wasn't conclusive." Oz looked down at the floor, and Buffy glanced at Giles worriedly. Later that day, Buffy was coming out of the cafeteria line. On her tray was a
plate containing various flavors of Jell-O and nothing else. She scanned the
area for a place to sit and saw Scott waving to her from the other side of the
room. She smiled and headed that way, where Scott sat with Debbie and Pete. She
put her tray on the table and sat down. Scott frowned at what was on her plate. "Hey, uh, I can't back you on that
lunch. Nutritional demerits." Buffy looked down at her plate. "My stomach doesn't want hard food today."
She pointed at the green Jell-O. "But there's fruit in it." "Those are marshmallows," Scott whispered. "Oh." Pete and Debbie looked at Buffy strangely, but she just sighed. "I'm…I'm really out of it today," she tried to explain. "I didn't sleep well
last night." "Just don't tell Mr. Platt you have insomnia," Debbie warned. "He'll make you
start a dream journal." "Oh, what's that? Like a Barbie thing?" Pete joked. "Dear Dream Journal, how
come Ken hasn't come around since he got that earring?" Debbie giggled. "I never did it. He's a quack." "I kinda liked him," Buffy offered. "Really?" Debbie said. "I guess, I guess he's kinda funny and stuff. It's
just…sometimes I just don't like the things he says." Pete's eyes narrowed for the briefest of seconds, and he clenched his jaw
tightly as he looked at Debbie. Then, as quickly as it had come, the expression
was gone. None of the others noticed his change. "Oh, he definitely marches to the beat of his own drummer," Buffy noted.
"A-A-Actually, I think he makes his own drums." "Well, my mom says that therapy can be completely helpful," Scott said. "Yeah, but your mom has the wattage of a Zippo lighter, Scott," Pete quipped.
Once again, Debbie giggled away. Scott took the jibe good-naturedly and turned to Buffy. "I hope you realize I
don't actually know these people," he told her. "It's just…I thought you would
like me better if I had friends, so I hired them." Buffy gave him a weak smile. Then he turned to face her completely. "So…I, uh, I wanted to tell you that you look great today. But now I wanna
raise that to amazing because you didn't sleep well." Buffy smiled a bit awkwardly. "Uh…that's really sweet. Um…" She trailed off
when she saw Faith pass by the cafeteria entrance. She stared at the doorway for
a full second or two before turning back to Scott. "…and I-I-I wish I didn't
have to, but I just remembered that I do, so…uhhh…I'll see you later." Then
Buffy stood up, patted him on the shoulder, and walked away, leaving her uneaten
Jell-O behind. "Uh, yeah," Scott said, slightly confused. He and Debbie and Pete followed
Buffy with their eyes as she headed for the door. "Check out Scotty," Pete teased. "Liking the manic-depressive chick." Scott shot a glare at his friend. Buffy hurried down the hallway until she caught up with Faith. Then she
called out the slayer's name. When Faith turned around, the two of them stopped
and stepped out of the crowd to talk. "Hey," Buffy said with a sincere but slightly hesitant smile. Faith returned the smile. "Hey yourself." "So…how'd it go last night?" Buffy asked. "Find any action?" "I can always find action when I want it," Faith said suggestively,
grinning widely. Buffy couldn't help but blush. "Of the vampire variety," she added
pointedly, though not loud enough for any of the passing students to hear. "Hey, you're the one with those inclinations, not me," Faith teased. "Shut up," Buffy said with a grin, reaching her hand forward to give Faith a
playful poke in the side. Faith laughed and flinched at the same time, but swiftly caught Buffy's hand
in hers before the poke could actually be administered. The two slayers
instantly felt what seemed to be a faint electrical charge pass between them,
and they froze in place, still smiling but without releasing each other's hand.
This time it was Faith who pulled away first. "Gotta be faster'n that, B," she said, making a dramatic show of letting
Buffy's hand go. At Buffy's eye roll, she added in answer to the earlier
question, "It was pretty slow. Got one vamp near the Manchester crypt. That's
about it." "Good!" Buffy said, nodding a bit more than was really necessary. Then she
stopped and shook her head instead. "I mean, not good for you 'cause I know you
wanted to get with the slaying, but good in the sense that things in general, I
mean, as a whole, um, were a little less, well, demon-y." Buffy cringed inside
at her stupid babbling. Faith gave her a smirk. "If you say so." After that, there was a long moment of awkward silence as the two slayers
shifted nervously in place. Finally, Buffy spoke. "Well, I should probably get to class," Buffy said. "Yeah, you should." "Catch you later?" "If you're lucky," Faith replied with a wink as she backed away and then
turned and headed for the library. Buffy laughed and watched her go, unconsciously resting her hand over her
heart. When she turned to head off to class, she was still smiling. As Faith walked down the hallway, she worked the fingers in her hand. It
still tingled from the spark of Buffy's touch. When she got to the library entrance, she stopped and looked curiously at her
hand. As she lightly drew the fingertips of her other hand across her palm, she
immediately thought of Buffy, and her heart began to beat faster. After a moment of daydreaming, Faith scoffed disgustedly and dropped her
hands back to her sides. "Don't be so stupid," she chided herself. Then she went inside the library. Later that afternoon, in English class, Buffy sat quietly in the back,
doodling in her journal. The teacher had given them a writing assignment, but
Buffy couldn't concentrate on it. She looked at the page full of silly doodles
and sighed. She turned to a fresh page and set her pen at the first line. She wanted to write down what she was feeling, but the thought of actually
recording it on paper was terrifying. To write it down would make it real, make
it an undeniable admission, and she wasn't sure she was ready to do that. She
gave a low, frustrated growl and forced herself to begin anyway. Something's happening to me, she wrote. Something I don't understand.
Something that really scares me. Buffy paused, her pen tip hovering over the paper. She took a deep breath and
started writing again. I think that I… RIIIIIINNNNGGG!!! The sound of the bell made Buffy jump in her seat. She looked down at what
she had written, slight alarm in her eyes. Faintly in the background she heard
her English teacher telling the class to finish their journal entry for
homework. With a heavy sigh, she closed her journal and gathered her books. Meanwhile, as students moved between classes, Pete and Debbie slipped into a
rarely-used hallway near a supply room. "Debbie, come on," Pete said. "Just for a minute." He grabbed Debbie's hands and tried to nudge her against the wall, but she
pulled away, giggling coyly. "No, I can't," she insisted though not convincingly. "I have to meet a
friend." He pulled her back to him by both wrists. "So you'll be late but happy." He kissed her, pulling her inside the dark supply room with him. Once inside
they kissed passionately until Pete broke off the embrace and backed away toward
a shelf behind him. Debbie reached out and stopped him. "No, no. Let's stay here." "Relax, Debbie," Pete said. "What's wrong with you today?" They kissed once again. Then he noticed an empty jar on the shelf. All that's
left in it is the last few drops of a fluorescent fluid. "What is that?" Pete asked. "Nothing," Debbie said, turning his face to hers and kissing him again.
"Nothing. Kiss me." "No," Pete said as he pulled away. "Debbie, you did not drink that, did you?" "Drink it?" Debbie said with a nervous giggle. "You know I didn't." Pete looked at his girlfriend intently. "What's going on?" Debbie's giddiness faded, and she looked back at him nervously. In the counseling office, Buffy reported for her appointment with Mr. Platt.
She took a deep breath and went inside, closing the door behind herself. She
found the counselor turned away again, looking out his open window, his
signature cigarette held between his fingers. "Two o'clock," she announced. "Buffy Summers, right?" He didn't say anything in reply, which was okay by her because she really
didn't want him to. She reached out toward him in a cease-and-desist gesture. "You don't have to say anything," she told him. "I'll get right to it." She
began pacing behind her chair, looking at the floor. "To be honest, I really
didn't know what I was going to talk about today, but I've been thinking about
what we talked about…a-a-about moving on?" She looked up with cautious hope in
her eyes. "I think…I think I might be ready." Once again, Platt didn't answer, but Buffy didn't seem to notice. She dropped
her gaze to her hands. "A few months ago, it was like, 'I'll never love again.'
It just…hurt too much." A deep frown came over her face. Buffy looked back up and began to walk again, this time with a more
brightened expression. "But now…I've met someone. Someone who really seems to
care about me, someone who…" Buffy trailed off when she noticed Mr. Platt's hand. The cigarette in it was
burned all the way down to the filter, yet the ashes were still hanging there,
never having been tapped off. She rushed to his chair. She found Mr. Platt dead, his face and body severely mauled by a sharp-clawed
beast. Meanwhile, back in the supply room, Pete was seething with anger. He snatched
up the empty jar and thrust it toward Debbie. "So the bottle just jumped out of the cabinet and spilled on its own?" Debbie shook her head. "O-O-Of course not. I-I-I was trying to get rid of
it." "You were trying to get rid of it?" "To help you. You know how you get." "How I get?" Pete demanded. Then he grabbed Debbie by her arms, causing her
to whimper in fright. "I get the way I get because of you, Debbie! You
and your stupid…grating…VOICE!!!" Pete gave a roar of pain as his neck muscles tensed and then thickened and
his veins began to bulge out. He jerked his head back and forth, whipping it
around violently, as Debbie watched in terror. He screamed a final time then
looked at Debbie with rage in his eyes, his transformation now complete. Pete
shook Debbie hard. "You're the reason I started the formulas in the first place: to be the man
you wanted!" Pete growled. "And you pay me back how? By whoring around with
other guys and taunting me!" "No! I don't!" Debbie insisted through her frightened sobs. "I don't even
look!" Pete let her go and then immediately backhanded her across the face, knocking
her to the floor. She touched her face in shock but still stood back up to face
him. Pete closed in. "Is that something your shrink taught you, Debbie? Huh? Huh? To share? To
communicate? To piss me off?!!" He hit her again. When she hit the floor this time, she stayed down and
merely cowered at his feet. "Well, guess what?" Pete told her. "Even he's not going to listen to
your pathetic ramblings anymore. I'm all you've got, Debbie. Do you hear me?
I'm all you've got!!!" A short time later, Buffy and Giles and Willow and Faith were discussing the
school counselor's unfortunate death. "The attack on Mr. Platt was especially brutal," Giles said. "A 'slice and
dice' I believe the coroner called it. Thankfully, though, he did confirm that
Platt was killed shortly before Buffy found him." "Which means that he was killed during the day," Faith supplied. "Yes!" Willow cried out, raising her fist in elation. When she realized the
others were giving her horrified looks, she lowered her hand. "Sorry. I got…I've
just been…it's horrible, horrible." "It's okay, Will," Buffy assured her. "We're all glad Oz is off the hook." "Indeed," Giles said before checking his watch. "Shouldn't he be here by now?
The sun will set at 5:30." Meanwhile, Oz was standing on the quad waiting, holding a folder of notes in
his hands. He looked around one last time then started to head for the library.
Debbie caught him just as he was about to leave. "Sorry, I'm late," she said, smiling. "Did you bring the notes?" Despite her attempts to hide it, Oz noticed her black eye. "Yeah…um…you
okay?" He held out the folder. Debbie laughed and took the notes. "What? Oh, yeah…I'm such a klutz. I, um,
I…" "Fell down?" Oz prompted. "And hit your…eye?" From around the corner, Pete watched the exchange intently. Debbie laughed again. "Door knob," she lamely supplied. "Um…thanks." As Debbie turned to go, Oz stopped her with his hand. "Hey, um, if you wanna
talk…" Debbie instantly shook her head and gave him a fake smile. "Thanks again for
the notes." At that, she hurried away. "Yeah…" Oz said worriedly. Then he looked up at the sky and quickly headed for the library. From his
hiding place, Pete turned around and stalked off. Back in the library, Giles was continuing the discussion about the creature
that attacked Mr. Platt. "Our task now," he said, "is to determine what sort of killer we are dealing
with. Clearly, we're looking for a depraved, sadistic animal." "Present," Oz chimed in as he came in. Willow smiled broadly, jumped to her feet, and ran to him, pushing Giles
aside in her eagerness to reach him. "Hey, I may be a cold-blooded jelly donut," he deadpanned, "but my timing is
impeccable." "But you aren't!" Willow told him excitedly. "I-I-It's a kill-in-the-day
monster! A hundred percent for sure." Oz smiled in relief. "Okay." "Uh, I wish we had time to celebrate properly," Giles interjected. "However,
we have two victims: Jeff Orkin and now Platt. Perhaps there is something they
had in common." "Missing internal organs?" Faith suggested. "Besides that," Giles replied. "Debbie," Oz announced. When the others looked at him expectantly, he said,
"Well, victim number one, Jeff. He was in jazz band with us. They used to horse
around." "And Debbie knew Platt, too," Buffy added. "She was seeing him and was way
vocal about not having love for the guy." "Now add this and stir," Oz said. "I just saw Debbie a minute ago sporting a
nasty black eye." "Okay, so pretend Debbie wanted Platt dead," Willow offered. "Maybe he fought
back." Buffy shook her head. "No, I don't think so. I'm thinking Pete may be
the one doling out the punishment." "We should find them both immediately," Giles ordered. "Well, Debbie was in the quad a few minutes ago," Oz said. "All right then," Giles said, "we'll split up. Um, Faith, you and I will team
up. Willow, stick with Buffy." Willow gave her boyfriend a saddened look and then followed the others out. "And I'll…go lock myself in the cage," Oz said. Moments later, Buffy and Willow found Debbie in the girls' locker room. She
was looking in the mirror, applying makeup, in an attempt to hide her black eye. "It's tricky, covering a fresh shiner like that," Buffy said as she walked
over. "You know what works?" "What?" Debbie said, putting away her makeup. "Don't get hit," Buffy said. She pinned Debbie with a stare. "What's going
on, Debbie? I'll bet the farm you know." Debbie shook her head. "You're wrong. I don't know anything." "I don't have time to play 'I have a secret'," Buffy told her sternly.
"People are dying here!" Debbie looked at Buffy and then at Willow. "It…it's not his fault. I mean,
he's not himself when he gets like this." "You mean Pete," Buffy prompted. "I-I-It's me. I make him crazy. He-he just does what he does because he loves
me too much." "Pete's not like other guys, is he, Debbie?" Buffy asked knowingly. When she realized how much Buffy and Willow seemed to know, Debbie got
frightened. She grabbed her purse and started to leave. "I-I-I've gotta go." Buffy grabbed her and stopped her. "You have to talk to us. We can't help you
until you do." "I didn't ask for your help!" Debbie shot back. "Well, when are you going to?" Willow said. "I mean, if Pete kills you, it'll
pretty much be too late." "Debbie, we're running out of time," Buffy said. "Where can we find him?" "I-I-I don't know," she answered. "You're lying," Buffy said. Debbie tried to take a brave stance. "What if I am? What are you gonna do
about it?" "Wrong question," Willow said as Buffy took Debbie by the arm and pushed her
up against the sink in front of the mirror. "Look at yourself," Buffy said. "Why are you protecting him? Anybody who
really loved you couldn't do this to you." Debbie took a few steps away then turned around to face them. "Would they
take him some place?" "Probably," Buffy said. Debbie began to cry. "I could never do that to him. I'm his everything!" "Great," Buffy said disgustedly. "So what…you two live out your Grimm fairy
tale? Two people are dead! Who's gonna be next?" Debbie just shook her head and said nothing. Back in the library, Oz was alone in the cage, pacing, waiting to change.
Just then, the door opened, and Pete walked in. He went right up to the cage. "Since when do you touch my girl?" Pete said furiously as he grabbed the
cage. "Hey, Pete," Oz said. "This is kind of a bad time." "Well, I guess you didn't think about that when you put the moves on Debbie!"
he accused, rattling the cage door. Oz glanced briefly at the window before turning back to Pete. "We talked,
yeah, but it was move-free." Pete rattled the cage even harder. "About this cage?" Oz warned. "When that sun sets…" "You won't be alive to see it!" Pete promised before stepping back, rage
pouring from him. "I'm serious," Oz said. "Something's gonna happen that you…probably won't
believe." Pete screamed and whipped his head around as he transformed into his violent
alter ego. When the change was complete, he looked at Oz with murder in his
eyes. "Or…you might," Oz said simply as he took a step back. Pete lunged at the cage and seized the door. He yanked at it a few times, and
it suddenly broke free. He hurled it aside and roared at Oz. Then he ran into
the cage, grabbed Oz, and threw him out the door and onto the floor. Pete picked Oz up and raised him over his head then slammed him down onto the
wooden table. It smashed under the strain of the impact. Pete immediately yanked
Oz back up and punched him hard in the face. Then he grabbed him by the
shoulders and shook him hard. "Did you kiss that whore?" Pete snarled. "Huh? Did she like it?" He lifted Oz again and flung him across the room onto the stairs. When Pete
came at him again, Oz raised his leg and kicked him away, sending Pete sliding
across the floor. Oz turned and looked at the window again, this time seeing
that the sun had set. He looked over at Pete, who was just now getting to his
feet. "Time's up," Oz told him. "Rules change." Oz morphed into his werewolf form and growled, baring his teeth at Pete. He
leaped onto Pete, and they started to wrestle on the floor. When the fight
caused them to crash into the stairs, Oz was finally able to snap his jaws
around Pete's arm. He bit down hard, making Pete scream out in agony. In the meantime, Buffy and Willow were leading the traumatized Debbie along
the hallway. When they heard Pete's scream, they all took off for the library.
Giles and Faith soon joined them from another corridor. "What was that?" Giles asked as they dashed away. Seconds later, Buffy and the others burst through the library doors. In a
flash, they took in the broken cage and then the two fighting on the stairs. Oz
still had his jaws clamped on Pete's arm, but Pete was pummeling Oz with
repeated gut punches. "Get the dart gun!" Giles yelled. Buffy ran behind the counter and grabbed the tranquilizer gun. "Got it!" she
cried out before cocking it and taking aim at Pete. Just as Buffy pulled the trigger, Debbie shoved Buffy aside. "Pete, watch
out!" The dart sailed past Pete and Oz and embedded in the distant wall. Oblivious to the whole affair, Pete flipped Oz and slammed him on the floor,
making Oz finally release Pete's arm. Now free, Pete dashed from the room via
the stacks. Oz, on the other hand, growled and blew right past Buffy and the
others and out of the library. Buffy tossed the rifle to Faith. "You get the wolf!" "Got it!" Faith said before running out of the library with Willow close
behind. "Wait!" Giles cried out after Faith. "You'll need to reload!" He grabbed a
handful of darts from behind the counter and ran after Faith and Willow. When Buffy went in the opposite direction after Pete, Debbie looked confused
about what to do. She looked at the stacks then turned and ran out the main
entrance. At an intersection of hallways, Pete came running through a set of doors,
clutching at his wounded arm. He glanced back, knowing that someone was pursuing
him. He looked frantically for an escape route and found it in a window high
above a bank of lockers. He leaped on top of the lockers and crawled through the
small window, leaving streaks of blood on the wall. Seconds later, Buffy skidded into the intersection. She looked in all
directions but didn't see Pete anywhere. Elsewhere in the building, werewolf Oz came bounding around a corner and ran
down the hall. Faith and Willow and Giles were right behind him in hot pursuit. Meanwhile, in the supply room, Debbie was sitting on the floor, leaning
against a crate, waiting for Pete to show up. When he came in, she jumped up and
ran to him. "Pete! You're all right! God, you're all right!" She threw her arms around him and hugged him tightly, but he didn't hug her
back. "She almost shot you," Debbie told him. "Did you see? I stopped her." She pulled out of the hug and looked at Pete. "You have to leave, get out of Sunnydale," she told him. "She knows." "And how did she know, Debbie?" Pete said menacingly. "Did you run your big
mouth?" Frightened, Debbie took a step back. "No! She just knew. It seemed like she
just knew." "So you filled in the blanks!" he accused before shoving her to the floor. "No!" Debbie instantly denied. "No!" Pete roared and lunged at Debbie. She screamed in terror. In a nearby hallway, Buffy heard Debbie's scream. She turned and ran in that
direction. In the student lounge, Oz came leaping down the stairs, with Faith right
behind him. When Oz stopped by the vending machine, Faith started to rush him,
tranq gun in hand. "Faith! Wait!" Giles shouted, stopping the slayer in her tracks. "What?!" she demanded impatiently. "The gun has to be reloaded," Giles said, panting breathlessly, as he and
Willow came over. "Do it," Faith said, tossing the gun to Giles. When Faith turned back around, Oz jumped her, knocking her to the floor.
Willow screamed. Buffy found her way to the supply room. She listened intently at the door
then forced it open. Inside it was dimly-lit and quiet. She slipped in
cautiously. She looked around and soon found Debbie on the floor in the back. She rushed
over to check her out. Debbie's neck had bruises and claw marks on it as if
she'd been violently strangled, and Buffy couldn't feel a pulse. "Oh, God…" Buffy said, pulling her hand away. Just then, Pete grabbed Buffy from behind and threw her across the room and
into the stack of crates there. She hit them hard and then rolled onto the
floor. Pete smiled cruelly as he closed in on the dazed slayer. In the lounge, Faith was on the floor with Oz on top of her, trying
desperately to keep him from biting her. Nearby, Giles was struggling to get the
dart gun reloaded and ready. "Where's the gun?!" Faith screamed. "Where's the gun?!!!" Willow ran over and grabbed Oz's tail. "Get off her!" Willow shouted as she
tugged him away from Faith. Then she took off down the hall with Oz chasing
right after her. "Get the gun!" Willow cried out as she ran. "Hurry!" As Faith scrambled to her feet, Giles finally finished loading the gun. He
took aim and shot, hitting Oz right in his rear-end. The werewolf yelped,
whimpered for a moment, then fell unconscious. Faith turned to Giles. "You and Willow get wolf-boy back to his cage. I've
got to go help Buffy." Giles nodded, and Faith took off. In the supply room, Buffy was still on the floor by the crates, being kicked
mercilessly by Pete. "You're all…" Kick. "…the same!" Kick. "All…" Kick. "…the…" Kick. "…same!"
Kick. Kick. Kick. When Pete stopped, Buffy groaned and tried to crawl away. Pete picked her up
and flung her across the room, where she slammed into the metal rack near
Debbie's body, sending bottles and jars crashing to the floor. Before Buffy could recover, Pete was on her, wrapping his clawed hands
tightly around her neck. Buffy pulled uselessly at his fingers as he began to
squeeze the life from her. She kicked and pushed and flailed about, but could
not shake him away. She reached blindly around herself until her hand found the
top of a broken bottle. Just as she was about to lose consciousness, she gripped
the glass in her fist and then swung the jagged end directly into Pete's neck. Pete's eyes went wide, and he gave a wet gurgle as he released Buffy's neck
to reach for his own. As Pete's blood began streaming down her arm, Buffy gasped
and let go of the bottle. She tried to scoot back, but Pete had her legs pinned.
She watched in horror as he reverted to his human self, stared at her in shock
and betrayal as he clutched at his cut throat, then collapsed on top of her. "Oh God, Oh God, Oh God…" Buffy repeated maniacally as she pushed Pete off
her body, flipping him onto his back in the process. She scrambled backwards
into the corner past Debbie's body. Then she turned away and faced the corner,
unable to bear the sight of Pete's bloody form. She pulled her knees against her
chest and wrapped her arms tightly around her legs as if she were trying to pull
herself into an impenetrable ball. She began to cry and rock in place. Moments later, Faith rushed in. She saw Pete's body first, a large pool of
blood surrounding him amidst the broken bottles and jars. "Oh God…" Faith whispered before a whimper from the corner drew her
attention. "Buffy!" Faith ran over to the distraught slayer and knelt beside her. She called her
name again, but Buffy didn't acknowledge Faith's presence. Faith reached out and
stopped Buffy's rocking and slowly made the crying slayer uncurl herself. Tears were rolling down Buffy's blood-spattered face. She wouldn't meet
Faith's eyes. She just shook her head over and over, repeating, "I didn't mean
to…I didn't mean to…" Faith gently turned Buffy's face toward hers so that she could look at the
blonde. When Buffy finally met Faith's concerned gaze, she stopped her rant, her
body trembling as she grabbed Faith's arms. "I killed him," Buffy confessed in a quiet and tortured voice. "I…" She
didn't finish her statement. Instead, she fell sobbing against Faith's chest. Not knowing what else to do, Faith wrapped her arms around Buffy and pulled
her close. "It'll be okay," Faith whispered, her own eyes filling with tears.
"I've got you." Moments later, Giles arrived on the scene. He came running up just as Faith
was leading the traumatized Buffy out of the supply room. "Good God!" he exclaimed when he saw the two slayers covered in blood. With
Faith's arm wrapped around her, Buffy clung to Faith's body; she didn't even
seem to register that Giles was there. "Are you girls all right?" he asked
frantically. Faith ignored the question and said, "She had to do it, Giles." His eyes widened in realization, and he shot a glance at the supply room.
Faith grabbed his arm, bringing his attention back to her. She looked her
watcher right in the eyes. "She had to do it," Faith repeated, more slowly this time. "So you call the
Council, you do whatever you gotta do, but you make this go away." The two stared at each other for a long moment before Giles finally nodded in
acquiescence. Faith nodded back and said, "I'm taking Buffy home." As Giles watched Faith lead Buffy away, his shoulders drooped, and he let out
a defeated sigh. "Heaven help us," he whispered. After leaving the high school, Faith walked Buffy home, intentionally keeping
them in shadow so that their bloody clothes would be hidden from curious eyes. Buffy no longer clung to Faith; instead, she walked numbly and silently
beside her—her eyes red but vacant. It was as if she had simply turned herself
off. Faith kept her arm protectively around Buffy as they walked, using it to
guide her when necessary, but mostly to provide what she hoped was a comforting
touch. She could sense the pain radiating from Buffy, but she knew it must be
only a fraction of what was really on the inside. When they got to the Summers home on Revello Drive, Faith saw Joyce's SUV
parked in the drive. She glanced at the front windows of the house, but they
were dark. Maybe she went to bed early, Faith hoped. Faith carefully led Buffy up the walk and to the front door. When they got
close, the motion sensor set off the front porch light. Faith froze and
listened, but she heard no activity from within the house. Faith quietly tried
the door but found it locked. She cursed under her breath, then reluctantly
turned to Buffy. "Buffy?" she asked softly to get the blonde's attention. "We're here, but the
door's locked. Do you have your house key?" Buffy looked confused for a moment. She glanced at the front door and blinked
several times as if trying to place it. Then she reached into her pants pocket
and fished out her key ring. When she raised the key to give it to Faith, she saw the blood on her hand.
She started shaking and dropped the key. She lifted her other hand and saw the
blood on it as well. "No…" Buffy said, her eyes fixed on the blood. She started to back away, as
if she could somehow separate herself from her hands, what they represented,
what they caused her to remember. Faith quickly stopped her retreat with a tug on her arms. Then she put a hand
on each side of Buffy's face, gently encouraging her to take her eyes off her
bloody hands and to lift them to look at Faith. When she finally did, Faith
could see new tears streaming down Buffy's cheeks. "Everything is gonna be okay," Faith promised her. She held Buffy's gaze
until the blonde finally gave her a small nod. Faith smiled reassuringly at her then pulled her hands away so that she could
retrieve the key that Buffy had dropped. Key in hand, Faith quietly opened the
front door and led Buffy inside. Very carefully, Faith helped Buffy upstairs and into the bathroom without
alerting Joyce, who could be heard watching television in her bedroom. Once the two slayers were in the stark white light of the bathroom, the
horror of the night's events could be seen more vividly, particularly on Buffy.
Her shirt and pants were so soaked with blood that they were still wet and
sticky. The smears and spatters on Buffy's face and arms were mostly dried but
no less disturbing. Faith made eye contact with Buffy and said, "I'm gonna go get you some clean
clothes. You get out of those and get in the shower, okay?" Once she had gotten
a nod out of Buffy, Faith left the room. As soon as Faith had shut the bathroom door and turned around to cross the
hallway, Joyce came out of her bedroom. Faith gave a startled jump but then
tried to act nonchalant. "Hey, Mrs. Summers," she said in greeting. Joyce's eyes instantly went to the blood covering Faith's shirt. "Oh my God!
Where's Buffy?" "Don't worry, she's fine. She's in the bathroom cleaning up," Faith said. She
pointed at her shirt and added, "We kinda had a messy night with the slayage.
Damn demons…you think they'd have the decency to bleed elsewhere, ya know?" She
gave a light chuckle. "Buffy's okay, right? You're both okay?" Joyce pressed. "Oh yeah. Sure. Just the usual bumps and bruises. Same ole, same ole. Be gone
by tomorrow probably," Faith assured her. Joyce visibly relaxed, letting out a sigh of relief. "Thank goodness!" Joyce
reached out and touched Faith's arm. "I am so glad you're here, Faith.
I'm so glad that Buffy doesn't have to face all this alone. I may never get used
to it, but I feel better knowing that you're here." "Sure. No problem," Faith said, fidgeting uncomfortably at Joyce's words. She
quickly changed the subject. "I'm gonna clean up and stay here…i-i-if that's
okay?" "Of course," Joyce said. "You're welcome any time. There are plenty of towels
in the downstairs bath, food in the fridge…just make yourself at home." "Thanks." "Well, get some rest, and I'll see you girls in the morning," Joyce said,
stepping back into her bedroom. "Okay. 'Night!" Once Joyce had shut her bedroom door, Faith let out a long breath. Then she
headed for Buffy's room. Moments later, Faith came out of Buffy's bedroom with a stack of clothes in
one arm. She returned to the bathroom door and gave a soft knock. When she
didn't get an answer, Faith slipped inside. She found Buffy still in her bloody clothes, just standing in the middle of
the bathroom, hugging herself and crying. Faith put the clothes down on the
hamper top and walked over to Buffy. "What's the matter?" she asked, gently touching the slayer's arm. "Why aren't
you in the shower yet?" Buffy looked at Faith and said in a choked voice, "It hurts." Faith's eyes widened in alarm, and she grasped both of Buffy's arms. "You're
hurt?" she said in a panicked voice. "Where are you hurt? Shit! I
should've taken you to the hospital." Then she forced herself to slow down and
to calmly ask, "Where does it hurt?" Buffy let out a small sob and then laid her hand over her heart. Faith
relaxed somewhat, realizing that Buffy wasn't referring to a physical injury. "I…don't understand…why it hurts so much," Buffy said through her sobs. "Even
when I killed Angel…it didn't…and I loved him so much…and Pete…I barely…Oh God…"
Buffy hugged herself tightly again, doubling over in pain as she cried. Faith pulled Buffy into her arms and held her and just let her cry, not
knowing what else to do. "It's not your fault," she whispered as she stroked
Buffy's back. "Not your fault." A few minutes later, Faith came out of the bathroom, having finally gotten
Buffy out of her clothes and into the shower. She was carrying Buffy's bloody
garments in one arm. She paused in the hallway and took a moment to just
breathe. "Jesus," Faith muttered, running her free hand through her hair. Although she was trying to calm herself, it wasn't working. Her mind kept
coming back to Pete. You son of a bitch, she thought. You're lucky
you're already dead. 'Cause I swear to God if you weren't, I'd kill you
myself. Faith forced herself to let out another long exhale. Then she headed
downstairs to use the other shower. A short time later, Buffy entered her bedroom. She was freshly showered and
dressed in the pajamas Faith had brought her. Although she still looked haggard,
she looked much better than she had before. She found a damp-haired Faith just
then pulling a large sleep shirt over her head and body. When Faith heard the door, she turned and faced Buffy. "Okay if I borrow
this?" she asked, pinching a piece of the shirt and holding it up. Buffy didn't say anything, but she did nod her permission. "Cool. Thanks." After that, the two fell into an awkward silence. Except for fidgeting
slightly in place, neither one moved or met the other's gaze. After a long
moment, Faith finally walked over and spoke. "I, um, I put our clothes in the wash downstairs, and, um…I put your key over
there, on your dresser," Faith said, pointing in that direction. Once again, Buffy merely nodded. "I, um, I saw your mom in the hall," Faith went on. When Buffy's eyes widened
in alarm, Faith continued quickly. "I didn't tell her what happened. I just said
that we'd had a messy run-in with a demon. Didn't want her freakin' over the
blood, ya know?" Buffy let out a relieved breath and gave Faith a small smile. "Good. Thanks." After another long silence, Faith cocked her thumb over her shoulder and
began backing toward the door. "Well, your mom said I could stay here tonight,
so I'm just gonna go downstairs, watch a little TV, and crash on the couch." Buffy frowned but said, "Okay." When Faith turned around and put her hand on
the door knob, Buffy called out her name to stop her. When Faith was facing her
once again, Buffy gave her a longer, deeper smile. "Thank you," she said simply. Faith returned the smile. "Sure. No problem." Faith turned back to the door
and started to pull it open. "Faith!" Buffy called out again, a little more urgently this time, even
reaching out toward her with her hand. When Faith once again turned around and
looked at her expectantly, Buffy just shook her head and said, "Never mind." Faith left the doorway and walked back to Buffy, who was busy staring at her
hands. "What is it?" she asked her. Buffy didn't answer at first. She shifted on her feet and wrung her hands,
not daring to meet Faith's gaze. Finally, she looked up and said in a softly
pleading voice, "Will you…will you stay with me tonight?" The three seconds it took Faith to answer seemed like an eternity, but then
Buffy saw Faith smile and heard her say, "Yeah, sure." Buffy let out the breath she had been holding, practically laughing in
relief. "Thank you," she said. "I'll get the light," Faith said. Buffy nodded and headed for her bed. Faith returned to the door, shut it, and
then turned off the overhead light. Faith paused a moment to let her eyes adjust
to the moonlit room; then she walked over to the bed and got in. "You better not steal the covers," Faith joked as she settled in, earning a
laugh from Buffy. "Don't worry, I think you're safe," Buffy replied. After a lengthy pause, she
said, "Well…good-night." "'Night." At that, the two slayers turned on their sides away from one another and
tried to go to sleep. It was after about ten minutes of tense, shallow, wide-awake breathing by
both parties that Faith detected a change on Buffy's side of the bed. She felt a
slight tremor as Buffy tried her best to cry silently. An involuntary sob soon
gave the stricken slayer away. Faith turned over and reached out to touch
Buffy's back. "Hey," she said softly, "it'll be okay." Buffy instantly rolled over and fell crying against Faith's chest. Faith gave
an oomph of surprise and had a momentary flash of panic in her eyes, but
then she just wrapped her arms around Buffy and pulled her even closer, gently
stroking her hair and whispering reassurances to her. It wasn't long before
emotional exhaustion took its toll and Buffy fell asleep, with Faith following
shortly after. The next morning, Buffy was the first to awaken. She blinked her eyes
groggily and leaned up a bit. When she was finally able to focus, she
immediately realized she was lying in Faith's arms. Her eyes grew wide, but she
managed to stifle an impending gasp of shock. She looked around herself, as if
trying to figure out how to escape without waking Faith, but it didn't seem
possible with the dark slayer's arm firmly around her. Calm down, calm down, she told herself. Just lie back down a-a-and
pretend to be asleep. Let Faith be the one to wake up first and deal with
the awkward, yet oddly comforting, slayer snuggle. Buffy's eyes grew wide
again. Unless she already woke up first and is waiting on me! "Oh God…" Buffy said out loud, completely unintentionally. She slammed her
mouth shut, but it was too late. Faith's eyes began to flutter open. "Whaaaat?" Faith said sleepily. Then a split-second later she abruptly sat
up, bringing Buffy with her. "What is it?" she asked, grasping Buffy's arms. "I-I-I…ummm…I was just…because…" Buffy rambled nervously, blushing a deep
red. As Faith waited expectantly with true concern in her eyes, Buffy suddenly
blurted out, "I drooled on you!" When Faith looked at her like she was crazy, Buffy meekly pointed at her
shoulder, which was indeed rather damp. Faith glanced down and took in the
sight. After several long seconds of inspection, Faith laughed. She released
Buffy's arms, and the two of them laughed some more, quite heartily. "I'm really sorry," Buffy squeaked out between laughs. Faith just shrugged and said, "Hey, it's your shirt." When their laughter tapered off, though, a somber mood descended, and the two
became very quiet. They avoided each other's eyes but didn't move away. "Guess we should get up," Faith finally said, raking her hand through her
mussed hair. "Yeah, I guess so," Buffy replied. When Faith turned to go, Buffy reached out and took her hand, stopping her.
When Faith turned back around, Buffy looked deeply into her eyes and pulled
Faith's hand into both of hers. "Thank you," she said sincerely. "For staying with me," she clarified. "Don't worry about it," Faith answered just as sincerely. Then she smirked
and added, "Drooler!" Buffy smirked back and turned her eyes to Faith's hair, which she then poked.
"Bed head!" "Slobber bucket!" Faith countered, making a wipe at Buffy's chin. "Bride of Frankenstein!" Buffy shot back with a big grin. Unable to devise a snappy comeback fast enough, Faith grumbled and shook her
head but was still smiling. "Oh, you're gonna pay for that one, missy!" she told
her. "Is that soooooo…Oh!" Buffy found herself suddenly flipped onto her back with Faith over her but
not on top of her. Faith wasn't holding her down or impeding her movements in
any way, so Buffy did not feel threatened or reminded of the previous night's
events. In fact, she felt a completely different kind of feeling, one that got
her heart to racing. Breathing heavily, she looked up into Faith's dark eyes and
simply got lost in them. Faith returned her stare, breathing quite heavily
herself. "I thought you were going to make me pay," Buffy whispered. "I plan to," Faith whispered back. Both of them spoke without conviction, their game of mutual teasing
completely forgotten in the heat of the moment, but neither made a move…until a
knock at the door startled them into a quick separation. "You girls up yet?" came the voice of Buffy's mother through the door. Buffy sat up in bed and called back, "Yeah, Mom, we're up." "I've got breakfast," Joyce continued. "If you hurry, I can drop you off at
school." "Be down in a bit," Buffy assured her. "Okay," Joyce said before heading downstairs. Faith and Buffy stole darting glances at each other for a full minute before
Faith saw a shadow of sadness pass over Buffy's face. "School," Buffy said in a small, vulnerable voice. She dropped her gaze to
her hands. Faith watched her for a moment, then announced dramatically, "Forget school.
You're staying home today." Buffy gave a quick smile to show she appreciated the thought, but then she
said, "I really shouldn't miss. I'm on thin ice with Snyder as it is." "Screw Snyder!" Faith said. "You're in no condition to go back there today.
You're staying home, and that's final." Buffy grinned for real this time. "A-A-And since when are you the boss of
me?" she said sarcastically, raising an eyebrow in Faith's direction. "Since I got to Sunnydale," Faith explained with mock seriousness. "Thought
you'd figured that out by now." Then she gave Buffy a full-dimpled smile and a
sparkling wink. Buffy's heart gave a goofy giggle and then melted. She nearly succumbed to
dreamy staring before shaking it off and saying, "Okay on no-school, but
you're explaining it to Mom." Faith gave an unconcerned wave of her hand. "Hey, no prob. Me and Joyce, we
go waaaay back. Couple of weeks at least." A short time later, the two t-shirt-and-sweats-clad teenagers were finishing
up breakfast with Mrs. Summers. Joyce took her plate and coffee cup to the sink
then came back to Buffy. She ran her hand through her daughter's hair and looked
at her worriedly. "Are you sure you're okay, honey?" she asked. "Maybe I should take you
to the doctor." "I'll be fine, Mom, I promise," Buffy said. "I just need a day of rest." "Don't worry, Mrs. Summers," Faith added. "I'll keep an eye on her for ya." Joyce smiled and said, "If you need anything, call me." "I will," Buffy assured her. At that, Joyce grabbed her purse and headed for the door. Buffy and Faith sat
silently, waiting until they heard Joyce's SUV pull away. Then they gave a sigh
of relief. After washing the few breakfast dishes, Buffy and Faith wandered into the
living room. "So…what now?" Faith asked. "Watch some TV?" "No," Buffy said in a tired voice. "I think I'll just go back to bed." "Okay. I'll just hang out down here then." "You got me out of school, Faith. That's enough," Buffy told her. "You don't
have to baby-sit me." Faith shrugged. "It's not like I got anything better to do." Then she grinned
and put her index finger to her chin as if thinking. "Wait, I do have that
audience with the Pope." She gave a dismissive wave. "Ah, JP'll understand." Buffy ignored the lame joke and gave Faith a hopeful glance. "You know what
you could do?" She paused briefly then said, "Check in with Giles…see what's
going on?" "Oh, okay. I can do that," Faith said brightly. "I'll just pop over, check in
with Jeeves, and be right back." Then she sobered and touched Buffy's arm. "You
sure you'll be okay?" "Yes, Mom," Buffy teased before moving toward the stairs. "There's an
extra set of keys by the door. Just take those and then let yourself back in." "Got it," Faith said. "Be back soon." A short time later, Willow and Oz and Xander and Cordelia were talking with
Giles in the library. "It's all over school, what happened with Debbie and Pete," Willow said.
"Except for the Pete-was-a-monster part." "Yeah," Oz agreed. "A freshman told me that Pete had eight iced café mochas
and just lost it. He and Debbie got into it and just killed each other." "That's better than the estrogen theory," Willow countered. "I heard he took
all of his mother's birth control pills." "He didn't?" Cordelia said, confused. She turned to Xander. "Pete was a
monster?" When Xander nodded, she shook her head and said, "Where have I been?" "In your special place, Cor," Xander said, "which is why I adore you." "So…what's the true story?" Cordelia asked. "What happened?" "Well, we got a hold of Pete's lab books and stuff," Willow said, "and Mr.
Science was doing a Jekyll-and-Hyde deal. He was afraid Debbie was gonna leave
him, so he mixed this potion to become super macho." "The only problem was," Giles interjected, "after a while, he didn't need his
concoction to become the monster…he did it quite well on his own. He murdered
Debbie and then tried to do the same to Buffy." "So, it was like a real killing? He wasn't under the influence of
anything?" Cordelia asked. "Only himself," Willow said ruefully. Cordelia frowned in thought. "So…Buffy killed a human." "Um, well, yes, I-I-I'm afraid she did," Giles answered uneasily. "No, no, no, she didn't," Xander said in firm denial. "She killed a
monster that just happened to look human at the time. Isn't that right,
Faith?" he added as an aside when he caught a glimpse of the dark slayer
entering the library. As soon as the significance of Faith's arrival clicked in
his brain, however, both he and Willow rushed right over. "Faith!" cried Xander. "How's Buffy?" "Is she okay?" Willow asked worriedly. "Was she hurt?" Xander pressed. "I-I-Is she freaking out?" Willow asked. She turned to Xander. "She's
probably freaking out. We should—" A shrill whistle stopped the anxious rant, and they turned to Faith, who was
making a "T" gesture with her hands. "Time out," Faith said. "Everybody just chill, okay?" Willow and Xander nodded meekly and returned to their seats. "How is she?" Giles asked in a calm but serious voice. "She's fine," Faith said. "Physically, anyway. Other than some nasty bruises,
she wasn't seriously hurt." "And…emotionally?" Giles prodded. "She was pretty messed up last night," Faith admitted, "but she seemed a lot
better this morning. I talked her into staying home from school today. I didn't
think she needed to be over here gettin' all reminded of everything." "Good idea," Willow agreed. "What about the cops?" Faith asked Giles. "As far as they're concerned, Pete and Debbie killed one another," Giles
answered. "Case closed." "Good, good," Faith said, relieved. "Buffy can just take her time, get back
on her feet, and everything'll be fine." "I'm afraid it's not that simple," Giles announced. "Buffy is in more danger
now than ever before." "What?!" Xander exclaimed. "W-W-What do you mean?" Willow asked, fear in her voice. "'Slayers aren't supposed to kill humans'," Giles replied. "It's a mantra we
watchers teach our slayers, emphasizing it over and over—not just because it's
morally wrong to kill another human being, but also because it's literally
dangerous to the slayer herself." "What are you talking about?" Faith demanded. "The-the power that a slayer possesses…i-i-it's quite dangerous, you see, in
the wrong hands," Giles explained. "Imagine if a sociopath had the powers of a
slayer…the damage that one girl could do i-i-if she didn't value human life." "But Buffy is not a sociopath," Oz pointed out. "Yes, I know," Giles said, "but it doesn't matter. The deed is done,
a-a-and the consequences…well, they've already begun, I fear." "What…Consequences?" Faith asked slowly and emphatically. Giles let out a deep sigh and went on. "Slayers in the past who have killed
humans—and thankfully there have been but a few—they've always had the same
ultimate reaction…they lost their minds." "Are you saying Buffy's gonna go bonkers?" Cordelia asked. When Giles began to give a rueful nod, Willow became very distressed. "No…no!
Not Buffy! She's strong, she'll get through this!" Tears began streaming down
Willow's face, and Oz put his arm around her to comfort her. "What exactly do you mean when you say 'they lost their minds'?" Xander
asked. "Of the ones we have records for, the majority became so despondent, so lost
in their own despair, that they…well, they took their own lives," Giles said. "Oh God…" Xander said. "And the minority?" Faith asked. "They became unstable, violently insane, resulting in their having to be
locked away," Giles answered. "That was if the Council had been able to
take them alive, which didn't happen in most cases." He gave an unhappy sigh.
"Even those that were captured didn't last long. They always managed to either
kill themselves or get themselves killed." "You're telling me that all of these slayers died?" Faith said in a
harsh tone. "I'm afraid so," Giles replied. "Most within weeks of making the kill." "None of them survived?" Faith pressed. "Well, there was one," Giles said. "In the fourteenth century, if I recall.
She managed to pull out of her depression and return to her duties.
Unfortunately, shortly thereafter, she was killed, by a nest of vampires she was
trying to wipe out." "And you suspect that she may have let herself be killed too," Oz said to
Giles. "The Chronicles don't say that, but, um…it's possible," he admitted. "A-A-And this is happening because of her slayer powers?!" Xander said
angrily. "Because of some stupid, anti-abuse, backlash clause?!!" "Xander's right," Faith said in a fury. "This should not be happening!
She shouldn't be punished for doing her fucking job!! That bastard was trying to
kill her!!" "What do we do?" Willow pleaded. "Giles, what do we do?" "Well, the first order of business is that Buffy is to be told none of
this," he said sternly. "Her awareness of the, um, 'backlash clause,' for
lack of a better term, could very well become a self-fulfilling prophecy. If she
learns what has happened to the other slayers in the past, she could become
convinced that her fate is sealed. And if she reaches that point…" "…she's lost," Cordelia finished sadly. "Yes," Giles confirmed. After a brief pause, he went on. "Secondly, Buffy is
to be suspended from her slayer duties, effective immed—" "What?!!" Faith yelled. "It's only temporary," Giles insisted. "Until she recovers." "You mean until you and your Council bigwigs figure she's gone wacko so you
can lock her up!" Xander accused. "Look!" Giles shouted, quieting Xander and everyone else. "Buffy is in a very
fragile state. Exposing her to any kind of violence could-could trigger a
downward spiral that she'll never come back from! Is that what you
want?!" Xander didn't reply; he just looked away. No one else responded either, until
Faith spoke up. "Buffy won't see it that way," Faith said simply. "She'll see the suspension
as a punishment, as confirmation that she did something wrong. She already feels
bad enough as it is!" "I'll tell her that it's standard procedure," Giles suggested, "that it's
part of a, um, cleansing ritual that the slayer must go through before
she's ready to return to duty." Giles looked at Faith to gauge her opinion, and she nodded. Then he looked
over at Xander and Willow for the same reason. "Okay, that seems reasonable," Willow said. "I-I-I think she'd buy that."
Willow turned to Giles and asked, "What else can we do, Giles…to help Buffy?" "Keep an eye on her without letting her know we are doing so," Giles said.
"But most of all…love her, support her, let her know how much you care." Giles
smiled and added, "Buffy has something that no other slayer has ever had…she has
you." He let his eyes meet those of everyone else in the group as he
spoke. "She's not alone…she's not 'one girl in all the world'…not
anymore. And surely that will make a difference. It must!" All of the Scoobies nodded resolutely at that, but behind the determination
in their eyes lay a deep, dark fear that nothing they did would make any
difference at all. At the school library, Faith and Giles and the others sat brooding for a
moment, trying to get their heads around the situation that faced them. Finally,
Faith broke the silence. "I'm going back to check on Buffy," she announced. "We should go too," Xander said. "Buffy needs us." "Right," Willow agreed. "She needs her best friends." She turned to Faith.
"No offense." Though the comment truly stung, Faith shrugged it off. "None taken," she
said. "Xander, Willow, I think you should stay here," Giles said, stopping the duo
as they prepared to leave. "What?" Xander protested. "Why not?" Willow demanded. "You don't want to rush over there en masse and set off Buffy's suspicions,"
Giles explained. "She'll wonder why you're hovering over her so." "Because we care," Willow countered. "There doesn't have to be impending doom
in order for us to show we care." "True," Oz said, "but you skipping school…definitely a diversion from the
Great Order of Things." "You can go over there right after school, both of you," Giles promised. "In
the meantime, Faith can keep an eye on Buffy." After frowning unhappily for several long seconds, Xander and Willow finally
nodded their reluctant agreement. At that, Faith rushed from the library. When Faith got back to the Summers home, she let herself in using the spare
set of keys she had borrowed. She found Buffy up and seemingly watching TV in
the living room. In actuality, Buffy wasn't paying any attention to it at all.
When she saw Faith come in, she quickly wiped the tears from her face and
pretended that she hadn't just been crying – which did not go unnoticed by
Faith. "Why aren't you in bed?" Faith asked. "I tried to go to sleep," Buffy said, "but I just couldn't. Kept thinking
about what happened." Her face creased in pain for a moment, but she forced
herself to move past it. She looked up at Faith. "What did you find out?" "Everything's cool," Faith said, joining Buffy on the couch. "Giles fixed it
so that the cops think that Pete and Debbie killed each other. There won't be
any additional investigation." Buffy didn't seem relieved by that. "Good. I guess…" She took a deep breath.
"I guess it's okay that Debbie gets the blame for something I did…I mean, she's
not around to defend herself, so –" "It's not like that," Faith said, cutting her off. "There's no 'blame' here.
What you did was in self-defense, totally justified. You get that, right?" Buffy gave a small 'maybe' shrug in response. Faith went on, "Problem is, we can't trust Sunnydale's finest to get that
right. We can't afford to have the Slayer locked up or bogged down in the
so-called justice system. Okay?" "Okay," Buffy said, although her tone indicated she was less than convinced. "Giles wants you to take some time off, though," Faith said, "let me handle
patrol for a while." Buffy nodded gratefully at that suggestion, having no objections to that
plan. "Sounds good. Don't think I'm up for patrol, anyway." "Oh, one more thing," Faith said "Willow and Xander will be by this
afternoon. They're worried about you. Or about me watching over you. I think
they think I've got you tied down to the bed or something." Buffy's eyes went wide as her thoughts clearly went a different direction
than Faith's had. Faith noticed Buffy's reaction. "Not like that, ya perv," Faith chided, nudging Buffy playfully. Buffy blushed a bright red and gave an embarrassed laugh. Faith went on to explain. "Like nursing home abuse or something. I guess
'caregiver' isn't the first thing that comes to mind when they think of me.
Or…to my mind, actually." Buffy smiled reassuringly at Faith. "Well, I know better. You've been very
good with the giving of care. And I do appreciate it…very much." Buffy reached out and clasped Faith's arm, causing the slayer to become a
little embarrassed herself. "Well, don't get used to it," she warned. "I got a
rep to maintain, you know." Buffy put on an expression of mock seriousness. "Keep Faith's bad-ass
reputation intact. Check." Faith grinned then glanced about the room. "So…what do you want to do now?" "TV's a wasteland," Buffy said with a shrug. "You got a deck o' cards?" Faith asked. "Sure…in the drawer there," she answered, pointing at the table. "You know how to play Gin?" Faith asked, retrieving the deck. "Yeah. It's been a while, though." "We could go a penny a point," Faith suggested. "Just to make it
interesting," she added, raising her eyebrow at Buffy. Buffy smirked and said, "You're on." Meanwhile, back at the high school, Willow and Xander sat pouting in the back
of their science class. Neither seemed to be concentrating on the teacher's
lecture. "I can't believe Giles wouldn't let us go check on Buffy!" Xander
whispered angrily to Willow. "I know," Willow complained. "Buffy's teetering at the edge of a possible
Abyss of Despair, and he sends Faith to watch her!" Willow gave a
disgusted huff. "I mean, Faith's got about as much sensitivity as Cordy at the
homeless shelter last Christmas." "Exactly!" Xander agreed instantly. Then he corrected himself. "Wait." Willow lifted an eyebrow and gave Xander a think-about-it look. "Right. Good point," he had to admit. Later that day, Faith and Buffy had abandoned the cards and were now sitting
on the couch right next to each other with a photo album spread across both
their laps. Several other photo albums, as well as empty soda cans and food
wrappers, were resting on the table next to the playing cards. "Ugh! Don't look at that one!" Buffy said as soon as Faith turned the page of
the album. She even covered up the picture with her hand. "Lemme see," Faith said. "No, it's stupid," Buffy said, refusing to move her hand. "Move your hand." "No." "Move it." "Noo…eeee…" Faith grabbed Buffy's hand, and the two slayers engaged in a mini-battle over
photo album dominance. Despite Buffy's squealing denials, Faith won out and was
able to see the forbidden picture. It was of a five-year-old Buffy, standing on a chair pulled up to the kitchen
counter. The flour-covered little girl was supposedly "helping" her mother bake
a cake, but she seemed to be making more of a mess than anything else. Young
Buffy was turned toward the camera and smiling widely…all without her two front
teeth. As Faith examined the picture and began to snicker, Buffy groaned in
embarrassment and hid her face behind Faith's shoulder. "God, I hate that picture," Buffy whined. "What? It's cute," Faith said. "In a dentally-challenged sort of way." Buffy pulled away from Faith's shoulder and gave it a smack with her fist.
"It's not fair," she said. "I don't have any embarrassing pictures of you to
make fun of." "Be grateful," Faith said. When Buffy looked at her curiously, she added,
"Trust me…I wasn't always as stunningly hot as I am today." "And apparently not as humble either," Buffy teased. They shared a laugh, and then Faith's attention was drawn to a large photo
showing a ten-year-old Buffy gracefully ice skating. "Hey, you look like you really know what you're doing there," Faith
commented. "Yeah," Buffy said, "I was pretty good." Then she gave a small groan. "Thank
God it's not one of my 'Dorothy-do' pictures." "Dorothy-do?" "My Dorothy Hamill phase," Buffy said ruefully. "My room in L.A. was pretty
much a shrine. Dorothy dolls, Dorothy posters, I even got the Dorothy haircut." "The Dorothy-do." "Yep. Thereby securing a place for myself in the geek hall of fame." Faith laughed. "I used to go skating all the time," Buffy said. "And then I moved to
Sunnydale. Haven't had a lot of time for non-demon-y hobbies since then. Last
time I went was…" She trailed off, her expression darkening. "…with Angel." She
sighed and said, "It wasn't long before he…" "…turned evil on you?" Faith finished. "Yeah," Buffy said sadly. After a long pause, she looked at Faith and asked,
"Have you ever…lost someone? Someone you cared about?" "My mom," Faith replied with a shrug. "No, wait…you said someone I cared
about." Buffy frowned sympathetically, but Faith gave her a don't-bother glance. "My mother was a drunk, a bitchy drunk," Faith explained. "I'm better off
without her." "What about your watcher?" Buffy pressed but in a gentle voice. There was a flash of pain in Faith's eyes, but she quickly covered it up.
"I…I didn't really know her that long." "You saw her killed," Buffy said. "How did you get that…image out of
your head?" Her brow furrowed as she remembered Pete's bloody death. "I didn't," Faith answered, thinking of Kakistos' violent murder of her
watcher. "I don't think I ever will." After a long moment of silence, Faith drew their attention back to the photo
album. Several photo albums later, Buffy and Faith were still at it. While Faith was
pouring over the photos, Buffy was leaning comfortably against Faith's shoulder.
When Faith came across a picture of interest, she pointed to it. "Hey, what about this one?" she asked. When she didn't get an answer, she
looked over and found Buffy sound asleep on her shoulder. She sighed and said
with a roll of her eyes, "Great. I guess she'll drool on this shirt too." Faith closed the photo album and set it aside. Then as gently as she could,
she eased Buffy from her shoulder and into her lap. When Buffy stirred
momentarily, Faith pulled her hands away and waited, not wanting to do anything
that might wake her up. But Buffy merely snuggled more closely against Faith's
thigh and quieted once again. After several long seconds, Faith slowly let out the breath she had been
holding. She looked down at Buffy with a deeply concerned expression. She rested
her hands on her lap, without touching Buffy, then sighed and looked around the
room with a what-do-I-do-now expression. It wasn't long, however, before she
brought her eyes back to Buffy. Almost involuntarily, Faith's hands found their way to Buffy's hair. She
tentatively touched the ends that lay on Buffy's shoulder. Soon she was tenderly
stroking Buffy's hair, smiling at her with a warm softness in her own eyes. When Buffy gave a murmur of contentment from her sleep, Faith stopped and
yanked back her hand. Pure panic flashed in her eyes, and she looked like she
wanted to escape. She grabbed a pillow and began to slide herself out from under
Buffy's head, slipping the pillow into the place vacated by her legs. The move
worked. As Faith managed to extricate herself, Buffy remained asleep and
snuggled into the pillow. Once free, Faith exhaled in relief. She pulled the blanket off the back of
the couch and laid it over Buffy. Then she knelt beside the couch and pushed a
strand of Buffy's hair out of her face, letting her fingertips gently touch her
cheek. She did it only for a second, though, before frowning and pulling away.
Then she got to her feet and headed for the bathroom. When Faith went in, she shut the door quietly and then turned on the faucet.
She kept her gaze on the sink and the running water. What is the matter with you?! she mentally chided herself. You can't
just – She's – Faith gave a frustrated growl, splashed her face with cold water, and turned
off the faucet. After drying off with the towel, she put her hands on the
counter and leaned against it, still keeping her eyes on the sink. Back in the living room, Buffy frowned and shook her head in her sleep as if
she were having a bad dream. "No…" she whimpered as her dream took her somewhere she didn't want to go. In her mind, she was at the cemetery, standing at Pete's grave. It was night,
and she was alone, and she was crying. She stood there without speaking for the
longest time, simply unable to form the words. Finally, she pulled herself together and whispered, "I'm so sorry…" Then she
hung her head and turned to go. Before she could take one step, she ran into someone. When she looked up and
saw who it was, she gasped and stumbled back. A blood-covered Pete glared maliciously at her. Back in the bathroom, Faith was still leaning against the counter. Finally,
she let out a deep, sad sigh. "She's not like you," she said out loud. Then she lifted her eyes to her reflection and added, "…and you're not like
her." Faith straightened up and sighed again. So just stop this…this…whatever it is you're doing, she thought to
herself. Just stop it now before – A scream from Buffy cut off Faith's mental debate, and Faith dashed from the
bathroom. When Faith came running into the living room, she found Buffy frantically
trying to untangle herself from the blanket covering her. Faith rushed over. "Buffy, it's okay," she called out while trying to capture Buffy's flailing
arms. When she was finally successful, she held the blonde firmly in her grip
and attempted to make eye contact. "It's just a dream," she told her. "Just a
dream." Buffy eventually stopped fighting and met Faith's gaze. Then she burst out
crying and just let herself fall slowly forward against Faith's shoulder. After the briefest of hesitations, Faith ignored the warning her brain was
screaming at her and wrapped her arms around the sobbing slayer, pulling her
close. Back at the high school, Giles sat in his office with a pile of books. He had
several of them open and stacked on top of one another. He had been taking notes
on a legal pad about each slayer in Council history that had killed a human. There has to be something here, Giles thought. Some small clue, some
vestige of hope. He reviewed the list several times, flipping the pages with increasing
frustration. He finally snatched his glasses off and rubbed the bridge of his
nose. After a moment, he put his glasses back on and opened his desk drawer. He
pulled out an address book and turned to the T section. He ran his finger over
the name "Travers, Quentin" for several seconds. Then he closed the book and put
it back inside his desk drawer. Back at the Summers home, Buffy had long since stopped crying. Now she simply
luxuriated in the sense of warmth and safety she felt in Faith's arms. She let
out a breath that was a near-sigh. Faith gently separated them and gave Buffy a concerned look. "Are you okay
now?" she asked. Buffy met Faith's eyes. "I'm always okay when I'm with you," she whispered. Buffy dropped her gaze to Faith's cheek, reached out, and cupped it gently.
Buffy brought her eyes back to Faith's. Don't, Faith's internal voice told her. Don't let her do this. Stop
her now. But Faith didn't stop her. Buffy leaned closer, letting her hand move down to Faith's neck. Then
ever-so-slowly, Buffy planted a soft kiss on Faith's lips. When Buffy pulled
back, she found Faith breathing hard, trembling, but staring intently. Faith's heart was about to beat out of her chest. Her gaze darted from
Buffy's eyes to her mouth and back again a hundred times, a mixture of
conflicting emotions flashing across her face. A worried expression came over Buffy. "Faith? Are you –?" Buffy's question was cut off when Faith reached up with both hands and pulled
Buffy's face to hers, kissing her hungrily. Buffy eagerly returned the embrace,
wrapping her arms around Faith. They kissed and kissed again, their hands
roaming as the heat rose between them. Suddenly and unexpectedly, Faith grabbed Buffy's arms and pushed her roughly
away, holding her at an arm's length with a bruising grip. As the two slayers
panted breathlessly, they locked eyes. Buffy's expression was startled and
confused. Faith's was shocked and anguished. Before Buffy could say anything, Faith released the blonde's arms, jumped up
from the couch, and began backing away. Now truly worried, Buffy called out, "Faith? Faith…what's wrong?" Faith just continued backing away, nearly tripping on the table. Buffy's worry became total fear. "Faith, please…talk to me," she said. "Oh
God…I shouldn't have…I'm sorry…I thought that…" "I-I-I've gotta go," was all Faith could say as she turned toward the door. Buffy jumped to her feet, "No! Faith, please!" Tears began streaming down
Buffy's cheeks. "Don't go!" she cried. Then she reached out in a pleading
gesture. "Please don't leave me!" she wailed. Faith shut Buffy's pleas out of her mind, snatched open the front door, and
dashed out, not even bothering to close the door. Buffy sank back onto the couch, sobbing uncontrollably. Faith ran as fast as she could, cursing herself the entire way, running until
her breath finally gave out. When she stopped, she found herself in one of the
cemeteries. She plopped onto a stone bench. What did you do?! she accused herself. You shouldn't have let her –
And you sure shouldn't have – "Oh God…this is so fucked up…" she said out loud, dropping her head into her
hands. Just minutes after Faith left, Xander and Willow arrived at Buffy's house.
They found the front door wide open and Buffy crying on the couch. "Buffy!" Willow and Xander both exclaimed before rushing to the slayer and
sitting beside her. "What happened? What's wrong?" Willow asked, touching Buffy's shoulder. "Faith…l-l-left," Buffy barely got out between sobs before falling into
Willow's arms. "It's okay," Willow said, holding Buffy tightly. "We're here now." As Buffy cried, Xander put a comforting hand on her back. "I knew we
shouldn't have trusted Faith with Buffy!" Xander whispered to Willow urgently. "How could she do that?" Willow said. "Just leave Buffy when she was
so upset?" "I don't know, but she's not getting another chance – not if I have anything
to say about it," Xander promised. Giles sat silently in the passenger seat of Joyce's SUV as she drove them
both to the Summers home. He had stopped by the gallery after school to tell her
what was going on. Now the two of them were on their way to check on Buffy.
Joyce gripped and re-gripped the steering wheel several times, her jaw
tightening each time. "I hate this," she said finally. "You know that, right?" she asked, turning
to Giles for a moment. There was no mirth in her eyes as she said this. "Yes," Giles said, hanging his head. "I'm well aware." Another long silence ensued. Then Joyce spoke up once again. "I mean, she risks her life night after night – and not by choice, mind you,
no, she has to because she had the misfortune to be 'chosen' by this-this slayer
power whatever it is – she puts her life on the line, and how does this 'power'
repay her? By punishing her for defending herself!" Joyce shook her head. "I know this is difficult –" "Do you?!" Joyce demanded. "I do," Giles said softly. "Not to the extent you know it, of course,
but…despite the difficulty, we must focus on getting Buffy through this. Cursing
her calling, however deserved it might be, won't help us do that." "Fine," Joyce said, pulling into her drive and slamming the car into park. When Joyce and Giles entered the house, they found Willow and Xander on the
couch with Buffy, who was still crying after Faith's abrupt departure. "Buffy!" Joyce cried as she rushed over to her daughter. Willow and Xander instantly stood up, freeing the space on both sides of
Buffy so that Joyce could take her place next to her daughter. "Mom," Buffy sobbed as her mother wrapped her in a warm hug. "Baby, I'm here…" Joyce reassured. "I'm here." While Joyce tried to comfort her daughter, Willow and Xander slipped over to
the front door to talk with Giles. "What's going on?" Giles demanded in a hushed voice. "What's got Buffy so
upset? And where's Faith?" "She left!" Willow replied angrily. "You should have let us come check on
Buffy! We wouldn't have left her." "What do you mean Faith left?" Giles asked. "When we got here, Faith was gone," Xander explained, "and Buffy was crying
her eyes out on the couch. Just a coincidence? I think not." "She probably took off this morning and left Buffy alone all day," Willow
speculated. Giles softened his voice. "Look, I know that Faith's not known for her
sensitive side, but –" "But what?!" Xander shot back. "She left Buffy alone, and now Buffy's a
basket-case. You do the math. One plus one is two, and Faith's the two." Xander
paused, rethinking what he had just said. "Okay, that didn't make any sense, but
the point is…Faith let us down." "She let Buffy down," Willow corrected. "No." The voice came from behind Willow, Xander, and Giles, and they turned to see
Buffy standing there. "She didn't," Buffy said. "What?" Xander asked, confused. "She left because of me," Buffy explained. "It was my fault." Joyce got up from the couch and came to stand beside Buffy. She put her hand
on her daughter's shoulder. "Honey, you don't have to try and cover for her. She
said she'd keep an eye on you, and she –" "No!" Buffy nearly shouted, pulling out of her mother's grasp and stepping
away to address the whole group. "You don't understand! I don't want you blaming
her for something she didn't do!" Buffy stopped to take a deep breath. "She left
because I…I…" She looked down at her hands for a long moment before looking back
up. New tears were in her eyes as she said in a flat voice, "It wasn't her
fault." Without another word, Buffy turned and went upstairs, leaving the others
shocked and bewildered. Later that evening, after having a long talk with Giles, Willow, and Xander,
Joyce bid them goodnight and went upstairs to Buffy's room. Although the bedroom
door was almost completely open, Joyce gave a short rap on it and stepped
inside. Buffy was on her bed with her knees drawn up against her chest and her arms
wrapped around her legs. Dressed in her pajamas, she sat staring blankly at her
window, with only the bedside lamp on. She turned slowly at the sound of the
knock and saw her mother standing there. "Hey," Buffy said in greeting. Joyce smiled and said the same. "Giles give you the scoop?" Buffy asked. "Yes," Joyce answered, sitting on the edge of Buffy's bed. "Yes, he did." Buffy merely nodded in reply. "Honey, I wish you'd told me. Now that I know about your slaying, you don't
have to hide things like this from me." "I just couldn't," Buffy said, glancing away, her voice nearly breaking.
After clearing her throat, she looked back and gave her mother a grin. "'Sides,
you really don't want to know the gory details of my daily life as a slayer.
Trust me on that." "I want to know when you're hurt and when you're in danger," Joyce insisted. "Mom, that's every day," Buffy replied softly, dropping her gaze to
her hands. There was no sarcasm in Buffy's tone – just quiet, inescapable truth. Disbelief and denial flashed in Joyce's eyes. They were quickly replaced by
anger and fear until they too were replaced, this time by reluctant resignation.
Joyce hated her daughter's calling – truly hated it. Intellectually, she
understood the importance of the slayer in the safety of the world, but
emotionally she couldn't help questioning why it had to be her daughter. This
latest news had only increased her resentment and her worries. She reached out
and took Buffy's hand in hers. "Please, Buffy," she said gently. "Keep me in the loop? You don't have to
give me all the 'gory details' as you put it. Just tell me what's going on. Good
or bad. Slayer-related or not." She gave Buffy's hand a squeeze. "Because I love
you and I want to know what's happening in your life. Okay?" Buffy's eyes were wet with tears as she whispered, "Okay." After giving her daughter a long, warm hug, Joyce got to her feet. "Can I get
you anything?" Buffy shook her head. "Maybe you should lie down," Joyce suggested. "Try to get some rest?" "I will, Mom," Buffy promised. "In a little bit." "If you need me, I'm right across the hall." Buffy forced a small smile. "Thanks." At that, Joyce turned and headed out of the room. As she left, she made sure
that she left the door fully open. Buffy didn't even notice. She had already
returned to her sad staring. Meanwhile, outside the Summers home, Faith watched Buffy's window from the
shadows. With pain and longing in her eyes, she watched until she saw the faint
light inside Buffy's bedroom go out. She dropped her gaze to the ground and
sighed heavily. After one final glance at Buffy's window, Faith went on her way. Later that night, Buffy lay tossing and turning in her bed, clearly in the
throes of a nightmare. She shook her head from side to side, her face creasing
in a frown. In her dream, Buffy was in the high school's supply room. She did a slow 360,
peering at the room with a confused look on her face. When she finished her
turn, she found Pete suddenly right in front of her. Blood was gurgling from the
wound in his mangled neck. "Look at what you did," Pete accused. Buffy took a step back and looked down at her hand. In it was a broken bottle
covered in blood. She screamed and dropped the bottle. When she lifted both her
hands, they too were covered in blood. "Oh God, oh God…" Buffy said in horror. She looked back up at Pete, tears
streaming down her face. "I'm sorry…I didn't mean to…" "You're sorry?!" Pete replied, outraged. Pete closed in on Buffy,
backing her towards the wall. "You gouge a gaping hole in my neck and make me
bleed to death, and you're sorry?" Buffy hit the wall, cowering as Pete loomed over her. "Did you hear that?" Pete asked, looking over his shoulder. "The slayer is
sorry." Instantly, the person that Pete had been addressing appeared. It was Angel.
He was thin and pale with dark, hollow eyes, and his shirt was covered in dried
and caked blood. "She's not a slayer," Angel said coldly. "She's a killer." Buffy awoke from her dream, screaming and crying. Within seconds, her mother
was at her side. Joyce pulled her sobbing daughter into her arms and held her
tightly. The next morning, as Joyce was sipping her first cup of coffee, she was
surprised when Buffy came into the kitchen, already dressed and ready for school
– though not with her usual attention to appearance. She had paid only minimal
attention to her hair and makeup and had put on a well-worn pair of jeans, an
old t-shirt, and a faded zip-up sweatshirt. When Joyce started to object to
Buffy's obvious intention to go to school that day, Buffy instantly raised her
hand and stopped her. "Mom, I know what you're about to say, but I need to go to school,"
Buffy insisted. "Honey, don't you think you should –?" "No," Buffy said, shaking her head. Then she looked at her mother and said,
"I can't stay home forever." There was a mixture of determination and vulnerability in Buffy's eyes, as if
she were steeling herself to do something that she really didn't want to. Joyce
frowned worriedly. "Look, sooner or later, I gotta face going back," Buffy explained. "It might
as well be sooner. Get it over with, you know?" "Okay," Joyce agreed. "But not without breakfast," she quickly added. As her mother began making preparations for a hot breakfast, Buffy's stomach
churned. Eating before fear-faceage…probably not a good idea, Buffy told
herself. Then she added, Better play along. Otherwise, she'll worry even more.
Buffy sighed and settled on the stool at the bar. As Buffy walked toward Sunnydale High, she felt her heart rate increase. The
closer she got, the faster it raced. She had thought that walking the short
distance would calm her mind and allow her to collect her thoughts, but it had
had no effect on her ever-growing anxiety. By the time she had reached the
school's entrance, Buffy was a wreck. As she entered the school, Buffy pulled her small book bag against her chest
and wrapped her arms tightly around it as if she were shielding herself from the
world. She lowered her gaze to the floor, allowing herself only occasional
darting glances elsewhere; then she hurried through the lobby. You can do this, you can do this, she thought, trying unsuccessfully to
concentrate. Just focus on school. School, school. Teachers, classrooms,
books, students. Pete. Debbie. Blood. Oh God, so much blood. Get a grip! They're
gone, it's done, get over it! I wonder where Faith is. Why did she leave like
that? Why? You know why. Stop whining! Just – "Stop." Buffy froze at the commanding voice in front of her. She slowly looked up. It
was Principal Snyder. "Buffy Summers," Snyder said dramatically, crossing his arms in a stern
stance. "Who just happened to be conspicuously absent the day after
a double-murder." Snyder uncrossed his arms and stepped deeply into Buffy's personal space,
looming over her, glaring accusingly. Buffy shrank under his stare. "If the police hadn't assured me that the two lovebirds had killed each
other," he whispered harshly, "then you, Little Miss Violent, would have
been the first on my suspect list." Buffy couldn't even speak or meet his eyes. She just stood there, trembling,
seconds from bursting into tears. Snyder's lips twitched upwards at the sight.
He stared silently at her, savoring the moment. "Get to class!" he finally barked, earning a jump from Buffy, which brought
an even bigger smile to his face. When Snyder stepped aside, Buffy wasted no time in complying with his order.
She scurried off without so much as a word to him. As Buffy hurried around the corner of a hallway, she ran headlong into
someone, sending his books flying from his hands. "Oh my God…I'm so sor –" She stopped mid-sentence when she saw who it was. "Buffy," Scott said, surprised but happy. His elated expression fell when he saw Buffy back away from him with a look
of horror on her face. She dropped her bag and tried to speak, but no words came
out. Tears sprang to her eyes, and she covered her mouth with her hand. Scott
looked on with confusion. From across the hall, Willow caught a glimpse of what was happening and
rushed over. But, just as Willow arrived on the scene, Buffy bolted. "Buffy!" Willow cried out. When the slayer didn't stop, Willow turned back to
Scott and let out an apologetic chuckle. "Buffy, she's, well, she's just
upset…about what happened, you know?" She bent over and picked up Buffy's bag.
"A-A-And she just doesn't know what to say, that's all." She began backing away.
"I'm sorry, but I should really go check on her." Without waiting for an answer from Scott, Willow turned and ran in the
direction that Buffy had gone. Scott was left looking hurt and bewildered. Willow found Buffy in the girls' restroom. She had heard Buffy crying the
minute she had stepped inside. She followed the sound to the last stall. "Buffy?" she called out. "It's me. Willow." Willow gave the stall door a test pull and found that it wasn't locked. She
called out Buffy's name again and then slowly opened the door. She found Buffy
sitting on the edge of the toilet seat, just sobbing. She set Buffy's book bag
on the floor and then knelt in front of the stricken slayer. "Buffy?" she ventured again, reaching out to place a reassuring hand on
Buffy's knee. Buffy looked up and met Willow's eyes. "I-I-I shouldn't have come back,
Will," she said, still crying. "I s-s-saw Scott a-a-and totally freaked out." "I know, I saw," Willow admitted. "H-H-He probably hates me," Buffy wailed. "No," Willow said. "I'm sure he doesn't. He could never hate you. I-I-I told
him you were upset and that you just didn't know what to say." "Really?" Buffy asked, hopeful. "What did he say?" "Ummm, nothing…that I know of," Willow explained. "I kinda came running after
you." When she saw Buffy's face fall, Willow quickly added, "But I'm sure he'll
understand when you talk to hi –" "No, no," Buffy interrupted, jumping to her feet and shaking her head
vigorously. "I can't talk to him, I can't face him, not after what I did, I
can't, I can't…" As Buffy's words trailed off into more crying, Willow stood up and pulled her
friend into a tight hug, trying to comfort her as best she could. "It'll be
okay," she told her. Buffy held onto Willow fiercely, but then, between sobs, she said, "I wish
Faith was here." A deep hurt flooded Willow's eyes. She felt a lump form in her throat, but
she forced herself to speak past it. "Well, she's not," Willow said, trying to
keep her voice even. "But I am. I'm here." "Thank you," Buffy whispered against Willow's shoulder. The upset expression on Willow's face didn't soften at Buffy's words. Later that day, a calmer but still dejected Buffy trudged into the library.
Giles was putting away some books, but he immediately came down from the stacks
to stand beside his slayer. He put a gentle hand on her shoulder and looked into
her eyes. "How are you?" he asked. "How are you feeling?" Buffy put her hand on top of her watcher's hand and gave him a rueful smile.
"Like somebody ran me over with a Mack truck…about a hundred times. But other
than that, I'm fine." She tried to sound convincing and optimistic but failed
miserably. Giles gestured at the chairs at the table, and they both sat down. "Are you
sleeping?" he asked. "Not really," Buffy said, dropping her gaze to her hands. "Every time I go to
sleep, I dream…about what happened. I feel like I'm going crazy." Deep worry flashed in Giles's eyes, but he pushed it down and said, "That's
perfectly normal, Buffy. You went through a very traumatic event. It's going to
take time for you to fully recover. The important thing is not to bottle up your
feelings." "Oh, no bottling here. More like bawling my eyes out every half hour." "Good! That's good!" Giles blurted excitedly, earning him a strange look from
Buffy. "You know what I mean. It's good that you're expressing your feelings." "Tell that to my mascara," Buffy deadpanned. Giles looked confused for a moment, but then he eventually got it. After his
quick chuckle, the two fell into an awkward silence. After a minute, Buffy
finally spoke. "I, um, I just wanted to say thank you for…you know…arranging things,"
Buffy said. Giles smiled back at her. He knew that she was referring to the police
investigation of Pete and Debbie's deaths. "It was the right thing to do," he
said. Buffy fidgeted and looked nervously around the room before finally asking the
question that was on her mind. "Have you, um, have you seen Faith?" she asked in
a vulnerable voice. "Um, no…no I haven't," he said. Buffy looked away, clearly upset. "But…you know Faith," Giles quickly interjected. "Not unusual for her to drop
out of sight from time to time…only for a short while, of course." Buffy nodded wordlessly. "Buffy, do you want to talk about what happened yesterday…why Faith left…what
got you so upset?" Buffy shook her head. "No, not really. Just a…difference of opinion." I
like her, she hates me, that's all, she quipped sadly to herself. "Not
uncommon with us," she added, forcing a small smile. "But thanks." At that, Buffy got to her feet and headed for the door. Giles watched her
worriedly as she left the library. That night, Buffy and Joyce were alone at home, sitting at the dining room
table, eating supper. Actually, only Joyce was eating; for the most part, Buffy
was simply pushing her food around on her plate, pretending to eat. "So…how was school today?" Joyce asked. "You know…going back and all?" Buffy froze, and it took her several moments to answer. "Hard," she finally
said, without looking at her mother. "Harder than I thought it would be, but…I
survived." She spoke the last two words without much enthusiasm. After a few
final pushes of her food, she set her fork down. "I, um, I think I'm just gonna
go to bed," she said, looking at her mom, "i-i-if that's okay." "Of course," Joyce said sympathetically. "I wish you had eaten more, though." "I know," Buffy said. "I'm just not very hungry." She pushed away from the
table and got to her feet. "If anybody calls or comes by, just tell 'em I went
to bed, okay? I'm not really up for conversation." "Okay, honey," Joyce said, giving her daughter a nod. Buffy turned and took a step toward the doorway. But then she suddenly turned
back around. "Unless it's Faith," she added with hope in her voice. Joyce frowned but didn't comment. "But she probably won't come," Buffy said dejectedly. "I mean, she's got to
patrol and everything." She dropped her gaze to the floor and muttered, "What I
should be doing." Without another word, Buffy trudged out of the dining room and headed for the
stairs. Later that night, Buffy tossed fitfully in her bed. Once again, her sleep was
disturbed by nightmares. In her current dream, Buffy was walking along a hallway at school. It was
dark, and the corridor was lined with people. Though they were standing and
moving, it was clear that they were dead – quite dead. Some were pale with
punctures on their necks; others looked like they'd been savaged by beasts. As
she passed each one, they glared at her with cold hatred, hissing accusations at
her. "Failure." "Useless." "Loser." "Your fault." Buffy's face creased in pain, and tears began streaming down her face. She
stopped and turned in place, trying to address them all. "I'm sorry…" They didn't seem appeased. They started to close in behind her and around
her. Buffy's expression became panicked, and she turned and ran, screaming as
hands reached out for her. Soon the crowd thinned, but before she could fully
escape, a wall of bodies stopped her forward progress. She stumbled back then
looked up to see familiar faces. Jesse. Principal Flutie. Dr. Gregory. Theresa. Jenny. Kendra. Mr. Platt.
Debbie. Pete. "Oh God…" Buffy whimpered. "You were supposed to save me," said a pale and drained Jesse. "I tried to be
your friend." "I believed in you," said Dr. Gregory, carrying his own mutilated head in his
hands. "Because of you, a Slayer died," a bloody Kendra added, crossing her arms in
judgment. "Pathetic," Jenny pronounced sharply, despite the awkward tilt of her broken
neck. "Fallen. Unworthy of the calling. It was your duty to protect us, and you
failed! Faith is the only true Slayer now. Time for you to go!" As Jenny and the other victims rushed forward, Buffy screamed…and then
awakened in her bed with a gasp of fright. She pulled her pillow to her chest
and curled herself around it, muffling her cries into its softness. Outside Buffy's room, a robe-clad Joyce tiptoed through the hallway carrying
a glass of milk. She stopped when she thought she heard a sound coming from
Buffy's room. She peeked through the open door and saw her daughter apparently
crying into her pillow. "Buffy? Are you all right?" she called out. She heard Buffy get her sniffling
under control then saw her glance briefly over her shoulder. "I'm fine, Mom. It's just another bad dream," Buffy said. "Just go back to
bed." Something in Buffy's tone told Joyce she shouldn't intrude this time. Though
her maternal instincts urged her to do anything but leave, she reluctantly
stepped away and returned to her bedroom. Near dawn the next morning, Faith was still on patrol. Though she was already
exhausted, she had stayed at it all night, hoping that the business of slaying
would keep her mind off Buffy. It hadn't succeeded. As she passed through one of the older cemeteries, she clenched and
unclenched her fists over and over as her mind replayed the last images she had
of Buffy: Buffy's hurt expression when Faith had shoved her away after their
kiss, Buffy crying in anguish and reaching out to her, Buffy pleading with her
not to leave. Faith began shaking her head in frustration. "Stop it, stop it, stop it!!!"
she screamed before lashing out at the nearest tombstone. She kicked it multiple
times until it cracked. Then she slammed both hands against it and pushed,
causing it to crumble to the ground in pieces. She stood over it, panting with
exertion, before finally plopping down onto the largest piece. She groaned and
dropped her forehead into her hands as her own thoughts began to assail her. What is wrong with you?! You're pathetic! You got yourself into trouble and what did you do? You ran. Like
always. It's all you're good at. B was right. You're a real bad-ass when it comes to
packing and running. Faith sighed sadly and then opened her eyes. She was surprised to find five
demons closing in on her. "Shit!" she cursed, jumping to her feet and whipping the stake from her back
pocket. The shaggy demons walked upright, but with a hunched-over, beast-like gait.
As they neared, they growled and swiped their clawed hands in the air. After a quick glance behind herself, Faith began backing away. After making a
few steps, she looked behind herself again, gauging her escape route. "Whatcha gonna do now, s-s-s-slayer?" the lead demon hissed. "Run?" Faith's expression hardened as she instantly abandoned the idea of a wise
retreat. Instead, she roared and attacked, rushing the lead demon first. She let
him make a couple of useless swipes at her, then took advantage of an opening
and kicked him into two of his comrades. When the demon to her left moved in, she side-kicked him to give her a
moment's reprieve while she took on the demon to her right. When he swiped at
her, she grabbed his arm and spun him, then slammed her stake into his chest. He
screeched and went down. By then the demon to her left was back, and he grabbed her around the neck
with his arm and dragged her several yards away, trying to choke her. The lead
demon had regained his feet and came back mad. He sent his two comrades ahead,
and each grabbed one of Faith's legs at the other demon still kept his hold on
her neck. Faith kicked at their clawed hands but failed to keep them from
latching on. The lead demon smiled and made a clean swipe right at her torso. Faith
managed to free one of her legs and twisted away at the last second. As a
result, instead of being sliced across her stomach, she caught the swipe on her
right side directly above her belt. She screamed in pain as the claws raked
through her flesh. She kicked her other leg free and then backpedaled the demon choking her into
a large monument. When he slammed into the stone, he released his hold on Faith.
She flipped him, grabbed his head, and quickly snapped his neck. The lead demon seized her from behind, picked her up, and threw her hard
against a large headstone. She hit it with a thud, landing on the same side
where she'd already been sliced. She groaned loudly and rolled off the far side
of the headstone, temporarily out of the sight of the three remaining demons.
They rushed the headstone. Seconds before they got there, Faith popped up, a small throwing knife in
each hand. With synchronized slings, she let the daggers fly. Each one hit their
mark: right between the eyes of the lead demon's comrades. It was just Faith and
the lead demon now. When she came from behind the large headstone, he rushed her. She moved
sideways to the tombstone she had broken earlier and tried to high kick him. He
grabbed her leg mid-kick and slammed his forearm onto her knee. She screamed in
agony as her left knee joint was forced into full hyperextension. When Faith hit the ground, she rolled onto her stomach and began dragging
herself way. Just as the demon leapt upon her, she got her hand on a chunk of
granite that had broken off from the tombstone. She turned and bashed his head
with the jagged rock. When he went down, she rose to her good knee and smashed
his head three more times until his blood began splattering her upper body. Finally, she dropped the rock and surveyed the damage: all five demons were
dead, she was safe. She gave a high-pitched hysterical laugh that very nearly
turned into a sob. She choked it down before it could do so, however, and then
let herself fall back onto the ground. As she lay still, waiting for the dawn, a
few tears trickled down her cheeks. The next morning, after Joyce had arrived at her gallery, she called Giles at
the school. She tapped her pen impatiently on her desk as she waited for the
librarian to answer. "Library, Mr. Giles speaking," said the voice on the phone. "Mr. Giles, this is Joyce Summers." "Oh, Mrs. Summers, is everything all right? Is-is Buffy all right?" "No, she's not!" Joyce replied angrily. "She's having nightmares all night.
When she's not having those, she's crying…she won't eat anything…the only thing
she ever asks about is Faith, though I don't know why after she deserted her the
other day. We have to do something!" "Yes, well, I, um, I'm not sure there is anything that we can do,"
Giles admitted. "Other than watch over her. The powers at work here are –" "If Buffy's not better in the next day or so, I'm taking her to the
hospital," Joyce said, interrupting Giles. "There has to be something
they can do to help her." "If her condition does worsen, hospitalization might be a prudent course of
action." This was not what Joyce wanted to hear. She sighed unhappily. A short time later, Giles arrived at Faith's motel room. He walked up to the
door and gave it a couple of polite raps. When he heard no sound from within the
room, he gave the door a hefty series of knocks. "Faith, are you in there?" he called out. "Jesus Christ!" he heard Faith yell from inside. "I'm coming already." Within a few seconds, the door opened. "What?!" Faith demanded. Giles's eyes
widened at the sight. Faith's hair was damp as if she had just gotten out of the shower. She was
wearing a very thin and very short robe that was only barely tied closed. Her
body was covered in bruises, and her left knee in particular was quite swollen.
Through the opening in her robe, Faith was holding a bloody towel against her
right side. "Dear Lord! What happened?" Giles exclaimed. "What do you think happened?" Faith said, leaving the doorway and walking
back to her bed. "Got jumped by some demons. One of 'em clawed the shit out of
me." Giles immediately took off his jacket and started rolling up the sleeves of
his shirt. "Let me see," he said in an all-business tone. Faith shook her head. "I don't think so," she said defensively and
sarcastically. Giles put his hands on his hips. "Faith, I am your watcher. Treating wounds,
wherever they may be, well, it comes with territory, so lie down and let me
see." His tone was stern but not mean. "Fine," she huffed. Faith lay on her side with her back to Giles and opened her robe. She stuffed
her lumpy motel pillow under her arms and let out an annoyed sigh. While Faith got settled on the bed, Giles washed his hands in the bathroom.
When he returned, he took a look at the first aid kit she had already laid out.
He pulled out the things he would need. Then he turned back to Faith and began
examining the wound. It was a series of long, ragged gashes about eight inches long that stretched
around her side at her waistline. All were red and angry-looking and still
bleeding. "Faith, this looks very bad," he said, squinting worriedly at the wound. "You
should go to the –" "No," Faith said firmly. "I hate doctors, and I hate hospitals, so just clean
it up, put a Band-aid on it, and I'll be fine." Giles gave an exasperated sigh. "Very well." He poured an antiseptic into the long gashes, making Faith flinch and groan.
She cursed softly into her pillow. "Sorry," Giles said. "Just hurry up," Faith growled back. Giles applied an antibiotic ointment and then covered the wound with a large
adhesive bandage. "Done," he announced. Faith let out her breath and pulled her robe back around herself and sat up. "Thanks." Giles went to the bathroom and washed his hands again. "So…what brings you to the poor slayer's side of town?" Faith called out to
him. "It's about Buffy," Giles said as he came out of the bathroom and sat at the
end of the bed. "What about her?" Faith asked, concerned. "Is she okay?" "No, not really," Giles replied honestly. Then he said, "I want you to go see
her." Looking very uncomfortable, Faith said, "Why?" "She needs you, Faith," he told her simply. Faith shrugged. "What does she need me for? She's got you, her mom, all her
super-friends." "She needs you, too," Giles said sincerely. Faith scoffed loudly and got off the bed. She limped over to the TV and
grabbed the bottle of Jack Daniels sitting on top of it. "What for? I mean…who am I, Giles? Just some fucked-up girl from Boston she's
known less than a month." She opened the bottle, took a big swig and then
another. "You're a slayer, Faith." Giles got up from the bed and walked over. He took the bottle from Faith,
closed it, and returned it to its place on the TV. "And being a slayer is a very…lonely place to be. She needs someone
who understands the calling…and-and the sacrifices that often come with it. She
needs you, Faith. She's been asking for you." Faith frowned and looked away, fidgeting nervously. Finally, she gave an
unhappy sigh and said, "Fine. I'll stop by." Giles gave her arm a squeeze. "Thank you." As he headed for the door, Giles
added, "And skip patrol tonight. Give yourself some time to heal." As Buffy moved between her classes, she eyed the bustling crowd with
trepidation. While her fellow students talked and joked and got things out of
their lockers, Buffy crept cautiously down the hallway – the memory of her
nightmare picking at the back of her mind. Suddenly, in a group of students by the water fountain, Buffy saw Pete
standing and staring. Buffy gasped and stopped in place, causing the person
behind her to run into her. Buffy didn't even notice the grumbling complaint of the person who moved past
her. Her eyes were locked on Pete's bloody figure. She backed frantically into
the far side of the wall and hurried sideways into the opposing traffic. She
kept going until she was beyond the fountain and then broke into a run. When she got to the end of the corridor, she stopped and looked back,
breathing heavily – more from fear than exertion – but Pete wasn't there. She
took a moment to get her breathing under control and then headed for her next
class. Meanwhile, Faith lay in her bed, staring at the ceiling. Despite her wounds
and exhaustion, and several more shots of whiskey, she had been unable to sleep.
With a painful groan, she reached over to the nightstand and plucked a Polaroid
from between the phone and the wall. She looked at it sadly. It was from the night of Kakistos, the night Faith and Buffy had gone out to
the bar. Faith and Buffy were hugging, cheek to cheek, with their inside arms
wrapped around each other's waists, and their outside arms held together with
their hands clasped as if they were striking a tango-like dance pose. They were
both smiling wildly. Buffy had several tiny drink umbrellas stuck in her hair. Faith gave a small laugh and shook her head. Then her sad frown returned. She
lay back down, bringing the picture with her, letting it rest right over her
heart. At the end of the school day, Buffy was once again in the hallway. After the
earlier event, she was even more nervous than before, expecting to see Pete or
some other dream victim hovering nearby. When she made it to the end of the
corridor and into the lobby without incident, Buffy exhaled in relief. Not only
had she managed to avoid seeing Scott all day, but she had also not had a second
encounter with Pete. She thought she was home free. She was wrong. Just as she turned the corner, Pete was suddenly in front of her. She cried
out and pressed herself against the wall, drawing the attention of the other
people in the lobby. Pete leaned closer. "Look at them," he said, motioning toward the gawking
spectators. "They know." He moved to the side so that he could whisper in
her ear. "They know what you are…they know what you did…" Buffy shut her eyes tightly and shook her head repeatedly, clutching her book
bag against her chest. "You're not real, you're not real," she told herself
several times before opening her eyes once again. Pete was still there. He smiled and said, "Thaaaat's riiiight. I'm here to
stay." Buffy looked at him with fear and disbelief. Then she backed her way to the
front entrance. When she got to the door, she ran through it and dashed down the
steps. As Pete smiled wickedly, the onlookers merely shook their heads, wondering
what was up with the crazy chick. Later that night, Faith finally left her motel room to go over to Buffy's
house. As she walked, she limped noticeably and often cradled her arm against
her side. Despite Giles's order to skip patrol, she made a sweep through several
cemeteries in an effort to postpone the inevitable, but without even a fledgling
vamp to distract her, she eventually had to make her way over to Revello Drive.
She stood on the sidewalk looking up at the Summers home. She saw that the
lights in the living room were on and that someone was watching TV. She took a
deep breath and let it out slowly. Okay, make it quick, she told herself. Keep it light, see how she's
doing, then get the hell outta there. She took another deep breath and headed for the front door, still limping at
bit and favoring her side. She knocked on the door. She heard someone turn the
TV off and walk to the door. When it opened, a sad Buffy was standing inside the
doorway. "Hey," Faith said simply. "Faith!" Buffy said, her expression brightening at the sight of the brunette.
When Faith didn't echo Buffy's enthusiasm, Buffy's face fell. She looked away
for a moment, then made herself speak. "Y-Y-You wanna come in?" "Yeah, thanks," Faith said. Faith forced herself not to show any sign of her injuries as she stepped
inside the living room. Once Buffy had shut the door, Faith made no attempt to
move further into the room; instead, she hovered only a few feet from the door. At first, neither of them said anything. Finally, Buffy said, "So…how's it
goin'?" "Good," Faith replied. "Just…doin' the patrol thing." She shrugged and said,
"Giles said I should stop by, so…" "Oh," Buffy said in a hurt voice, dropping her gaze to her hands. Faith mentally smacked herself. Stupid! She quickly went on, trying to
gloss over her mistake. "So, um, how are you…you know…feelin' and stuff?" Buffy looked back and gave Faith a fake smile. "Good, I'm good." She dropped
the smile and said, "Well, not so good really, but you?" "Good, I'm good," Faith said, fidgeting a bit. "Five by five." "Good. That's good," Buffy replied, fidgeting just as much. "So…how's
patrol?" "Good. In a way. It's kinda slow, actually. Tonight, anyway." "Hey, don't complain," Buffy told her. "You'll jinx it and get an apocalypse
for sure." They shared a laugh but then immediately fell into silence. Their eyes darted
nervously about the room, refusing to meet the other's gaze. Ask her, ask her! Buffy's inner voice told her. Buffy frowned but then
raised her head and looked at Faith. Just as she was about to speak, Faith beat
her to it. "Well, I'd better get back to it then," Faith announced. Then she turned
around and headed for the door. With a pained expression, Buffy watched her go. Then she called out, "Faith?" Faith stopped in place, but she didn't turn around. Instead, she spoke over
her shoulder. "Yeah?" With tears welling in her eyes, Buffy said softly in a very choked voice, "I,
um, I've missed you." Faith closed her eyes and swallowed hard. When she opened her eyes again, she
said lamely, "Yeah, um, thanks. Gotta go." Without another word, Faith opened
the door and left the house, closing the door behind her. The tears that had formed in Buffy's eyes slid over her lids and spilled down
her cheeks. She covered her face with one hand, and after a moment, she pulled
it away, wiping at her tears. "Did you see that?" came Pete's voice as he appeared beside her. "Did you see
how fast she wanted out of here? She couldn't stand to be near you. She was
just…disgusted by you." Buffy pulled away from Pete, shaking her head, not meeting his eyes. "No!
That's not true." "Giles had to make her come over here," he went on. "What does that
tell you?" He moved closer. "It's bad enough that you're a disgrace to your
calling, but then you went and kissed her," he said cruelly. "I'm
surprised she didn't just puke right there on the spot!" Buffy turned and faced Pete, pointing at him desperately. "No, no," she said
in denial. "She kissed me back." Pete just looked at her and shook his head as if breaking some bad news to
her. Buffy turned away and started to cry in earnest. "She kissed me back…" she
said in an anguished voice, full of doubt, but wanting so desperately to
believe. Behind her, Pete merely smiled. The next day, Buffy once again returned to school. She looked even worse than
she had before. Her clothes were rumpled, and her hair was a bit flat. Her face
was pale and haggard, with dark circles under her eyes. She looked like she was
fighting a bad case of the flu and had just dragged herself out of bed to come
to school. More than a few students stared at her as she passed through the lobby. Some
even seemed to be whispering about her, as if they had seen her actions the day
before. Buffy did her best to ignore them and went on to her classes. She went through the morning in a kind of distracted withdrawal, speaking to
no one unless they spoke to her first, just trying her best to blend in and
disappear. When she met Xander and Willow in the lunchroom, they tried to engage
her in conversation but couldn't get more than a few words out of her. When
lunch was over, Willow and Xander lingered with Buffy outside the cafeteria. "Buffy, you gonna head to the land o' books with us?" Willow asked. "Yeah, we can mess with Giles and un-alphabetize the encyclopedias," Xander
added, waggling his eyebrows invitingly. Buffy actually grinned. "Sure, I could use a little…Scott!" Buffy's grin
faded to shock as Scott joined the group. "Scott, hey!" Willow said in a nervous and high-pitched voice. "Hey man," Xander added. Scott nodded politely at Willow and Xander but then turned his attention to
Buffy. "Can we talk?" "Um, yeah, sure," Buffy replied, trying not to panic. She turned to Willow
and Xander. "I'll see you guys at the library, okay?" "Okay," Willow said. But she didn't leave until Xander pulled her away. As her friends left, Buffy dropped her gaze to the floor. "Look, I'm sorry
about the other day," she said. When she looked up, she saw Pete standing
several feet away. She tried unsuccessfully to avoid being distracted by his
presence. "I was just, um, shaken up, a-a-and I know I've been all avoid-y, and
I know we need to talk about Homecoming…" She dropped her gaze once again, and
there was no hint of enthusiasm in her voice as she continued. "…coordinate
colors and all." "Actually, we don't," Scott said. Buffy's head shot up. "What?" she asked, confused. "I lost my two best friends, and you've been avoiding me like I'm the
one that did it or something!" "No, that's not it at all," Buffy tried to explain. "I just –" "I don't want to hear your excuses!" Scott said hotly. He took a calming
breath and then added, "Just…consider yourself uninvited." At that, Scott walked away, leaving a devastated Buffy behind. When Scott had
gone, Pete moved in. He circled menacingly around the distraught slayer. "One by one…they're all going to abandon you," he told her. "Because you're a
freak! A pathetic…failed…freak!" Buffy flinched at his every word. When she could take no more, she ran away
with tears streaming down her face. Minutes later, Buffy was crying hysterically in the library with Willow and
Xander and Giles hovering worriedly nearby. The three couldn't get close to
Buffy, however, because she was pacing frantically at the base of the stairs to
the stacks. Unseen by the others, Pete stood just a few feet away from where
Buffy was pacing. "It's not fair," Buffy wailed. "All I wanted was a normal life. Is that too
much to ask?" "No, it isn't," Willow said gently. "Can't have a normal relationship," Buffy went on. "Can't even have a normal
date." She stopped pacing, and her face creased into a pleading
expression. "Why can't I just go to a dance and for one measly night have
everything be perfect? Why?" "Because you're a failure," Pete stated. "A mistake. A Slayer that should
never have been." Buffy didn't look in Pete's direction, but she did drop her gaze. Xander took
a step toward Buffy and started to speak but was cut off. "Shut up," Buffy said to Pete, but without conviction. "I haven't said anything yet," Xander pointed out, confused. "That's why things have gone so badly for you," Pete said. "You and the
calling were never meant to be." "Buffy, things'll get better," Xander said. "You'll see." "No," Buffy cried, shaking her head, not wanting to believe Pete's words. "I mean, really," Pete continued. "Do you honestly think you belonged
on the list of potential slayers?" "Xander's correct," Giles told her. "I know that things seem rather bleak at
the moment, but I promise you…you won't always feel like this." "You're a mistake," Pete repeated, his tone becoming harsh and cold.
"One that needs to be erased before you kill someone else." Buffy cringed in guilt. "Buffy, please…let us help you through this." Giles reached out and put a
comforting hand on Buffy's shoulder. "NO!" Buffy screamed, wrenching away from Giles's grasp. She pushed
past her friends, turned, and pointed an accusing finger at them. "You don't
understand. None of you understand!" She dropped her hand and just stared
at them. "There's nothing you can do…there's nothing anyone can do
to make this better! My whole life is going to hurt and suck and end in disaster
until I make it stop." Without another word, Buffy turned and ran from the library. Willow, Xander,
and Giles instantly took off after her. They chased her through the school
hallways and out the front entrance, but once outside, she quickly outpaced them
and left them wheezing and panting at the far edge of the campus. "Giles! What are we gonna do?" Willow asked in a panic. "She's gonna hurt
herself, I just know it!" "You go to my office and find the locator spell," he told her. "You know the
volume. Get as much set up as you can. I'll go to the magic shop and get the
additional supplies we'll need." Giles turned to Xander. "You call Faith and get
her here. If you can't get her on the phone, then drive to her place and get
her." "Faith?" Xander objected. "She's part of the reason Buffy's in this state." "Yeah," Willow agreed. "No, she's not," Giles said firmly. "It's the backlash that's causing all of
this. It's taking every negative occurrence in Buffy's life, no matter how
small, and blowing it completely out of proportion. The truth is…we need Faith's
help. Now, hurry, both of you!" At that, Willow and Xander ran back inside the school, while Giles headed for
his car in the faculty parking lot. A short time later, Buffy trudged her way up steep, narrow gravel road until
she was at a precipice hanging over a rocky canyon far below. The sign nearby
read "Kingman's Bluff." Buffy wasn't crying anymore; instead, she just seemed dead inside. She walked
numbly to the edge, a few feet from the brink of a very long drop, and stood
there waiting. Soon Pete walked up behind her. He leaned over and whispered into her ear,
"There now…that wasn't so hard, was it?" He moved to stand beside her. "It's for
the best really. With you gone, another slayer can be called. One that isn't
broken." His voice turned mean. "One that doesn't kill the people she's
supposed to be protecting!" At the library, Willow and Giles were just completing the locator spell. They
were standing over the table, watching as a glowing trail of magic indicated a
particular spot on the map of Sunnydale. "We've got it!" Willow cried. "Kingman's Bluff!" Giles snatched up the radio sitting nearby. "Xander! Faith! It's Kingman's
Bluff! That's where Buffy is!" "That's just a few miles from where I am," Faith said over the radio. "I'm on
my way!" "It'll take me longer," Xander said from his car, "I'm on the other side of
town." "Meet us there," Giles said. "We're leaving now." At Kingman's Bluff, Buffy was still standing on the edge. Tears were slowly
rolling down her face. "There's nothing for you here, nothing to hold you back," Pete told her. "No
duty, no life, no love…" Buffy put her hands to her face. Faith had made her way to the gravel road leading up to Kingman's Bluff. She
was desperately trying to run up the steep hill, but her injuries were slowing
her down. She was limping badly and clutching her side, which was bleeding
again. "Buffy, please don't do it, don't do it," she panted as she ran. "Please
don't…" "Do it!!" Pete screamed. Buffy dropped her hands. She was crying hard, but forced herself to get it
under control. Once she had done so, she took a step forward, resigned to her
fate. "B-U-F-F-Y!!!" Faith poured every ounce of her voice into that call as she tumbled onto the
cliff-top, her injured knee finally giving out on her. Buffy turned around and saw Faith getting back to her feet. But Buffy didn't
move or speak. Practically dragging her injured leg, Faith limped over. "Buffy, please…step
back from the edge…let's talk, okay?" "Don't listen to her!" Pete ordered. Buffy lifted her eyes to Faith's. "There's nothing to talk about," she said
flatly. "Yes, there is," Faith insisted, moving closer. "We've got unfinished
business, you and me." "It's all finished, all over, everything," Buffy said in a voice devoid of
hope. "No, it's not," Faith countered, still several yards away. Buffy, however,
was only a small leap away from the drop. Buffy didn't answer. She simply turned back around and took one step closer
to the edge. Now a mere lean in the right direction would take her over the
side. "No!" Faith called out desperately. She rushed over as close as she dared, knowing that too much momentum could
easily send Buffy or herself or both slipping over the edge. She fell to her
knees and skidded the last few feet. Ignoring the searing pain in her knee and
side, she reached out with her hand. "Buffy, please!" Tears were rolling down Faith's face, and her voice caught
in her throat as she begged, "Please don't leave me!" Something about Faith's words – the way they echoed Buffy's earlier ones, the
way they came in a voice choked with anguish – made Buffy turn around again. She
stared at Faith for the longest time, a mixture of conflicting emotions passing
over her face: despair, fear, sadness, anger, hope. "Don't listen to her," Pete urged. "Just get it over with!" As Faith held her breath, Buffy continued staring, hovering uncertainly
between two decisions. Finally, though, she gave a huge sob and held out her
hand toward Faith. She took two stumbling steps before collapsing to her knees.
Faith scrambled the few remaining feet between them and pulled Buffy into her
arms. "Oh thank God!" Faith whispered, holding Buffy close and burying her face in
the long blonde hair. "Thank God," she repeated. Buffy didn't speak. She just clung desperately to Faith as the tears came. Once they had both calmed a bit, Faith pulled away enough to touch Buffy's
cheek and to look into her eyes. "I don't know what I would've done if…" Faith trailed off, unable to complete the sentence. Buffy merely looked
imploringly at her and remained silent. Finally, Faith abandoned words entirely
and pulled Buffy's face to hers, kissing her warmly, thoroughly, and with all
her heart. When Buffy did the same, Pete's image simply faded away. As Buffy and Faith enjoyed their post-crisis kissage on Kingman's Bluff, two
cars roared up the gravel road and into the clearing. Giles, Willow, and Xander
piled out and rushed over. When they got to the edge, all three froze in place.
They found the two slayers still making out, totally oblivious to their arrival. Giles squinted and ripped off his glasses. "Good Lord!" he exclaimed. Willow's eyes widened. She squeaked an "oh" and looked away, but only for a
moment. Soon her eyes were drawn back. "Holy moly macaroni," Xander said, dropping his car keys but never taking his
eyes off what he was seeing. "Not the scene I expected to find. My mind went
through many and varied scenarios, but I must say…that was not one of
them." His lips began to inch up in an involuntary smile. "I-I-Is this part of the backlash?" Willow asked. "Buffy losing her mind?" "If so…what a wonderful mind-losing it is…" Xander said, pleasantly
entranced. Willow smacked him. "No, I, um, I don't believe so," Giles said rather prissily, shoving his
glasses back on. "I think it's a matter of a whole lot more going on behind our
backs than we were made aware of!" "Darn tootin'," Willow said, equally miffed. Xander merely snickered, still staring with delight. Willow smacked him again. "Straighten up, or I'm telling Cordy!" she warned. Xander cleared his throat and straightened up; then he looked down at his
pants. He gave a sheepish giggle, then purposely slouched again. Despite his
awkward stance, he managed to put on a stern expression for the kissing slayers. Suddenly, Buffy and Faith froze, mid-kiss, realizing only just that second
that they had an audience. They slowly turned to face the staring trio. They
opened their mouths, but no words would come out. "Faith, what is going on here?!" Giles demanded as he and the others
moved closer. "Uhhh…I saved Buffy," Faith offered awkwardly. Willow crossed her arms tightly. "Oh, and I suppose that was
mouth-to-mouth resuscitation you were giving her just now?!" "If that was mouth-to-mouth," Xander interjected, "then I have sooo
been doing it wrong." "No, that was kissing," Faith shot back to Willow. "Maybe you should
try it some time." "I-I-I know about kissing!" Willow spluttered, outraged. "Oz and I kiss.
Don't we, Xander?" Xander shrugged apologetically and gave Willow a how-should-I-know look. "Can we get off the topic of-of kissing, and focus on what's important?!"
Giles interrupted. Then he turned to Buffy and asked, "Buffy, are you all
right?" Buffy gave him a solemn nod. "Yes, I'm okay now," she told him, making eye
contact with the others as well. "I-I-I don't know how to explain it, but…I feel
like myself again." A sincere look of relief came over the watcher's face. "Good, that's very
good. You seemed so…distraught earlier. I'm glad that the, um…mood
has finally been broken." Buffy turned and smiled at Faith. "Thanks to Faith." Faith smiled back, and for a long moment, the two slayers were locked into
each other. Buffy reached for Faith's hand, and Faith let her take it. They took
no notice of the others growing increasingly uncomfortable around them. "Yes, well, um, perhaps we should head back," Giles finally suggested. "Good idea," Faith said in a tired voice. "I think I need to crash." "Me too," Buffy agreed wearily. As the two slayers got to their feet, Faith noticeably favored one leg, but
when she tried to straighten up, she groaned in pain and reached for her side. "Damn," she swore softly. Buffy immediately went into alarm mode. "Faith, what's wrong?" "It's nothing," Faith insisted, forcing herself to stand up straight. It was then that Buffy, as well as the others, could clearly see a large
patch of blood staining Faith's shirt along the lower edge of her rib cage. "Oh my God, Faith, you're hurt!" Buffy exclaimed. "Why didn't you say
something?" Faith gave the blonde an incredulous look. "Like when?" Buffy ignored Faith's sarcasm and pressed on worriedly. "When did this
happen?" "Night before last, on patrol," Faith answered with a shrug. "It's just a
scratch. Messed it up running here, I guess. It's no big deal." "Faith, you're a slayer!" Buffy said. "If it's still bleeding after two days,
it's a big deal. You're going to the hospital." Without allowing time for an
objection, Buffy turned to Xander and held out her hand. "Xander…keys!" she
ordered in no-nonsense fashion. Buffy's suddenly commanding tone made Xander instantly comply. He picked up
his keys and tossed them over without question. "Come on," Buffy told Faith, moving into place beside her to lend assistance. "No. No doctor," Faith said, shaking her head. "I'll be fine. Slayer healing
will take care of it." As Buffy helped Faith walk to Xander's car, the others merely watched, a
mixture of emotions on their faces. After the two slayers had gone a few steps,
Buffy turned back to the group. She gave them an apologetic look. "I'll catch you guys later, okay? We can
talk then?" The three gave Buffy a collective nod, not knowing what else to say. Buffy
smiled in return and then went back to assisting Faith. Giles frowned a bit
until he overheard the slayers as they walked away. Faith was objecting that she
wasn't going to the ER, and Buffy of course was insisting the contrary. As the
debate between the slayers continued, Giles couldn't help but smile. A short time later, Willow and Xander were riding back from Kingman's Bluff
with Giles. In the front passenger seat, Willow once again had her arms crossed
tightly in front of her. "I can't believe Buffy didn't tell me about her and Faith," Willow pouted. "I
mean, this obviously didn't happen just this second. Something's been going on
for a while, it had to, but she never said anything. I'm supposed to be her best
friend. I'm supposed to know about these things." "To be fair, she hasn't exactly been herself of late," Giles said. "Not since
what happened with Pete." He gave Willow a reassuring smile. "I'm sure she would
have told you…had she not been under such stress." "Why are you worrying about this?" Xander said frantically. "What's past is
past. Let's worry about something that really matters. Like my car. Buffy
Summers is driving my car." "You gave her the keys," Giles reminded him. "Well, she got all commander-y," Xander said defensively. "What was I
supposed to do?" "Stop drooling?" Willow suggested. Xander shot her a mini-glare. The crowd at Sunnydale Hospital's emergency room had been surprisingly small,
and Faith had been taken back and treated fairly quickly. Buffy had stayed at
her side, but the two of them had kept their conversation light, unwilling to
have any serious discussion amidst the hustle and bustle of the emergency room. The doctor had first treated the wound on Faith's side, cleaning and
stitching it. Then he had examined Faith's knee. After x-rays and a thorough
series of manipulations, he judged it badly strained and bruised, but nothing
more. He gave Faith a shot of antibiotics and a tetanus shot then gave her two
bottles of pills. One contained a full series of antibiotics, and the other
contained a few days' worth of heavy-duty painkillers. Despite her objections,
the doctor made Faith take one of the pain pills right then and there. Once she had done so, he finished up the paperwork and approved the slayer's
release. Soon the two girls were on their way out of the hospital. Within minutes, the two arrived at Faith's motel room. Buffy led Faith inside
and helped her over to the rumpled bed. Faith shook her head groggily as she sat
down. "Man…I think that painkiller's kickin' in," Faith said with a slight slur in
her voice. "Good," Buffy said as she began rummaging through Faith's dresser for some
fresh clothes. "Maybe it'll…" She turned back to the bed with a t-shirt in her
hand and found Faith passed out on the bed. "…knock you out." Buffy sighed and set the t-shirt aside. She walked over and knelt at Faith's
feet. She took off the slayer's boots then gently shifted her legs until Faith
was lying in the bed properly. After that, Buffy pulled the thin sheet over
Faith's body. When Buffy picked up one of the pillows to place it beneath
Faith's head, she found a photograph underneath. It was the Polaroid of the two slayers dancing at the bar after they had
defeated Kakistos. Buffy took one look at the image of herself with the drink
umbrellas stuck in her hair and shot a mock glare at the sleeping Faith. Then
she chuckled and set the photo aside. After easing a pillow under Faith's head, Buffy took off her shoes and
slipped into the bed on the other side. For the longest time, Buffy just stared,
her eyes softening at the sight of the slayer. God, she is so beautiful, Buffy thought as she pushed a strand of dark
hair off Faith's forehead. She gave a small smile then shook her head in
disbelief. I can't believe this is happening. I can't believe I'm here, right now, with
Faith. I was so sure that she just…hated me. But she doesn't. She likes me, she
really likes me. Buffy made a mental snort. Okay, stop channeling Sally Field and get real. She sighed heavily and then continued. Does she like me? Really? She
hasn't said. Well, technically I haven't said either, not to her anyway, but…she
kissed me, Buffy offered with a hopeful tone. Soon her face creased into a
smirk. Boy, did she ever! Mmmmm, kissing Faith, definitely wanna do more o' that…put
that one on the ol' to-do list… Buffy immediately began fanning herself. Is it hot in here, or is it just
me? What was I saying? Oh yeah. Faith. Does she like me? With a kiss like that, I'd have to say that's a definite…She looked over
at Faith, and worry crept into her eyes.…maybe? Buffy groaned in her mind. You're thinking about this too much! she
chided herself. Just go to sleep. You can ask her when she wakes up. At that, Buffy snuggled in close to Faith and rested her hand lightly on the
slayer's stomach. Ahhh, much better…She closed her eyes, and it wasn't
long before she too was sound asleep. Several hours later, Faith woke up. She blinked her eyes in slow motion as if
she were still somewhat groggy from the pain medication. After several seconds
of blinking and a few deep breaths, the fog cleared, and Faith realized where
she was: in her motel room, in her own bed, with Buffy curled up next to her. Faith's gut immediately tightened into a knot as she instinctively reacted in
typical morning-after fashion. It took her body a minute or so to catch up to
what her brain was trying to tell her. Eventually, she relaxed and allowed
herself to enjoy the feeling of Buffy's body next to hers. She leaned down and
nuzzled into Buffy's blonde hair. Faith's moment of peace didn't last long; soon
her inner voice began badgering her. What are you doing? the voice asked. Not gettin' comfy, are ya? Cause
we don't do all that lovey-dovey bullshit, remember? Faith let out an annoyed grumble at her inner self. Look, don't kid yourself, the voice told her. Relationships ain't our
thing. You know that. Faith's expression changed as mere annoyance became serious worry. You've already gotten yourself in deeper than you should have, the voice
went on. Faith closed her eyes and frowned. "Shut up," she told herself, not realizing
she had spoken out loud. Not until Buffy stirred awake beside her. "Whaaat?" Buffy asked sleepily. "Was I snoring?" "No," Faith replied quickly. "I was just…never mind." Now fully awake, Buffy sat up and looked at Faith with concern. "Are you
okay?" "I was just about to ask you the same thing," Faith replied seriously as she
also sat up in the bed. "Hey, I'm not the one who was too 'bad ass' to go to the doctor when
she got hurt," Buffy teased. "No, you're the one who just tried to walk off a cliff, that's all,"
Faith teased back. Buffy's light expression fell away, and Faith instantly
regretted her words. "Shit! I'm sorry…I didn't mean it like that…I was just…"
Faith said, trying her best to salvage the conversation. "No, no," Buffy corrected, nodding her head. "Valid point, I…I did try
to do that." Buffy's face creased into a frown as she remembered the day's earlier events.
Faith frowned too as she watched Buffy stare at her hands in her lap, but she
didn't speak; she just waited for Buffy to go on. After an eternity of silence,
Buffy finally continued. "I can't explain it," Buffy said softly. "I was just…going crazy, I guess,
and I look at it now, and I can't believe that was me. It's like I was under
some kind of spell, and then boom! I wasn't anymore." She looked up and met
Faith's eyes. Faith's thoughts went to the backlash curse, but she chose not to mention it.
"And now?" she asked. "I remember how I felt," Buffy replied. "I mean, all that's still there,
but…it's not…I don't know." Buffy shook her head in confusion. "What's still there?" Buffy took a deep breath and returned her gaze to her hands. "Guilt over
killing Pete, for not saving Debbie…what I did to Scott…feeling like I failed
Giles, failed my calling…" "None of that was your fault," Faith said, reaching out to place a comforting
hand on Buffy's arm. "I know," Buffy whispered, not lifting her eyes. After another long moment of silence, Faith asked, "What else?" Buffy gave a small shrug and said, "I guess there's some pain in there. It
hurt so much when Scott broke up with me." Faith froze then pulled her hand away. Buffy's head shot up, and she looked
at Faith with panic in her eyes. "Not because I – I mean, he's nice, but I didn't want to be with him. It was
you I wanted, but when he – It was too much, I couldn't – Not after you'd just
–" Buffy's frantic babble was cut off when Faith gave her an earnest and
passionate kiss. After it was over, Buffy sighed and reluctantly finished her
last sentence. "– left." Faith's eyes filled with guilt, and she looked away. Buffy dropped her gaze
to her hands, and once again, the conversation stalled. Eventually, Buffy looked up. Her eyes were slightly wet, and she had to clear
her throat before speaking, but she made herself go on. "The other night," she said quietly, "you kissed me like that…like you wanted
me too…and then you just left. Why?" "Why I kissed you or why I left?" "Both, but mainly why you left." It took a long time for Faith to answer. "Why do you think?" she finally said
with a rueful chuckle. "I was scared. Scared shitless." "Of what?" Buffy asked. "W-W-Was it because we're both girls…?" "Hell no," Faith said, smirking a bit. "I've made it with a girl before.
More'n one, actually. But never one that I –" Faith stopped, and Buffy looked at her expectantly. A flash of fear entered
Faith's eyes, and she glanced away. When she looked back up, she forced herself
to finish. "– never one that I gave a damn about seein' again after." At Faith's last line, the two slayers locked eyes for a long moment. Then
Faith hung her head, directing her gaze at the bed. "Hell, I'm probably not makin' any sense at all," Faith said. "Yes. Yes, you are," Buffy assured her. "Look, I'm sorry," Faith said, glancing up and taking Buffy's hand in hers.
"I didn't mean to hurt you. That's what I was trying not to do. I knew if
we got involved, I'd do what I always do – get some and get gone – and you'd get
hurt, and I'd feel like shit, and –" Buffy snatched her hand out of Faith's grasp. An angry expression was on her
face. "Is that what you're gonna do? 'Get some and get gone?' Stay with me long
enough to bed me and then leave?" "No!" Faith insisted. "At least I don't think so, I'm not planning to,
I don't want to –" Faith clenched her fists in her lap and growled in
frustration. "Why is this so fuckin' hard??!!!" Faith forced herself to take a couple of deep breaths. Then she lifted her
head and looked at Buffy intently. "Listen, B, what I'm trying to say is…for the first time in my life, I don't
want to 'get gone'." She paused and searched Buffy's eyes, but all she saw was a pair of stony
walls. Faith shrugged and went on. "I don't know what that means," she admitted. "All I know is…" She took
Buffy's hand again. "…I don't want to be without you." Buffy's walls slowly crumbled, and her expression softened as tears slipped
over her lids. She gave a small laugh and wiped the tears away. Then, in a
slightly choked voice, she said, "You know, coming from such a cynic, that was
pretty damn beautiful…" Faith's expression widened into a large smile. "Well, you'll notice I didn't
deny still wanting the 'get some' part of the equation…" "I did notice," Buffy said, laughing but also blushing a little. "And
I'm very glad to hear it." After exchanging playful grins, the two sobered, and Buffy went on. "Faith,
I'm just as confused as you are. I don't know how it happened or how it happened
so fast. All I know is…when I'm with you, it feels wonderful, and I haven't felt
that way in a very long time. I want to see this through, wherever it goes." Faith nodded in agreement. "Me too." The two smiled lovingly for a moment then leaned in for a kiss. It was a
sweet, slow kiss, full of warmth and gentleness, but it left them no less
breathless when it was done. "So…what are you gonna tell the others?" Faith asked. Buffy groaned and plopped back against the pillow. "I have no idea. I
mean, I'm having trouble explaining it to you. I don't know how I'll
explain it to them." Buffy let out a long, deep sigh. "I should call
them, though. Set up a time at least." "Sounds good," Faith replied. "And while you're doing that, I'm gonna grab a
shower." She lifted her shirt and sniffed. "I smell like antiseptic." Faith threw the sheet off and swung her legs over the edge of the bed. When
she stood up, a small grunt of pain escaped her lips. Buffy was instantly at her
side. "Are you okay? Do you want me to help you in the shower?" Buffy offered. Faith's mouth quirked into a sexy grin. "Oh, I want you in the shower all
right," she said, grasping Buffy by the hips and pulling her close. She kissed
Buffy hungrily, passionately, and Buffy eagerly did the same. After planting a
line of kisses along Buffy's neck, Faith breathed into Buffy's ear, earning a
small shiver from the blonde slayer. "But…I'd rather be a 100% for that
endeavor. Okay?" Buffy couldn't form words at the moment, so she just nodded vigorously when
Faith pulled away and looked at her. The dark slayer grinned, pleased with the reaction she was getting from
Buffy. "Be back soon," she promised. "Okay," Buffy replied, but in a voice much higher pitched than normal. She
was over-nodding again, too. At that, Faith turned and headed for the bathroom. When Faith had gone in and
shut the door, Buffy let out the breath she had been holding. Her face was
flushed, and she began to fan herself. "I think I need a shower, too," Buffy mumbled. "A cold one." After a final fanning, Buffy headed for the phone to call Giles. As soon as Buffy hung up the phone from calling Giles, she immediately dialed
her mother's gallery. She waited a few rings, and then her mother answered. "Hi, Mom," Buffy said into the phone. "Hey, Honey," Joyce answered cheerfully. Then a little worry crept into her
voice. "Is everything all right?" "Everything's fine, Mom," Buffy said. "I just wanted to check in with you,
let you know I was okay…" Just then, the bathroom door opened, and a barely-towel-clad Faith came
walking out. Buffy's attention was instantly drawn toward the freshly-showered
slayer. "…I, um, I know you've been, ahem, worried about me, and I wanted you to know
that…" Faith released the towel from her body and tossed it over in the corner
beside the small dresser. She pulled out a pair of underwear and started to put
them on. Out of the corner of her eye, she saw Buffy staring. Faith grinned
mischievously and then quite intentionally turned in Buffy's direction, giving
her a nearly-full frontal view as she finished pulling on her panties. Buffy froze for a solid second, almost dropping the phone. Then she rapidly
ducked her head so that her gaze was safely averted. "…I'mfeelingmuchbetter," she said hurriedly to her mother. Then she gave a
small, awkward laugh before continuing at a more normal pace. "Much much better.
Yeah. Feeling pretty good. Right now. Uh-huh…" Faith grinned and turned back around to complete the task of getting dressed. A few seconds later, Buffy finished her call to her mother, making sure that
she told her about the meeting with Giles that night. After saying good-bye,
Buffy made a point to hang up the phone with a noticeable amount of noise; then
she loudly cleared her throat. She waited a full second after that to finally
peek up and look in Faith's direction. Finding her mostly dressed with only
shirt, socks, and shoes to go, Buffy got up and walked over. "So…how's your side?" Buffy asked. Faith turned and examined the wound. "Not bad," she said. "I probably
shouldn't have gotten the stitches wet, but hey…not like I'm gonna need 'em for
long." "Do you want another pain pill?" Buffy asked as she pointed out the medicine
bottle on the dresser. "No way," Faith answered as she slipped on her shirt. "That stuff knocked me
out." "No kidding," Buffy teased. "I turned my back for one second, and you were
passed out. I had to tuck you in and everything." "I guess we're even then," Faith teased back. "Miss I-Can't-Hold-My-Liquor." "Funny you should bring that up," Buffy said pointedly as she stepped back to
retrieve something from the night stand. When she turned around, she was holding
up the Polaroid from the bar. Faith tucked her hands in her back pockets and gave a laugh that was only
slightly repentant. "Cute, huh?" "Oh yeah. Love my new fashion accessories," Buffy added, calling attention to
the drink umbrellas in her hair. "I suppose there's one for every drink I had?"
she asked as she set the picture on the dresser. Faith shrugged. "Well, not counting the shots…" Buffy groaned and covered her face with her hands. "God, no wonder everything
is a blur from that night." "So you don't remember anything?" "Bits and pieces…flashes…" Buffy said. "I kinda remember this one part, but I
don't know if it was real or a dream." "What was it like?" Buffy's brow creased in thought. "We were sorta…dancing. Outside the bar,
though. And you were holding me. Really close…" Faith pulled Buffy into her arms. "Like this?" she asked, holding her hands
firmly at the small of Buffy's back. "Yeah, like that," Buffy answered slowly, a little huskiness entering her
voice. The two slayers stared at one another for a long time before Faith finally
said, "And then what happened?" "I-I-I don't know, I…" Buffy paused to think. "Sometimes I think we kissed,
but…Did we?" Faith's face spread into a broad grin as if she were going to tease Buffy by
not answering, but then she said, "No, we didn't." "Oh." Buffy seemed disappointed by that response. "Don't get me wrong," Faith added. "I wanted to." She gave Buffy a
full-dimpled smile and a wink. "I mean, who wouldn't?" When she got a small smile in return, Faith leaned in for a kiss, but Buffy
moved her head back and made eye contact instead. "So, why didn't you?" she
prompted. Faith froze for a moment, apparently stumped by the question. She pulled back
a bit and looked away. "Uhhh…I don't know…I mean, I could have…but you
were all…and I didn't want to –" It was Faith's turn to have a babble cut off with an embrace as Buffy pulled
her close and kissed her soundly. "Thank you," Buffy said sincerely when they finally separated. The two then exchanged warm glances, although it was clear from Faith's
expression that she wasn't exactly sure what she was being thanked for. "So…you hungry?" Buffy asked, changing the subject. Faith smirked widely but chose not to twist the innocent question into more.
"Starved," she replied simply before nodding at the door. About an hour later, Buffy and Faith were at the late-night diner where they
had eaten the night of Kakistos. They had pretty much the same fare:
cheeseburgers, fries, milk shakes, and more. When they had finished and paid the
bill, they leaned back in their booth with satisfied expressions on their faces. "Man, that was good," Faith said, patting her stomach. "Just what I needed." "Me too," Buffy agreed. "Oh, don't forget these," she added, pulling a
medicine bottle from her pocket. "ER doc said you should start these tonight." "Oh yeah," Faith said, taking the bottle of antibiotics from Buffy's hand.
"Thanks." She twisted off the cap, took out a pill, and washed it down with a
big gulp from a mostly-melted chocolate shake. Then she tucked the bottle into
her own pocket. Buffy looked at her watch and then cast a nervous glance at Faith. "It's, um,
it's almost time for the meeting. We should – I mean, I should, you know,
get going, I guess…" Buffy eased out of the booth and stood up, and Faith did
the same. "I mean, you can come…I-I-I wish you would come…but
you're probably tired, and-and rest would be good for you right now, so I'd
understand if you didn't want to come, but –" Faith took Buffy's hand to stop her ramble. "I'll come," she said simply. Buffy's face immediately brightened. "Thanks." At that, the two left the diner, hand-in-hand. A short time later, Buffy and Faith were outside Giles's apartment. Buffy
hesitated in the alcove, eyeing the door with more than a little unease. When
Faith stepped up beside her, Buffy gave an embarrassed laugh. "Sorry, I-I-I'm a little nervous," Buffy said. "Stupid, huh?" Faith stood in front of Buffy and put a hand on her arm. "Look, they're your
friends, they love you. All they care about is making sure you're okay." Just then, Xander dashed from the apartment. When Faith turned around, he
blurted, "Where is she? Is she all right?" When Faith stepped aside to reveal
Buffy, he grabbed the blonde's arms and asked frantically, "Is she still in one
piece?" Buffy rolled her eyes and pointed at the curb outside the complex. Xander
rushed out of the alcove toward the street. "Okay, so much for that theory," Faith quipped. "Buffy!" Willow said excitedly when she saw her best friend through the
doorway. When she stepped outside, she then realized Faith was also there.
"A-A-And Faith," she added much less enthusiastically. She turned back to Buffy
and smiled again, pulling her friend into a warm hug. "I've been so worried
about you, all day." When she ended the hug, she put her arm around Buffy and
guided her toward the open front door. Faith's jaw clenched tightly, but she said nothing as she entered the
apartment behind the two friends. Once they were inside the apartment, Buffy left Willow to greet her watcher,
who was standing beside his desk. Giles placed his hand on Buffy's shoulder and
smiled at her, but Buffy wasn't satisfied with just that. She wrapped her arms
around him, and though a little surprised at first, Giles happily returned the
gesture. Faith and Willow passed by them and each took a seat in the den: Willow in
the middle of the sofa and Faith on the loveseat across. The two eyed each other
suspiciously but didn't say a word. "Are you all right?" Giles asked Buffy as they pulled out of their hug. "I am," she said, nodding with confidence. "Really, I am." "Glad to hear it," Xander said cheerfully as he shut the door and came over.
As Buffy held out the keys, his expression grew serious. He took the keys,
tucked them in his pocket, and then grasped both of Buffy shoulders. "Really, I
am," he said, repeating her words with total sincerity. "You know that, right?" Buffy put one of her hands over his and smiled. "I do." After giving Buffy a big hug, Xander moved into the den and sat on the far
side of Willow on couch. When Giles gestured Buffy toward the seating area,
Willow expected Buffy to sit next to her, but instead, Buffy headed straight for
the loveseat, where Faith sat sprawled with her arms draped across the back.
Willow frowned a bit as Faith shifted over to make room for Buffy to sit next to
her. Once Buffy was seated, Giles sat down next to Willow. Then all three looked
in Buffy's direction and waited. Before beginning, Buffy looked nervously at Faith. Faith gave her a
reassuring smile and touched her back briefly. Buffy took a deep breath and
turned back to face the others. "First, I want to say thank-you for everything you did today. Faith told me
how you all rallied to my rescue," Buffy said. "A-A-And I wanted to say thanks,
too, for understanding when I just ran off at the bluff without explaining
anything." Buffy reached out and touched Faith's leg and shot her a quick
glance. "I-I-I was just worried about Faith, and I wanted to make sure she was
okay." "And how are you, Faith?" Giles asked. "What did the doctor say?" "I'm good," Faith replied. "Got stitched up, got some meds, knee'll heal on
its own. Like I said, it's no big deal." Buffy rolled her eyes and shook her head at Faith's nonchalant attitude
toward her injuries. "Well, good. I'm happy to hear it," Giles said. "You should stay off patrol
for another day or so at least, though," he pronounced. Then he added, "Both of
you." It was Faith's turn to roll her eyes, but she didn't object to her watcher's
orders. And neither did Buffy. Giles inched forward on the couch and said, "I, um, I wanted to talk to you,
Buffy, a-a-about what happened today. I –" "I know, I know," Buffy interrupted. "It's crazy. I was telling Faith
earlier, I can't believe I did that. It's like I lost my mind or something."
Then she promptly clarified, "I don't feel that way now. Crazy, I mean."
She sighed and shrugged. "I can't explain it. I don't know why it happened." "Well, that's what I – we – need to talk to you about," Giles went on.
After a short pause, he said, "We know why this happened." "What?" Buffy said with a confused look on her face. She glanced about the
room, making eye contact with each one. "I-I-I don't understand." "It's because of what happened with Pete," Willow explained. "When you…when
you killed him, it…it triggered something." "A backlash effect," Xander added. "A kind of…guilt curse." "Yes, it's-it's built into the slayer power itself, you see," Giles
continued, "as a kind of, um, safeguard to prevent slayers from using their
powers against humans." "It's what made you crazy, not you," Faith said. Buffy looked appalled at what they just told her. She got up from the
loveseat and walked away. She kept her back to them for a long time before
turning back around. "You knew about this?" she said. "All of you? And you didn't
tell me?" "We wanted to tell you, we did, but we were afraid," Willow insisted. "Afraid
that…" She stopped and looked at Giles imploringly. "…afraid that if you knew about the curse, it would only increase your sense
of guilt," he finished for Willow. "That you'd feel that you deserved the curse
and whatever consequences it brought." "We were trying to protect you, Buffy," Xander added. "Slayers who
kill humans…well, they don't exactly have a good track record when it comes to
beating the backlash. We didn't want to lose you." Faith leaned forward and rested her arms on her knees. She wouldn't meet
Buffy's gaze. "I was supposed to keep an eye on you, but –" Willow and Xander's
loud scoffing stopped her. After a brief pause, she went on. "But then things
got…" She stole a quick glance at Buffy. "…complicated." She shook her
head and looked down at the floor. "And I thought I had screwed things up, so I
figured you'd be better off if I left." "And what a brilliant idea that was," Willow grumbled. "No kidding," Xander said. Faith pointed angrily at Willow and Xander. "Look, you weren't there, okay?
You don't know what it was like!" Xander shot a glare at the watcher at the other end of the sofa. "We weren't
there because Giles wouldn't let us be there." At that, everyone but Buffy started into a simultaneous argument. "Another brilliant idea…" Willow said. "I didn't let you go because…" Giles began. Willow scoffed again. "…like Faith would be a good idea." "Hey!" Faith objected. "I wanted to go," Xander insisted, "but nooo…" "…I didn't want to set off Buffy's –" An ear-piercing whistle from Buffy stopped all four in mid-argument. "Enough!" she shouted. Then she glared at each one until they calmed down. When she was sure that
they wouldn't pipe up again, she took a moment to calm herself and to gather her
own thoughts. She let out a long exhale and then spoke. "I think I understand why you did what you did. I know you were doing what
you thought was right. But you can't keep information like that from me,"
she told them. "It's hard enough being the slayer when I know everything. So no
more secrets, okay?" Everyone nodded in acquiescence except for Willow. "We weren't the only ones
keeping secrets," she pointed out. Buffy sat down next to Faith again and hung her head. "I know." When she
glanced back up, she kept her eyes fixed on Willow. "I would've told you, but…I
didn't know what was going on myself." Buffy turned and gave Faith a rueful
smile. "Still don't know exactly." Faith returned the smile, and Buffy turned
back to the group. "But we're going to find out," she said. "Together." There was a bit of a warning in that last word as Buffy spoke it. And for a
very long series of moments, no one said anything. Then Xander grinned and broke
the ice. "Together," he said rather whimsically. "I like together. Especially the kind
of together I saw earlier today. Will we get to see more of – Ooooommpphhh!"
Xander cradled his arm against his side where Willow had once again elbowed him.
"Jeez, I was just tryin' to lighten the mood." After a few chuckles, the group sobered again, and Faith turned to Giles.
"So…is this backlash thing over now?" Giles shrugged uncertainly. "I, um, I honestly have no idea. The records
didn't indicate any kind of specific timeline. It's possible that the effects
might last for weeks, perhaps even years. Buffy herself will probably be the
best judge of that." He turned toward the blonde. "Buffy?" "I definitely feel different now," she answered. "I told Faith I felt
like I had been under a spell and that when we were on the bluff it seemed like
the spell had been suddenly broken. I guess I was right." She dropped her gaze
to her hands. "I mean, I still feel bad about what happened. I don't think I'll
ever get that image out of my head." She frowned a bit and then added in relief,
"But at least I don't have Pete screaming in my ear any more." All four listeners blurted "What?" at exactly the same time. "When things got really bad," Buffy said softly, "Pete was there. N-N-Not 'in
my head' there, but 'out here' there. Kind of like a ghost or something." She
paused a moment, her eyes filling with pain. "He was taunting me,
reminding me of what I had done, blaming me." She hung her head once again. "He
told me that I had failed my calling…that I was broken now…that the world would
be better off without me." Anguished expressions crept onto the faces of Buffy's friends as it finally
became clear to them the degree of torment Buffy had truly been under the last
several days. Faith reached out and took Buffy's hand in hers. "Buffy, I'm so sorry…" Giles said. Buffy forced her frown away and looked up, but there were tears in her eyes.
She wiped them away and said, "But he's gone now. At least I think he is.
I haven't seen him since…" She didn't finish that sentence; she just looked at
Faith and smiled. "If you see any sign of him," Giles commanded, "or experience any
hint of what you felt before, you must tell us immediately. Understood?" Buffy nodded in agreement. "Good," Giles said. Now satisfied with her compliance, he moved on to a
relevant side topic. "Have you, um, have you spoken with your mother yet?" "I called her after I talked to you," Buffy replied. "Just to let her know I
was okay." Alarm suddenly came over Buffy's face. "Does she know about
all this too?" "Yes, I'm afraid so," Giles answered. "Well, about the curse, yes. But not
about what happened today, at the bluff." Buffy let out a breath of relief. "Good. I don't think I'm ready to tell her
that part yet. She's worried enough as it is. If I tell her any more, I'll be
spending the rest of my senior year under house arrest." Everyone laughed, and then Willow said, "No kidding. Remember when she
grounded you when we were trying to stop the Harvest?" "Do I ever," Buffy said. Then she sighed and said, "Oh, I'll explain it to
her somehow. Without the scary details. And when enough time has passed,
like twenty years or so, then I'll tell her what really happened." "A-A-And what were you just saying earlier about no secrets?" Xander
reminded her. "That was just for us," Buffy said with a hint of a pouty whine. "Moms don't
count." As the meeting fell into pleasant small talk, Willow excused herself to go to
the bathroom. When she came out, she found Buffy waiting in the hallway outside. "Oh, sorry, were you waiting for the bathroom?" Willow asked. "Um, no, actually I was waiting for you," Buffy replied. "I-I-I was hoping we
could talk. You know…just you and me?" "Okay," Willow said. "Y-Y-You wanna go outside?" Buffy looked toward the den, turned back to Willow, and said, "Yeah. Maybe we
should." When the two friends had stepped outside into the alcove, they took a seat on
the bench nearby and continued their conversation. "I'm sorry I didn't tell you what was going on," Buffy said, reaching out to
touch Willow on the arm. "Since Pete, I just –" Willow took Buffy's hand in hers. "I get it, Buffy, I do," she said
sympathetically. "I just wish I had known what you were going through. It must
have been awful." "It was," Buffy said, dropping her gaze to her hands. When she looked up, she
said, "A-A-And the whole thing with Faith got mixed up in all that, so that's
why I didn't say anything…I just couldn't." "But…how did this happen? This thing with Faith?" Willow asked in a whisper.
"I mean, since I've known you, you've always…you've never been…you know…so
inclined?" "Believe me, I know," Buffy agreed. "But there it is, and I guess I am, at
least with Faith, anyway." "But, but…Faith?" Willow asked skeptically. "I know it seems weird, but there's something between us," Buffy said. "And
it's…powerful." "But…Faith?" Willow repeated, still incredulous about the whole
matter. "She's about as trustworthy as Ethan Rayne in a chaos shop. She ran out
on you, Buffy. When you needed her the most." "No, honestly," Giles insisted. Xander and Faith looked at Giles with doubt in their eyes. "Unicorns are not a fable," the watcher repeated. "They really do exist." "Unicorns?" Faith asked skeptically. "I'll prove it," Giles said, rising to his feet. He turned to his bookshelf
and began scanning the shelves. "I know there's a reference in the Compendium…" Both Faith and Xander rolled their eyes and shook their heads. After a few
seconds of waiting for Giles to find his reference, Faith glanced worriedly at
the front door. Xander noticed, got up from his seat, and joined Faith on the
loveseat. "They're talkin' about you, you know," he said. Faith dropped her gaze to her hands. "Yeah, I figured." Then she looked at
Xander. "I'm surprised you're not out there, jumpin' on the ol'
bash-Faith-bandwagon." Xander shrugged. "Well, I can't say I haven't got reason to," he admitted.
"Still more than miffed about the night you left Buffy." Faith didn't reply. She just nodded ruefully. "But…the fact of the matter is…you saved Buffy." Xander looked at her
intently. "We wouldn't have gotten there in time. And even if we had, I don't
know if we could have stopped her. You did, and that's good enough for
me." Faith took that in. Then she grinned and said, "Plus you got to see two hot
chicks with superpowers makin' out." "That was a definite bonus, yes," Xander replied, grinning as well. "Well, don't expect a repeat performance," Faith teased. "I don't usually
work with an audience." "Oh, just a glimpse every now and then shall be sufficient," Xander said.
"I'm sure my vivid imagination will fill in the gaps." "I'm sure," Faith quipped. "I, um, I don't understand this," Giles said, having turned around to face
Faith and Xander once again. "I was certain I had the proper volume…" Giles
seemed quite put out. Xander and Faith tried not to burst out laughing at the unhappy watcher. "No, that wasn't her fault," Buffy insisted. "It was my fault.
I made her run." "Oh come on, Buffy! What could you have done to make her run away?" Willow
scoffed. "I mean, really…" "I kissed her." Willow did a double-take. "W-W-Whaaat?" "I kissed her." Buffy gave an embarrassed shrug. "I had a nightmare, and she
was comforting me, a-a-and I kissed her." Willow's mouth dropped open. It stayed there for a few seconds and then began
to move. "I, uh, ee, oh, um…" "I think I've rendered you speechless, Will," Buffy quipped. "Either that or
you're picking a very strange moment to practice your vowel sounds." Willow's brain was still struggling to process what Buffy had just told her.
It simply did not compute. If anyone was the initiator in this affair, it had to
be Faith. Didn't it? "W-W-Well, w-w-what happened?" she finally managed to ask. "She kinda froze," Buffy answered, "with this look of shock on her face. I
got worried. I thought I had totally screwed up. But then…she kissed me back."
Buffy's eyes lit up, and her lips skewed into a smirk. "And I mean kissed…me…back,"
she added, emphasizing each word. "I-I-It was good?" Willow asked nervously but with more than a little
curiosity. "Ohhh yeahhhh!" Buffy confirmed. "So, how did you get from you thinking 'oh yeah!' to her going 'I'm outta
here!'?" "She just freaked," Buffy said. "She shoved us apart, backed away from
me toward the door, and just ran. Of course, the state I was in, her leaving was
like…my world was coming to an end." Buffy's expression became pained. "And the
things Pete said to me…" Willow gave Buffy's hand a squeeze. "But she still ran," she pointed out.
"Doesn't that bother you?" "Maybe a little, but she explained why she freaked, and I understand where
she was coming from." Willow didn't look convinced, but she chose not to press the matter further. Just then, Faith came out of the apartment. She approached cautiously and
said, "Hey, you ready to go? You said you wanted me to walk you home." "Yeah, um, sure," Buffy said. "Let me say bye to Xander and Giles, and I'll
be right out." At that, Buffy went inside, leaving Faith and Willow alone. The two made
darting glances at one another but didn't speak. At least not until Willow began
eyeing Faith with suspicion once again. "You got something to say, Red?" Faith finally asked, turning to face Willow. "I sure do," Willow said, turning to confront Faith. "If you hurt her, I will
beat you to death with a shovel. Got it?" Faith's eyes widened, and her mouth opened slightly. She couldn't believe the
mousy redhead was actually threatening her. She was even more surprised when
Willow didn't back down. Instead, Willow gave Faith one final glare and stomped
inside. "Damn," Faith said, impressed. Within seconds, Buffy came back outside, having made all of her good-byes to
the other Scoobies. Then they two of them headed down the steps from Giles's
apartment. "So…that went pretty well," Faith commented as they reached the sidewalk at
the curb and started toward Buffy's house. "Yes, it did," Buffy said with a smile. Then she sighed and added, "Only one
more hurdle to go." "Mom?" Faith inquired. "Yep." "Piece o' cake," Faith said as she wrapped her arm around Buffy's shoulders. "That's easy for you to say," Buffy replied. "It is, isn't it?" Faith shot a smirk in Buffy's direction. Buffy rolled her eyes, but then she quickly put her own arm around Faith's
waist, and the two slayers walked down the street together. After leaving Giles and the others, Buffy and Faith headed toward Revello
Drive. Holding hands, they walked very slowly, intentionally prolonging their
time together. They didn't speak of the day's events; instead, they made light
banter and simply enjoyed each other's company. When they reached the Summers home, they stopped on the sidewalk out front,
reluctantly releasing each other's hands. Faith tucked her hands into the back
pockets of her pants and struck a laid-back pose. Buffy fidgeted and swung her
arms a few times before finally hitching her thumb over her shoulder. "Well, this is it," she said. "My house. Where I live." "Yeah, it sure is," Faith said, going along with Buffy's statement of the
obvious. Buffy twisted her hands nervously. "I'd, um, I'd invite you in, but I kinda
need to have that 'Mom talk' I mentioned." Faith shrugged nonchalantly. "No big. I get it." "Good," Buffy said, letting out a relieved breath. "I didn't want you to
think I was blowing you off or anything. 'Cause I'm not…it's just…Mom doesn't
know what's happened…with the curse o-o-or with us and…I need time to explain it
all." "Like I said, I get it." "Thanks," Buffy said as she gave Faith's arm a grateful squeeze. Then she
looked down at her hands. "To be honest, I wish I could just skip the 'Mom talk'
and go directly to the 'snuggle with Faith' part." Faith's lips curved into a smirk. "Is that right?" she asked before reaching
out and pulling the blonde into her arms. They stood close, resting their hands
at each other's hips. After a shy pause, Buffy said with confidence, "Absolutely." Then she leaned
in for a kiss. It started slowly, warmly, sensuously, but soon it became something more –
something powerful and passionate, something that wouldn't stand for still
hands. When the two slayers separated moments later, both were breathing
heavily. Buffy managed a chuckle and said, "You know…you are really good at
that." Faith flashed her a full-dimpled grin. "I got the maaaad skiiiiiillls." Then
she gave Buffy a nod of approval. "You're pretty good yourself." Buffy blushed and ducked her head. "Really?" "Hell yeah!" Faith confirmed without hesitation, earning her a smile from
Buffy. After a long gaze between them, Buffy eventually pulled away. "I'd better get
inside," she said, taking a backward step toward her house. "See you tomorrow?" "Sure. I'll stop by the school." "Okay. I'll see you then. Have a good night." "You too." They both hesitated, not really parting, until Buffy finally turned and
walked to the front door. After unlocking her door, she looked back and saw
Faith waiting. The two exchanged quick waves, and then Buffy went inside. Once she had locked the front door, Buffy went upstairs to find her mother.
When she got to the top of the stairs, her mother's bedroom door opened, and
Joyce stepped into the hall. "Buffy, thank goodness," Joyce said. "I was just about to call Rupert and
tell him to send you home." Buffy made a pouty frown. "Mommmm…" "No, I don't like the way he monopolizes your time," she stated firmly. "It's
slayer this and slayer that. You need time to rest." She reached out and
caressed her daughter's hair. "Especially after what you've been through." Buffy smiled, and the two moved into a long, warm hug. When they pulled away,
Buffy looked her mother in the eyes. "I know you've been really worried about me," she assured her, "but I'm okay
now. That backlash thingee I was under…I think it's broken." Joyce's expression became worried. "You know about the curse? But Rupert said
that –" "I know," Buffy explained. "He was just trying to protect me. But I kinda had
a breakthrough today, and after that, he figured it was okay to tell me. That's
what we were talking about tonight, actually." "A breakthrough? I don't understand." "I got really upset at school, a-a-and I kinda freaked and ran," Buffy said.
When she saw the alarmed look on her mother's face, she quickly continued. "But
Faith found me and talked to me, and after that, I just…felt 'right' again." Joyce folded her arms tightly. "Faith?" she asked, her voice dripping with
skeptical sarcasm. Buffy sighed. "You sound like Willow." "Do you blame me?" Joyce countered. "She was supposed to be watching
over you, and she left." "I know," Buffy admitted. "But that wasn't her fault." Joyce merely rolled
her eyes in disbelief. "Please…just trust me on this, okay?" Joyce didn't look the least bit convinced. "So she just 'talked' to you, and
suddenly you were all better?" "Well, not 'suddenly'," Buffy pointed out. "Not instant-like or anything. It
took some…very special…" She paused to consider how to word the next part. "…persuading,"
she finally said. "Eventually, though, it sank in, and I got it, and I felt like
a burden had been lifted off my shoulders." Buffy shrugged. "I can't explain it.
I think it must be some kind of 'slayer bond.' All I can say is…Faith reached me
when no one else could." Joyce still seemed doubtful, but her eyes softened a bit. "So…you really
think it's gone…it's broken?" "Yes, I do," Buffy told her. Joyce pulled her daughter into another hug and kissed her on the top of her
head as she tightly held her. "I was so worried," she said, "and I felt so
helpless." "I think we all did – me included," Buffy answered. "But I guess it just had
to run its course. Like a fever or something." When mother and daughter moved out of their hug, Buffy took a step toward the
bathroom. "It's been a long day," she said. "I'm just gonna grab a shower and
hit the sack." "Sleep well, honey," Joyce said. "And sweet dreams." Buffy gave a rueful laugh. "Let's hope so." At that, Joyce returned to her bedroom, and Buffy headed for the bathroom. A short time later, after she had finished her shower, Buffy returned to her
room and got dressed for bed. When she turned away from her dresser, she
suddenly heard a tapping at the window. Tugging down on the hem of her
nightshirt, she cautiously approached. When she peeked around the curtain, she
saw Faith on the other side of the pane, kneeling on the roof of the house.
Buffy's eyes lit up in surprise, and she instantly opened the window. "Faith!" she chided. "How did you get up here?" "I'm a slayer, remember?" Faith quipped as she crawled inside the window. "A slayer with a strained knee! Not to mention thirty-something stitches in
her side," Buffy scolded. "You're supposed to be taking it easy, not scaling
houses in the middle of the night." Faith shot her an unrepentant smirk. "In case you hadn't noticed, I don't
always do what I'm supposed to." "Yeah, I had noticed that," Buffy replied as she closed the window. "Admit it," Faith teased. "You're glad I'm here." Buffy couldn't contain her smile. "I am," she said. Then she glanced
worriedly at her bedroom door. "But what if my mom finds you in here?" Faith gave a big shrug. "We'll just tell her it's another 'slayer
sleepover'." Buffy rolled her eyes, walked to the bedroom door, and locked it. "What?" Faith asked with a grin. "She didn't have a problem with it the last
time I was here." Buffy let out a deep sigh as she walked back to Faith. "That was before." Faith lost the grin. "Before I ran out on you, you mean," she stated evenly. "Well, yeah," Buffy confirmed, "but I was thinking more like…before she knew
we were seeing each other." "So you told her?" Buffy shook her head. "No, not yet." She let out another sigh. "I'm still
working on the 'I'm really okay now' part and the 'Stop blaming Faith' part." "Oh." Faith dropped her gaze to her hands. "She's pretty mad, huh?" "Yeah," Buffy answered with a nod. "But…she's getting there. It's just gonna
take a little time." Buffy reached out and put her hand on Faith's arm. "I
didn't tell her about us because I think she's got all she can handle right now.
I'll give her a day or two to let all that other stuff sink in, and then I'll
break the news." "How do you think she'll take it?" Faith asked, finally looking up. "Don't have a clue," Buffy confessed. Then she put on a smile. "But you
know…my last significant other turned out to be a hundreds-year-old homicidal
vampire, so…" Faith laughed. "True. Guess I gotta like my odds against that." Buffy walked over to the bed and turned back the covers. "So…you gonna join
me for our 'sleepover'?" "Only if you promise not to braid my hair or give me a magazine makeover,"
Faith said. "Don't worry," Buffy chuckled. "I think you're safe." As Faith started pulling off her boots, Buffy went back to her dresser and
got out the same big t-shirt that Faith had worn the last time she had stayed
with Buffy. She walked over to Faith and handed it over. "I hope you washed it," Faith teased. "All that drool last time…" Buffy swatted Faith's arm. "Hey, you're lucky I don't make you sleep naked." "Oh, you wish!" Faith needled. Buffy blushed furiously, cleared her throat, and blurted, "Never mind." Then
she scurried back to her nightstand to switch on the bedside lamp. After that,
she turned off the overhead light and returned to the bed – all without glancing
in Faith's direction. Faith snickered to herself, set aside the borrowed t-shirt, then started to
pull her own shirt off. When a sharp sting shot through her side, she hissed in
pain, which caused Buffy to rush over. "See?" Buffy chided. "You hurt yourself getting up here, didn't you?" Faith scoffed and shook her head as she tossed her shirt to the floor. "It
just hurts when I move certain ways sometimes." She leaned aside to allow Buffy
to see the stitched area. "I'm fine," she insisted. She felt Buffy reach out and
gently place her hand on the wound. She expected it to hurt, but she found the
touch to be surprisingly warm and soothing. Buffy frowned and looked at Faith. "I'm sorry," she told her. "I should've
been with you. You wouldn't have gotten hurt if –" "Stop," Faith said, turning to take Buffy's hands in hers. "No more o' that,
okay? The guilt trip ends here." Buffy just stood there blinking for a long moment before finally nodding.
"Okay," she whispered. Faith released Buffy's hands. While Buffy returned to the bed, Faith finished
undressing. After she had put on the borrowed t-shirt, Faith joined Buffy in
bed. Buffy leaned over to switch off the lamp; then she turned back over to lie
facing Faith. With the faint light from outside, the two could still clearly see
each other. They were close, within touching distance, but not snuggling. It was
a long time before one of them finally spoke. "What a day, huh?" Buffy commented. "Uh, yeah," Faith deadpanned. "Went from being the worst day of my life – almost the last day of my life,
in fact – to being one of the best days." "One of the best, huh?" Faith asked. "Hmmm…emergency room fun, group
intervention with Giles and friends, and mega-talk with mom…yeah, that's my idea
of a good day." Buffy refused to be swayed by Faith's sarcasm and continued insistently.
"Know why it was one of the best?" Faith just looked at her without answering. "Cause I was with you," Buffy said sincerely. Faith felt a slight blush creep into her cheeks, and she looked away. When
she glanced back up, Buffy gave her a warm but very sweet kiss. When they pulled
apart, Faith cleared her throat and changed the subject. "Hey…did you know that Giles believes in unicorns?" "What?" Buffy replied incredulously. "Yep. When you and Willow went outside to talk, he tried to convince me and
Xander that unicorns were real." "No way!" "He even tried to look it up in his books to prove it," Faith said. "Couldn't
find it, though." Buffy grinned mischievously. "Oh, I am soooo gonna tease him about that." "You should get him a unicorn paperweight or something," Faith suggested. "I should," Buffy replied, pleased with that idea. An awkward silence entered the conversation. But Faith soon broke it.
"So…ummm…what did you and Willow talk about?" She hoped her question had sounded
nonchalant. Buffy's teasing grin told her it hadn't. "What do you think we talked
about?" Buffy countered. "I'm guessing me." "And me," Buffy answered with a nod. "You me and me me. The whole 'us' thing.
You know…how it happened, why I didn't say anything, and did I really know what
I was getting into." Faith didn't reply. She just listened. Buffy laughed as she recalled the earlier discussion. "She totally freaked
when I told her that I kissed you first." Faith grinned at that. "Yeah?" "Totally," Buffy confirmed. "It reduced her to vowel sounds." Then she paused
to think about the matter more deeply. "I don't think she expected that." "I sure as hell didn't," Faith interjected. When she realized how her
words might have sounded, she instantly began correcting herself. "I mean, I
knew that something was happening. I felt it." "I did too," Buffy added. "But you were – And I was –" Faith stopped and let out a long breath and then
started over. "When you went to kiss me, my brain kept screamin' at me to stop
you, to not let you do it, but the truth is…I didn't want to stop you. I didn't
want to stop myself either." "But you did," Buffy said softly, with a little hurt in her voice. "You
stopped it." You definitely stopped it, she thought sadly to
herself. "Yeah…too late, though. Then I just fuckin' panicked. Jesus…" Feeling guilty
and embarrassed, Faith ran her hand through her hair and looked away. "I made
everything worse. Willow and Xander…they should be mad at me." "They're not mad…" Buffy said, trying to be consoling. When Faith pinned her
with a stare, Buffy added, "…much." Faith scoffed loudly. "Maybe not Xander," she said, "but Willow? She
threatened to beat me to death with a shovel if I hurt you." Buffy's eyes widened in total surprise. "And she wasn't kidding either," Faith went on. "Red's got guts, I give her
that." "She's just being protective," Buffy said, once she had gotten over her
shock. "You know…best friend duties and all." Faith didn't reply. She just nodded, not really very comforted by Buffy's
explanation. Buffy tried again. "She's just worried." Faith looked away. "About what?" Buffy hesitated at first. She didn't want to say anything to hurt Faith, but
at the same time, she wanted to be honest about Willow's fears – and her own. "I think she's afraid that…" Buffy lowered her gaze. "…that you're gonna run
out on me." She looked back up and searched Faith's eyes. Are you? she
asked Faith silently in her mind as she held her breath and waited. Faith felt her stomach twist into a knot under Buffy's stare. She felt her
internal voice begin to nag her. Don't make promises you can't keep, it
told her. You know how you are. You don't know where this is going. Faith took a deep breath and looked into Buffy's eyes. The more she stared,
the more she felt her inner voice fade away. "I'm not going anywhere," she told
Buffy before moving over to give Buffy an earnest kiss. After the brief kiss, Buffy let out the breath she had been holding, and it
very nearly came out as a sob. She wrapped her arms around Faith and pulled her
close. Faith returned the embrace, and the two of them lay warmly entwined until
exhausted sleep finally overtook them. The next morning when Buffy woke up, she found herself being spooned by
Faith. The dark slayer was snuggled against her back and had her arm draped over
Buffy's side. Buffy smiled and sighed, basking in the sense of safety and contentment she
felt at being wrapped in Faith's embrace. She liked this feeling; she liked it a
lot. Plus, for the first time in several days, she had slept the whole night
through without a single nightmare. And that was definitely a good thing. Buffy smiled again and then very carefully turned over. Despite Buffy's
repositioning, Faith remained asleep. Buffy reached out and gently moved a
strand of dark hair aside so that she could see Faith's face more clearly. She
studied her features as if awestruck, as if she were seeing them for the first
time, as if she wanted to memorize every part of them: the long dark lashes of
her eyes, the slight hint of a cleft in her chin, the full red lips. Just as
Buffy felt a lump form in her throat, her reverie was interrupted by a voice. "Take a picture," Faith mumbled with her eyes still closed. "It'll last
longer." Then she opened her eyes and grinned. Buffy grinned back and said, "If I had a camera handy, I would. I'll have to
settle for a mental snapshot." Faith ran her hand through her bed-head hair. "Gettin' me back for that bar
picture, huh?" "No, I'm reserving that revenge for a later date," Buffy promised.
Then she added, "This is just me liking what I see. Ha! And I even rhymed when I
said it." Faith snorted and rolled her eyes. "You're goofy in the mornings." "At least I'm not grumpy," Buffy countered, giving Faith a nudge. "Who you callin' grumpy?" Faith threatened. "I'll show you grumpy." Faith began to tickle Buffy, making her squeal and laugh. Buffy fought off
the attacking hands and managed to throw back the covers and jump out of bed.
Faith quickly crawled across the mattress and grabbed the blonde before she
could fully escape, and the two of them ended up in a tangle on the floor. Faith
got in a few extra tickles before finally straddling one of Buffy's legs and
pinning her arms above her head. Buffy giggled once or twice more, then found herself mesmerized by the look
that Faith was giving her. It was a smoldering stare that made Buffy flush with
excitement. Her heart began to race, and her breathing became rapid and shallow. Without releasing Buffy from her stare, Faith slowly slid her body down
Buffy's and then just as slowly slid it back up again. She held her face
directly over Buffy's and said, "Still think I'm grumpy?" Buffy didn't answer. Instead, she wrested one of her arms free and yanked
Faith down into a crushing kiss, which Faith eagerly returned. She released
Buffy's other arm and pulled the blonde up to sit in her lap, wrapping her arms
around the smaller slayer's body. They kissed again and again – deeply, urgently
– with their hands roaming, along arms and over shoulders and down t-shirt-clad
backs, before sneaking under shirttails so that fingers could touch skin. When they finally pulled apart to catch their breath, Faith whispered
huskily, "I want to see you…touch you." Buffy froze, and Faith instantly felt the tension in Buffy's body. Faith put
a little more distance between them, but she kept her eyes on Buffy, trying to
gauge her reaction. Faith waited a few moments, and when the heat between them
didn't dissipate, she took off her own shirt and tossed it aside. Buffy swallowed hard then shyly looked down at Faith's bare chest. Her heart
rate immediately kicked up a notch. She was breathing hard when she looked back
up and met Faith's eyes. She saw intense desire there, but no pressure, no
judgment. Buffy gave Faith a small, vulnerable smile and then slowly pulled her
own shirt off. Faith returned the smile; then she dropped her gaze to Buffy's breasts. She
stared at them appreciatively for quite a long time. To Buffy, it seemed like an
eternity of staring, but she resisted the urge to cover up during Faith's
scrutiny. Finally, Faith looked back up and gave Buffy a sexy smirk. "This is me liking what I see," Faith said, her eyes sparkling. Buffy laughed in relief, but only for a moment, before Faith planted a hungry
kiss on Buffy's lips. They kissed passionately, over and over, letting their
hands now run freely over each other's bare skin, their fingertips leaving
trails of fire everywhere they went. When Faith left Buffy's mouth, she took her kisses to Buffy's collarbone and
then up the blonde's slender neck. Buffy gave a shiver and leaned her head back,
sinking her hands into Faith's long hair. "Oh God…" she moaned when Faith's hand touched her breast. Faith softly caressed the breast several times, then gave it a squeeze as she
lightly bit into Buffy's neck – not enough to cause pain or even to bruise the
skin, but enough to render Buffy incapable of forming words. The blonde was able
to make only a strangled groan as she pressed her hands against the back of
Faith's head as an encouragement to her to continue exactly what she was doing. "What the hell is going on here?!!!" At the sound of Joyce's angry voice, Buffy and Faith instantly separated. The
two slayers had been so caught up in each other that they had not heard Joyce
knocking at the door and then opening it. When they saw Joyce scowling furiously
at them, they immediately snatched up their shirts and put them back on. They nervously shot guilty glances at one other and at Joyce until Buffy
finally attempted to answer her mother's question. "Uhhh…I…we…uhhh…" When Faith saw Buffy floundering, she tried to step in. "Yeah, we…ummm…we
were just –" "Wrestling!!!" Buffy suddenly blurted out, interrupting Faith. "A-A-As
in the…Greek fashion," she went on awkwardly. "Hence the…mostly nakedness and
the…" She growled in frustration and dropped the guise. "You're not buying any
of this, are you?" Joyce gave her daughter a harsh glare as an answer and then turned her
attention to Faith. "How could you do this?!" she accused. "First you run out on
her and then you try to…to…seduce her?! What kind of a person are you?!!" "Mom, no! It's not like that," Buffy insisted, getting to her feet. Joyce ignored Buffy's pleas and stayed focused on Faith. "I want you out of
my house. Right now!" Faith didn't say a word. She just got up and walked over to where her pants
were lying on the floor. She picked them up and started pulling them on. "No, no," Buffy said to her mother before backing up to talk to Faith.
"Please…don't go," she told her. Faith glanced at Joyce then back to Buffy. "I think I better." When she saw
the distraught look on Buffy's face, she added softly, "I'm not 'leaving.'
I'm just leaving here. I'll catch you at school later, okay?" Buffy still seemed unhappy, but she whispered "okay" back anyway. Once Faith had fastened her pants, she grabbed her boots and other clothes
and headed out the bedroom door. Buffy watched her go, but as soon as Faith was
out of sight, Buffy turned on her mother. "Why did you do that?!!" Buffy demanded. "This is my house, young lady," Joyce shot back. "And I'll decide
who stays in it and what's…what's…" She paused, trying to come up with the
right words. "…done in it!" she finished. "But –" "NO!!!" Joyce said sharply, cutting off Buffy's objection. "This is
not open for debate!" She pointed toward Buffy's dresser. "Now get dressed
and get to school," she ordered. "We'll talk about this when I get home from the
gallery." At that, Joyce stomped from the room and slammed the door, leaving a stunned
Buffy behind. After parting ways with her furious mother, Buffy rushed to school. She
hurried down the hallway toward the library. When she pushed open the double
doors, she found Willow at one of the tables, dutifully studying before class. "Oh, Willow, thank god you're here," Buffy said as she joined Willow at the
table, dropping her bag on its wooden surface. Willow looked up and saw a very upset Buffy in front of her. "What is it?"
she asked worriedly. "What's wrong?" "Something happened," Buffy replied. "With me and Faith." "I knew this was gonna happen! I knew we couldn't trust her!"
Willow exclaimed angrily. "What did she do?!" she demanded, leaning aggressively
forward on the table. Despite her distress, Buffy's lips curled into an amused grin. "Hold on
there, Will. Don't get out your shovel yet." Willow sat back in her chair and crossed her arms. "No thank you," she said
resolutely. "I think I better hang onto it." She quickly uncrossed her arms and
leaned forward again, though this time with curiosity and concern. "Seriously,
what happened?" Buffy rested her arms on the table. "Well, after Faith walked me home, I went
inside and talked to my mom. I told her that I was okay and that the curse
seemed to be broken and that Faith had been an important part of that." Willow lifted a skeptical brow at that. "Yeah, she took it about as well as you did," Buffy said, giving Willow a
look. Then she went on. "I didn't tell her about me and Faith yet. Figured I'd
give her a couple of days before I dropped that bomb on her." Willow nodded her head in approval. "Anyway, after the talk, she went to bed, I took a shower and went back to my
room. When I got inside, Faith was at the window. I let her inside, and…well…she
spent the night with me." Surprised, Willow lowered her tone. "You snuck her into your room, and she
stayed the whole night?" Buffy gave a small nod and then shrugged. "Neither one of us had really
wanted to say goodnight earlier, and we had a lot to talk about." After a brief
pause, she continued. "So anyway, we got dressed for bed and turned in. We
talked for a while, and then we went to sleep." Willow pinned Buffy with a glare of doubt. "Yes, we really did go to sleep," she told Willow firmly. "But this morning
when we woke up, we were kinda fooling around, and things got…" Buffy blushed
deeply. "…hot." Willow swallowed noticeably. "H-H-How hot are we talking here?" Buffy ducked her head for a moment and said, "Ummm….so hot that we were
mostly clothes-less?" Willow's eyes got really wide. Then they heard a loud thud coming from the stacks above them. They turned in
that direction. "Giles?!" Willow called out in alarm. A sheepish voice drifted from the stacks. "Sorry. Dropped a book. A very
large book. Sorry to have startled you." A look of outrage came over Buffy's face. "Were you eavesdropping?!" Giles came to the railing above the girls. "Certainly not!" Willow and Buffy gave him a look of disbelief. "Not intentionally anyway," he corrected. Willow and Buffy glared at him. "It's not my fault that voices carry in here," he justified. Willow and Buffy rolled their eyes and turned back to each other. Giles
slipped back into the stacks. Willow and Buffy leaned closer and spoke in a
slightly lower tone. "So what happened? Did things get weird or something?" Willow asked. Anger
flashed in the witch's eyes, and she leaned forward again. "Did she hurt you?
Did she try to make you do something you didn't want to do?" Appalled, Buffy said, "No! It was nothing like that." Then she smiled, a glow
spreading over her face. "It was wonderful, actually." Her smile became a
naughty grin as she added, "And good." "So what went wrong?" Willow suddenly reached across the table and grabbed
Buffy's hand. "She didn't go evil, did she?" "No!" Buffy instantly denied. Then her tone became chiding. "Willow!" Willow gave an embarrassed chuckle. "Sorry, ha…it's just…ha…um…" She cleared
her throat and said, "You were saying?" Buffy took a deep breath and let it out slowly. "Mom found us." Willow gasped, lifting her hand to cover her mouth. "She came in my room, and she saw us," Buffy said ruefully. "In the flesh.
Yep, doin' the flesh thing." "Dear Lord!" came Giles's distressed voice from the stacks. It was quickly followed by a small crash that sounded like an avalanche of
books. Buffy looked up at the railing. "Not to worry…I'm all right," they heard the watcher say. Buffy sighed and ignored Giles. Willow stayed focused on Buffy. "What happened? What did she do?" "What do you think she did?" Buffy replied. "She completely freaked. I mean,
she just got an eyeful of me and Faith rounding second base in the middle of my
bedroom floor. She –" "Oh. My. God." Willow paid no mind to the interruption; she merely stared off with a puzzled
expression on her face. Buffy, however, let her shoulders slump and then turned
toward the shocked voice. She found Cordelia and Xander standing a few feet
away. Cordelia tilted her head in Buffy's direction. "Did I just hear that correctly?" Cordelia asked pointedly, her eyes shining. "I sure hope so," Xander added, grinning unrepentantly. Buffy dropped her head into her hands. Willow seemed to be still picturing the bedroom scene. "You were on the
floor?" she asked, confused. "Why were you on the floor?" "Who was on the floor?" Oz asked as he joined the group at the table. "Buffy and Faith," Cordelia immediately answered, savoring the juicy gossip.
"They were totally indulging in some shared slayer lust when her mother
came in and found them." Oz thought about that a second, his expression never changing. "Oh. Okay." Buffy groaned loudly and dropped her head to the table. Somebody shoot me,
she thought to herself. Cordelia turned to Buffy. "Are you two a couple?" She didn't wait for an
answer; instead, she turned to the others. "When did this happen? Why am I just
now hearing about it?" "Sorry," Xander said. "I haven't had time to tell you." "You knew about this?" she accused. "Well, it only just happened yesterday," he explained. "Yesterday?" Cordelia turned back to Buffy. "Boy, you two sure are workin'
fast, aren't you?" "Too fast," Willow added emphatically. Buffy suddenly straightened up and smacked her palms on the table. "Okay,
that's enough." She got to her feet. "I'm leaving now. You'll be able to hash
out my utter humiliation much better if I'm not here." Buffy grabbed her book bag and angrily walked off. Willow stood up, concerned about her friend. "Buffy? We didn't mean to –" Buffy didn't even look back. She just waved her hand in a save-it gesture and
kept walking. Just then, Faith came into the library. When she saw how upset Buffy was, she
reached out and stopped her. "What's wrong?" "You mean other than what happened with my mother this morning?!"
Buffy shot back. "Ask them!" She pointed back at the Scoobies and then
stomped out, leaving a confused Faith behind. Faith hesitated, not sure whether to follow Buffy or not. As Giles made his
way down from the stacks, Faith finally walked over to the Scoobies, who were
sporting a mixture of expressions. Giles seemed nervous. Willow looked guilty. Cordelia was in defensive denial.
Oz was…well…Oz. Xander looked afraid. "What the hell is going on?!" Faith demanded as she scanned the group. Angry slayer, angry slayer! Must flee! Xander thought to himself.
"Nothing!" he blurted when Faith's glare landed on him. His eyes darted around
the room. "We were just…" He grabbed Cordelia's arm. "Leaving!" "No, we weren't," Cordelia said. "I want to hear what – Oooohhh!" Cordelia couldn't finish her statement because Xander dragged her away. Oz looked at Willow, and Willow gave him a nod. At that, Oz left the library.
Willow then turned to Faith. "Buffy was talking about what happened this
morning." "She told all of you?" Faith demanded. Giles awkwardly dropped his gaze to the floor. "No, not exactly. She, um…" "She told me," Willow said, shooting a glare at the librarian. "Giles
eavesdropped." "I did not eavesdrop," Giles said in useless denial. "I-I-I merely
overheard. By accident." Willow shook her head and went on. "The rest just blundered in on the whole
thing." "Oh," Faith said. After a brief pause, she asked, "So…Buffy…she's upset?" "Well, yeah! Do you blame her?" Willow shot back, taking a step in
Faith's direction. "For God's sake, Faith, what were you thinking?!" Faith flinched under the sudden attack. "Did you want her to get in trouble? Is that it?" Willow accused. "Or
are you so gung-ho on earning another conquest that you don't even
care what happens to Buffy?" Faith's eyes blazed as she turned to confront Willow. "Another conquest? Is
that what you think I'm doing with Buffy?" Willow didn't back down. She crossed her arms tightly. "You tell me." Faith didn't answer right away. She just fumed for a moment. "I don't have to
tell you anything!" she finally spat back. "What happens with me and
Buffy is between me and Buffy. Got it?" "Fine!" Willow said before stomping off in a huff. A few steps later, she realized she had left all of her books on the table.
Refusing to be embarrassed about the mistake, she walked purposefully back to
the table, slammed her open book shut, and scooped her things into her book bag.
Once she had swung her pack onto her shoulder, she looked right at Faith. "Fine!" she repeated and then stormed out of the room. Once Willow had left, Giles and Faith were alone. Neither spoke for a long
time. They just stood in awkward silence, lost in their own thoughts.
Eventually, Giles turned his gaze to Faith. She glanced his way briefly then
sighed and ran her hand through her hair. "Looks like I messed things up again," she said wearily. Giles looked on sympathetically and simply waited for her to go on. "I think I left the door unlocked," she explained in a quiet voice. "The bedroom door, you mean?" he asked. "Yeah," Faith answered sadly. "When I got up to go to the bathroom in the
middle of the night." She shook her head disgustedly. "If I hadn't done that,
then Buffy's mom wouldn't have been able to come inside and catch us." "It was a simple accident, Faith," Giles told her. "Nothing more." Faith wouldn't meet his eyes. Giles tried again. "What happened between you and Buffy was something you
both wanted, was it not?" Faith looked up and nodded. "Then you mustn't shoulder the whole burden yourself. Any blame to be
assigned isn't yours alone. It's Buffy's as well." Faith gave a rueful shrug. "Tell that to Buffy's mother." Giles frowned a bit. "She, um, she didn't take it well, I presume?" Faith scoffed loudly. "That's an understatement. She kicked me out of the
house." She guiltily dropped her gaze. "Accused me of running out on Buffy then
trying to seduce her." Faith raised her head and gave Giles a pleading look. "I
swear that's not what I'm trying to do." "I believe you, Faith," Giles said sincerely. "I mean, the last thing I wanna do is hurt Buffy," Faith said. "But maybe
being with her is hurting her more than not being with her." Faith looked
away sadly. "Maybe she'd be better off without me." Giles reached out and touched Faith's arm. "It's a bit early to make
judgments like that, don't you think?" Faith let herself feel his touch and concern for only a few seconds before
she pulled out of his grasp and stepped away. "I mean, who am I kidding, Giles?
I'm not relationship material. I've been fucked over so many times that
I'm totally screwed up myself." She began pointing dramatically. "Willow knows
it. Buffy's mom knows it. Hell, you probably know it too, you're just bein' all
nice about it." Giles smiled at her gently. "I assure you, I know nothing of the kind." Faith refused to accept that. "What's the matter?" she challenged. "Didn't
the Council give you a nice fat file with my name on it? Full of all kinds of
juicy tidbits like 'lifetime of physical and emotional abuse' and 'prone to
violent outbursts' and my personal favorite 'no chance of becoming a fully
functional individual'?" "Faith, I know your life's been difficult, but –" Giles began. Faith scoffed softly. "Yeah. Right. 'Difficult'." Her pained expression
quickly turned to one of anger and disgust with herself. "I mean, I don't know
why I even care. She's not my mother." She crossed her arms tightly. "I
don't owe her anything." Giles sighed then softly said, "You care about what Joyce thinks because you
care about Buffy." The phone at the check-out desk began to ring, and Giles started moving in
that direction. Faith followed along with him as they continued their
conversation. "Just remember that Mrs. Summers in shock right now," Giles told her. "Once
she comes out of it, I'm sure she'll be much calmer and more understanding.
You'll see." When Giles got to the desk, he picked up the phone and answered it. "Library.
This is Mr. Giles." "Rupert," came Joyce's angry tone through the receiver. Flustered surprise came over Giles's face. "Oh, Joyce, um, Mrs. Summers, I –" "Do you know what I found Buffy doing this morning?!!!" Joyce's voice
was so loud that Giles had to pull the phone away from his ear. Faith's expression fell. "I'm outta here," she said before trudging away. While helplessly watching Faith leave, Giles tried to form words to reply to
Joyce's question but couldn't. Joyce didn't wait for an answer anyway. "I need to see you immediately! I'm
coming over there right now." "Oh, um…why don't we meet at the coffee shop on the corner?" Giles managed to
interject. "Neutral ground, as it were?" "Fine," Joyce replied, clearly not happy. "I'll be there in ten minutes."
Slam! Giles grimaced at the sound. Then he sighed and put the receiver down. Giles was already at the coffee shop when Joyce arrived. She was frowning as
she walked over. Giles smiled at her, trying to smooth things over, but it
didn't work. She just scowled back. "Ah, Joyce…please sit down," he said. "It's, um, it's good to see you." "Good?" she said sharply as she sat down. "There's nothing 'good' about any
of this. I assume you know what happened." Giles cleared his throat. "Well, um, yes. Buffy came in this morning and
spoke with Willow about it, and I-I-I happened to overhear. She seemed quite
upset about it." "She's upset?!!" Joyce replied, incensed. "I just walked in on my
seventeen-year-old daughter, half naked, in her room, making out with…with…Faith!" A few nearby customers gave the two strange looks. Giles flashed them an
embarrassed smile and then turned back to Joyce. When he opened his mouth to
speak, Joyce interrupted. "It was bad enough when I learned about her having sex with Angel, but this…" Giles tried once again to interject but failed. Joyce was on a roll. "I just don't get this…she's into girls now? I mean, where did
this come from? She's been boy crazy since puberty for goodness' sake! Is she
gay now?" Joyce leaned angrily across the table. "What has Faith done to
my daughter?!!" she demanded. As the other customers again looked at them strangely, Giles tried to calm
Joyce down. He made a placating gesture and spoke slowly and gently. "I know
you're upset, and you have every reason to be, but there are some things I need
to tell you." Although she was still far from calm, Joyce gave Giles a small nod,
indicating that she was willing to listen. "First of all," Giles told her, "you need to know that what is happening
between Buffy and Faith is very real and it's entirely mutual. Faith is not in
any way attempting to seduce your daughter. Her feelings are completely sincere,
as are Buffy's feelings for her." Joyce kept a stoic demeanor. "Go on." "Secondly, you need to know that their relationship, as young and fragile as
it might be, was critical in Buffy's breaking free of the backlash
curse." Joyce softened a bit at that. "Buffy said that Faith reached her when no one
else could." She looked to Giles for confirmation. "It's true," he said. "Buffy was extremely distraught right before the curse
was broken. It was Faith who brought her back from the edge." He cleared
his throat. "Metaphorically speaking, of course." Joyce thought deeply about this, clearly not wanting to accept it. She
finally sighed and slumped back in her chair. "I just don't understand how Buffy
can be involved in this kind of relationship. I mean, my daughter, a lesbian?" "Well, i-i-it's my opinion, actually, that Buffy may be bisexual, not
lesbian," Giles explained. "In fact, Council records indicate that many slayers
in the past have had partners from both sexes at one time or another. It's
possible that bisexuality is more prevalent among slayers than the general
female population. Or that the slayer power somehow brings forth the bisexuality
inherent in the most people." Joyce gave Giles a clear frown. "Was that supposed to make me feel better?" "Uhhh, well, I, umm…I hoped it might." "My little girl is sexually active, and she's not even out of high school
yet," Joyce said. "I don't know how to feel good about that." Giles reached out and put his hand over Joyce's. "She's growing up," he said
softly, but in a tone designed to remind Joyce of the stated fact's
inevitability. He gave her an encouraging smile. "But just remember this: No
matter how grown up Buffy becomes, she will always need her mother. And
right now, she needs her mother very much." Joyce's eyes filled with tears as she considered his words. After refusing to speak to her friends all morning, Buffy sat at a lunch
table alone, staring at her tray and picking at her food. When she heard a
shuffling of feet in front of her, she looked up and saw Willow and Xander
standing there. Willow gave her a sheepish smile and shrug. Xander waved a small
white flag made from a napkin and a straw. "Truce?" Willow offered. "Maybe," Buffy replied evenly. Encouraged that the slayer had at least spoken to them, Willow and Xander
eased into the empty chairs at Buffy's table. "Look, Buffy, we're really sorry about this morning," Willow said. "Yeah," Xander added. "You were trying to tell us something really important,
and we –" "Us? We?" Buffy asked pointedly, making Xander backtrack. "Uhhh…I mean…you were trying to tell Willow something…something I had
no business hearing, and which I have now completely erased from my memory!" He flashed Buffy a smile, but she just scoffed and rolled her eyes. Erased
from his memory…yeah right, Buffy thought to herself. More like
permanently etched into his brain. "I-I-I should've done something," Willow said. "Stopped everybody before it
got too…" She struggled to think of an appropriate word. Failing, she simply
said, "I'm sorry." "It's not your fault, Will," Buffy said. "I should've known better than to
discuss my private humiliations in gossip central." "You know what we need," Xander interjected, a teasing expression on his
face. He made them wait and then said, "A cone of silence." He ignored the twin
eyebrow lifts and went on. "That way, any time two of us need to have a private
conversation, we'll just activate the cone of silence." "Yeah 'cause that worked so well for Maxwell Smart," Willow commented. Buffy's mind instantly imagined herself and Willow in the library inside a
transparent plastic device, yelling ineffectually at each other. "My mom caught me half-naked with Faith!" Buffy screamed. "What?!" Willow screamed back. At a tapping, Willow turned to look outside the device where Xander yelled,
"She said that her mom caught her half-naked with Faith!" Willow mouthed "Oh" and turned back to supposedly-secure conversation. Buffy shook her head and laughed, unable to prevent herself from chuckling at
the scene transpiring in her head. Xander and Willow laughed with her, grateful that they seemed to be getting
past the kink in their friendship. Buffy's light mood quickly vanished, though, and she dropped her gaze to the
table, frowning in worry. Willow reached out and touched her friend's arm. "It went bad this morning,
didn't it?" she asked softly. Buffy just nodded her head in reply. "Mom was…furious," she said. "I
don't think I've ever seen her so mad." "She's just in shock, Buf," Xander said. "She'll calm down. You'll see." "I don't think so," Buffy said ruefully. "She went off on Faith pretty bad." Good! Willow thought to herself. She deserves it! As Buffy
prepared to go on, Willow took a deep breath and pushed her angry thoughts aside
and tried to think of a more diplomatic way of expressing herself. "She kicked Faith out of the house," Buffy said, "ordered me off to school,
and said we'd talk when she got home from work." "Your mom's just worried about you," Willow suggested. "She doesn't want to
see you hurt. And Faith's already hurt you once. She just doesn't trust Faith."
Willow glanced away while continuing. "She sees her as the potentially
heart-breaking sl…" At a glare from Buffy, she corrected herself. "…uh…slayer
that she i…may be." Willow managed to look a little repentant under Buffy's stare, but then the
witch's eyes grew serious. "I'm worried too," she told her best friend. "After all you've been
through…losing Angel, getting hit with that curse…if she hurts you, I'm just
scared that –" "That's not going to happen," Buffy said, cutting her off. She looked Willow
in the eyes and did the same for Xander. "I believe that," she said resolutely,
her gaze coming back to the redhead. After a long, wordless stare, Xander finally broke the silence. "Well, I'm
glad we got that settled, eh?" Willow and Buffy didn't reply, so he went
on. "Now…let's talk about more interesting topics, like what we are going
to do to make up for our little bout of insensitivity this morning." He gestured
at himself and Willow. "Right," Willow said, brightening somewhat. Buffy looked at her friends
curiously. "We're gonna give you and Faith the rest of the week off on patrolling,"
Xander said proudly. "Yeah, all of us," Willow added. "Even Giles." An amused grin spread over Buffy's face. "You're kidding." Xander put on an offended expression. "Hey, we handled patrol just fine while
you were gone. Didn't we, Will?" "You bet your sweet bippy, we did!" Buffy tried not to laugh too hard. "Okay then, apology accepted. I will leave
patrol in your capable hands." She reached out and shook Willow's hand to seal
the deal. When she took Xander's, she could stop herself from adding,
"Nighthawk." "And don't you forget it," he told her, shaking her hand firmly. At that, the three friends fell easily back into their usual comfortable
banter, putting their heavy thoughts aside, at least for a time. When classes were over that afternoon, Buffy and Willow were walking out of
school together. Buffy moved at a pace only slightly faster than a snail's, and
she kept her eyes trained on the ground. She sighed heavily about every five
feet. Willow decided to broach the subject. "So…almost time for the big talk, huh?" "Uhhnn," Buffy whined as she stopped in place. "Don't remind me." "I-I-I'm sure it'll go fine," Willow stated, trying to be positive. Buffy rolled her eyes and looked over at her friend. "As fine as my 'coming
out as a slayer' went over with Mom?" "That was different," Willow insisted. "Everything was kinda crazy then, and
it all got thrown in her lap at once in some big shocking surprise, a-a-and I'm
not helping, am I?" The witch frowned. "It's okay," Buffy replied. "I appreciate the effort." The two friends smiled at each other. Suddenly, Willow's expression hardened
when she saw Faith approaching. Buffy noticed and turned around. "I'll see you later, okay?" Willow told Buffy, causing the blonde to turn
back to her. "Call me tonight and tell me how things went." Without waiting for Faith to arrive, Willow turned and left. Buffy seemed
torn about what to do, turning toward Faith and then back to Willow again. But
Buffy didn't call out to the witch. "Hey." Buffy turned toward the greeting and found a somber Faith standing in front
of her. "Hey," Buffy answered. Faith nodded her head in Willow's direction. "I probably should have worn a
jacket. Gettin' cold around here." Buffy gave an explanatory shrug. "She's still a little mad about this
morning, that's all. Speaking of which…I'm really sorry I bailed on you at the
library. Me makin' with the angry stomp-off, it didn't have anything to do with
you. I just had to get out of there." Faith didn't seem worried about that. "Yeah, Giles filled me in after you and
everybody else left." She paused before adding, "Then your mom called." A mortified expression came over Buffy's face. "My mom called Giles?" Faith winced and nodded. "She was kinda yellin'." Buffy's whole body slumped in defeat as the dread of what awaited her just
took over. Faith instantly pulled her girlfriend into a warm hug. Buffy exhaled
deeply and just let herself sink into the embrace, not realizing how much she
needed it until she was in it. After a long moment, she whispered, "I wish you could come with me." Faith chuckled. "Don't think that's such a good idea right now." "Phooey." They pulled out of the hug and stepped apart. "Can I call you? You know, after?" Buffy said, twisting her shirt tail
nervously. "I, um, I have a feeling I'm going to need to talk." Faith gave her a smile of affirmation. "I'll be at my place." "I also have a feeling that I'm going to be grounded for the rest of my
senior year, so you may get to be the Slayer of the Year after all." Faith waved that notion away. "Ah, it won't come to that. Slayer stuff trumps
everything, even moms." Buffy let out a scoffing snort. "Oh I'm sure that little motto's gonna go
over great with my mom. She'll probably cross-stitch it on a doily and
keep it right by her bed. NOT!" Faith saw a shadow pass over Buffy. She could see that the blonde looked
quite frightened and very close to crying. "What if…" Buffy began in a strained voice. "What if she tells me I can't see
you anymore? I don't think I could –" Faith covered Buffy's mouth with her hand to stop her impending emotional
rant. Then she put her arms around Buffy once again and locked eyes with her,
smiling as she did so. "Not gonna happen," Faith told her. "I mean, she can't stop us. We can
see each other as much as we want outside of her house. 'Sides, in a couple of
months both of us will be eighteen anyway, right?" Buffy nodded. "See? Nothing to worry about." At that, Faith linked her arm with Buffy's and began leading her down the
sidewalk. A short time later, Buffy trudged home to wait for her mother. When she found
her mother's SUV already in the driveway, she groaned unhappily. "Oh crap." Resigned to her fate, Buffy went inside. When Buffy shut the front door and stepped into the living room, she found
her mother on the couch waiting for her. "You're home early," Buffy noted. "Yes, I wanted to be here when you got home from school," Joyce replied
tersely. Buffy entwined her fingers in an anxious gesture and said, "Time for the
talk, huh?" When Joyce nodded, Buffy slinked over to the other end of the couch and sat
down. She cast only occasional glances at her mother, spending most of her time
staring at her hands or the floor. It seemed like an eternity before Joyce
finally began to speak. "I want to say first of all that I don't like the idea that you are
being sexually active at seventeen. I know that probably makes me sound like
some kind of old-fashioned prude, but there it is." Joyce straightened her back
and pulled her shoulders back as if to emphasize her statement. "I think you're
too young." Buffy remained silent, not wanting to interrupt her mother's speech. She
glanced at her briefly then contritely looked away. Joyce went on. "But I also realize that short of a slayer-proof jail cell,
there's very little I can do to stop you. I had hoped that your
unfortunate affair with Angel would have taught you not to jump into things so
quickly, but I can see that hope was wasted." Buffy hung her head even lower and didn't reply. A long time passed before
Joyce went on. When she did, her voice was a bit softer. "I talked to Mr. Giles this morning. He, um, he said that your feelings for
Faith and Faith's feelings for you were very real and that those feelings were
what helped pull you out of that backlash curse." Buffy looked up in grateful surprise. "He said that?" Joyce nodded then asked, "Is that true?" "Yes," Buffy answered, tears forming in her eyes. "I don't know how or why,
but it's true." It was Joyce's turn to remain silent. She just looked at her daughter
expectantly, waiting for her to go on. "I-I-I know it seems weird that I've got feelings for another girl, but…"
Buffy just shrugged, not knowing what else to say. "And she feels the same way about you?" Joyce forced herself to ask. Buffy looked her mother in the eyes and said with confidence, "Yes." Joyce became quiet as if she were thinking very hard about something – and
not necessarily liking what she was thinking about. "I know you're worried that Faith might hurt me – that she's going to leave
me or use me or run away," Buffy told her mother. "But that's not going
to happen. You haven't gotten to see the Faith that I see when we're
alone." Joyce scoffed loudly. "Oh, I think I got a pretty good glimpse of that Faith
this morning!" Buffy turned red and dropped her head for a moment. "Not like that," she
said, finally looking back up. "I mean her sensitive side. After the Pete thing,
she took really good care of me. She did. She held me while I cried, she
talked to me, she listened to me, she –" " – ran away when you needed her," Joyce interjected. Buffy sighed heavily then pressed on. "She ran away because we kissed," Buffy
explained. "As in, for the first time." A look of realization came over Joyce's face. "Oh." "And for the record, I kissed her first," Buffy pointed out. "Still, Faith
thought that she'd screwed up by letting us get involved when I was such a
basket case, and basically, she just panicked and ran." Joyce didn't seem impressed with Faith's reaction. She shot a skeptical look
in Buffy's direction. "I know, I know," Buffy admitted. "Not the smartest of choices. And I didn't
take it well either. That curse had me so messed up that I just fell apart." Buffy frowned for a moment, remembering. When she looked up, her expression
was brighter. She began to speak strongly and passionately. Her mother watched
and listened intently. "But…she came back to me," Buffy said. "She reached out to me, with her whole
heart, and I felt it, and that's when it stopped." Joyce was confused. "When what stopped?" "The curse. It ended right then and there. Because of Faith." Her mother just stared, stuck somewhere between doubt and belief. Buffy's
eyes began to fill with tears, and she went on in a very choked voice. "When all I could think about was…" Buffy paused as if struggling to get out
the next words. "…killing myself," she said finally, "just ending all the
pain…she was there." A sob slipped out, and the tears started rolling down her
face. Joyce's eyes widened in alarm at what her daughter was confessing, but she
was still frozen in her place on the couch. Buffy met her mother's gaze. "She made me want to live again, Mom. She made
me want to live…" Joyce shook herself out of the shock she was in and rushed to the opposite
end of the couch. "Oh Buffy…" she exclaimed as she pulled her daughter into a
tight hug. Buffy wrapped her arms around her mother and let the crying come. Her mother
did the same, and for a long series of moments, that was all they did.
Eventually, they pulled apart, though. Buffy gave a rueful chuckle and wiped at her eyes. "God…I sound like some
sappy romance novel, don't I?" "Yeah, you do," Joyce said. "But I'm a sucker for sappy romance. You know
that." They shared a laugh, but once again, they went silent. After calming her
breathing a bit, Buffy spoke up. "I was going to tell you," she said. "About me and Faith, I mean. I just
didn't want to dump everything on you all at once. The curse alone was enough." Joyce nodded at that. "I guess I didn't count on gettin' caught." Buffy tried another chuckle but
quickly sobered when her mother didn't reciprocate. "I'm sorry you had to find
out that way," she said sincerely. "Thank you," Joyce said. "When I invited her in last night, we didn't know we were gonna end up
all…well, you know…you saw." She made a quick head duck then went on. "We just
wanted to be together. And this morning, we, um, we got a little carried away,
that's all. And totally forgot to check the door first. Next time we'll be sure
to lock the door," Buffy assured her mother. Joyce gave her an I-don't-think-so glare. Buffy instantly backtracked, correcting herself. "O-O-Or we could just not
have a next time. Any time soon. Here in your house." "Good answer." Joyce sighed and looked at her daughter. "Buffy, I can't say
that I'm happy about this relationship. I see too many potential problems to
give it my blessing." Buffy's expression became very sad. She looked down at her hands, dreading
the words to come. "But I know that it would be fruitless to ask you not to see her." Buffy looked back up in shock. "So…we've got to find a way to deal with this," Joyce said seriously. Buffy's heart started beating fast. "Okay," she said, trying not to sound too
excited. "First, I want to see Faith, talk to her myself," Joyce said. "Do you think
she would come over for dinner tonight?" "Um, yeah," Buffy replied, nearly bouncing on the couch. "I mean, I think so.
I can call her." Joyce nodded but remained stern. "Second, I'll have to set some ground rules.
I want the two of you to slow things down. That means no fooling
around. No locked bedroom doors, no sleepovers, and absolutely no spending
the night at Faith's." Buffy started to object but immediately backed down when her mother glared at
her. "Okay," she agreed, albeit somewhat reluctantly. Joyce gave her daughter a small smile. "You're young, Buffy. You don't have
to rush things. Get to know each other first." Buffy nodded in dutiful acquiescence. Meanwhile, Faith paced nervously in her motel room. She cracked the knuckles
in one fist, then did the same for the other. She glanced at the phone for the
thousandth time. When it didn't ring, she sighed and resumed pacing. The second
she looked away, the phone rang. She whipped back around and ran over to snatch
up the receiver. "Hello?" she answered, a bit of trepidation in her voice. "Do you want the good news or the bad news first?" Buffy said without so much
as a greeting. "Gimme the bad news first." "Sorry, gotta give you the good news first," Buffy said teasingly. "Why did you even ask me?" Faith groused, though not angrily. "Just messin' with ya," Buffy said, laughing. Faith visibly relaxed at the positive tone in Buffy's voice. She plopped on
the bed and leaned back into her pillows. "The good news is Mom's not ballistic anymore," Buffy went on. "And the even
better news is that you and I can still see each other! Isn't that
great?" At this last, Buffy practically squealed with glee. Faith couldn't help but laugh at Buffy's reaction, and her face lit up in a
truly happy smile. "Cool," she said. "What's the bad news, though?" she made
herself ask. "The bad news is she wants you to come to dinner tonight so that she can talk
to you." Faith paused then answered with an unenthusiastic "Oh." Buffy sounded undaunted. "Looks like you get to have a 'Mom Talk' of
your very own!" she said before succumbing to giggles. Faith snorted. "Swell. A heart-to-heart with Mrs. Cleaver. Just what I need." Stifling her giggling, Buffy said, "So, can you come?" "Yeah, sure," Faith replied. "Long as I'm done in time for patrol." "Faith!" Buffy chided. "You're still hurt. Giles told you to stay off patrol
for a few days." "No, he didn't," Faith corrected. "He said 'another day or so', meaning
approximately one day, which would be last night." "Noooo," Buffy countered. "He said 'another day or so at least',
meaning last night and, at the very least, one more night, which would be
tonight." When Faith started to object, Buffy cut her off. "Which is why….he
and Willow and Xander are handling patrol tonight…and for the rest of the
week. So no patrolling for you, missy!" Faith groaned loudly and reluctantly said, "Fine." After a playful huff of a
sigh, she asked, "What time tonight?" "Seven?" "Okay, I'll be there. With bells on," Faith added. "Whatever the hell that
means." "Thank you," Buffy said with all seriousness. "No prob. See you tonight." When Faith hung up, she let out a long deep
breath and draped her arm over her face. "Oh boy." After setting the table for three, Buffy hurried back into the kitchen where
her mother was putting the finishing touches on a salad. "What's next?" Buffy asked with a smile. When Joyce looked up, she saw her daughter practically bouncing in place,
ready for the next task. At first, Joyce had assumed that Buffy's eagerness was
a simple case of her wanting to placate her mother, but now Joyce saw more. The girl is downright giddy, Joyce thought to herself, suppressing the
smirk that threatened to emerge. "You can stir the sauce," she told Buffy, who
immediately rushed to stove and did just that. Joyce watched her daughter out of the corner of her eye as she slowly and
carefully stirred the large pot of sauce. She saw a series of emotions play
across Buffy's face and repeat themselves in much the same pattern:
irrepressible excitement then deep worry then determined optimism. After about a minute of stirring, Buffy set the spoon aside and replaced the
pot's lid; then she turned to her mother. "What else can I do?" she asked. Joyce looked around the kitchen and nodded her head toward another large pot.
"How about getting the water on the stove for the pasta?" "I'm on it," Buffy said cheerfully. As Buffy grabbed the pan and started filling it up at the sink, Joyce saw her
glance nervously at the clock: 6:20 p.m. Her eyes didn't stay there for long,
though. She quickly finished her task and turned back to her mother. "Anything else?" Buffy asked, unconsciously cutting her eyes back to the
clock. "Yes, you can go get ready," Joyce told her. "I can see the primping
countdown already starting in your brain," she added with a grin. Buffy blushed a bit but definitely grinned back. "Are you sure?" she asked
seriously. "Go," her mother teasingly commanded. "Okay!" Buffy chirped before all but skipping from the room. Joyce laughed and shook her head. She's got it bad, she thought. A
glowing smile lingered on Joyce's face for a time, until a concerned frown took
its place. I just hope she doesn't end up with another broken heart. With
a sigh, Joyce picked up the salad bowl and headed for the refrigerator. "Nope. Nope. Nope." One by one, Buffy tossed aside yet another trio of outfits that she had
pulled from her closet. "Arggghh! I have nothing to wear!" Buffy plopped onto her clothes-laden bed and slumped in discouragement. After
a moment of pouting, she straightened up and pulled her shoulders back
resolutely. "Okay, get a grip, Buffy," she chided herself. "This isn't an audience with
the Pope or the President; it's dinner at home with your mother and your
girlfriend. That's all. You need something nice but simple. You wanna look good
but not slutty. So think!" After several more minutes of sorting, she settled on a pair of tight black
jeans and a sleeveless black top with a slightly-ruffled v-neck. She put her
hair up but kept her accessories simple but elegant: moderately dangly earrings
and a thin gold necklace. She refreshed her makeup then appraised her reflection
in the mirror. She tilted her head and then sighed. "It'll have to do." Meanwhile, across town, Faith was having a fashion debate of her own. She had
already laid out her own small wardrobe on the bed and, with her arms crossed
tightly over her chest, she was now inspecting the possibilities with clear
disappointment. Nothing, she decided, had the least bit of "mom appeal." She sighed and uncrossed her arms. Her eyes caught a glimpse of the tattoo on
her right arm. She pulled her arm around and glared at the black tribal design. "I'm not exactly the 'bring home to mother' type," she grumbled to herself. Faith thought back to the morning's events, frowning as she remembered the
fury in Mrs. Summers' eyes. "Ah, screw it," Faith said, exasperated. "She's gonna hate me no matter what
I wear." At that, Faith just picked some things from the pile and pulled them on: a
maroon tank top, blue jeans, and a denim jacket. She brushed her hair and
applied a fairly tame version of red lipstick to her lips. She stepped from the bathroom and posed in front of the full length mirror on
the wall. "It'll have to do," she said with a shrug. When Buffy stepped out of her bedroom, she met her mother in the hallway.
Joyce had changed too, and they gave each other a look-over. "You look nice," Buffy said sincerely. "You too," Joyce said. She reached out and tucked an errant strand of hair
behind Buffy's ear. "I like your hair up. You should wear it that way more
often." Buffy smiled at the compliment. "Shall we?" Joyce said, indicating the stairs. When Joyce turned to go, Buffy reached out and touched her mother's arm,
causing her to turn back to her daughter. Buffy's face was creased with worry. "Mom?" she asked. "Don't be too hard on Faith. This hasn't been easy for her
either." Joyce placed her hand over Buffy's. "Honey, I'm not going to be an ogre,
for goodness' sake. Don't worry." She gave Buffy's hand a pat and then headed
for the stairs. "Easy for you to say," Buffy mumbled to herself as she began to trudge
after her mother. Just then, the door bell rang, and Buffy jumped into alert mode. "I'll get it!" the slayer blurted before rushing past her mother on her way
to the stairs. She dashed down the steps and practically skidded to a halt in front of the
door. She took a second to right herself and to smooth her hands over her hair
and clothes. When she had taken a deep breath, she opened the door. She found Faith standing there on the stoop, holding a small but colorful
bouquet. "Hey," Faith said simply, her light expression hiding the fear that was
churning in her gut. Buffy's heart nearly burst with pride when she saw the flowers in Faith's
hand. Her face lit up in a huge smile as she gave Faith a "Hey" back. Buffy
motioned for Faith to come inside, and when she had done so, Buffy shut the
door. "You got flowers," she said sweetly, just beaming at Faith. Faith shrugged nonchalantly and handed them over. "They're kinda lame," she
said. "Got 'em at the grocery store." Buffy shook her head. "They're not lame at all," she assured her. Buffy reached out for Faith and pulled her into a grateful hug. Faith
returned the gesture, wrapping her arms around the blonde. Both sighed in
relief, feeling their shared anxieties dissipating in the warmth of their
embrace. Meanwhile, from the stairs, Joyce quietly observed the exchange. Despite her
disapproval of the relationship, she wasn't immune to the depth of emotion
radiating from the two slayers. Involuntarily, her face softened at the sight of
the girls, at how "right" they seemed to look together. Soon, however, Joyce's critical side reasserted itself. She shook off the
warm-and-fuzzies and put on a stern expression. Then she cleared her throat and
started coming down the stairs. At Joyce's throat-clearing, Buffy and Faith instantly separated, putting
several feet of respectable space between them. Faith shoved her hands into her
back pockets. Buffy pointed obviously at their visitor. "Mom! Look!" Buffy announced. "Faith's here." "Yes, I see that," Joyce stated evenly as she reached the bottom of the
stairs. "A-A-And she brought flowers!" Buffy said, lifting the bouquet in her hand. Joyce gave her daughter a small smile and a nod of acknowledgement. "Why
don't you go to the dining room and find a nice vase for them?" she suggested,
although her tone made it sound more like a command. Buffy's gaze darted nervously to Faith then back to her mother. "O-O-Okay,"
she said before reluctantly starting in that direction. "And take your time," Joyce added, making clear eye contact with her
daughter. Buffy nodded and then slipped from the room. Once Buffy had gone, Joyce and Faith were alone in the living room. They
exchanged several uncomfortable glances before Faith finally spoke. "Mrs. Summers," the slayer said in greeting. "Faith," Joyce replied coolly. After a long moment of silence, Joyce extended her hand. Though surprised,
Faith took it, and they shook hands. "Thanks for coming," Joyce said as she pulled her hand back. "Thanks for inviting me," Faith replied. After a beat, she added, "I think." Joyce smiled at that and chuckled a little. Faith smiled with her, until
Joyce's expression grew hard. As another awkward silence descended, Faith
directed her gaze to the floor, wishing that she could be anywhere but right
here right now. She'd rather face a dozen vampires than this one angry woman.
She pulled her hands from her pockets and started to speak. "I, um…" Faith had to stop and clear her throat. "I'm sorry about this
morning," she said, finally lifting her gaze to meet Joyce's eyes. "I…" Faith
trailed off, not really knowing what else to say. Joyce folded her arms across her chest and looked down at the dark slayer.
"You understand why I was so upset?" "Yeah. I imagine there's a whole buncha reasons you're pretty peeved about
it." Faith tried to maintain eye contact, but felt herself glance away several
times anyway. "I won't lie, Faith," Joyce said. "I have concerns about where you and Buffy
are headed. And I'm frightened at how fast you're moving." Faith just nodded, letting Joyce have her say. "But…both Buffy and Mr. Giles have told me how important you were in
helping Buffy break the backlash curse. And for that, I am so grateful."
Joyce unfolded her arms and took a step closer. She didn't reach out to the
slayer, but she did gaze at her deeply. "You brought my daughter back to me,"
she softly told her. "Thank you." Faith bore the intense stare as long as she could; then she looked away.
"You're welcome," she mumbled, fidgeting in place. Joyce waited until Faith looked up. Then she went on. "I said some harsh
things this morning. Things I regret now. Things that were based on my own
misinterpretations. I apologize for that." Joyce's apology was genuine, but her
tone was completely neutral, as if her regret were still tinged with some of her
earlier anger. Faith merely shrugged in response. "I've heard worse." Joyce nodded, considering Faith's words an acceptance of her apology. But
then, once again, the two women fell into uneasy silence. Eventually, Faith
spoke up. "Mrs. Summers," she said, "I want you to know that I would never do anything
to hurt Buffy. Never." Joyce gave Faith a small and only slightly forced smile. When it didn't
appear that Faith had anything more to add, Joyce spoke up, this time in a much
lighter tone. "So…" she said, taking a step back and bringing her hands together
in an almost-clap. "I think we're probably over the worst part. How about we eat
now?" Faith smiled and said, "I'm in. It smells good. What are we having?" Before Joyce could answer, Buffy made a perfectly-timed re-entry into the
room. "Grilled girlfriend," she said with a smirk. "It's the house special." "Well, stick a fork in me," Faith said, chuckling. "I think I'm done." After joining Buffy and Faith in a quick laugh, Joyce said, "We're having
spaghetti. You like spaghetti, don't you?" "Love it!" Faith answered enthusiastically. "There's not a pasta out there I
don't like." "Spam and gouda goulash?" Buffy offered impishly. Faith and Joyce both shot
her twin looks of disgust. "Nobody makes that," Faith scoffed, though with a twinkle in her eyes. Buffy giggled and linked her arm in Faith's as the three moved from the
living room. "Yeah, but you said…" With the mood substantially lighter, they made their way to the dining room. A short time later, the three were sitting down to the table, digging in to
the Italian feast. The vase of flowers that Faith had brought was now at the end
of the table. "This is really good, Mrs. Summers," Faith said as she stuffed a forkful of
spaghetti into her mouth. "I helped, you know," Buffy claimed pointedly, gunning for a compliment. "Well, kudos to you too," Faith added. "You boiled the water," Joyce reminded her daughter. "That's helping," Buffy whined, though with a grin. "You mean like you were 'helping' in that baking photo?" Faith asked. Buffy shot a mock glare at Faith. "Thou shalt not discuss the embarrassing
photo of snaggle-tooth Buffy. Have you forgotten the first commandment?" Joyce's face lit up. "Oh, that's one of my favorite pictures. Buffy was so
cute!" Buffy just groaned. "It took me two hours to clean up the kitchen after Buffy's 'help', though,"
Joyce said. "I bet," Faith replied. "I liked the ice skating picture, too." "With or without the Dorothy-do?" Joyce inquired. "Without," Faith answered. "The one where she looks so…I don't know…intense,
confident, something." Joyce instantly knew which photo Faith was referring to. "I like that one
too." Buffy sighed and rolled her eyes as the two continued to talk as if Buffy
weren't even there. "I'm doomed to be the invisible topic of conversations
everywhere…" she muttered melodramatically. Joyce and Faith continued to ignore her, but Buffy didn't mind. She was just
thankful that the two were talking at all, that her mother and her girlfriend
had been able to put the morning's events behind them and have a normal
conversation. Buffy smiled to herself and tuned back in. "Buffy actually won several skating competitions," Joyce said. "She was very
good." "I'm glad somebody is," Faith grumbled. "You can't ice skate?" Buffy said in surprise. "But…you're from Boston. Isn't
that, like, mandatory in New England?" "I only went once," Faith said. "Totally sucked at it. Spent most of the
afternoon with my ass on the ice." She poked at her garlic toast with disgust. "I'll take you some time," Buffy told her. "Show you the ropes." "Gee, thanks," Faith said teasingly. "That way I can cross off 'learn to ice
skate' on my 'Ten Things I Want To Do Before I Die' list." After laughing with the two girls, Joyce turned to Faith and said,
"Boston…that's such a long way from here. How did you end up in Sunnydale of all
places?" Faith and Buffy both froze at the innocent inquiry. Buffy glanced worriedly at Faith, knowing the topic would raise painful
memories for her. So before Faith could even form an answer, Buffy spoke up for
her. "The Hellmouth!" she blurted. "That's where the Slayer is supposed to be,
right Faith?" After a moment's hesitation, Faith decided to play along with Buffy's
plausible but entirely fabricated explanation. "Uhhh…yeah. Right." Noting the averted gazes and fidgeting hands, Joyce eyed the girls
suspiciously and waited. Eventually, Faith caved. "My watcher was killed," Faith said, softly but matter-of-factly. "And the
vamp that killed her came after me. Truth is…I didn't know where else to go."
She paused and gave Buffy a grateful glance. "Luckily, Buffy helped me kill him
once he tracked me here." Joyce leaned toward Faith, a troubled expression in her eyes. "What about
your family? Aren't they worried about you being so far away from home?" Buffy looked at Faith with a combination of concern and curiosity, realizing
for the first time that she herself didn't know much about Faith's past. Faith barely blinked at the question. "I don't have any family," she stated
flatly. "Not anymore." Buffy and Joyce frowned and looked away. When it seemed that the two were
gearing up for apologies and sympathies, Faith quickly interjected. "Trust me," she told them with a large but forced smile, "I'm better off
without them." Buffy and Joyce smiled back, but they didn't appear to be reassured by
Faith's statement. Meanwhile, in one of the local cemeteries, Willow and Xander and the rest of
the Scoobies were staking out several new graves. While Xander, Cordelia, and
Giles were watching two graves about a hundred yards away, Willow and Oz were
camped near another that was beside a large mausoleum. The two sat on a blanket
with an array of snacks and weapons laid out in front of them. Willow glanced over at the freshly dug grave and sighed in annoyance. "Is
this guy ever going to rise?" "Well, if we're lucky, he won't," Oz replied. "Yeah. Right," Willow admitted but without a hint of enthusiasm about the
idea. "You wanna talk about it?" "About what?" Oz reached out and touched his girlfriend's lips, tracing her frown with his
index finger. "About what's got my Willow-smile turned all upside down." That got him a small smile, but it didn't last long. Soon Willow was frowning
again. "It's Buffy, isn't it? You're worried about her." "Of course I'm worried about her!" Willow answered. "Aren't you?" Oz put a hand over Willow's. "I'm sure things are going fine. It's just
dinner." "It's not dinner I'm worried about," Willow explained. "It's Faith. Sure,
she's acting all devoted now, but what happens when the thrill is gone,
when the thrill is gone away?" "First of all," he said with a grin, "bonus points for the shout-out to B.B.
But secondly…I don't think she's acting." "Oh, come on, Oz! You've heard her stories. She's all about having fun and
moving on, and Buffy's not like that. I just know this is going to end
badly." "People can change, Will." Willow shook her head, and her expression became pained. "Losing Angel…it
just about killed her." "But it didn't," Oz softly pointed out. "She's a slayer. She's tough." "Physically maybe, but she's still a girl…a girl who can get her heart
broken." Oz just shrugged in acknowledgement. "A-A-And what about the backlash curse?" Willow went on, getting more upset
as she went along. "What if it's not really gone? What if Faith dumps her and
the curse comes right back?" Oz didn't have an answer for that. Willow dropped her gaze to her hands. When she looked back up, her eyes were
filled with tears. "I don't want to lose her…" she said in shaky voice. Oz reached over and cupped Willow's cheek, using his thumb to catch the tears
that had begun rolling down her face. "You won't," he assured her. Then he
gently kissed her and pulled her into a warm hug. After they had finished dessert, Buffy and Faith cleared the table and washed
the dishes while Joyce put away the food. Within minutes, the chores were
completed, and the three women stood awkwardly in the kitchen, wondering what to
do next. Buffy finally broke the silence. "Thanks for dinner, Mom," she said. "It was
really good." "It sure was, Mrs. S.," Faith added. "Thanks for inviting me." "You're welcome," Joyce said sincerely. But then she pinned both girls with a
serious look. "Before we call it a night, though, I have a few more things to
say." Buffy and Faith exchanged nervous glances then turned back to Joyce. "I told Buffy this earlier," Joyce said, "but I want to say it to you as
well, Faith." "Okay," the dark slayer answered. "I know that I can't possibly police your behavior outside this house, but I
do have ground rules that I expect both of you to follow," she told them. "No
bed-sharing sleepovers. No sneaking in during the night. No locked bedroom doors
if you're visiting. And no overnight stays for Buffy at your place either." Faith nodded dutifully. "Yes ma'am." "I want you girls to take things slow," Joyce said before putting on an
encouraging smile. "You're young. You have all the time in the world." Although Buffy and Faith gave Joyce brief smiles, their minds went
simultaneously to the same unvoiced thought: Unless we get killed slaying. Buffy shook off the pessimism to press her mother for a favor. "Mom, is it
okay if I drive Faith home?" Joyce eyed the girls warily. "I'll come straight back, I promise," Buffy said. Joyce stared at them a little longer then finally relented. "Okay," she said,
"but be careful. And come right back." "Thanks Mom!" Buffy said before giving her mother a big hug. As soon as they had shut the front door behind them, Buffy tugged Faith to
her and gave her an earnest kiss. When they pulled apart, Faith's expression lit
up in a smirk. "Mmmm…what was that for?" she asked. "What? Can't I just kiss you 'cause you're cute and sexy?" Buffy countered
playfully. "Hey, you can kiss me 'cause I got five toes on each foot if you want to –
especially if you kiss me like that." Buffy laughed, and the two of them walked down the porch steps arm in arm.
"It was just to say thank you," she explained. "For going above and beyond the
girlfriend call of duty." Faith gave a small shrug. "Wasn't as bad as I thought it was gonna be," she
admitted. "Not sayin' it was a barrel o' fun, but it could've been a lot worse." They separated, and Faith walked over to the passenger side of the SUV. Buffy
opened the driver's side door and popped the locks. She and Faith got in and put
on their seat belts. Once they were settled into their seats, Faith turned in Buffy's direction.
"Your mom's all right," she said sincerely. "She could've totally flipped her
lid over this, but she didn't." "Uhhh…excuse me, but that was you in my bedroom this morning, wasn't
it?" Buffy asked pointedly as she put the key in the ignition and started the
engine. "I don't mean then," Faith explained. "She had every right to freak out then.
I'm talkin' about after. She could've stayed mad, done something crazy like call
the police on me or ship you off to boarding school. But she didn't." "Yeah, she didn't," Buffy said with pleased wistfulness. "Thank God," she
added, as the thought of those alternatives finally sank in. Buffy put the car in reverse and concentrated on backing out. When she had
done so, she shifted into drive and headed down the street. "I think Giles had a lot to do with that," Buffy said, picking up where the
conversation had left off. "They had a long talk today, and I think he really
got through to her." "Remind me to send him a big thank-you card, then," Faith joked. "From both of us," Buffy added with a smile. "Seriously, it's nice
knowing that he's behind us, you know?" "Yep, Giles is pretty cool as watchers go." "What was your watcher like?" Buffy asked cautiously. At first, Faith didn't answer, but then she said, "She was cool too. Tough,
but…I think she really cared." Faith chuckled. "Had a sweet old mansion in
Cambridge. Definitely a step up from what I was used to. Hell, it was a whole
staircase up!" Buffy laughed with Faith, and the two of them continued on their way to
Faith's motel. A short time later, Buffy pulled into the parking lot of the cheap motel that
Faith called home. They got out, and Buffy walked Faith to her room. "I guess this is good night then," Faith said as they stood outside her door. "I guess so," Buffy replied unhappily. "Wish it wasn't." "Yeah, me too." The two then moved into a long, warm hug. They didn't rush it; they just
drank in each other's presence. "I'll miss you," Buffy said, still entwined in Faith's arms. "I'll miss you too," Faith answered. "I slept so good last night," Buffy went on. "First time in a while that I
didn't have any nightmares." "Yeah, me too." Buffy pulled back and looked at Faith. "You've been having nightmares? How
long?" "Long time," Faith said ruefully, drawing out the first word. She
shrugged dismissively and added, "It's no big. It's not like I have 'em all the
time." "Are they 'slayer' dreams?" Buffy asked, a little worry in her voice. "Sometimes," Faith answered softly, not meeting her eyes. Then she looked up
and said, "Ehhh…most of the time they're just crap from my past. If V was here,
she'd say they were 'unresolved issues' or some other bullshit." "V?" "Vanity Collins," Faith replied. "My case worker before I went into foster
care." Buffy frowned deeply at the term 'foster care.' When it looked like she was
going to press Faith for more information, the dark slayer cut her off. "You'd better start back," Faith said, diverting the focus from something she
really didn't want to discuss. "Otherwise, your mom's gonna send out a search
party." "Right. Good idea," Buffy had to agree. With a final hug and good night, the two reluctantly parted. Once Buffy had
gotten in her car and driven away, Faith went inside her room. As she shut the door, Faith felt the warmth of Buffy's embrace fade. Now
alone, she sighed unhappily and glanced about her motel room. It wasn't much, but at least the lights and water worked, and the door and
window had been repaired since Kakistos's attack. She usually felt a small sense
of pride when she came into her room; after all, it was hers, damn it, dinginess
and everything. It also provided her with a greatly appreciated private space –
one which she fiercely defended from unwanted occupancy. If she brought someone
home with her, she made sure they took care of business and then got the hell
out, sometimes shoving them out the door, clothes in hand. But tonight her room just felt…lonely. She sighed again and sank onto the bed, leaning back against the pillows. It
was then that she realized just how tired she really was. The emotional roller
coaster of the last few days had taken their toll, and she was completely
exhausted. She sat up long enough to take off her jacket, kick off her boots,
and turn off bedside lamp. Then she plopped back down onto the mattress and
closed her eyes. When the light from outside peeked through the curtained window and landed on
her face, Faith grumbled and draped her arm across her eyes. Now in darkness,
she tried to go to sleep. Unfortunately, her mind had other ideas as it dredged
up unpleasant events from her past. Being shuffled among relatives who clearly didn't want her. Being left with
strange men while her mother disappeared for weeks at a time. Being forced to
fend for herself in an apartment without food, heat, or electricity. Longing and
praying for her mother's return only to wish soon after that the woman had never
come back. Faith growled in frustration at the onslaught of memories. "Just shut up,"
she told her brain. Then she turned onto her side and faced away from the
window. "Foster care?" Buffy repeated to herself once she had pulled away from
Faith's motel. "I knew she had a hard life in Boston, but I didn't think it was
that bad." Buffy's thoughts immediately went to numerous well publicized cases of abuse
in the foster care system. She frowned in concern. "How long was she in it? She told me she had lost her mother. Is that why she
went into foster care? Or did she go in before that…because of something her
mother did? She hasn't mentioned her father. Where does he fit into all of
this?" Buffy didn't have answers to any of her questions. She slumped and sighed
heavily. After a moment of thinking, she straightened in her seat, a determined
expression on her face. "I'll just ask Faith," she said. Then her resolve failed a little, and she
got an uncomfortable look. "I-I-In a completely sensitive and totally
non-invasive way, of course." She slumped again. "A-A-And in the years that
is going to take, I'll ask Giles." When Buffy got home, she found her mother in the living room watching TV.
Buffy gave her mother a big smile and held up the car keys for her to see. "Keys," Buffy announced as she put the ring on the table beside the front
door. Joyce nodded and asked, "Everything go okay?" "Yes, everything went fine," Buffy replied as she made her way to the couch
and sat down. "I managed to go three whole miles without hitting a single
object." After grinning at her mother's eye roll, Buffy sobered and said,
"Seriously, Mom…thank you. For everything." Joyce smiled and rested her hand on her daughter's arm. After a moment of
silence between them, Joyce pulled her hand back and looked away. When she
glanced back up, she said, "I, um, I have to admit that Faith really impressed
me. She wasn't what I expected." Buffy gave her mother a curious look. "What were you expecting?" Joyce shrugged uncertainly. "I don't know…defiance, maybe? Like she hadn't
done anything wrong?" She shook her head. "Or at the very least, false regret.
You know, just telling me what I wanted to hear so that she could get what she
wanted?" Buffy nodded, acknowledging that her mother's expectations were
understandable. After thinking a moment, Buffy shyly asked, "So…you're okay with
her…with us?" "Yes, I'm okay," Joyce said with another smile. "But it's a tentative
'okay', okay?" she quickly added. "I still have my concerns." "That's cool," Buffy said as she got to her feet. "You've got your concerns,
and Will's got her shovel." Joyce's face creased into a confused expression. "Huh?" "Oh nothing," Buffy said, waving off the comment. "Let's just say that,
between the two of you, I'm fully covered by my overprotective life
insurance policy." She gave her mother a teasing grin. "In fact, if I don't get
to my room and call Willow right now, she's going to be sending over a SWAT
team." Meanwhile, at the Rosenberg home, Willow was pacing in her bedroom. What's going on? Why hasn't she called yet? Willow thought worriedly. Just then, the phone rang. Willow leapt onto her bed and snatched up the
receiver. "Hello?" she answered. "Hey, Will," Buffy said. "Buffy! I'm so glad you called. I was starting to get worried." "Starting to?" Buffy teased. "Very funny," Willow said. "So tell me…how did things go?" "Things went wonderful," Buffy replied. "Mom was so cool. I
mean, she had her say, you know, but she didn't go nuts or anything, and Faith
was…just…" Buffy made a contented murmur before blurting, "She brought flowers,
did I tell you that?" Willow could practically hear her friend glowing through the phone as she
related the details of dinner. Willow sighed and leaned back against her
pillows, her smile fading away. I should be happy for her, Willow thought. I mean…listen to her. She
hasn't been this happy in a long, long time. I want to be happy for her, I do. But how can I be when she's a heartbreak
away from another Kingman's Bluff? "Willlllllow? Willlllllow?" Buffy's voice broke into Willow's reverie. "Huh?" the redhead asked. "Where did you go?" "Uhhh, nowhere. Sorry. Y-Y-You were saying?" "I was saying that I wished you would give Faith a chance, too." "Oh." Willow didn't know what to say beyond that. After a moment of silence, Buffy went on. "I know you think she might hurt
me, but she's not like that. I swear. Not with me, anyway. If you'd get to know
her better, you'd see that." Willow still didn't speak. She opened her mouth several times, but didn't say
anything. "Please, Will…for me," Buffy said. "Would you try?" Willow sighed heavily and closed her eyes. After a second or two, she opened
her eyes and said, "Ohhh-kaaaay. I'll try." "Oh, thank you, thank you, thank you!" Buffy said happily. Willow smiled at Buffy's excitement. At the same time, she silently prayed
that her friend's trust in Faith wouldn't turn out to be misguided. The next day at school, as Buffy was coming out of class, she was thrilled to
find Faith waiting for her. The dark slayer was leaning against the far wall, with her thumbs hitched
nonchalantly in the front pockets of her tight black jeans. She wore heavy black
boots, a black leather belt studded with silver grommets, and a black tank-top
that clung to her body, revealing every curve. Buffy's face instantly lit up in a pleased and somewhat lusty smile. She
waited until the crowd of students thinned and then crossed the hallway to where
Faith was standing. "Hey," Buffy said. "Hey yourself," Faith said, returning Buffy's smile. "Headin' to the
library?" "I sure am." The two slayers walked side by side as they slowly made their way toward the
library. Neither put an arm around the other, and they didn't hold hands, but
they walked close enough that their arms were touching most of the time. They
barely watched where they were going, having eyes only for each other. By the time they had gotten about halfway to the library, the hallway had
cleared out. When the bell for the next class rang, Buffy suddenly grinned,
grabbed Faith's hand, and yanked her into the girls' restroom. After a quick
glance at the stalls to see that no one else was in the room, Buffy dropped her
book bag, pulled Faith to her, and gave her a ardent kiss, which Faith eagerly
returned. When they pulled apart, Buffy said, "God, I missed you." Faith smirked as she let their noses touch. "Ya did, huh?" "Did you miss me?" Buffy asked mischievously. Faith cocked her head and thought. "Mmmm…maybe a little." Then she flashed
Buffy a full-dimpled grin. Buffy gave Faith a mock-glare and then a swat on her arm. "Faith!" she
accused. In a split second, Faith grabbed Buffy's wrists and held them behind her back
as she maneuvered the blonde against the bathroom wall. When she had her in
place, she gave her a long, searing kiss that left Buffy breathless when it was
over. "Okay…maybe more than a little," Faith said with another grin. Faith released Buffy's wrists and started to take a step back. Buffy reached
out and grabbed Faith by her hips and pulled her close. Then she locked her
fingers behind Faith's back to hold her in place. Faith didn't seem to mind and
wrapped her own arms around Buffy. "I missed holding you last night," Buffy complained. "And I missed waking up
with you." "Yeah, me too," Faith agreed. At that, the two moved easily into a warm hug which lasted for a full minute.
When they finally separated, Buffy put on big pout. "Mom's rules suck," she pronounced. Faith reached up and gave Buffy's lower lip a pluck with her finger. "Yep,
they sure do," she told her. After giving her a quick kiss, she said, "We'll
just have to find a way around them, won't we?" She pulled away and hitched her
thumb over her shoulder toward the door. "Come on. We better check in with
Jeeves." Buffy rolled her eyes as she picked up her book bag. "You know he hates it
when you call him that." Faith just grinned. "I know." After a quick lipstick check, the two girls headed out of the restroom. Meanwhile, in the library, Willow and Oz were seated at the far table across
from Xander and Cordelia. Giles was in his office. "I can't believe we're going to the dance in a limo!" Willow said excitedly.
"We'll be like movie stars, all glamorous. Ooo! Can we stick our heads out of
the sun roof and woo-hoo down Main Street?" Cordelia snorted condescendingly. "Yeah, 'cause that'd be so glamorous." "Now, now, Cordy," Xander chided, "don't begrudge us our fun. We mere
peasants are unaccustomed to the pleasures that the Chases know so well." As Cordelia rolled her eyes, Oz turned to Willow. "So…have you told Buffy
yet?" Willow's enthusiasm fizzled. "No," she said. "I haven't had the chance. I –" "Tell me what?" At the sound of the voice, the four turned to see Buffy and Faith standing at
the end of the table, looking at them expectantly. Willow got a deer-caught-in-headlights expression. "Uhhh…about, um…uhhh…" "About the limo we're getting!" Xander quickly interjected. "You know, for
the dance." "Uh-huh," Buffy said tersely as she gave them a disbelieving glare. One by one they all looked away, except for Cordelia, who gave an annoyed
sigh at her tablemates. "It's about Scott," she announced. "What about Scott?" Buffy asked worriedly. Once again, Willow and Xander couldn't get out the words, so Cordelia said,
"He's going to the dance with Danielle." There was a long, silent pause as everyone stared at Buffy, waiting for her
reaction to this news. "Oh," Buffy said simply as she took a few steps away from the table. Faith didn't follow her. She just watched with concern in her eyes. "He's going to the dance…with someone else," Buffy went on. She dropped her
gaze to her hands. "He didn't waste any time, did he?" As everyone continued to stare at Buffy, Faith just clenched her jaw and
shoved her hands in her front pockets. "Not that I care," Buffy announced as she turned back to the group. She
quickly looked over at Faith. "'Cause I don't," she told the brunette. Then she
looked back down at her hands. "It was just a stupid dance, after all." "You can go with us," Willow offered. At Buffy's skeptical glance, Willow
said, "Come on, it'll be fun. All of us in the limo, the original Scoobies
showing up in style…" Buffy shook her head as she looked at the two couples at the table. "No,
that's okay. I don't wanna be a fifth wheel. Besides, I haven't even shopped for
a dress or anything." Once again, her eyes fell to her hands. After another long pause, Faith stepped over to Buffy and gave her an elbow
nudge. "Hey, what'd'ya say we crash the dance together…you and me?" Buffy looked up at Faith with a vulnerable and yet hopeful expression.
"Really?" Faith gave her playful grin. "Really." Buffy's face lit up into a big smile. As the two slayers indulged in a hug and kiss, Willow just scowled and
crossed her arms. As Buffy gave Faith a grateful kiss for the dance
invitation, Willow was not a happy camper. "Oh, it's okay to go with Faith,
but it's not okay to go with us," she grumbled to herself, heard only by
Oz. "I see how it is." Oz gave his girlfriend a pat on the leg, which did
little to appease her. "Oh my God!" Buffy cried excitedly. "I totally
need a new dress for this!" "Guess I'll have to splurge and get one too," Faith
said with a shrug. "I sure as hell didn't pack one for my trip here." "Are you sure you can afford it?" Buffy asked with
concern. "I can ask Mom for some extra –" "Don't worry," Faith said, cutting her off. "I got it
covered." Buffy looked at Faith intently for a second or two as if gauging the truth of
her girlfriend's answer. When Faith didn't waver, Buffy went ecstatically back
to her original topic. "I saw this awesome dress at April Fools about a month
ago…totally had my name written all over it! I'll get
Mom to take off work tomorrow afternoon and go shopping with me…" As Buffy rattled on about the shopping spree to come,
Faith looked away worriedly and sighed. Later, when school was out, Buffy stayed behind to
talk to Giles. He had requested some time with his slayer, and they had spent
the good part of an hour discussing the ramifications of recent events, namely
the backlash curse. "I know I've said this before," Giles instructed, "but
it's very important. If you begin to feel anything even remotely like what you
felt under the curse, you must tell me right away. Understood?" "Yeeesss, I understand," Buffy said in mock weariness. Giles rolled his eyes but didn't comment on Buffy's
sarcasm. "Good," he merely said as he got up from his chair. "And don't forget,
you and Faith are off patrol until after the dance." "I won't argue with that," Buffy replied with a grin. "Yes, both Xander and Oz have agreed to help me patrol
tonight and tomorrow night, and since Saturday is Halloween, things should be
quite calm." "It better be," Buffy said in a firm voice, as if she
were calling out a warning to the evil powers-that-be. "'Cause if I don't get my
dance night, I might get cranky." Giles grinned at his slayer's pronouncement. "Well,
I'll see you tomorrow then," he said as he turned to go to his office. Buffy thought deeply for a moment then called out to
her watcher to stop him. He turned back and waited by the check-out desk until
she had walked over. "Yes?" "I-I-I kinda have something else to ask you about,"
Buffy said. "Oh?" Buffy looked around the library then gestured toward
the office. "Can we go in there?" "Of course," Giles said, motioning her to go inside
and take a seat. Once he had come inside and shut the door, he sat down and
asked, "What is it?" "I wanted to ask you something about Faith," Buffy
said. "All right." "Faith told me that she had gone into foster care in
Boston. Do you know anything about that?" Giles paused before answering. Then he said, "When the
Council assigned Faith to me, they sent an extensive file on her. Just like they
did when you were assigned to me." "Great!" Buffy said, excited to have a source of
information. Then her expression changed. "Wait…the Council's got a file on
me?" she asked in alarm. "Yes, although it's not as detailed as Faith's, due to
the fact that you were not identified as a potential early on." Buffy made a disgruntled frown, clearly unhappy with
the ramifications of a Council file on herself. Soon, however, she shook off
those thoughts and refocused on her present inquiry. "So, you must know all
kinds of stuff about Faith." "Yes, I do," he confirmed. "But unfortunately, I can
share none of it with you." "Giiillles," Buffy whined. "Faith's file is confidential, and I will not break
that trust," he told her firmly. "If there is something you want to know about
Faith's past, then you'll have to ask her yourself." "Well, can you tell me this?" Buffy asked. "How does
she support herself? She doesn't have a family, and she doesn't have a job…that
I know of, anyway." "I'm supporting her, for the time being," Giles
admitted. "I've requested a special circumstances stipend for her from the
Council, but it has yet to be approved and processed." "So, you pay for her motel room and everything?" "Yes, I pay for her room each week, and I give her
money for food and other necessities, but it's barely enough, really." Deep concern filled Buffy's face. "Well, I-I-I wanna
help. What can I do?" "Nothing, I'm afraid," Giles warned. "Not to Faith
directly, at any rate. She's rather sensitive about…about being seen as a
charity case." "Can I give money to you and then you give it to her?"
Buffy suggested. Giles considered the matter and then said, "Yes, that
would work out nicely and be most helpful." Buffy smiled brightly, pleased that they had found a
way for her to help. "I'll talk to Mom tonight!" Later that night, Buffy sat slumped on the couch in
the living room. In her hand, she held a wad of tissues, which she was using to
wipe away the tears that were streaming down her face. "I don't know why we do this," she sobbed, tossing
aside her used tissue and yanking a new batch from the box on the coffee table. "I don't know why either," agreed the person next to
her. Buffy looked over at her mother, who was crying just
as hard. "It's stupid. We know it's going to make us cry." "I know, but it's sooo good," Joyce said,
pointing to the videocassette box. The title read An Affair to Remember.
She smiled through her tears. "I mean, you just know they're going to be happy…finally…in
spite of everything." Buffy gave a small laugh and nodded. "Anything's
possible," she quoted. At that, mother and daughter shared a warm smile. Out on Main Street, Faith was definitely not smiling.
She was standing in front of April Fools, Sunnydale's premiere provider of
formal wear. Her thumbs were hooked in the belt loops of her jeans as she stared
through the front window at the elaborate display of dresses and tuxedos. After several minutes of perusal, she reached into her
front right pocket and pulled out a small wad of cash. She unfolded the crumpled
bills and counted them: $27 dollars. She let out a small groan, shoved the money back into
her pocket, and shuffled off down the sidewalk. After helping her mother clear the living room of
their post-movie trash, Buffy finally decided to raise the issue of Faith's
situation. "Mom, I need to ask you something, but I'm not sure
how to ask it 'cause it's about a not-so-fun topic." Joyce got a concerned look. "What kind of not-so-fun
topic?" "Money." "Is this about the dress for the dance?" Joyce asked.
"You didn't get your heart set on something outrageous, did you?" "No, it's not about the dress," Buffy said. "And I
promise I won't pick anything outrageous. It's about Faith, actually." "Faith?" Joyce was confused. "I'm worried about her," Buffy admitted. "She's
seventeen years old, and she's living in a crappy motel. She doesn't have a
family or a job. She basically has no income at all, except for what she gets
from Giles." "Giles?" Joyce asked. "Yeah, he's paying for her room and food and stuff,
but it's all out of his own pocket, which means it's not a lot." "Shouldn't the Council be supporting her?" Buffy nodded. "Giles has put in a request for her, but
so far, the Council hasn't approved it. Stupid British bureaucrats." Joyce gave a huff of disgust at the Council's lack of
expeditiousness. "Anyway," Buffy went on, "I was hoping that maaayyybe
we could help out?" She said this more as a question than a statement and then
glanced at her mother expectantly. Joyce narrowed her eyes, trying to ward off the
can-I-keep-the-puppy look she was getting from her daughter. "I-I-It doesn't have to be much," Buffy said, getting
nervous now that her mother hadn't immediately agreed to the proposal. "A-A-Any
little bit would help. We just have to give it to Giles, though. He said Faith
probably wouldn't take it directly from us or anyone else. She doesn't want
people feeling sorry for her, like she's some kind of charity case." After a
pause, Buffy wrung her hands and said, "So can we? You know, help out a little?" Unable to resist making her daughter squirm for
another moment or two, Joyce continued her glare. But soon she smiled sincerely
and said, "I can't make any promises, but I'll see what I can do." Buffy's face lit up into a huge smile, and she gave
her mother a big hug. "Thank you, thank you, thank you!" Back at her motel, Faith paced the room, stopping
periodically to stare at her dresser. Eventually, Faith stopped her pacing and
walked over to the small wooden chest. She went to a particular drawer and
pulled it completely out. She turned the drawer until she could see its back.
There she pulled off something that had been duct-taped to the back. It was a tattered piece of cloth wrapped around
something long and narrow. Carefully, Faith pulled off the duct tape and
unwrapped the cloth. Inside was a small gold dagger about eight inches long. She
moved the blade into the light and looked at it intently – her brow furrowing
and her eyes filling with sadness. After about a minute, she sighed and set the
dagger aside. Then she returned the drawer to its dresser. The next day at school, Willow and Buffy were walking
down the hall together, having just come out of class. "Hey, I was thinking," Willow began. "That's my Will," Buffy teased. "The big thinker." Willow rolled her eyes. "I was thinking…that
maybe we could hang out tonight?" She gave Buffy a hopeful glance. "You know,
have our own little best-friends-only pre-dance celebration?" Buffy's scrunched her face into an apologetic wince.
"I'm sorry, but I can't. I've already made plans with Faith." When she saw
Willow's expression fall, Buffy immediately tried to right things with a
counter-offer. "But, um, w-w-why don't you come shopping with me and Mom? A girl
always needs her best friend's POV when it comes to dress-buyin'." For a moment, Willow looked torn. But then she just
shook her head and said, "I can't. I – I have somewhere else I have to be." At
that, she began backing away. "But I'll see you tomorrow," she promised.
Although the redhead was smiling, there was hurt behind her eyes. Before Buffy could say anything in response, Willow
turned and walked away in the opposite direction. Buffy watched her go, a
troubled look on her face. Later that afternoon, Buffy and Joyce started their
shopping at the video store. When they came out, Buffy was carrying a bag full
of videotapes. When they stepped out onto Main Street, they took a right,
heading toward April Fools to find a dress for the dance. Before they got very
far, though, Joyce stopped her daughter on the sidewalk. "Before we go into the dress shop," Joyce told her,
"let's get a few things straight." "Okay," Buffy replied soberly. "I've thought about what you said about Faith's
situation, and I've decided that we should do something to help Faith out
financially." Joyce raised her hand to stave off Buffy's impending outburst of
gratitude. "However," she emphasized, "being able to do that depends on
you making some sacrifices." Buffy began nodding enthusiastically. "I can do that." "Which means," Joyce went on, "no big budget on
clothes…especially when it comes to dances." "Got it," Buffy assured her. "Goin' frugal on the
formal wear." Buffy started to say something more, but her eyes were
drawn to a figure in front of another shop across the street. Joyce turned to
see what Buffy was looking at. It was Faith, outside the local pawn shop. She pulled
something from her pocket, unwrapped it, and stared at it, glancing hesitantly
between the object and the pawn shop as if trying to decide what to do. Finally,
her shoulders slumped in defeat, and she went inside the pawn shop. Moments later, Faith stood waiting impatiently in
front of the pawn broker as he examined the gold dagger in detail. He raised an
impressed eyebrow and gave a murmur of approval. "I'll take it," the man said. "How much?" Faith asked. "And how long do I have to
get it out of hock?" "For the loan," he said, "two hundred dollars. And
you've got thirty days to pay it back with interest." "Two hundred bucks?!" Faith replied in outrage. "Is
that all?" "Well, if you let me buy it outright, I'll give you
three hundred." "It's solid gold, man!" Faith objected. The man set the dagger on the counter and crossed his
arms. "Three hundred. Take it or leave it." Faith looked down at the gold blade, a pained
expression on her face. After a long moment, she sighed and looked away. "Fine.
I'll take the three hundred." The broker grinned greedily and said, "Great! I'll be
right back with the paperwork." A few minutes later, Buffy and Joyce saw Faith come
out of the pawn shop tucking a stack of bills in her jeans pocket. Even from a
distance, they could see that she didn't look happy about the new infusion of
cash. They watched her trudge away. As soon as Faith was out of sight, Buffy grabbed her
mother's hand and said, "Come on!" Then she and Joyce hurried across the street to the
pawn shop. Once inside the shop, Buffy went straight to the
broker behind the counter. "Excuse me," she said politely, "but…the girl who was
just in here…can you tell me what she was here for?" "Yeah, sure," the man replied. "Had something to sell,
and it's a beaut." He pulled the item from under the counter and laid it
out, unwrapping it for Buffy and Joyce to see. Their eyes grew wide when they
took in the sight of the solid-gold dagger. "May I?" Buffy asked, pointing to the dagger. "Help yourself," the man said, giving Buffy permission
to touch the piece. Gently, she lifted the dagger from its tattered
wrapper and raised it into closer view. She could see that the flat of its blade
was engraved with a message. She tilted it in the light and read the words out
loud. "To Faith, In honor of your calling. – Diana." Buffy stared at it in awe for a moment and then turned
to her mother. "Oh my God…Mom, this was from her watcher. We can't let
her give this up; it's too important." Joyce nodded in agreement and then turned to the
broker. "How much?" "Sorry, I can't sell it yet," the man said, plucking
the dagger from Buffy's hands. "Have to hold it for the mandatory thirty-day
wait period." "We'll give you twice what you paid Faith for it,"
Buffy suddenly interjected. The broker's eyes lit up, and he licked his lips.
"Hmm…that'd be six hundred dollars…but it'd have to be cash." "Six hundred dollars?!" Joyce balked. "Buffy, we can't
–" Buffy grasped her mother's hands desperately. "I don't
need a new dress," she pleaded. "Or an allowance or anything. Please…she did
this for me, I know she did…just to get a dress for the dance." Joyce still didn't look completely convinced. "I know!" Buffy suddenly said. "Make Dad pay it! Tell
him I had to…I don't know…get a-a-a root canal or something." At that, Joyce's lips slowly curved up into a wicked
grin. "Okay," she said, causing Buffy to emit a thankful squeal. A short time later, after Joyce had returned from the
bank with the necessary cash and had completed the purchase, she and Buffy left
the pawn shop with the dagger in their possession. Buffy was carrying it,
holding it in both hands, unable to keep herself from staring at it and smiling. "So…what now?" Joyce asked, tilting her head toward
the dagger. "Are you going to give it to her tonight?" Buffy shook her head, her eyes now worried. "No, I
don't think so. She'd probably think we'd been spying on her or get all
defensive about her money situation." "True. She might." "Well, m-m-maybe I could give it to her on her
birthday," Buffy suggested. "It's only a month or so away." Joyce smiled and nodded in approval. "I think that's a
capital idea!" "'Capital idea'?" Buffy commented sarcastically.
"You've been spending way too much time with Giles." Joyce gave her daughter a mock-glare. "Come on,
dress-less girl," she needled, linking her arm with Buffy's. "Time for you
to get home and figure out what to wear tomorrow." Buffy's eyes widened at the thought of that task.
While her daughter let out a pitiful whine, Joyce just chuckled and led her
away. That evening, Faith was walking along the street on
her way to Buffy's house for pizza and movies. She had spent the afternoon
picking out a dress plus all the necessary accessories. Although she had been
pleased with what she had found, she couldn't silence the nagging voice inside
her. I can't believe you pawned your dagger! her
inner self accused. Professor Dormer gave that to you. Your watcher.
And you sold it! You've disappointed her all over again! And for what? Some hot
chick you wanna sleep with? "No," Faith said out loud, stopping on the sidewalk.
"It's not like that," she told herself, even gesturing as she spoke. When a passerby gave her a strange look for talking to
herself, Faith quickly resumed her walking. After she had gotten a few yards
down the sidewalk, her inner voice started back up. What's it like, then? it asked cruelly. Do you
think you're in love with this girl? Faith stopped her in tracks once again. Her expression
was troubled, and her mouth opened as if to speak, but no words came out. Puh-lease, the voice continued, dripping in
sarcasm. As if you were capable. Faith closed her eyes and hung her head, clenching her
fists tightly. It always ends in disaster. You know that. Every time you let those walls down, every time you
start to care…either you ruin it or they do. It's inevitable. The dagger proves it. You've gone over the
line. If Diana were here, she'd – "Just shut up!" Faith told her inner voice as she
opened her eyes and shook out her hands. Then she let out a long, sad sigh.
"Just…shut up." Without another word, Faith hurried up the street to
make the turn onto Revello Drive. After a quiet and somewhat awkward dinner at the
Summers home, Faith and Buffy moved into the living room to watch videos. Joyce
reluctantly left the two girls alone and excused herself to go upstairs. As Faith plopped down at one end of the couch, Buffy
sat near her but turned so that she could face her. "You were pretty quiet at dinner," Buffy commented,
hoping to encourage Faith to open up. Faith merely shrugged in response without looking in
Buffy's direction. "Didn't have anything to say." A long silence ensued. Buffy tried again. "I-I-If there's something on your
mind and you wanna talk about it, then –" "There isn't," Faith insisted, turning her head
just long enough to say those two words. "I mean, we don't have to watch movies. We can
just –" "Look," Faith replied sharply as she sat up to face
Buffy. "I said I didn't wanna talk about it! Okay?" The harshness of her girlfriend's voice momentarily
stunned Buffy, but she quickly covered up her own hurt and pressed her
advantage. "So there is something bothering you…" Faith sighed wearily and plopped back against the
couch, slouching even more. After another long silence, she simply said, "Can we
just watch the movie?" Defeated, Buffy swallowed hard and then gave Faith a
nod. "Sure," she said in an even voice. She got up from the couch and retrieved the video
store bag. As she began shuffling through its contents, she went on in a
slightly nervous tone. "I-I-I wasn't sure what we'd be in the mood for, so I
got a variety," Buffy explained as she started to pull the videos from the bag.
"I think I can assume these are off the list," she stated as she set
aside Titanic and As Good As It Gets. "You assumed right," Faith confirmed. "That leaves us with comedy…" She held up Austin
Powers and Men In Black. "Or action…" "Oooh! G. I. Jane!" Faith called out when she
saw the video in Buffy's hand. "What? No Ripley?" Buffy asked as she also held up
Alien Resurrection. For a second, Faith looked undecided. Then she said,
"First Jane, then Ripley." Buffy chuckled. "Jane, it is." After turning on the TV
and VCR and inserting the tape, she pressed the play button on the remote and
handed it to Faith. "I'm gonna go get the leftover pizza and some drinks." "Okay," Faith answered as the FBI Warning appeared on
the screen. By the time Buffy returned from the kitchen, the video
was well into the previews. She set the food and drinks on the coffee table but
hesitated before sitting down. She glanced briefly at Faith and then
deliberately chose to sit at the opposite end of the couch. She pulled a pillow
into her lap and began fiddling with the fringed trim. Her actions did not go unnoticed by Faith, who cut her
eyes but didn't turn in Buffy's direction. After nearly a full minute of
awkwardness, Faith said, "You don't have to sit so far away, ya know." "I just thought maybe you needed some space," Buffy
replied without moving from her spot. Faith pressed the pause button on the remote and
turned to face Buffy, who cautiously met her gaze. "Look," Faith explained
softly, "what I need is a talk-free space, not a Buffy-free
space." It took a moment for Buffy to respond, but slowly a
grin eased onto her face. She happily tossed aside the pillow in her lap and
moved down the couch until she was seated right next to Faith. "Better?" she
asked. "You tell me," Faith answered before planting a
passionate kiss on Buffy's lips. "Mmmm," Buffy murmured as they ended their kiss. "Definitely
better," she declared, grinning once again. The two shared a sincere smile and then snuggled
together to watch the movie. Meanwhile, at the Rosenberg home, Willow was plopped
on her bed, pouting as she talked to Oz on the phone. "Don't you think she's gone overboard with this
Faith thing?" Willow complained. "She never does anything with us
anymore – the real Scoobies, I mean. She wouldn't even go to the dance with us
until Faith asked her." "She's in love, Willow," Oz said. "So the whole
Faith obsession kinda makes sense." Willow made a snort of disbelief. "I wouldn't go
that far," she said. "It's a little early to be applying the L word
here." "I don't know," Oz commented. "They way they look at
each other…" Willow frowned. She really didn't want to consider
that possibility, and she wasn't even sure why. "It's only been a few months since Buffy had to kill
Angel," she pointed out. "Almost six, actually," Oz corrected. "And over nine
since he lost his soul." Willow's expression got defensive. "Which is like no
time at all in the timeline of the heart!" she huffed in reply. "The timeline of the heart?" Oz repeated with
emphasis. "Okay, okay, I know that sounded like a bad Lifetime
movie," Willow admitted, "but I'm just worried – worried that she's going too
fast, that it's too soon." "But…she's happy," Oz stated simply. Willow knew this was true. And it wasn't that she
didn't want her best friend to be happy. She did, more than anything, especially
after the previous year's heartbreak. It was just that she was concerned about
what would happen if Faith failed to live up to Buffy's expectations. Or was it just that? Willow sighed. "Maybe I'm just being selfish." "Could be…" Oz said gingerly to avoid the appearance
of taking sides. "I-I-I like having Buffy all to myself, and I don't
like sharing," Willow went on. "Possibly…" "But I've gotta get over that and let Buffy be happy." "Yes, you do." Willow rolled her eyes at the phone. "That's what
you've been trying to tell me for days, haven't you?" "Pretty much." "Well, you better keep telling me because it's gonna
take multiple repetitions for this one to sink in." "I can do that," Oz said before making a suggestion.
"Willow…this dance…it's really important to Buffy, so whatever you can do to
make that a success, I think you should do it." "Okay, I'll try," Willow agreed. "That's my girl," Oz said. "Look, I gotta run. I'm
helping Giles and Xander with patrolling tonight." "Okay, be careful." "I will. See you tomorrow." "Bye." As Willow hung up the phone, she sighed once again and
stared at the ceiling, deep in thought. Several movies later, the two slayers were sound
asleep on the couch. Buffy was curled up against Faith's shoulder, resting
peacefully. Faith, however, frowned in her sleep and shook her head, clearly
dreaming. In her mind, Faith was back in Boston, in Mount Auburn
Cemetery, in the catacombs beneath the Dyer crypt…in Kakistos's lair. She was
there to save her watcher, who had been kidnapped by Kakistos. Faith found them
both in the main chamber, at the altar of the one who called himself "the
Father." Sitting upon a throne made of human skeletons, the
ancient vampire held Faith's watcher in his lap. The gray-haired woman was naked
and broken, her body covered in bite marks and bruises. She was still alive, but
not for long. As soon as Kakistos knew that Faith had seen her watcher, he
raised one of his sharpened, hoof-like hands and shoved it into the woman's back
and out through her stomach; then he gleefully and violently ripped her body in
two. "DIANA!!!" Faith screamed, both in her dream
and in reality. Mid-scream, she sat up straight on the couch, her
sudden movement inadvertently tumbling Buffy away from her. Faith was sweating
and breathing hard and glancing around the room as if she were confused about
where she was. Buffy righted herself and instantly moved to Faith's
side. "Faith, are you okay?" she asked. When Faith didn't seem to hear her, she
placed a gentle hand on her girlfriend's back. Faith made a startled jerk in reaction; then she
growled and whipped around, seizing Buffy's upper arms and pinning the blonde in
place. Despite Faith's painful grip, Buffy resisted the urge
to struggle or fight back. She remained still and spoke slowly and softly.
"Faith, it's me. Buffy. You were just having a bad dream. That's all." It took several seconds for Faith to register Buffy's
face and voice. Once she did, she blinked and loosened her grip, then pulled her
hands away from Buffy's arms. Just then, Joyce came running down the stairs, calling
her daughter's name to see if she was all right. Buffy instantly jumped to her feet and put herself
between Faith and the stairs. "We're fine, Mom," she called out just before her
mother came into view. "Sorry 'bout that. We just got a little too into
the movie, you know?" Buffy forced a chuckle. Annoyed, Joyce glanced at her watch. "It's one o'clock
in the morning! Movie time should be over. Make your good-byes and then take
Faith home. Got it?" "Yes, ma'am," Buffy replied dutifully. At that, Joyce stomped back up the stairs. Once she heard her mother's door slam shut, Buffy let
out a sigh of relief. When she turned around, she found Faith gone and the front
door open. "Faith!" Buffy cried out before dashing out the front
door. She rushed down the steps and onto the sidewalk and
looked frantically for any sign of her girlfriend. Just as Buffy was about to
take off in one direction, she heard Faith's voice pipe up behind her. "Hey! I'm right here." Buffy turned around and followed the voice back up the
steps and onto the porch. Faith was sitting on the bench at the far end. Buffy's
panic softened into simple worry. Though she was quite relieved, she gave Faith
a mini-glare. "It's not like I ran away," Faith pointed out,
emphasizing the last word. Then she shrugged and said, "But…I had to get out of
there." Faith lowered her head and said nothing more. When
Buffy sat down beside her, she ventured a glance in the blonde's direction and
saw deep concern in her eyes. Faith looked away and said, "I'm sorry." "For what?" Buffy whispered sympathetically. "Having a
bad dream?" She reached out and caressed Faith's back, but Faith didn't relax
under her touch. "Do you wanna talk about it?" NO, Faith thought to herself, but out loud she
merely sighed and said nothing. "It was about your watcher, wasn't it?" Buffy
prompted. "Wasn't that her name? Diana?" Faith nodded ruefully then went on in brutal tone.
"Yep, Dr. Diana Dormer…an Esteemed Professor of Folklore and Mythology at
Harvard University…and a Highly Respected Representative of the Watchers
Council…and ultimately the Unfortunate Guardian of the So-Called Second Chosen
One." "Faith, you're being too hard on yourself," Buffy told
her. "You were going up against Kakistos – the Worst of the Worst. There
was nothing more you could do." "You weren't there!" Faith shot back, jumping to her
feet. "You don't know that!" "I do know it," Buffy insisted as she too got
up from the bench. "Here in Sunnydale, it took the both of us to bring
him down – took everything we had – so I know you did all you could in
Boston." She moved closer and put her hand on Faith's arm and gave it a gentle
squeeze. Faith looked away, lost in thought for a moment. When she finally spoke, it
was in a quiet, strained voice. "She just looked at me," Faith said as she met
Buffy's gaze. "When Kakistos had her," she added in explanation before staring
off again. "Her eyes were just…begging me to
do something…to save her somehow…but I just…stood there." Her jaw
tightened, and she continued through clenched teeth. "I just stood there and let
her get ripped apart, and now I've –" Faith just stopped and shook her head,
unable to go on. Knowing the sacrifice Faith had made earlier that day,
Buffy reached out with both hands and forced the dark-haired slayer to look at
her. With tears welling up in her eyes, Buffy told her, "Faith, I promise
you…it's not always going to feel this way." Then Buffy pulled her into a
strong, warm hug. Although she desperately needed the comfort of Buffy's
arms, it took every ounce of Faith's resolve not to break down right there on
the porch. She endured the embrace for as long as she could; then she carefully
separated them. "I should go," she announced as she stepped away from
Buffy and toward the steps. "Wait, I'll drive you," Buffy said. "That's okay," Faith replied, holding up her hands in
refusal. "The walk'll do me good." "But –" Faith hurried down the steps but stopped on the
sidewalk and turned around. She now wore a big smile on her face. "I'll see you
tomorrow night," she said. "And you better bring your dancin' shoes 'cause I
don't plan on sittin' down the whole night!" With a laugh and a wave, Faith was off before Buffy
could get in another word. After Faith had abruptly left, Buffy went back inside.
She set the videotapes aside for return and tidied up the living room. Then she
went upstairs. She was extra-quiet as she passed her mother's room, not wanting
to disturb her again. Once she was inside her own bedroom, Buffy kicked off
her shoes, removed her clothes, and slipped on a baggy nightshirt. She grimaced
a bit as she moved her arms; they were sore from where Faith had grabbed her.
She gingerly touched one arm, letting her thoughts wander back to Faith's
reaction to her nightmare. Then she shook herself out of her reverie and turned
out the overhead light. As she climbed into bed, she turned on her bedside
lamp and reached for the phone on her nightstand to call Willow. She stopped
when her eye caught the time on her clock-radio. Nearly 1:30 a.m. "I better not," Buffy told herself. "'Sides, don't
think Willow would be too keen on me waking her up to talk about Faith." Buffy sighed wearily, then turned off her lamp and
settled down into bed. "I have got to get those two talking and
getting along," she grumbled. "Maybe I can do that at the dance," she added in a
hope-filled voice. With that idea in mind, Buffy closed her eyes for
sleep. The next evening, Willow's mother dropped her off at
Buffy's house, where the gang was meeting for the limo drive to the dance. As
Willow moved up the sidewalk to the porch, she was giving herself a lecture. "Okay, tonight you're gonna be cool with the
Buffy-and-Faith thing," she instructed. "No matter how much Faith annoys you,
you're gonna be polite and civil, and you're gonna have a good time. Got it?"
She stopped and took a deep breath and then answered herself. "Got it." At that, she strode up the steps to the front door and
gave the doorbell a determined push. Within seconds, Buffy's mother answered the door. "Hey, Mrs. Summers," Willow said with a wave. "Willow, come in, come in." Once Willow was inside, Joyce gave her a warm hug.
Then she stepped back from the redhead so that she could see her more clearly. "Willow, you look just lovely," Joyce said sincerely. Willow beamed and thanked her. Then Joyce went on. "Now, Willow…I've agreed to
Buffy's request that her curfew be lifted for tonight – senior year, last
homecoming dance, and all that. But I've done so only on the condition that she
stay with the group." Joyce gave the redhead a pleading look. "Do me a favor…try
to keep Buffy out of trouble?" "I'll do my best, Mrs. Summers," Willow assured her.
Just then, they heard Buffy call down from the second floor. "Is it just you, Will?" Buffy yelled down the stairs. "Just me, myself, and I," Willow answered, raising her
voice so that she could be heard. "Good! I need your help – and fast!" came Buffy's
reply. After she and Joyce shared an eye roll, Willow headed
up the stairs. As she concentrated on managing the steps in her dress shoes,
Willow smiled to herself. Buffy needed her, and that felt good. When Willow entered the bedroom, she found Buffy at
her dressing table. The blonde was wearing a long housecoat over her slip and
underclothes, and she was putting the finishing touches on her makeup. Buffy made a final sweep on her cheeks with a soft
brush and then turned to her friend. Her face immediately lit up into an
impressed smile. She stood up and walked closer to get a better look. "Wow!" Buffy told her. "You look awesome, Will!" She
gave the redhead a playful poke. "You're gonna make Oz go all wolfy, and it's
not even a full moon." Willow's face went rosy. Although the compliment
pleased her, she covered up her temporary blushing by turning to set her purse
on the small table by the door. "Well, let's hope not," Willow said. "Having
you slay my boyfriend is not my idea of a fun date," she joked. After
they shared a laugh, Willow reminded Buffy of her earlier request. "You said you
needed my help with something?" "Oh! Right!" Buffy pulled Willow over to the closet
door where she had two formal gowns hanging up – one silky and red, the other
beaded in a soft white with gold accents. "I can't decide. Sexy or demure?" Willow looked confused. "Uhhh, are these new? 'Cause
that looks like the one you wore to –" "It is." "And that looks like the one you wore to –" "It is." "But…I thought you and your mom were going shopping
yesterday…" "We did, but…" Buffy glanced at her clock radio.
"…ahhh, it's a long story, too long to tell between now and the impending limo
arrival. So, what's it gonna be?" She pointed at the dresses in turn. "Red or
white?" Willow paused to peruse the choices. "Well, the red is certainly…hot…with its slinky material and strategically-placed gaps in
the side at the hip, but the white is so pretty…it's all shiny and goldeny, like
–" "I need the short answer, Will, not the essay
response." "Oh, um, white, then." "My thoughts exactly," Buffy said with a smile as she
took the red dress down and put it away. After shutting the closet door, she
took off her housecoat, put on the correct shoes, and pulled the white beaded
dress from its hanger. "Help me get it on?" she said, asking for assistance. Willow gladly helped ease the dress over Buffy's head
and into place on her body, then began pulling up the long zipper in the back.
As she did so, she noticed the beginnings of dark bruises developing on Buffy's
upper arms – bruises that were clearly finger-shaped, as if she had been grabbed
roughly by someone who was very strong. When Willow finished closing the zipper,
she touched the back of Buffy's right arm. "What happened?!" she asked in an
alarmed voice. "What?" Buffy tried to look at the place where Willow
had touched her. "Did I get makeup on me or something?" "No," Willow said unhappily as she guided Buffy over
to the full-length mirror. She lifted Buffy's arm and revealed the bruises.
"That." "Oh. That," Buffy said, giving a nonchalant wave.
"That's just from Faith." Then her expression became worried. "They don't show
too much, do they?" Willow gave Buffy an appalled look. "Do they show
too much?" she replied, completely aghast. "Is that all you care about? Buffy,
your super-powered girlfriend apparently grabbed you hard enough to leave
bruises on your arms. Most people would consider that abuse!" Buffy held her hands up to ward off her friend's
conclusion-jumping. "Willow, it wasn't like that, I swear. Just let me explain." Willow crossed her arms tightly and lifted her
eyebrows, daring Buffy to come up with an adequate explanation. "First of all," Buffy told her, "I'm super-powered,
too, so I can take care of myself when it comes to Faith, okay? Secondly, she
didn't mean to hurt me, she was just –" "Oh, for God's sake, Buffy," Willow interrupted
angrily, "when are you going to stop making excuses for her? She didn't mean
to abandon you, she didn't mean to get you in trouble with your mom, she
didn't mean to squeeze bruises onto your arms. What are you going to do
when she doesn't mean to break your heart?" Willow's harsh statements nearly shocked Buffy into
speechlessness. But then she took a step back and pointed at Willow. "You
don't know what you're talking about," she told her. "There are things about
Faith that you don't know and –" "And you know why I don't know them, Buffy?" Willow
shot back. "Because you don't talk to me anymore. Ever since she came to
town, it's like I don't exist…it's like none of us exist." Buffy hesitated in her reply. "That's…that's not
true…" She didn't sound too sure of her words. Willow walked over to the door and reclaimed her purse
on the table. "I'm going downstairs. It doesn't look like my help is really
needed…or wanted." Buffy called out to Willow, but the redhead didn't
turn back; she just left the room and shut the door behind her. Tears sprang into Buffy's eyes and trickled over her
lids. She sniffed and wiped at them with the back of her hand. "What is happening?!" Buffy complained to herself.
"This is not the way this day is supposed to be going!" Just then, she heard a fancy car horn blow outside.
She ran to the window and looked outside. She saw a long, black limo parked
along the curb. Buffy got a flustered expression on her face and began
to speed up her getting-ready process. She found the right purse to go with her
dress, put a few items in it, and set it on the bed. She pulled a sheer wrap
with a thin gold weave from the closet and laid it on the back of her chair.
Then she looked frantically around the room as if she were trying to remember
something she had forgotten. A sudden knock at the door startled her. "Hey, what's the holdup in there?" she heard Faith say
on the other side of her bedroom door. "I'm coming," Buffy called out as she scurried to her
makeup table. When Faith stuck her head in the door, she found Buffy
doing some final primping. "What's the matter? Did ya poke your eye out with the
mascara wand or something?" she said teasingly. Buffy didn't look Faith's way. She was too busy
redoing her makeup to hide where she had been crying. "No, just touching up,
that's all." She gave her hair a quick fluffing, then moved from
her mirrored table to her bed, again without looking in Faith's direction. "Just let me get my purse, and I'll be –" When Buffy turned around, she finally looked up and
saw Faith, really saw her. She instantly froze in place, her mouth
dropping open in thunderstruck awe. Faith was wearing a simple, curve-hugging black dress
with gold trim. One side had a daring slit that went far up Faith's leg, much
farther than the pair of side-cuts on Buffy's dress. Buffy's eyes went up and
down Faith's body several times before the brunette laughed and walked over. "You'll be what? Catching flies?" Faith took her index
finger and pushed Buffy's mouth closed. Buffy laughed, too, and ducked her head, embarrassed
for gawking. But she quickly brought her eyes back to Faith. "I can't help it,"
she told her. "You're so beautiful…" Then she just got lost in wonderment once
again. Buffy's intense gaze made Faith uncomfortable, so she
chuckled and made a joke. "I clean up good, don't I?" she said, making a
sweeping gesture with her hand from head to toe. When she looked back up, she found Buffy inexplicably
tearing up. Faith didn't know what to do. She was even more surprised when Buffy
suddenly kissed her – urgently, desperately. After the kiss was over, Faith was
still at a loss, so she fell back on the light banter. "Okay, that was a kiss worth redoing lipstick
for," Faith commented. Buffy laughed and wiped away the tiny tears on her
face. "And for the record, you look pretty gorgeous
yourself," Faith added. She reached up and brushed Buffy's cheek with her thumb,
then ran her fingers down Buffy's hair. A little awestruck herself, she
whispered, almost involuntarily, "My golden girl." Of course, that only made Buffy choke up more. "Stop
it," she said. "You're gonna make me cry again." Secretly mortified by the sappiness of her last line,
Faith cleared her throat and immediately changed gears. Her face lit up in a
wicked grin as she said, "Well, we can't have that!" Then she gave Buffy a sharp
smack on the ass. "Get moving, girl!" "Oh!" Buffy let out in a yelp that was more from
surprise than pain. "Ohhh," she added as Faith then began nudging her toward the
door. "Lipstick check…" she called out, pointing at her
mirrored table. "We'll check it in the car," Faith said. On the way, Buffy quickly nabbed the wispy shawl that
she had draped over her chair and scooped a few items of makeup into her purse
before Faith ushered her out the door. "Come on, Cinderella," Faith announced, "your magical
carriage awaits." "Hey everybody," Buffy greeted as she and Faith got in
the limo. Oz gave a nod, and Xander said, "Hey Buffster…looking
good." Cordelia took in Buffy's apparel, lifted an eyebrow,
and pronounced, "Last year, but good choice." "Yes, I know…it's not a new dress," Buffy said,
giving Cordelia a mini-glare. "Yesterday's shopping didn't go as planned, but I
am not sweatin' it. Tonight is about having fun – not about being on top
of the fashion food pyramid." "Hear, hear!" Xander said, lifting a clear plastic box
containing a corsage. "Oh, yeah, that reminds me," Faith told Buffy with a
bit of a wince. "I, um, I didn't get you a corsage." Willow huffed and rolled her eyes. Buffy ignored Willow and gave Faith a smile. "I don't
care," she reassured. "All they do is get in the way, anyhow." "I wouldn't know," Faith said with a shrug, returning
Buffy's smile. After that, an awkward silence settled inside the
limo. Willow was conspicuously un-bubbly, and Buffy kept looking down at her lap
and wringing her hands. Faith reached over and took Buffy's hand. "You okay?" "Yeah, I'm fine," Buffy replied. "Just a little
nervous, that's all." When Faith gave her a puzzled look, Buffy went on to
explain. "I mean, I'm going to the Homecoming Dance with my girlfriend. I
haven't really had time to think about the whole 'coming out to the entire
school at one time' aspect of that scenario." "What do you care what they think?" Faith said with a
grin. "I mean, who are they, anyway?" "They're her friends," Willow interjected
sharply. "Of course she cares what they think." "No, Faith's right," Buffy said, causing another
Willow eye-roll. "My friends – my real friends – are right here." She
swept her eyes around to each person. "And if you're okay with the
girl-plus-girl dance date, then the others will just have to deal," she
announced, throwing her shoulders back bravely and putting on a determined
smile. When Buffy's smile began to waver, Faith said, "But we
can still play it cool if you want." "That's good too!" Buffy instantly agreed, nodding
vigorously, suddenly not so brave anymore. A short time later, the limo pulled up to the
Sunnydale High School Gymnasium, and the Scoobies piled out and went inside.
Once they had made it past the faculty chaperones, the three couples headed for
the seating area. Buffy and Faith were at the head of the group as they
wove their way through the sea of people. As they approached a gap in the crowd,
Buffy suddenly froze. When Faith and the others looked ahead at what had caused
Buffy's abrupt stop, they saw Scott with his date, Danielle. Faith's eyes narrowed, and she said, "Let me handle
this." She pushed past Buffy and walked over to Scott and
Danielle, with the Scoobies discretely following. Scott and Danielle were slow
dancing next to a set of tables. Faith gave them each a tap on the shoulder, and
the couple pulled apart. "Scott? There you are, honey!" Faith greeted loudly.
"Hey, good news. The doctor says that the itching and the swelling and the
burning should clear up, but we gotta keep using the ointment." She put her
hands on Scott's chest and turned to his date. "Hi!" Danielle was stunned into silence and just glanced
away. Safe from Danielle's view, Faith turned back to Scott, grabbed him by the
lapels, and pulled him close. She gave him a quick glare, then released him and
walked away. Scott turned back to his date, thoroughly embarrassed.
"Uhhh…" Buffy and the others slipped past Scott, grinning and
giggling to themselves. Even Willow was smiling until she saw Buffy sidle up to
Faith and link her arm with her girlfriend's. At that point, Willow's scowl
returned. Buffy leaned her head against Faith's shoulder and
said, "My hero." "Shut up," Faith grumbled, but with a smile on her
face. Throughout the early part of the evening, the tension
caused by Willow and Buffy's argument over Faith was greatly affecting the
group. Despite Oz's attempts to lighten Willow's mood, she remained angry and
sullen any time Buffy and Faith were together. And although Buffy tried to look
past it and to enjoy her time with Faith, it was clear that the situation was
weighing heavily on Buffy's mind. At one point, Willow was left alone at the table. Oz
was off chatting with his band buddy Devon. Xander and Cordelia were dancing.
Buffy and Faith were hitting the food bar. When the two slayers returned with
food plates and drinks, they found Willow doodling on a cocktail napkin. "Hey, Will, you want a cream puff?" Buffy asked,
trying to make a peace offering. "No, thanks," Willow replied rather coolly before
returning to her drawing. Buffy sadly dropped her gaze. Faith picked up one of the cream puffs and said with a
big smile, "Just leaves more for us!" She took a big bite, inadvertently causing the soft
white cream to smear onto her face. Buffy laughed and used a napkin to help
Faith wipe away the errant pastry filling. Willow made a disgusted huff at the two slayers and
got up from her seat. As she walked past them toward the food tables, she
slapped her cocktail napkin into Faith's hand. "Here, you missed a spot," Willow said rudely and then
stomped off. Faith clutched the napkin in her hand and then watched
Willow walk away. "Geez, what's got her panties in a wad?" Faith said after
turning to Buffy. "She's been glaring at us all night, well, at me mostly." Buffy gave a sheepish shrug. "She and I kinda got in a
fight earlier," she confessed. "About you." "What about?" Buffy lifted her wrap and pointed to the bruises on
her arms. "About these." "Oh." Faith hung her head. "I didn't realize I had…I'm
sorry." "It wasn't your fault," Buffy said, touching Faith's
arm. "And I was about to explain all that to Willow when the limo arrived. So I
never got to." Buffy paused and looked away. "She, um, she was worried you might
be abusing me." "What?!" Faith was appalled. "I would never –" She
stopped and looked at the bruises, guilty sadness entering her eyes. "Not on
purpose anyway." She sighed dejectedly. "Maybe she's right to be worried." Buffy squeezed Faith's arm as a discouragement to that
notion. Then Faith opened the cocktail napkin that Willow had stuffed into her
hand. When she saw what was on it, she gave a rueful laugh. "Certainly explains that," she said as she plopped the
napkin on the table where Buffy could see. On it was the clear outline of a
shovel. "Okay, that does it," Buffy said. "She and I are gonna
have this out right now." Faith put her hand on Buffy's arm and stopped her.
"No, this is between me and Willow." She got to her feet and picked up the
napkin drawing. "I'll be right back." "Faith…" Buffy didn't want her to go but let her; then she
anxiously watched her cross the room to where Willow was hovering a short
distance from the food table. As Faith approached Willow, she saw that the redhead
made no move to leave. Instead, Willow straightened her posture and put on her
resolve face. When Faith reached her, she held up Willow's napkin
doodle and said, "What's this supposed to mean?" "Consider it your second warning." "For what?" Willow leaned close and said in an urgent whisper, "I
know what you did!" "Yeah?" Faith replied sarcastically. "And was it
last summer?" "That is so like you," Willow accused. "Making jokes
over something like this." "Well, according to Buffy, you don't even know what
'this' is yet. You never let her explain." "What is there to explain?" Willow countered. "Did you
put those bruises on Buffy's arms?" she asked point-blank. "Yes." "Were you sparring when it happened?" "No." "Well, there ya go. We have an admission of guilt. Can
we go to the sentencing phase now?" "It's not what you think," Faith insisted. "What I think is that you grabbed my best
friend's arms so hard you put bruises on them, and given the fact that she's
pretty damn hard to bruise, that's saying something." "I didn't mean to," Faith said lamely. Willow snorted in disgust. Faith dropped her gaze and said, "I didn't know it was
her." Willow did a double-take at that. "What?" "I didn't know it was her," Faith repeated as she met
Willow's eyes. "When I grabbed her." "I-I-I don't understand." Faith hesitated before proceeding. She swallowed hard
and made herself go on. "Last night, we fell asleep watching movies, and while
we were sleeping, I…" Faith paused again and clenched her jaw, not wanting
to share the details but knowing that she needed to. She let out a growl of
displeasure and said, "I had a nightmare, okay? And when Buffy tried to get me
out of it, I…I grabbed her." Faith let her gaze drop to the floor once again.
"I-I-I didn't know it was her, and I just…" When Faith glanced back up, she found an unsympathetic
Willow looking at her. "Every time you turn around," Willow said, "you're
unintentionally hurting her. So you can see why I'm concerned." Faith's face tightened into anger. She shoved the
napkin against Willow's chest, making her take it back. "Well, right now,
you're the one hurting Buffy. Your sour mood is spoiling what should be a
special night for her." "My sour – I am not –" Willow blustered
before finally realizing that Faith was right. But then she didn't know what
else to say. "Look," Faith said, "I'm not sayin' we gotta act like
we're best friends or anything – 'cause that ain't ever gonna happen – but for
Buffy's sake, we need to get along. Especially tonight." Willow had to nod in agreement to that. "So…truce?" Faith suggested while holding out her
hand. Willow engaged in a long stare. Then she reached out
her hand and firmly gripped Faith's. "Truce," she said as they shook on the
deal. "Thanks," Faith said, pulling out of the handshake. "But," Willow added, lifting her napkin drawing
into the air, "I'm not giving up my shovel!" She gave Faith a determined
look and then headed back toward the table. Faith just rolled her eyes and sighed before she too
headed in that direction. After her encounter with Faith, Willow lightened up,
and the rest of the evening was more enjoyable to everyone. Although the night
didn't afford the opportunity for Buffy and Willow to talk privately, the two
best friends made a concerted effort to get along and to have a good time. At one point in the evening, the Scoobies were
laughing raucously at a story that Faith was telling. When Principal Snyder
walked by and gave them all a suspicious glare, they all raised their plastic
glasses in a mock toast. Snyder glared even more but went on his way. Later that night, the three couples were group dancing
to a fast song, dominating the center of the dance floor. Halfway through the
song, Buffy and Faith began a hot threesome dance with Xander, sandwiching him
between them as they moved in time with the music. Within seconds, Snyder was on
the scene, breaking up the dance and sending the six Scoobies back to their
seats. Thus far, Buffy and Faith had not danced together
alone. Any time they had danced, one or more of their friends had been with
them. During the slow numbers, Buffy and Faith had merely sat on the sidelines.
On the one hand, Buffy hadn't minded this arrangement. She wasn't too keen about
announcing her relationship with Faith in quite so public a manner. But on the
other hand, Buffy longed to share this special experience with Faith in the same
way that she would have done with a male date. As yet another slow song began to
play, Buffy sighed and enviously watched her friends move onto the dance floor. As Buffy watched her friends, Faith watched Buffy. She
saw the longing in Buffy's eyes and decided it was time to do something about
it. She got up from her chair, stood before Buffy, and held out her hand in
invitation. At first, Buffy just looked at Faith in shock. Then
she glanced nervously at the other students around them. Faith flashed her a smile. "Come on…you know you want
to." She tilted her head at the students nearby. "And they'll deal, remember?" Buffy returned Faith's smile and took Faith's hand. Slowly but surely, Faith led Buffy onto the dance
floor, and she didn't settle for a safe space in the shadows either. Faith led
her directly to the center of the gym floor, into a large patch of spotlight
underneath the mirrored ball, right where everyone could see them. Buffy was nervous at first, but once she moved into
Faith's arms, nothing else mattered; it was as if the rest of the world just
disappeared as she met Faith's stare. The same was true for Faith, who couldn't
take her eyes off Buffy and her glowing smile. Buffy moved closer and leaned her
head on Faith's shoulder. In response, Faith tightened her arms around the
blonde, resting her head against Buffy's. Being so wrapped up in each other, Buffy and Faith
were oblivious to the reactions of those around them. The Scoobies, of course,
were smiling happily at their friends; even Willow herself wasn't immune to the
love and happiness emanating from the couple. The rest of the onlookers were not
so supportive and understanding. Most were merely surprised or curious; some
were laughing and pointing; a few were downright disgusted. Luckily, Buffy and
Faith didn't notice; they were in their own little world. When Buffy pulled back from Faith's shoulder, the dark
slayer reached up and gently cupped Buffy's cheek. "Better?" she asked. Buffy smiled and intentionally repeated Faith's words
from the previous night. "You tell me," she said before leaning in and giving
Faith a passionate kiss, which Faith eagerly returned. About five seconds into the kiss, the two slayers
found themselves violently separated by Principal Snyder. "You two…OUT!!!" he ordered, pointing at the
exit across the room. "Out?!" Faith complained. "For what?!" He glared at Faith and said, "Lewd…" then glared at
Buffy and said, "…behavior." "We were just kissing!" Buffy objected. Snyder crossed his arms, implacable. When the rest of the Scoobies arrived, they too
questioned Snyder's ruling, causing quite a scene in the middle of the dance
floor. It was too no avail, however, for within minutes, the entire gang found
themselves ushered from the dance and shoved out the gymnasium's doors. As the doors slammed shut, Cordelia let out an annoyed
huff and turned to her friends. "What we do now?" she asked. "The Bronze
is gonna be lame 'cause everybody's here!" The Scoobies seemed at a loss until Buffy and Faith
exchanged a look and shared a wicked smile. Faith turned to the group and said, "Well, I might
know a place." Sure enough, Faith took them to the bar that she and
Buffy had gone to the night they had defeated Kakistos. Outside the bar, Faith
was having an intense conversation with the bar's owner, who was refusing to let
the group in. "Come on, Jose," Faith pleaded. "We got kicked out of
the Homecoming Dance, and it's too early for us to go home." She gestured at
their formal clothing. "I mean, look…we got dressed up and everything." Jose was unmoved. "Please? All we wanna do is dance and have some
fun." Jose instantly perked up. "Dance?" he asked, his
interest definitely piqued. "You mean you and your lady?" he added, nodding at
the two slayers. Faith glanced at Buffy, who rolled her eyes but nodded
her agreement. Faith grinned and looked back at Jose. "Yeah, me and my girl'll
dance for you guys." "Is this a strip club?" Xander suddenly interjected.
"Oh please, let this be a strip club." Xander immediately received four slaps in
a row, one from each of the girls. "Ow. Ow. Ow. Ow." Then Oz threw in an elbow
jab for good measure. "Ow." "Okay," Jose said before shaking his finger at Faith.
"But no alcohol this time! Cops drop in, I'll get my ass busted if I let you
kids drink." "Deal," Faith said, giving Jose a handshake. At that, the group let out a "woo-hoo!" and went
inside. The bar was well attended but rather calm. Once Faith
and the others joined the mix, though, the party definitely picked up. The DJ
took them into a long dance mix, and the Scoobies took full advantage. Soon the
bar was hopping with energy and excitement. Winded from dancing, the Scoobies plopped into their
chairs at a table near the dance floor and ordered water and soft drinks. After
they had rested and regained their breath, Faith got up from her chair. "Where ya goin'?" Buffy asked. "Gonna see the DJ about a song," Faith answered. "Be
right back." Buffy watched as Faith made her way across the dance
floor to the DJ booth. Faith and the DJ spoke animatedly for a minute or so
until the current song neared its end. As soon as the song ended, Faith pulled
the DJ's microphone over and said, "Okay, Jose…this one's for you." As her chosen song began to play, the crowd hooted in
response and looked at Jose behind the bar. He gave Faith a thumbs-up, and she
laughed and pointed back at him in reply. Then Faith moved onto the dance floor
and headed in Buffy's direction. During the song's slow buildup, Faith danced her way
over to Buffy and then crooked both index fingers at her, calling her from her
chair. Buffy ducked her head in embarrassment but rose to her feet and joined
Faith on the dance floor. Faith took both of Buffy's hands in hers and pulled
her close, moving them in time with the music. "Don't worry…this is the same
song we danced to last time." "I don't remember last time, remember?" Buffy
reminded her. "Ahh, it'll come back to you," Faith said with a grin. Just then, the song stopped its slow intro and started
a new, fast beat. Faith broke from Buffy and began to dance around her,
seductively running her hands along Buffy's body. Buffy was hesitant at first,
but soon she too gave herself over to the music and cut loose. Despite the
constraints of their formal dresses, the two girls gave the bar's crowd a very
entertaining and very hot version of slayer dirty dancing. When the song ended, the bar erupted into applause and
shouts for more. Buffy and Faith looked over at the bar and saw Jose smiling and
patting his chest, as if they had almost given him a heart attack. The girls
just laughed and fell into an exhausted hug. In the middle of their embrace,
Buffy heard the DJ come on to the microphone. "And, Buffy," the DJ announced, "Faith says this one
is for you." When Buffy heard the music begin to play, she
immediately recognized it as the song that she and Faith had been slow dancing
to before Snyder had kicked them out of the Homecoming Dance. In surprise, she
pulled away from Faith and looked at her, a tearful smile appearing on her face. Faith shrugged and said, "We didn't get to finish it
before. Wasn't right." Buffy just beamed at Faith for the longest time before
leaning back against her and enjoying the closeness of their own special dance. While Buffy and Faith were dancing, Oz snuggled up
behind Willow and placed his chin on her shoulder. "See?" he said, indicating
how happy and in love Faith and Buffy seemed to be. "Yeah," Willow admitted before turning to give Oz a
smile. The smile was sincere but a bit sad. "I do," she said. Then she touched
his cheek and kissed him soundly. As the song played out its final notes, Faith pulled
Buffy into a tight embrace. She closed her eyes and just held on as if she never
wanted to let her go. Then, with her arms still locked around Buffy, Faith
suddenly blurted out, "God, I love you!" In about two seconds, Faith's eyes flew open, and she
separated herself, holding Buffy at arm's length. "Uhhh…" was all that came out
of her mouth. Oh shit! What did I just say? Faith thought
frantically to herself. Faith looked at Buffy, who had a shell-shocked
expression on her face. Fuck! B's freaked out! I shouldn't have said anything.
Why did I say anything anyway? I don't say 'I love you'; I never say 'I love
you'! Fuck, I need a drink. Faith glanced at the bar, still in a panic. With her
gaze elsewhere, however, she couldn't see Buffy's shock change into a huge
smile. "I love you, too," Buffy said, even though Faith
wasn't looking at her. Faith's mind did a mental record scratch upon hearing
those words. Her eyes whipped back to Buffy. "Huh?" "I said, 'I love you, too'," Buffy repeated, still
wearing her big smile. "Oh. Good. That's good. I-I-I think." Faith seemed
confused. "You think?" Buffy challenged. Faith was back at "Uhhh…" Buffy grinned. "Relax, I'm just yankin' your chain." Faith still couldn't speak. "You're totally wiggin' out right now, aren't you?" Faith just nodded. Buffy took Faith's hand. "Come on, I think Jose owes
us a drink." A squeaky "Okay" managed to escape Faith's lips as
Buffy led her away to the bar. A short time later, after Faith had downed a couple of
shots (her own plus Buffy's), she had calmed down, and the two had retired to a
booth in the back room of the bar, where it was darker and quieter. Faith was
leaning against the wall, and Buffy was leaning against her with the brunette's
arms wrapped securely around her waist. They weren't doing anything, not even talking; they
were simply luxuriating in the warmth of each other's presence and touch. Then
Buffy leaned up and turned around so that she could face Faith. She stared at
her for a long moment, then let her gaze drop to her hands. "Did you mean it?" Buffy asked. "What you said?" She
lifted her eyes to Faith's and waited for her answer. Faith kept her eyes steady, and without wavering, she
said, "Yes." After a short pause, she asked Buffy the same thing. "Did you?" Buffy immediately gave an emphatic series of nods and
then said in a choked whisper, "Yes…so much." They moved toward one another at the same instant,
bringing their lips together in a fervent and passionate kiss. Meanwhile, across town, a disturbance was occurring in
the darkened great room of an abandoned house – one that Buffy knew well. It was
the stone mansion that Angel had called home. In her most recent visit, she had left behind the
Claddagh ring that Angel had given her, and she had made her good-byes to him. But now a white light came out of nowhere and
illuminated the ring on the floor. The air rolled and twisted and crackled as a
dimensional portal suddenly burst open, filling the room with an unbearably
bright light. With a snap and a thud, a partially-clothed male body fell through
the portal and hit the stone floor, facedown. Then, in a flash, the portal was
gone. At first it wasn't clear if the man left behind was
even alive. Dressed only in a ragged pair of trousers, he wasn't moving or
breathing, and his body bore the marks of one who had endured years of torture.
Some of his wounds were still new; others were older and halfway healed; still
others had long since turned to ugly scars. Where once a dragon-tattoo had
graced his back, deep ragged cuts now seeped fresh blood. Slowly, movement and sound became discernible. With
the little strength he had, the man was trying to turn himself over. After a
long series of pants and groans, he finally pushed himself onto his back. He
cried out in pain when his ravaged back hit the floor, but the front of his body
was no less abused. His face now visible, it was clear who the man was. Angel was back. In the back room of the bar, things were getting
heated between Faith and Buffy. Their kisses were becoming deeper and more
desperate, and their hands were roaming freely over one another's bodies. Suddenly, Faith separated them. With one hand, she
shoved the table to the other side of the booth, giving them more space. She
pulled Buffy back to her and leaned her against the edge of the table; then she
dove back in, turning her attention to Buffy's neck. She started kissing behind Buffy's ear before slowly
working her way toward her shoulder. Once there, she followed the strap of the
dress down to the bust line, where she planted a line of teasing kisses along
the top of Buffy's breasts. When she heard the blonde moaning in pleasure, Faith
made her way back up Buffy's neck, pulling her even closer as she ended with a
particularly deep kiss on the lips. When they separated, they didn't go far; their mouths
were mere inches apart as they struggled to catch their breath. Faith reached up
to touch Buffy's cheek, looking at her intently as she did so. "Damn, B! I want you so bad I can hardly stand it,"
she whispered urgently. Buffy swallowed hard then whispered back, "I-I-I want
you, too." Faith stared at her a moment then asked, "Wanna go
back to my place?" Buffy didn't speak; she just gave an eager nod in
reply. Faith's expression lit up into a sparkling,
full-dimpled grin. "Let's go," she said. Hand-in-hand, Buffy and Faith returned to the main
area of the bar, where the music was still booming. They rejoined their friends
but didn't sit down. Instead, Buffy cocked her thumb over her shoulder at the
exit and yelled over the music, "Faith and I are gonna head out!" "We'll send the limo back here after the driver drops
us off at my place!" Faith added. When Buffy saw Willow's eyes light up in alarm, she
sped up their good-byes. "I really had fun tonight! See you later!" At that, she
tugged Faith toward the door. "Wait!" Willow called out, but the two slayers didn't
hear her. "Buffy!" Willow's expression fell when she saw the two girls disappear
out the front entrance. "What about your curfew agreement?" she said even though
it was clearly too late. Just then, the loud music ended, and a soft slow song
began. Cordelia took advantage of the lull to speak up. "They're gonna do it," she announced and then looked
to the others for their reaction. Willow groaned and let her shoulders slump. Oz just
shrugged. Xander was staring off in reverie, clearly already imagining the
suggested scenario. Cordelia rolled her eyes at her boyfriend and said,
"Oh yeah…they're totally gonna do it." Oh my God, Buffy thought to herself, we're
totally gonna do it! She shot a forced smile at Faith, who was settling
into her seat after the limo driver had shut the door. What am I doing? Buffy thought in a panic. I
don't know what I'm doing! I've never done this before! Faith returned the smile and said, "C'mere you." Buffy swallowed down her fear and moved to sit next to
Faith. Faith reached out and caressed Buffy's hair, tucking
it behind her ear, then letting her fingertips trail across her cheek. She eased
her hand behind Buffy's neck and pulled her close for a kiss. With her heart pounding – half in desire and half in
fear – Buffy returned the kiss, her mind whispering a silent prayer for help. After the two slayers got out of the limo, Faith
handed the driver a five-dollar bill. "Thanks, man," she said. He handed it right back and said, "No…thank you."
He lifted his eyebrow and winked. Faith laughed aloud. Buffy, however, blushed a deep
red. She covered her face and said, "Leaving now…" Then she began walking off
toward Faith's room. Faith gave the driver a final wave and then ran to
catch up with Buffy. Once they had gotten inside Faith's room, the two
immediately kicked off their shoes and sighed in relief. As Faith set her money
and key on the dresser, Buffy did the same with her small clutch purse. Then she
removed her thin shoulder wrap, folded it, and laid it over the back of the
chair. When the two faced each other again, Buffy wrung her
hands and fidgeted in place. Then she forced another smile and said, "So…" But
that was all she got out before trailing off. Seeing how jittery Buffy was, Faith headed over to the
dresser and picked up her bottle of Jack Daniels. She held it up and said, "Want
a drink?" "Will it calm me down?" Buffy asked in a slightly
high-pitched voice. "Yeah," Faith replied, "it'll probably help a little." "Okay," Buffy said. "But just one. Don't wanna end up
with umbrellas in my hair again." Faith laughed and poured each of them a shot in the
motel's complimentary plastic cups. They touched their glasses together and then
downed the shots of whiskey. Buffy instantly coughed and wheezed as the liquor made
its way down her throat. Faith didn't have this problem; she chuckled at Buffy's
reaction. "Gaack! I think the used oil from my mom's car would
taste better." Buffy began to fan herself. "Woo…it's making me hot." Faith gave her a lecherous smirk. "You were already
pretty hot, I thought." Buffy rolled her eyes and handed over her cup. Faith
took it and set both glasses aside. Then she pulled her girlfriend in for a
searing kiss. Buffy gladly returned the embrace. But when they pulled apart,
Faith could still see the nervousness in Buffy's eyes. Faith gently cupped her girlfriend's cheek. "Don't
worry," she assured her. "I'll steer you around the curves." Buffy exhaled in relief and nodded in gratitude. Faith kissed her again, and the kiss seemed to last
forever before she pulled away and moved behind Buffy. She wrapped her arms
around the blonde's waist and began nuzzling behind her ear, causing Buffy to
breathe hard and fast. When Faith let her hands slide up to her girlfriend's
breasts, Buffy let out a strangled groan. Faith swept Buffy's hair aside and began planting
kisses along the nape of her neck. Then she moved her hands up so that she could
gently slide the straps of Buffy's dress from her shoulders. As Faith began to
kiss the blonde's shoulder blades in turn, Buffy involuntarily reached for the
top of her dress, clutching it against her chest. Suddenly, an image of Angel flashed into Buffy's mind.
It was the night that they had tried to prevent Spike and Drusilla from
reconstructing the Judge – they had failed and barely escaped with their lives
and had then taken refuge at Angel's apartment. In her mind, Angel was gently
examining a wound on Buffy's back. His touch was cool but comforting. Buffy shook the unsettling memory from her mind and
focused on Faith, who was now beginning to unzip the back of her beaded white
dress. She felt her stomach lurch in anxiety as Faith slowly slipped the dress
down Buffy's body until she could step out of it. When Buffy had done so and
then turned around, Faith reached down and grabbed the hem of Buffy's slip and
pulled it over her head before tossing the silky white undergarment aside. Buffy
was left in just her strapless bra and panties. Faith took a moment to enjoy the view, making Buffy
duck her head in embarrassment. Faith instantly moved closer and lifted Buffy's
chin, forcing her to meet her eyes. "Don't," she told her. "You're beautiful." Buffy felt a lump form in her throat, and she
swallowed hard before kissing Faith fervently. "So are you," Buffy said. "God…so
are you." Faith grinned wickedly. "And you ain't even seen all
o' me yet! Well, except for the peekin' you did when you were on the phone with
your mom that day." As Buffy blushed and laughed, Faith reached behind her
own back and made quick work of the zipper on her black dress. Within seconds,
she too was down to just her bra and panties, and she pulled Buffy back into her
arms. "Mmmm…this is much better," Faith murmured as she let
her hands roam over the bare skin of Buffy's back. Then she moved in and pressed
her lips against Buffy's. As the two slayers indulged in a slow, deep kiss,
Faith carefully maneuvered them until they were standing at the foot of the bed.
Then once again she turned her attention to Buffy's neck, knowing it was one of
the blonde's get-me-hot spots. She was rewarded with a small shudder from Buffy.
After nipping her way down the slayer's neck, Faith stopped at her pulse point
and bit down harder. When Buffy felt Faith's bite, she let out a husky
groan and threw her head back, giving Faith greater access to the sensitive
area. She sank her fingers into Faith's hair and pushed the brunette's head
harder against her neck. At that, Faith nudged Buffy backwards until they
tumbled onto the bed – Buffy on her back and Faith on her knees, straddling
Buffy's leg. Faith kept up her welcome assault on Buffy's neck, moving to the
other side and nibbling her way up to the blonde's ear, where she swirled the
tip of her tongue along the outer edge, causing Buffy to quiver in delight. Faith pulled away and grinned, pleased with the
reaction she was getting from Buffy. She looked down at her and said, "Scoot up.
Let's get some workin' room here." Buffy moved up the bed until she was lying against the
pillows. Faith moved along with her, keeping her all-fours position over Buffy's
body. Once they were in place, Faith paused and sat back, once again enjoying
the sight that was before her. When Faith reached down and touched her face, Buffy
closed her eyes. As she felt Faith's fingertips trail down her body, Buffy's
mind once again took her back in time. She and Angel were in bed together. They were both
naked, and he was touching her with wonder in his eyes. Then the memory flashed
forward to Buffy waking up in Angel's bed alone, a worried expression on her
face. It flashed forward again, this time to Buffy's post-love-making talk with
the man she thought was Angel. "You got a lot to learn about men, kiddo,"
Angelus taunted. "Although I guess you proved that last night." Buffy suddenly reached out and grabbed Faith's hand
just as she was about to undo the clasp on Buffy's bra. "I'm sorry!" Buffy cried out in a choked voice. "I
can't do this!" Then she shot up out of the bed and walked a few feet away,
keeping her back to Faith and hugging herself tightly. Faith leaned back on her heels and let her hands flop
to her sides. "What the hell?" she said in a frustrated tone. Buffy glanced briefly over her shoulder, and it was
then that Faith could see that Buffy was crying. She instantly regretted her
harsh words. She got up and cautiously moved to Buffy's side. "I'm sorry," she told her. She lifted her hand to
touch Buffy's back but stopped before doing so, not sure whether Buffy wanted to
be touched or not. "Nooo, i-i-it's my fault," Buffy said, turning around
and wiping at her eyes, though refusing to meet Faith's gaze. "I-I-I shouldn't
have led you on like that…not when I knew I wasn't – Well, I didn't know I
wasn't until I wasn't…but still…I-I-I shouldn't have been all green-lighty when
I was really yellow. Ha! Yellow, that fits, being scared to death and everything
and –" Buffy found her panicked babble muted by Faith's
fingers over her lips. After continuing to murmur for a second or two, she
finally quieted down. When Faith was certain that Buffy wasn't going to
start babbling again, she removed her fingers from Buffy's mouth and then gently
gripped both of her shoulders. "It's okay," Faith told her firmly. She kept
eye contact with Buffy and nodded until Buffy mirrored her actions. Then Faith
smiled and released Buffy's shoulders. Buffy didn't seem particularly reassured, though. She
fidgeted a bit and then said, "I, um, I need to go to the bathroom." She pointed
across the room. "Help yourself," Faith said, stepping aside. Buffy hurried in that direction but then stopped
suddenly and turned back to Faith. "Do you, um, have something I could change
into?" she asked. "Uh, sure," Faith replied. She dug into her dresser
and pulled out an old t-shirt and some sweat pants. She walked over and handed
them to Buffy. "Thanks," Buffy said before heading into the bathroom
and shutting the door. When she heard the door click shut, Faith ran her hand
through her hair and let out a long sigh. "Jesus Christ…" she muttered before shaking her head
and returning to her dresser. She pulled out a big baggy nightshirt and a pair of
shorts and set them aside. After removing her bra, she pulled on the nightshirt
and let it fall past her hips; then she tugged on her shorts. When she turned around, she cast a glance at the
bathroom door. She considered going over there and knocking on the door, just to
make sure Buffy was all right. But she decided it would be better to wait for
Buffy to come out in her own time. "Yeah, she needs her 'Faith-free' space right now,"
she told herself bitterly as she plopped onto the bed and leaned against her
pillows. Inside the bathroom, Buffy was leaning against the
door. Her eyes were closed, and she was hugging her borrowed clothes tight to
her chest. Great. You've just totally ruined everything. Buffy straightened up and moved away from the door.
She stood in front of the sink and looked at her reflection in the mirror. And why are you thinking about Angel, anyway? He's
gone…he's never coming back… Her thoughts trailed off, and her eyes became sad for
a moment. Then she let out a scoff of self-disgust. It was bad enough when she had to deal with your
guilt-curse breakdown. Now she has to put up with your stupid sex-with-your-ex
issues? Buffy groaned and covered her face with her hands.
When she finally pulled them away, she cast a worried glance at the wall
separating the bathroom from the main room. She's probably in there packing her bags right now… Buffy hung her head sadly. After taking a deep breath,
she went about the task of changing into the clothes Faith had given her. Faith was stretched out on the bed with one hand
tucked behind her head. Her position suggested that she was calm and relaxed,
but her mind was anything but. What did I do wrong? Musta done something, the way she shot away from me
like that. Her forehead creased as a look of confusion came over
her face. I don't get it…she seemed like she was into it. But maybe not. Maybe she wasn't likin' it as much as I thought. Maybe I went too fast. Faith shook her head accusingly. I knew I shouldn't have said "I love you"! It's
too much, too fast, it was stupid, I don't know why I said it anyway. Her expression fell into a sad, dark frown once again. She probably only said it back 'cause I said it first,
and now she's freakin' out about it. Faith's eyes flicked to the bathroom. She's probably in there thinkin' up see-ya scenarios right now… Faith turned away and closed her eyes, sighing
heavily. Seconds later, Faith heard the bathroom door open. She
shot up and moved to sit on the edge of the bed. As she saw Buffy come around
the corner, she felt her stomach tense into knots. Now dressed in the t-shirt and sweats she had
borrowed, Buffy briefly met Faith's eyes. Then she walked over to where her
white dress lay on the floor. She picked it up and draped it over the chair with
her wrap, laying her bra on top of it. After taking a moment to compose herself,
she turned back around to face her girlfriend. "I-I-I'm sorry," she said as she sat down at the end
of the bed. "I thought I was ready, but I guess I'm not." She kept her gaze on
her hands, which were clasped tightly in her lap. Faith scooted down the bed until she was knee-to-knee
with Buffy. Then she reached out and covered Buffy's hands with one of her own,
causing the blonde to look up. "Like I said," Faith emphasized, "it's okay." Buffy dropped her eyes once again, and Faith removed
her hand from Buffy's. "But it must be some serious shit goin' on. You wanna
tell me about it?" Buffy nodded in agreement to the request, but it took
her nearly a minute to finally start speaking. "I, um…I'm not exactly experienced when it comes to
sex," Buffy admitted softly. "But I guess you probably knew that." She looked up at Faith expecting to see the same
expression of contempt that she had seen on Angelus's face, but it wasn't there.
So she cleared her throat and went on. "In fact, I've only done it once, and that was with
Angel." Buffy hung her head. "It didn't exactly turn out the way I expected." "Guess not since he went all evil on ya shortly after
that." 'Shortly after,' Buffy thought to herself.
Yeah, right. How about 'immediately after'? As in one caused the other? For a brief moment, Faith saw intense pain in Buffy's
eyes. She knew there was more to this story than Buffy was telling, but she
chose not to press the matter. Buffy forced the pain back down and went on. "Anyway,
there's that, and then there's my first-time-with-a-girl freak-out." She sighed
and shook her head in self-disgust. "Hey, it's not like I'm the expert when it comes to
the girl-on-girl action," Faith confessed. "I've only been at it for a few
months myself. Just since leaving Boston." "Really?" Buffy asked, looking back up. "Yeah, I mean, I was totally into guys in
Boston," Faith explained. "I refused to even consider the notion of
makin' it with a girl. But then I met Sam in New York." "Sam?" Buffy asked, a bit confused. "Samantha," Faith corrected. "She came on to me at a
club one night, and I told her point-blank, 'I don't do chicks'." Buffy had to snicker a bit at that. "What did Sam
say?" "She just laughed and said, 'Don't knock it till
you've tried it'." "So what happened?" "Oh, she basically dared me into it – and you know me,
I ain't turnin' down a dare." "Annnnd…?" Buffy's curiosity was definitely piqued
now. "And now I do chicks," Faith answered proudly. "I do
them quite well, as a matter of fact," she added, leaning over to give Buffy a
mischievous wink. Buffy blushed furiously and dropped her head. Then she
cleared her throat and said, "Well, ahem, based on my admittedly limited
experience, I would have to agree with that assessment." Faith's expression lit up with grin, but it soon faded
as an awkward silence fell over the two slayers. They looked away and then back
several times. Finally, Faith spoke up. "So…what'd'ya wanna do now?" she asked. Buffy shrugged. "I don't know." She glanced over at
Faith's clock-radio. "It's pretty late." "Your mom's not expecting you, though, is she?" Buffy shook her head but said nothing. Faith reached out and took Buffy's hand. "Then stay
here with me." Buffy looked unsure. "We don't have to do anything," Faith told her. Then
she put on her biggest, brightest smile. "I promise…you're safe with me." Buffy smiled and said, "Okay." At that, the two slayers pulled back the cover and
sheet and climbed into bed together. Buffy curled up against Faith's shoulder,
and Faith wrapped her arms around the blonde. They settled into a warm embrace,
and for a while they just relaxed in each other's presence. Buffy took in a deep breath and let it out. "God, I
didn't realize how tired I was." "After all the dancin' we did, I'm not surprised,"
Faith said. "Not to mention all the drama." "Yeah." Another long silence ensued. Both slayers were
frowning slightly as if deep in thought. Then Buffy pulled away so that she
could look at Faith. She stared at her for a full minute, tears welling in her
eyes. "What is it?" Faith asked worriedly. Buffy swallowed hard before answering. "I just…I love
you so much…" She closed her eyes and shook her head before looking back at
Faith. "It's…so strong and…" Buffy trailed off as if she were trying to think of
the right word. "…scary?" Faith supplied. Buffy merely nodded. "I'm scared too," Faith admitted. Then she quickly
added, "But if you tell anybody I said that, I'll have to kill ya." Buffy chuckled at that, but then she gently asked,
"What are you scared of?" Faith's light expression fell. She looked away,
clenching her jaw repeatedly. "Of waking up," she finally said as she turned
back to Buffy. Although Faith kept her expression guarded, Buffy
could sense the anguish behind her words. After all, she herself had the same
fear. Buffy looked deeply into Faith's eyes. "It's not a dream," she told her. "It's real." After sharing a smile, the two slayers kissed warmly
and then settled back into their cuddle. Soon they were both asleep. It was pre-dawn on Sunday morning when Buffy woke up
in Faith's motel room. Her eyes flew open, and she took in a sudden breath, as
if she were waking up from a bad dream. She relaxed and smiled, though, when she
saw Faith's face just a few inches away on the other end of the pile of pillows. Faith had one arm tucked under her pillow and the
other draped across Buffy's hip. Buffy reached out and ran her hand gently over
Faith's shoulder and down her arm, causing the dark slayer to take in a deep
breath and open her eyes. "Hey there, Gorgeous," Buffy said with a grin. Faith merely made an incoherent groan. "Sorry, I forgot…Grumpy's not a morning person," Buffy
teased. "First of all," Faith said, glancing at the darkness
outside the curtained window, "if there's no sunshine, it's not morning
yet, and second of all," she added, turning back to Buffy, "we settled that
whole 'grumpy' issue over at your house." In a quick snatch, she reached out and
pulled her girlfriend close. "With me on top, if I recall." Buffy giggled and then gave Faith a playful and
deliberately noisy kiss, finally coaxing a smile out of her girlfriend. "What are you doing waking up so early, anyway?" Faith
asked, pulling away slightly and propping up on her elbow. "Just woke up," Buffy replied with a shrug. Then a
shadow passed over her face, causing Faith to reach over and lift her chin. "What's the matter?" she asked. "Nothing," Buffy answered. "It's nothing." "Don't give me that," Faith teased. "I know a
something when I see it." "It's just more stupid Angel stuff," she muttered,
shaking her head. After a sigh, she went on, "The morning after we…he was gone.
H-H-He just left without…" She trailed off, not finishing that thought. "Son of a bitch," Faith swore. After a long, awkward pause, Buffy lightened her tone
and said, "Anyway, in spite of the bad memories, it feels really good
waking up with you." She shot Faith a smile, which the brunette returned. "Back at ya," Faith said before pulling Buffy into her
arms once again. The two slayers indulged in a few moments of cuddling
and kissing before Buffy reluctantly separated them. "I really hate to break this up," Buffy said,
"but I need to get home before Mom wakes up." "Well, you better get up and get goin' then," Faith
said, giving Buffy a poke in ribs. "Hey, none of that!" Buffy warned as she quickly
slipped out of bed. She looked down at the t-shirt and sweats she was wearing
and then over at her dress on the chair. "Guess I'd better change back." Faith got out of bed and walked over to her. She
glanced at the t-shirt and then Buffy's head and noted, "Yeah, the Boston
College tee and the bed-head hair might not be the first thing you want your mom
to see when she wakes up." Buffy gave a sheepish laugh and touched her hair.
"Good point." At that, Buffy changed out of the clothes she had
borrowed and donned her homecoming dress once again. Then she went into the
bathroom and gave her mussed hair a good brushing. When she came back out, she asked, "How's that?" "Much better," Faith confirmed. Buffy walked over and wrapped her arms around Faith.
She gave the brunette a warm kiss. "Thanks for last night – for everything.
It was wonderful." "Yeah, I had a pretty good time, too." After sharing a smile, Buffy pulled away and headed
for the door, which Faith opened for her. "Want me to walk you over there?" Faith offered. "That's okay," Buffy said. "It's not far. I'll be
fine. But do you happen to –?" Anticipating Buffy's question, Faith handed over a
stake. "Thanks," Buffy said. "Call me later, okay?" Faith called out as Buffy
stepped through the doorway. "I will," Buffy promised as she turned to walk
backwards down the sidewalk so that she could blow a kiss to Faith. Faith chuckled and shut the door. Faith kept smiling for quite a while after Buffy left.
She lay back down and curled up in the bed, a look of complete contentment on
her face. But soon she began to frown, when her thoughts returned to the things
Buffy had said about her vampire ex, Angel. Angel messed her up, Faith thought to herself,
scowling as she did so. That son of a bitch hurt her – way more than
she's saying. Faith wanted to know more, but she knew that Buffy
wasn't ready to talk about it, so asking her outright was off the to-do list, at
least for now. And the 'super-friends' weren't exactly dishin' out
the details when they told me about Buffy and Angel. Faith let out a frustrated grumble. I don't wanna look like I'm goin' behind her back and
bein' all nosy, but I don't wanna accidentally do something to set her off
either…something that reminds her of Angel. Faith sighed and considered her options. Giles was out
of the question. That much was certain. Intimate details about Buffy and Angel's physical
relationship…no way B's gonna be talkin' to Jeeves about stuff like that. Or Xander either. Nah…this is girl talk. If she'd talk to anybody about
it, it'd be to Willow. Faith groaned and rolled her eyes at the thought of
asking Willow for information. "Great," she said with exaggerated, and totally fake,
enthusiasm. "My favorite person in the whole wide world." Faith plopped her pillow over her face and groaned
again. At the Summers home, Buffy was carefully opening the
front door and entering with as little noise as possible. Once inside, she eased
off her shoes and crept quietly up to the second floor, gritting her teeth at
every tiny squeak the stairs made. She tiptoed past her mother's closed door and
slipped inside her own room. It was only after she had shut her door that she
let out the breath she had been holding. Whew! I made it, Buffy thought to herself as she
felt her body relax a little. She walked over to her closet and began removing her
dress. Now, as long as Mom didn't freak out and call Willow's
house, I'll be free and clear. Buffy's shoulders immediately sagged, and she
scrunched her face up in a wince. Oh my gosh…Will…she is probably so pissed at me
right now. She let out a heavy sigh. I'm gonna have some
serious sucking up to do to mend that over. She sighed again. Besides, I really need someone to
talk to about all this Faith stuff. Buffy got a worried look on her face.
I hope she understands…She glanced at her phone and then the clock. For a long moment, Buffy mentally debated about
whether or not to call Willow. But in the end she decided that it was just too
late – or too early, actually. She began undressing and was soon reaching for
her robe. I'll shower, get a little sleep, have some quality
time with Mom, and then head over to Will's. Buffy winced again when she
imagined Willow's reaction. Maybe by then she won't be so mad. She made an unconvinced whine and trudged off for the
bathroom. Joyce awoke to the smell of coffee. She breathed in
and murmured in pleasure at the scent. Then she got out of bed, put on her robe,
and followed the coffee trail downstairs. As she neared the kitchen, she realized that the scent
of coffee was now tinged with the smell of something burning. She crinkled her
nose and reluctantly stepped inside the kitchen. She was greeted by what looked like a disaster area. A
smoking pan was sitting in the sink, still sizzling. The counter was cluttered
with a bowl, a whisk, a pile of cracked eggshells, and an empty egg carton.
Buffy was covered with scrambled egg spatters as she pouted at a stack of
blackened pieces of bread. "What in the world…?" Joyce commented as she surveyed
the damage. Buffy's eyes shot up at the sound of her mother's
voice. "I-I-I was trying to make you breakfast, but i-i-it didn't turn out so
good," she explained, thoroughly embarrassed. She glanced around at the mess. "I
don't get it…it looks so easy when you do it." Joyce rolled her eyes and shook her head. "I-I-I'll clean it up," Buffy promised, "but…I don't
think there's anything even remotely edible…well, I think the coffee's okay." Joyce chuckled and walked over to the refrigerator and
opened the freezer door. "That's why God invented microwaves and frozen
pancakes." Buffy laughed with her mother and went to get some
plates. Within a couple of minutes, the two were sitting at the table enjoying
their breakfast. About halfway into the meal, Joyce raised an eyebrow
at Buffy and asked, "So, what did you do this time?" Buffy got a panicked look on her face. "Uhhh…what do
you mean?" Joyce gave her daughter a knowing glance. "If you're
attempting to make me breakfast, it usually means one of two things: you're
trying to sucker me into some outlandish request or you're trying to soften the
blow of some unfortunate 'accident.' Since we already went the outlandish
request route the other day at the pawn shop…" She trailed off and waited for
Buffy to chime in. By then, Buffy had regained her composure and matched
her mother's smirk. "As it so happens, it's neither one of those things," she
said smugly. "I just wanted to say thank-you for letting me stay out last night.
So there." She stuck her tongue out as a final answer. The two shared another laugh. Then Joyce asked, "So
you had a good time?" Buffy beamed in response. "I had a wonderful
time. We rode in the limo, we got pictures, we ate party food, we danced…it was
awesome!" Then she added, without thinking, "Till Snyder kicked us out." "What?!" Joyce asked in alarm. "What happened?" She
directed a glare at her daughter. "You didn't try to burn down the gym, did
you?" "No!" replied an appalled Buffy. "We weren't doing
anything, and he just –" "Well, you must have been doing something…" Buffy let out an exasperated huff and said, "We were
dancing, okay? Me and Faith." She paused a moment and then went on. "Slow
dancing." She let the implications sink in. "And he just broke us apart, told us
we were engaging in 'lewd behavior,' and threw us out of the dance!" "'Lewd behavior'?!!" Joyce objected angrily. "For two
girls dancing?!" Buffy slumped and glanced away. "Well, there might
have been some kissing…" Joyce didn't seem to hear her. "I'm going to give that
little toad a piece of my mind! He has no right to –" "Mom…Mom…" Buffy had to wave her hands to get her
mother's attention. "Look, I appreciate your whole PFLAG-y intervention here –
really I do, more than I can say – but Snyder's already got me on his hit list.
If you go down there…" Joyce calmed down a little. "I just don't think that
he should be allowed to –" "I know, I know," Buffy told her. "But the truth is…we
had way more fun once we left the gym and went to the bar." Instantly
realizing her error, she immediately added, "Onze. The Bronze." Luckily, her
mother hadn't caught the inadvertent admission, so Buffy went on cheerily. "It
wasn't as crowded, and we got to dance as much as we wanted…it was really
wonderful." A smile brightened Joyce's expression, and she reached
over and patted her daughter's hand. "I'm glad, honey. Things haven't been easy
for you lately, and you needed a happy night." Buffy smiled back, but as soon as Joyce turned her
attention to her food, Buffy let out a silent breath of relief and then joined
her mother in finishing off breakfast. Later that morning, Willow was in her bedroom,
attempting to work on a research paper for school. She was too distracted to
concentrate, however, and soon pushed her laptop aside. I wish Buffy would call, she thought worriedly. Then she crossed her arms and scowled. I still
can't believe she ditched us last night. It was probably Faith's idea, she thought,
her eyes narrowing. Yeah, you butter her up with a few romantic slow
dances and lure her back your motel room, then you get what you want from her
and push her out the door, completely breaking her heart, re-triggering her
guilt curse, and dumping her into a sea of despair! Willow paused and reconsidered her mental rant. Okay, maybe I'm going a little overboard here, but still… Just then, Willow heard a tapping at her balcony. Her
eyes lit up, and she jumped from her chair and ran over. "Buffy?!" she said excitedly as she opened the French
doors. Her face fell when she saw that it was Faith, and not
Buffy, standing on her balcony. "Hey," Faith said. "Faith! W-W-What are you doing here?" Willow asked,
confused and a bit miffed. "I kinda wanted to talk to you about something." Willow crossed her arms. "And you came to my window
because…what? You have a front-door phobia?" Faith hitched her thumb over her shoulder. "Oh. Well,
Buffy said that she –" "Faith, what do you want?" Willow said wearily,
cutting the slayer off. Faith made a dramatic wave with both arms. "Well, can
I come in?" she said sarcastically. Willow rolled her eyes and gestured Faith in. "We're supposed to be in a truce, remember?" Faith
said as she stepped inside Willow's bedroom. "Truce ended when you dragged Buffy out of the bar
last night," Willow said. "I did not drag her out of the bar!" Faith
objected. Willow shot a cold glare in Faith's direction. "So
tell me…Did you get what you wanted from her? Is that why you're here? To tell
me you're dumping her now and I'd better get ready for a Buffy breakdown?" "What?!!" Faith exclaimed in outrage. Then she
glared and pointed at Willow. "You know what? Fuck this! I came over here
because I was worried about Buffy, because I thought maybe you could help me
out, but obviously, you're too busy thinking the worst of me to care
about what might be going on with your supposed best friend!" Faith turned to
leave. "Wait! Wait!" Willow cried out, instantly changing her
tune. "Don't go, I'm sorry." Hearing the concern in Willow's voice, Faith
reluctantly stopped and turned back around. "Y-Y-You're worried about Buffy?" Willow asked.
"W-W-What's wrong with her?" Faith dropped her gaze to her feet, took a deep
breath, and let it out slowly, not really knowing how to say what she needed to
say. Then she looked back up at Willow. "I think she's having some post-Angel issues,"
Faith told the redhead, "but she's not exactly goin' into detail, ya know what I
mean?" Willow let out a sad sigh and made her way over to her
bed. Faith followed and sat beside her. "Buffy really loved Angel, a-a-and he loved
her, too. And what they had…it was something special…very once-in-a-lifetime-y." Faith glanced down at her lap, frowning at bit, before
Willow went on. "When he lost his soul, Buffy was crushed. The man she loved was gone, and
the only thing left was this-this…monster." It was Willow's turn to look away for a moment. "And then she had to kill him, right?" Faith asked in
a soft voice. Willow nodded. "I tried to re-curse him, to restore
his soul in time, but I-I-I was too late. Angelus activated Acathla, I finished
the soul restoration right after, and then…Buffy didn't have a choice." "Damn," was all Faith could say. "She ran away after that. Stayed gone for, like, three
months. She had just come back home when you got here." Faith nodded in understanding. Then she asked, "But
what made him go all un-cursed in the first place?" Willow began to fidget and look decidedly
uncomfortable. "I…I don't think I should say any more. We're starting to go over
the privacy line here." "Look, all I'm doin' is tryin' to not screw
things up with Buffy. Anything, anything at all that you can –" "No," Willow said, shaking her head. "I'm just afraid I'm gonna do something or say
something that –" "I said no," Willow insisted. Faith stared at Willow and waited, but the redhead's
resolve face was firmly in place. "Fine," Faith said in an annoyed voice as she got to
her feet. "Fine is right," Willow replied somewhat defensively.
"I am not going to betray Buffy's confidence just because you're
feeling unsure of yourself." "Whatever…" Faith growled over her shoulder before
walking through the French doors and then nonchalantly vaulting over the
second-story balcony. A short time later, Willow heard another knock at her
window. She let out a huff and stomped over to the French doors. "Look, Faith, I've said all I'm gonna say," she
complained loudly as she pulled open the glass doors. She couldn't have been more surprised when she found
Buffy, and not Faith, on her balcony. "Buffy!" she said with a deer-in-headlights
expression. Buffy gave Willow a puzzled look. "Faith was here?" "Uhhh, yeah, she was…earlier…" When Willow didn't elaborate, Buffy leaned forward and
said, "Because…?" "Oh, um, she just wanted to, you know, follow up on
that whole, um, truce thing. From last night. That we talked about." "Ohhh-kaaaay," Buffy said, not really believing
Willow's answer but not that interested in pressing the matter either. "W-W-What are you doing here?" Willow countered. Buffy scrunched her face into a wince. "To beg
forgiveness?" "Oh, right. I'm supposed to be mad at you," Willow
said. "Wait, I am mad at you. You ditched us last night!" "I know, I know," Buffy said, truly apologetic. "I promised your mother I'd keep an eye on you,"
Willow went on, "and you promised her you'd stay with the group! What if she had
called here last night?" "I know…I'm sorry…" Willow crossed her arms and wouldn't look at Buffy.
She was that furious. The sight of her best friend so angry made tears fill
Buffy's eyes. She dropped her gaze to the floor. "Be mad, okay?" she said in a choked voice. "But
please don't hate me…" Willow immediately softened and stepped closer to
Buffy. "I don't hate you, Buffy…I could never hate you…" The two friends exchanged an intense glance before
Willow looked away. "But…it hurts that you're always choosing Faith over
me." She shrugged and went on. "Okay, maybe it's not always, but it feels that
way." Buffy's expression became pained. "I'm sorry. I don't
mean to be a bad friend, I don't, but…" Suddenly, Buffy burst into tears. "Oh! Oh, Buffy! Don't cry." Willow pulled Buffy into a
hug. "No, I'm the bad friend, I am!" Buffy pulled away, still crying. "No, you're not a bad
friend. It's just…things are happening so fast, and I really need somebody to
talk to…but I know the last thing you wanna hear about is Faith and –" "No, I am being a bad friend. Here you are,
going through something – a critical, life-situation kind of something – and I'm
not being there for you!" She reached out and grasped Buffy's arm. "But…I'm here
for you now." She led her to the edge of the bed. "What is it? What's going on?" Buffy took in a shaky breath. "It's me and Faith. We
took a really big step last night, and it's kinda scary…" Willow's eyes widened. Oh my God! They really
did do it! She held her breath as she waited for Buffy to finish. "We said 'I love you' to each other." Impossibly, Willow's eyes widened more. She hadn't
expected that revelation. Sex yes, but love? "Oh my God…" Buffy nodded emphatically. Willow stared at Buffy for a long moment before
speaking again. Then her curiosity got the better of her, and she dared to ask,
"Did you and Faith…?" She trailed off, not saying the words but giving Buffy a
look that said it all. Buffy ducked her head in embarrassment when she
realized what Willow was asking. "No," she replied, her eyes still averted. "We
started to, but…I-I-I couldn't go through with it." When Buffy didn't look back up, Willow touched her
arm. "She didn't try to…?" "No!" Buffy instantly replied. "No," she repeated
firmly. Buffy wasn't angry at Willow's implication, but she wanted to make sure
that her friend got the message. But Buffy didn't dwell on that. Soon she was
smiling brightly. "She was so sweet about it, actually. She's…" Buffy was just
glowing. "God, I love her sooo much, Will. After Angel, I didn't think
I'd ever be able to love somebody again, or this much." Willow could see the love beaming from her friend, and
she knew that Faith was the reason for it. She gave Buffy a sincere smile, which
quickly turned to a rather impish grin. "What did she do when you told her?" Willow asked. "It
was during the slow dance song, wasn't it? That's when you told her, right? Had
to be." "Yeah, it was," Buffy confirmed, "but…I didn't tell
her first." Willow's mouth dropped open in utter disbelief. "Yep, that's pretty much how I reacted, too. And come
to think of it, that's how Faith reacted after she said it. I think she
freaked herself out." Buffy laughed and then smiled widely again. "But it was
easy to say it back. It felt right, you know? It all feels so…'right'." "Then…why are you so scared?" Buffy teared up once again. "Because that's when bad
things happen…" She looked down at her lap. Several tears landed on her hands.
"The night Angel and I made love, it was so…perfect," she said in a barely
audible whisper. "And then…" She trailed off, frowning sadly as she remembered
everything that had followed their lovemaking. Willow reached out and covered Buffy's tear-stained
hand with her own. "But that's not gonna happen with Faith," she said gently.
"It can't. Far as I know, she's totally curse-free…a-a-and unlike Angel, that's
a good thing." "I know it won't be that," Buffy said, "but I'm
just afraid it'll be something." She sighed and then said sadly,
"Sometimes I think that I'm not meant to find happiness…that being the Slayer is
always going to make happiness a complete impossibility." "No, Buffy, that's not true," Willow insisted. "Being
the Slayer, yeah, it won't be easy, but you can be happy. You just need
to find the right person, that's all." She paused and looked at Buffy intently.
"Do you, um, do you think that Faith could be that person, you know, who makes
you happy?" Buffy thought seriously for a long moment and then
looked up, her face aglow with a totally smitten smile. "I'll take that as a 'yes'," Willow quipped. "Oh!" Buffy said, suddenly changing to an excited
tone. "Did I tell you about the pawn shop? No, I couldn't have. I haven't talked
to you since then. But that's okay; I'll tell you now." "Pawn shop?" Willow looked confused. "Remember when you asked me about why I didn't buy a
new dress for the dance?" Buffy prompted. Willow nodded. "Well, turns out, I had
to make a different purchase instead." "At…the pawn shop?" Willow was still confused. Buffy reached into her jacket pocket and pulled out a
long narrow item wrapped in a small cloth. She handed it to Willow, who
carefully opened the cloth. She was amazed when she saw the golden dagger. "Oh wow…this looks like solid gold…" "It is, and it wasn't cheap. Mom about blew a gasket." "But why did you –?" Buffy pointed at the dagger. "Read the inscription." Willow flipped the dagger over until she saw the
engraved area. Then she took a moment to read the inscription out loud. "To
Faith, In honor of your calling. – Diana." Willow's head shot up in shock.
"Oh my – This was from her watcher!" "I know," Buffy said. "She pawned it, took half of
what it was worth, just so she could buy a dress for the dance. For me." Willow was overcome; she felt her eyes fill with
tears. She couldn't believe it. She'd never seen a romantic gesture that was
so…No, it wasn't just a gesture, and it was so much more than 'romantic'. This
was an act of true love, and it had come from Faith. "She doesn't know I have it," Buffy explained. "It was
just pure luck that Mom and I saw her coming out of the pawn shop. But once we
saw what she'd done, we couldn't let her give that up." Willow quickly gave the dagger back, her trickle of
tears changing to an all-out cry, setting off Buffy's alarms. "Willow, what's wrong?" The witch was shaking her head in horror. "I-I-I was
so…mean to her," she said, hiccupping through her words as she cried. "I
thought…she was just…using you…and I was so…jealous…but all along…" Buffy pulled her best friend into fierce hug. "I'm so sorry, Buffy…I didn't know…" "It's okay, it's okay," Buffy whispered. She kept
whispering it until Willow finally calmed down – or stopped crying at least. "What am I gonna do, Buffy?" Willow pleaded. "How can
I make this up to her?" "Just…be her friend," the slayer answered. "Be our
friend." Willow sniffled a little more but nodded. Then she
said in a lighter, somewhat frenzied tone, "I can do that. I can be a friend.
I've been a friend before. I-I-I know I haven't been excelling in the friend
category of late, but I can still be –" Willow found her rampant babble stopped by a hand over
her mouth. Buffy gave her a mock glare and said, "So, do you want the juicy
details or not?" She removed her hand. "Yes, please!" Willow said in a chipper voice. Buffy grinned. Meanwhile, Faith was over at the Harris home, having
fruit punch with Xander in his bedroom. "Thanks, Mom! We're good. No more punch," he called
out the bedroom door, the tone in his voice indicating that his mother was
really getting on his nerves. When he shut his door, he let out a long-suffering
sigh, then instantly shot back to his place on the bed next to Faith and
reverted to his eagerly rapt pose. "So…back to what you and Buffy were doing after you
left the bar," he said, wearing a huge grin. "And remember, don't be shy on
details. I love details." Faith rolled her eyes and then glared at him. "Okay, forget the details. Just some generalized
description. I'll fill in the gaps." Faith glared more. Xander slumped in defeat. "Okay, fine. What do you
want?" "Information," Faith said. "About Buffy and Angel." Xander's expression became a bit guarded, but he said,
"What do you wanna know?" "What he did to her," Faith replied grimly. "I
tried to talk to Willow, but she wouldn't tell me anything." "Not surprised," Xander said with disgust. "She always
was on the Buffy/Angel bandwagon." "I take it you weren't." "No," Xander replied firmly. Then he went into
sarcastic explanation mode. "Angel was a vampire. Vampires are bad. That's why
slayers are supposed to kill them." He gestured dramatically with his hands.
"But no, Angel was different…Angel had a soul. Like that made a damn bit of
difference to the thousands of people he killed when he didn't have one!" "But he was good when he had his soul, right?" "I wouldn't say 'good'." "Not evil, then." Xander shrugged. "He was…useful on occasion, but I
never trusted him. Turns out I was right." "What did he do? When he was Angelus, I mean?" "He tormented Buffy for weeks, stalking her, leaving
notes and pictures behind at her house, sending minions after her with cryptic
messages. He threatened all of us, even Buffy's mom, and then he killed Miss
Calendar and left her body in Giles's apartment. He almost killed Willow, nearly
tortured Giles to death, and oh yeah, he tried to destroy the world." "And Willow still tried to restore his soul?" "Yeah. It was to try and stop his activation of
Acathla, but in the back of her mind, I know she was thinking, 'Maybe Buffy and
Angel can be together again…they're so in love'." He let out a frustrated growl.
"I mean, helllooo? Buffy and Angel can never be together! Them together
equals Return of Angelus. It's all part of that stupid gypsy curse." "Okay, wait…I'm confused. What does the curse have to
do with Buffy and Angel being together?" "Y-Y-You don't know about the clause? The happiness
clause?" Faith shook her head. "The gypsies cursed Angelus by restoring his soul so
that he would feel guilty and miserable the rest of his undead life. Sounds
great, right? Well, the idiots added a clause – the happiness clause. If Angel
ever experienced a moment of true happiness, his soul would be ripped away
again. They couldn't bear the thought that he might one day achieve happiness,
but duh! What happens to the rest of us when he does and Angelus gets unleashed
on the world again? Well, we found out…the hard way." "And being with Buffy made Angel happy?" "Not just being with," he said. "Being with…"
he added with emphasis, tilting his head at the bed to get his point across. Faith's eyes widened, and she dropped her gaze to her
lap. "That's why she was so freaked," she whispered to herself. "What?" Xander said, not having been able to make out
what Faith had said. "Nothing, never mind," she said, getting to her feet.
"Listen, thanks…I owe you one." "But –" He was too late; Faith was already out the
door. "My details…" he pouted. It was Sunday night, and Faith lay brooding in her
motel room. She had tried to catch up on some rest, but sleep had evaded her
every effort. She was waiting for Buffy to call, but she hadn't heard from the
blonde since she had left the motel room in the pre-dawn hours. Worry started to
set in. But just as Faith reached over to call the Summers home, the phone rang,
startling her. "Hello?" she answered. "Hel-lo!" Buffy chirped happily. "Hey," Faith replied, smiling at the sound of her
girlfriend's voice. "How are you?" Buffy asked in the same overly cheerful
manner. "Gooood," Faith answered with mock suspicion. "Just
curious…how many cappuccinos have you had?" "None!" Buffy insisted. "I swear." "Riiiiight." "No, seriously, I had coffee with Mom this morning,
but after that, I was completely caffeine free." She sobered a bit. "It's just
been a really good day," she said sincerely. "What have you been up to?" "Not much. Just hanging out here. Went out once, but
that's about it." "Willow says you had a follow-up talk about your
'truce'." Faith straightened up in the bed, a worried look on
her face. "Um, yeah, we did," she said hesitantly, not knowing what the redhead
may have told Buffy. "Well, we talked about it, too, about the whole thing,
all day practically, and we really got a lot of stuff worked out, so I think
you'll find a very different Willow the next time you see her." Faith gave a disbelieving snort. "Really? Just like
that?" "Well not 'just'," Buffy said. "It did
take all day." She let out a playful laugh. "So…did ya miss me?" Faith laughed and then got a mischievous look on her
face. "Maybe." "Maybe? Maybe?" Buffy pretended to be outraged.
"It better be more than 'maybe,' or I'll have to come over there and show you
'maybe'," she teased. "Bring it on, girlfriend," Faith challenged. The verbal one-upmanship was on as the two slayers
traded teases long into the night. Many blocks away, a sleeping dog abruptly awakened in
his back yard. The hair on his ruff rose, and a deep growl began in his throat.
His eyes scanned the brush at the back of the yard. He rushed forward, barking
ferociously. Suddenly, there was a louder growl and then a squeal,
followed by the sound of ripping flesh. When Buffy arrived at school on Monday morning, she
found Faith waiting for her outside. As soon as she walked up to Faith, she
cocked an eyebrow at her and said, "So…did ya miss me?" Faith groaned. "We're not gonna go through that
again, are we?" Buffy laughed. "You're just grumpy because I
won the verbal duel." She gave Faith a playful poke in the arm. "I'm just grumpy because somebody kept me up
all night…talking." She pulled Buffy into her arms and leaned in close, a
wicked grin gracing her lips. "I can think of better things to do with my mouth
than talk," she said huskily before giving Buffy a deep and lengthy kiss. "Mmm…I agree," Buffy murmured. Then she scrunched her
nose and grinned. "Kinda hard to do that over the phone, though." The sound of snickering interrupted Buffy and Faith's
warm greeting. Staying in each other's arms, they turned to look, and when they
did, they saw that they had attracted a small group of onlookers. The snickering
had come from a trio of freshmen boys who seemed to be about as mature as Beevis
and Butthead. A few others, both girls and guys, were just standing around
looking surprised. Harmony and her clique of Cordettes, however, had their arms
crossed and were looking at the two slayers with disdain. "For god's sake, get a room!" Harmony pronounced
before turning away in a huff. "It's not like we didn't get a eyeful of that
Saturday night…" The crowd began to disperse. Blushing furiously, Buffy pulled out of Faith's
embrace and giggled. "Guess we better put a stay on the PDA…at least on school
grounds." Faith was glaring at the backs of Harmony and the
Cordettes. She pointed at them and asked, "Are they demons? Please tell me
they're demons." Buffy gave a deep sigh of longing. "Ohhh…if only…" she
said as she began moving toward the front entrance. As the two slayers made their way through the school,
Buffy reached over and took Faith's hand in hers, interlacing their fingers.
Faith cut her eyes at the blonde. "Thought you were playing it cool on the public
displays," she commented in a teasing voice as a few wide-eyed glances were cast
in their direction. "Holding hands…that's cool," Buffy insisted with a
grin. "It's barely even chilly, really." She let out a giggle. "Ha! I rhymed!" Faith just snorted and shook her head as they pushed
open the double doors to the library and went inside. As soon as the two slayers had set foot in the
library, Faith found herself under attack. She heard her name called, she saw a
flash of red, and then, suddenly, she found herself trapped – caught in the arms
of her attacker. Faith stiffened and let go of Buffy's hand. Then she
ventured to look down. Her eyes grew wide when she realized it was Willow giving
her the mother of all bear hugs. Startled and thoroughly confused, Faith glanced
over at Buffy, who tried her best not to laugh. "I'm so sorry, Faith," Willow said, her face
still buried against the dark slayer's shoulder. "I was wrong about you, and
I've been such a bitch, and I'm so so sorry!" "What did you do?" Faith asked Buffy as Willow
finally removed herself from Faith's body. "Conjure up a pod person?" Willow merely grinned at the comment, even after Faith
took a clear step away from her. "We just talked," Buffy said with a shrug. Then she
smiled. "I think she just finally saw what I've been seeing all along." "Totally," Willow agreed. "Ohh-kaay," Faith replied evenly, not knowing what
else to say. A throat-clearing from Giles drew their attention to
the far side of the room. There the two slayers saw Giles set up at a table.
With him were Oz, Xander, and Cordelia. Giles stood with his hands on his hips. "If you are
all quite through with your 'hug-fest,' perhaps we can get started," he
complained. Willow instantly headed in his direction, and the two slayers did
the same. "Oh! I didn't get my hugs!" Xander said, jumping to
his feet. He held his arms out to the approaching slayers. A glare from Faith
stopped him in his tracks. "Then again, I'm good," he said, backing away. "My
fuzzies are quite warm enough." He quickly sat back down, getting an elbow from
Cordelia. When Faith and Buffy sat down at the table, Giles held
up a newspaper for all to see. The headline read, "Animal mutilations puzzle
local police." It was accompanied by a gruesome picture of a gutted dog. "Giles! Like, ewww…" Willow said, making a face. "I'd like to echo that 'ewww'," Buffy said, holding up
one finger. Oz grabbed the paper. "When did this happen?" "The first incident was Saturday night, and the second
was last night," Giles answered. "Neither of which was a full moon," he added to
Oz, "as you know, of course." "Saturday night?" Xander said. "I thought the bad guys
were supposed to take the night off for Halloween." "Well, as we saw last year," Cordelia said with
bitter sarcasm, "that notion is a complete crock." "So, what's the plan, Jeeves?" Faith inquired. Giles's eye twitched momentarily at Faith's manner of
addressing him, but he answered her question. "I'd like for you and Buffy to
patrol tonight in the areas where the attacks occurred. That is, if you're both
a hundred percent?" Buffy and Faith looked at each other and nodded. "Okay," Buffy said. "You bet," Faith added. "I'm ready to do some damage." "We are on it," Buffy finished in a determined voice. Willow leaned over the table. "Buffy, are you sure
you're ready? I mean, i-i-it's your first patrol since, well, Pete." Buffy paused and thought about that. After a moment of
serious contemplation, she looked up and said, "I'm good. I think I'm ready." "Excellent!" Giles said. "I believe these-these animal
attacks will make a fine way of-of getting back on the horse, as it were." That night, Buffy and Faith met up for patrol. They
checked out the areas where the mutilated animals had been found but had no luck
in finding a trail or the monsters responsible. As they took a shortcut through
the nearest cemetery, a dog suddenly ran across their path. Buffy jumped in
fright and pulled out her stake. "Hey, it's just a dog," Faith reassured. Buffy put her stake away, but it was clear that she
was spooked. "You've been really jumpy tonight," Faith commented.
"Are you sure you're okay to patrol?" "I'm just a little rusty," Buffy said. "A-A-And a
little nervous," she admitted. She gave Faith a smile. "I'm glad you're here
with me." Faith smiled back, and the two of them moved into the
cemetery. It wasn't long before they came across a nest of vampires holed up in
a mausoleum. The slayers eased up to the structure, peeking over the top of a
large tombstone. "How many do you think there are?" Buffy whispered. Faith's brow furrowed. "I don't know. Feels like a
lot." She clenched her fist around her stake several times as her breathing
quickened. Buffy concentrated a bit more. "I'm picking up six,
maybe seven." "You can actually get a count?" Faith asked. "Yeah, if I have time to concentrate, I can," Buffy
replied. "Can't you?" Faith shook her head. "If it's only two or three, I
can, but any more than that, it overloads my vamp sensing or something. It just
becomes one big scream, 'Look out! Vamps! And lots of 'em!' Get 'em, get 'em
now!'" She ended her whispered explanation with a growl to illustrate how
strongly she felt the urge to slay at those times. "That is really interesting," Buffy said
sincerely. "We need to tell Giles about this. Maybe there are other differences
in our slayer abilities that need investigating. I mean, there aren't supposed
to be two slayers alive at the same time, so it could be that our powers
complement each other." Faith just shrugged noncommittally; then a gleam
entered her eyes. "All I know is…right now I really need to slay
something…preferably lots of somethings." A similar gleam entered Buffy's eyes. "Let's do it,"
she said. The two of them rushed down to the mausoleum. Together
they kicked down the double doors and entered the stone structure. "Hi, honey…" Buffy quipped to the six surprised
vampires. "…we're home," Faith added on cue. And then the fight was on. Buffy took the left side of
the tomb, and Faith took the right side. Both quickly dispatched their first
attackers, leaving them with two each. The remaining vampires were formidable,
however, and the two slayers were pushed to their limits in slaying them. For
several minutes, the small space of the mausoleum was filled with the sounds of
punches, kicks, grunts, and groans until, finally, there was the familiar
whooshing of a vampire's dusty demise, followed quickly by three more just like
it. As the air swirled with fine ash, Buffy and Faith glanced at one another,
breathing hard. "You all right?" Faith asked. "Yeah," Buffy said. "You?" "Five by five," Faith answered, grinning widely. As
Buffy made her way over, Faith looked around the tomb at the damage they had
done. "Slayers six, vampires zero…sounds like a hundred percent to me." "It does to me, too," Buffy agreed as she and Faith
slapped their hands in a high-five. Then the two of them slung their arms around
each other's shoulders and strode out of the mausoleum. Later that night, Buffy and Faith were still on
patrol. They had hit every area where animal mutilations had been reported, but
they had had no luck in spotting whoever or whatever was responsible for the
gruesome attacks. In fact, other than the vampire nest they had dealt with
earlier that evening, they'd seen nothing out of the ordinary. As they came over a hill, Buffy suddenly stopped in
place. Her eyes were locked onto a large stone house on the next rise. Faith noticed her reaction and followed her line of
sight to the abandoned mansion; then she looked back at Buffy. "What is it?" she
asked. "You picking up something?" Buffy continued staring for a moment longer. Then she
slowly shook her head. "No," she said softly. She turned to Faith and met her
eyes. "The house…it's Angel's place." She turned back to the mansion. "Or it
used to be." Buffy wrapped her arms around herself and frowned. Faith stepped closer and put her hand on her
girlfriend's back. "Are you okay?" she asked gently. Buffy didn't lean into to Faith's touch; instead, she
took a small but deliberate step away; she tried to soften the move by putting
on a forced smile. "I'm okay," she answered. "It's just weird, you know?" "Yeah," was all Faith could say. "Come on," Buffy said. "I think we can call it a
night." At that, Buffy turned and began walking back the way
they had come. With a look of concern on her face, Faith hurried to catch up. A short time later, after a somewhat abrupt set of
good-night's on Buffy's part, Faith dragged into her motel room. She kicked
off her boots and tossed her stake on the dresser. Then she plopped onto her bed
on her back, not even bothering to undress first. She let out a heavy sigh. She tried not to think about the way Buffy had
distanced herself at Angel's mansion and afterwards, but it was useless. Her
mind could think of nothing else. She began to wonder if Buffy was reconsidering
their relationship. What's up with her? she wondered. Every time
his name comes up, she pulls away. Faith worriedly furrowed her brow as her thoughts went
to a very unhappy place. Maybe she's realizing that what she has now isn't
anywhere close to what she had, she considered ruefully. I mean, I don't
exactly qualify as 'once-in-lifetime-y.' As she repeated Willow's earlier descriptor of Angel
and Buffy's relationship, there was bitterness in her voice, but it was tinged
with a sort of sad resignation. Faith felt her stomach tighten. She closed her eyes
and rolled over on her side. She pulled a pillow to her chest and curled around
it. Meanwhile, Buffy was at home crying. She was in the
shower, leaning against the far wall with the water spraying her lower back. Her
mind kept replaying the events of nearly six months ago when Buffy had been
forced to kill Angel in order to deactivate Acathla. She had cried almost every night that summer in L.A.,
but since making the decision to return to Sunnydale, she had come to a certain
level of acceptance. The pain was still there, but at least it was tolerable.
Tonight, however, the pain had surged once again, and she had been momentarily
overwhelmed. After crying for a time, she shook her head and let
out a groan of frustration. "Stop it," she told herself, wiping at the tears on
her face. "You're supposed to be over this," she chided. "Well into moving on.
So deal." As she stepped back fully into the stream of water,
she continued her mental chastisement. Besides, she thought, you've been by the
mansion probably a dozen times since you got back, and you didn't have a
breakdown then. She sighed aloud and then reached for the shampoo. Hours later, Buffy tossed and turned in her bed.
Nightmares had plagued her all night, and one in particular kept repeating. Buffy was back in the mansion, standing before the
statue of Acathla, watching in disbelief as Willow's curse took effect and
Angel's soul was returned. She lowered her sword and allowed him to embrace her.
When the truth finally hit her, she started to cry and eagerly returned the hug. Then, over his shoulder, she saw Acathla begin to
change; the expected dimensional vortex was forming. She pulled away, gently
touched his face, and kissed him. They whispered I-love-you's, and then
she asked him to close his eyes. Angel seemed confused, but with a reassuring
nod from Buffy, he did as she asked. She kissed him once more and took a step
back. Then she drew back her sword and thrust it forward, shutting her eyes
against the sight. When Buffy heard a startled gasp and a groan of pain,
her eyes flew back open. Her expression changed to horror when she saw not Angel
before her, but Faith, the sword protruding from her chest. Blood was pouring
from around the embedded blade, and the dark slayer reached out to Buffy with a
blood-smeared hand; a look of confusion, surprise, and betrayal was on her face. Faith opened her mouth to speak, but that was when
Buffy awoke in a panic, bolting upright in her bed, gasping for air as her heart
raced frantically. Tears were already streaming down her face, and it took her
several moments to realize that it was just a dream…again. That
realization didn't stop her tears, though. She plopped back against her bed and
pulled her pillow against her chest, curling into a fetal position around it as
she let the sobs come. The next morning at school, Faith was once again
waiting for Buffy's arrival. Her stomach rumbled, and she winced in discomfort.
When Faith had first gotten up, she had felt a little queasy, so she hadn't
eaten any breakfast. Her nervousness about seeing Buffy after an awkward parting
the night before had only added to her stomach's unhappiness. When she saw
Buffy's appearance as she approached the school's entrance, Faith's gut clenched
even more. Buffy's hair was dull and pulled back into a hastily
formed ponytail. She was wearing an old pair of baggy jeans with an equally worn
t-shirt and sweater. Her face was pale and drawn, and there were noticeable dark
circles under her eyes. Faith's expression instantly scrunched into one of
extreme worry. As the blonde slayer drew near, Faith started to speak, but she
was cut off when Buffy moved right past any possible greeting and into Faith's
arms, all without saying a word. Faith was confused and concerned, but she
didn't press matters; she just tightened her hold on her girlfriend and waited.
It was a long moment indeed before Buffy finally said something. "I needed this last night," Buffy whispered, not
pulling out of Faith's embrace. There was a catch in her breath as if she might
start crying again, but she didn't. Faith stroked Buffy's hair reassuringly. "What's
wrong? What happened?" she asked. Buffy gave her head a small shake against Faith's
shoulder. Then she let out a deep, shaky breath and murmured, "Just…bad dreams." After another long moment and another deep breath,
Buffy finally pulled away from Faith, but didn't look her in the eyes for more
than a few seconds at a time. "I'm sorry," she said. "I'm being such a total basket
case, and I know it's a downer." When Buffy eventually let her gaze settle on Faith,
she found the brunette just standing there, looking at her expectantly. Faith
was frowning, but there was no judgment or disappointment in her eyes. "You gonna tell me what's got you so upset?" Faith
asked. Buffy ducked her head. "More Angel dreams," she
reluctantly admitted. She looked back up and found Faith's expression now
guarded. She pressed on anyway. "I-I-I think seeing the mansion last night just
got to me more than usual. I'm not sure why…" Buffy trailed off as she dropped
her gaze once again. While Buffy was glancing away, Faith let her pain and
fear come out in her eyes. She swallowed hard and then forced it all back down. "Big love, big loss," she said, shrugging nonchalantly
as she shoved her hands in her back pockets. "Takes time, I get that." Buffy looked up and gave Faith a grateful smile before
moving in for another hug. "Thanks for being patient with me," Buffy told her
sincerely. "Sure, no problem," Faith said evenly as she pulled
her hands from her back pockets and wrapped her arms around Buffy. Despite the warmth of their embrace, Faith didn't seem
comforted. Worries and insecurities flashed behind her eyes. She let out a deep
breath and hugged Buffy tighter. A short time later, Buffy and Faith were in the
library with Giles, discussing their patrol the night before. "We hit all of the places you listed," Buffy told
Giles, "but we didn't see anything." "We wiped out a vamp nest along the way, but that was
about it," Faith added. She grinned at Buffy before raising her hand for a
high-five. "Decimated it, didn't we, B?" "We sure did," Buffy agreed, slapping Faith's hand. "Excellent," Giles noted, pleased that the two slayers
were back in fighting form. Then he sobered and said, "Unfortunately, whatever
is committing these mutilations was busy elsewhere." He passed over yet another
gruesome photo spread in the local newspaper. Faith and Buffy glared at the articles and photos in
disbelief until Buffy let out an annoyed huff. She tossed the paper aside. "Sneaky demons," she complained. "You think they'd
have the good grace to be where we're looking." Faith smiled briefly at Buffy's pouting, but Giles
remained serious. "I'd like you two to patrol separately tonight," he
said. "See if you can find any sign of where the creature, or creatures, might
be hiding." When both Buffy and Faith seemed hesitant, Giles went
on to explain. "I don't want you to engage anything. Just track,"
he emphasized. "And carry your radios. If you encounter any demons, of any type,
call one another and wait for backup. And radio in to me regularly. Is that
clear?" At their watcher's stern look, the two slayers nodded
in the affirmative. That night, Buffy and Faith met Giles at the library.
After receiving their individual patrol areas from him, they gathered their
weapons, snapped on their radios, and headed out. When the two slayers reached
the street outside the school where they would part ways for patrol, they paused
and indulged in a long hug. "Be careful," Buffy instructed firmly as she gave
Faith an extra squeeze before pulling away. "Who me?" Faith quipped. She flashed a dimpled grin at
Buffy. "Hey, 'Careful' is my middle name." Buffy snorted and rolled her eyes. Then her expression
grew serious, and she reached out and touched Faith's cheek. "I love you," she said. "You know that, right?" Smiling, Faith said sincerely, "Yeah, sure." She
pulled Buffy to her once again until they were nose to nose. "I feel the same
way, remember?" She gave Buffy a wicked grin and then a searing kiss.
One kiss led to many more, and it took an act of total will power for Buffy to
finally separate herself from Faith. She was flushed and breathing hard. "Whew…any more o' that and I don't think we'd get any
patrolling done," she told her girlfriend. Faith chuckled unrepentantly. "I won't tell if you
won't…" she offered, raising her eyebrow mischievously. "Don't tempt me," Buffy said, forcing herself to focus
on rechecking her weapons and radio. Faith laughed again but didn't renew her offer. She
started walking backwards down the sidewalk, moving in the direction of her
patrol assignment. "Keep in touch," she said, pointing at Buffy with both
index fingers. "Will do," the blonde replied, patting the radio at
her belt. At that, Faith turned and trotted off. After a moment
of watching Faith, Buffy turned in the opposite direction and headed off as
well. After several fruitless sweeps in her area, Buffy let
herself wander a little further. Before she knew it, she found herself on the
hilltop that overlooked Angel's mansion. She felt her entire body tense up as it
had the night before. She stood there staring at the stone structure, a mixture
of emotions on her face. After a moment, her expression steeled, and she headed
toward the house, determined to defeat this nagging unease. Within minutes, Buffy was at the front door of the
mansion. She swallowed hard and forced herself to go inside. As she stepped into the house, she paused and let her
eyes adjust to the darkness. She also cocked her ears and listened. When she
didn't hear anything unusual, she moved into the great room, where only a short
time ago, she had left her Claddagh ring and made a final good-bye to Angel.
Buffy's face creased into a frown when she approached the spot where she had
left her ring. The ring was gone. In its place was what looked like a
large burn mark – a black, ashy residue singed into the cement – in the middle
of which was an outline that was oddly shaped, almost like that of a body. Suddenly, Buffy heard a low growl emanate from the
shadowy area behind the staircase. She whipped out her stake and crept in that
direction. The growl grew louder as she approached. "You can growl all you want," she warned, "but you
are going down." When the growling figure lunged at her from the
shadows, she instantly grabbed him by the neck and slammed him on his back on
the hard floor. She raised her stake to strike and then froze, a look of
complete shock on her face. A vamped-out Angel lay on the floor beneath her,
groaning from the impact with the floor. Buffy immediately backed away, tripping over Angel's
legs as she did so. She was shaking her head and saying "no" over and over,
refusing to believe what her eyes were seeing. Meanwhile, Angel recovered from Buffy's initial attack
and rolled over into a kneeling position. He swayed weakly and had to steady
himself with a hand on the floor. But he quickly turned glowing yellow eyes back
toward Buffy and resumed his growling. Buffy was unable to move; all she could do was stare.
With tears rolling down her face, she took in the sight of his battered body,
recognizing the dragon tattoo but clueless as to how he had become so injured –
or, more importantly, how he had come to be here at all. As she started to say his name, the feral look in
Angel's eyes flashed, and he lunged at her once again. She snapped out of her
shock and reacted, landing a solid punch to his face, dropping him instantly. In
his weakened condition, he went down hard and didn't move. Buffy warily approached him. She reached out to touch
him but pulled back at the last second. She glanced around the area, searching
for something. When she didn't see what she was looking for, she left Angel
where he was and searched elsewhere. Within minutes, she was back with a set of
chains. She quickly looped the chains around the railing of the stone staircase
and clamped the heavy manacles around his wrists, tucking the key into her
pocket. When she was done, she stepped back and resumed her anguished, confused
staring. "Yo, B…what's up?" Faith's voice coming over the radio startled Buffy so
badly that she completely fumbled her grab for the walkie-talkie, causing it to
crash to the floor. Luckily, the device wasn't broken. She snatched it up and
answered Faith's call. "Uh, hey…where are you?" Buffy said. "Green Meadows. You?" "Ummm…" Her eyes grew panicked. "Uhhh…Cedar Lane," she
lied. "Well, I'm finding a whole buncha nothing," Faith went
on. "You havin' any luck?" "Um, no…uh, no luck at all." "Why don't I head your way and we can check in with
Jeeves?" "No!" Buffy answered too sharply before softening her
tone. "Just, um, stay put. I'll meet you there. I'll be there in five." Buffy paused to look at Angel once more, then turned
and left the mansion. When Buffy arrived at Green Meadows, she found Faith
perched on the low stone wall that enclosed the perimeter of the cemetery. "Hey," Buffy said in greeting. Faith hopped off the wall and walked over. "So, how'd
it go?" Buffy shook her head. "No sign of any beasties." "Yeah, none for me either." Buffy was shifting her weight from foot to foot and
fiddling with her radio's antenna. She was also clearly avoiding Faith's gaze.
Faith noticed and took a step toward her. "Are you okay?" she asked, concern in her voice. Buffy froze and didn't say anything at first.
Should I tell her? After a moment's debate, she mentally shook her head.
No, not yet. Not till I find out exactly who he is. "Yeah, I'm fine," Buffy insisted with a smile. "Just a
little shakier than I expected. You know…patrolling by myself post-Pete." She
reached out and took Faith's hand. "It was a lot easier when you were with me." Faith smiled back and tugged Buffy closer. "What'd'ya
say we radio in and tell Giles we're calling it a night?" "Sounds good," Buffy replied gratefully. "Annnnd…since your mom thinks you're on patrol, maybe
you could come over to my place…?" Faith trailed off suggestively and leaned in for a
kiss. Buffy returned it, but not with the eagerness Faith had hoped for. After
the kiss, Buffy quickly pulled away and ducked her head. "I'm really tired," she said. She looked up but
met Faith's eyes for only a moment. "I think I'd just like to go home. Maybe I
can catch up on the sleep I missed last night." "Oh," Faith said, surprised and a little bit hurt. She
took a step back. "Yeah, okay, sure. No problem. I'll, um, I'll walk you home." "Thanks," Buffy replied. At that, the two slayers headed off in the direction
of Revello Drive, an awkward silence settling over them. At the Summers home on Revello Drive, Faith dutifully
smiled as she watched Buffy open her front door and go inside. When Buffy turned
and gave her a final wave, Faith lifted her hand and waved back. Once Buffy had
shut the door, however, Faith's smile faded. "Something's goin' on with her," Faith stated softly
to herself. After a sigh, she added, "I wish she'd tell me what's up." Faith gave her head a rueful shake before turning and
walking away. "Buffy, what are you doing home so early?" Joyce asked
as she came down the stairs and saw her daughter coming in the front door. Buffy snickered. "Don't you have that backwards?
Aren't you supposed to be saying, 'Buffy, what you are doing home so late?'
" Joyce rolled her eyes. "I just meant that you seemed
to be getting home early from doing your slayer thing." "It's called 'patrol', Mom," Buffy continued to tease,
"and you're right. I am home early." "Why? Was there a problem?" Joyce asked, concerned. "Yeah, the problem of having a total lack of anything
to slay." "But…that's a good thing, right?" "Not when we're trying to find what's been attacking
so many of Sunnydale's beloved family pets." Joyce grimaced. "You mean those animal mutilations
that have been mentioned in the paper?" "One and the same," Buffy replied. "But so far, we're
battin' zero against this thing. Whatever's doing this…it's a lot sneakier than
we expected. Which is why I'll be getting up extra early for some pre-dawn
patrolling. I figure maybe we're looking at the wrong time of day." She glanced
away and back, hoping her mother wouldn't suspect her of lying. "But Faith will be going with you, right?" "Um, yeah, of course." "Okay then, but please be careful," Joyce
instructed. "We will," Buffy reassured. "Oh, speaking of Faith, I've got something for you!"
She reached in her purse and pulled out a folded set of twenties. She held it
out to Buffy. "For you to give to Rupert for Faith. It's not much, but it's all
I could muster after we broke the bank with that pawn shop purchase." Buffy's face lit up into an enormous smile as she took
the money. She gave her mother a huge bear hug. "Thank you, thank you, thank
you!" "You're welcome," Joyce said as her daughter released
her. As she headed back up the stairs, she told her, "Stop by the house in the
morning so I'll know you're okay." "Yes, ma'am," Buffy answered. She watched her mother
go. When Joyce moved out of sight, Buffy let out a long breath. Once in her room upstairs, Buffy pulled out a duffel
bag from her closet and started packing it. She included a first aid kit,
several towels, and a small blanket as well as a change of clothes for herself.
She paused and looked intently at the footlocker at the end of her bed.
Reluctantly, she opened it and pulled out a bottle of holy water and an extra
stake. She placed them in the bag and zipped it up. Then she sat down on her bed
and waited. After about ten minutes, Buffy carefully opened her
bedroom door and crept into the hallway. She paused to listen outside her
mother's bedroom. Satisfied that her mother was asleep, Buffy headed downstairs. She grabbed a few bottles of water from the kitchen
and added them to her bag. Then she grabbed the writing pad on the counter and
jotted down a note. It read, "Mom, everything went fine. Later! Buffy." She folded the note and carried it to the table by the
front door where she carefully nudged the note under her mother's keys – a place
she knew her mother wouldn't check until she was ready to leave for work. The
note would serve as her backup in case she didn't return to the house in time.
Buffy then grabbed her own keys and headed out the door, locking it behind her. A short time later, Buffy entered Angel's mansion. Her
duffel bag was still slung over her shoulder, but in her hands was a crumpled
brown paper sack. She made her way to the stairs and peered around the corner. "Angel?" He was growling, crouched low on the floor. Suddenly
he leaped at her, his vampire eyes flashing hungrily. Buffy jumped and gave a
startled gasp. She hastily retreated until she saw the chains stop Angel short.
He yanked furiously at the chains and then sank to the floor, too weak to fight
any longer. Buffy waited until Angel's exhausted, rage-filled
breaths calmed somewhat. Then she eased her duffel bag off her shoulder and onto
the floor. "You know," Buffy told him as she started unwrapping
the brown paper sack, "you're lucky Willy had some in stock this time of night." She pulled out a plastic container full of blood and
tossed the sack aside. She grabbed her stake from her back pocket and moved
forward to place the container near Angel. Just as he snarled and snatched up
the container, she jumped back out of his reach. Buffy's face scrunched into a mixture of a frown and a
grimace as Angel savagely devoured the blood. He even ripped the container into
pieces and licked the inside walls clean. As soon as he had finished, Angel's eyes began to
blink closed. A heavy sleep was coming over him. Wavering in place, he slowly
lay down on the floor. When Buffy took a step toward him, he growled fiercely at
her, making her backtrack. Buffy's eyes filled with tears. "Angel, are you in
there?" she asked in a choked voice. "Some piece of you?" He showed no sign of being anything other than a
completely feral vampire. Buffy turned away, crying. While Buffy had her back to him, Angel pushed himself
up with his arms, de-vamping as he did so. As his demonic features faded, he
crawled onto his knees. He steadied himself with one hand on the floor and
reached out to Buffy with the other. "Buffy?" he whispered. Her eyes widened in surprise when she heard her name.
She whipped around and saw Angel reaching out to her. "Angel?" she asked as she cautiously approached him. She could see tears streaming down his battered face
as he dropped his weary arm back to his side. When she reached out to touch him,
he jerked away, startling her once again. "No!" he said in a strangled voice. "You're not real!
You're…you're…just in my mind…" Buffy eased closer and then knelt beside him. She
touched his shoulder and said, "I'm real. I'm here." Angel turned and fell against Buffy, wrapping his arms
desperately around her. A shocked and confused look came over Buffy's face, and
she mechanically returned Angel's hug. After a moment, though, she closed her
eyes and tightened her arms around Angel. Later, after Angel had fallen asleep, Buffy separated
herself from his embrace and retrieved her duffel bag. She quickly removed its
contents. She opened a bottle of water and wet one of the towels. Slowly and
gently, she began cleaning the wounds on Angel's body. When she was done, she
covered him with the small blanket and then sat down nearby to watch over him. Early the next morning, shortly before dawn, Buffy
woke up in the mansion. She found herself curled up on the floor, having
accidentally fallen asleep some time during the night. When her tired mind
finally registered where she was, she gasped and turned to see if Angel was
still there. He was – still sleeping beneath the blanket she had laid over him.
Buffy calmed a bit then, though her eyes remained troubled. She pushed herself up from the hard stone, grunting
slightly in discomfort as her body protested the previous night's sleeping
conditions. After gingerly stretching her limbs, she sorted through her
belongings, setting aside in the corner all but the change of clothes she had
packed for herself. She left those in the duffel bag, zipped it up, and swung
the strap over her shoulder. She then tucked a stake into her back pocket and
turned back to Angel. She crept closer and stared down at his battered form,
frowning sympathetically. For a moment, pity nearly made her consider unlocking
his chains, but thankfully, prudence won out, and Buffy backed away, leaving his
manacles clamped in place. She glanced away and sighed heavily but with
determination in her eyes. Time to find some answers, she told herself.
Then she strode from the room. After leaving the mansion, Buffy went straight to the
high school. She sneaked inside and spent a few minutes washing up and changing
clothes in the girls' restroom. Then she headed for the library. She pulled out an armful of books from Giles's special
collection and began systematically researching two particular topics: souls and
hell dimensions. After about two hours, she had gone through quite a number of
books and had narrowed her inquiry to a trio of volumes that seemed to hold the
most promise for her most important quest: a spell to determine the presence of
a soul. She turned page after page in one book before pushing
it aside. She instantly started in on the next, but soon she shoved it away as
well. She then turned to the third book. After several minutes of scanning, her
page turning slowed, and she drew the volume closer, her eyes widening with
hopeful expectation. "The Repertus Animus," she whispered. "When
done properly, the spell will climax with an illuminative signification within
the orb that will indicate either the presence or the absence of a human soul." She smiled widely and immediately rushed over to the
photocopier with the book. After feeding the proper number of coins into the
machine, she made copies of the pages detailing the Repertus Animus
spell. When she returned to the table, she set the book down and stuffed her
copies into her duffel bag. She then hurried into Giles's office and retrieved
the Orb of Thesulah, one of the items Willow had used in recreating the gypsy
curse. Luckily, the Orb had been buried under a pile of old documents and likely
would not be missed for at least a few days. She carefully placed the fragile
glass ball inside her duffel bag and zipped it up. Just as she started to sit
back down, she heard the library doors swing open. She jumped, so startled that
she nearly knocked over her chair. "Ahhh!" she cried out before she saw that it was only
her watcher. "Geez, Giles! What are you trying to do? Give me a heart attack?" "Buffy?" Giles asked in surprise when he saw her.
"What are you doing here?" He looked truly amazed to find his slayer there
actually reading. Buffy gave him a nonchalant shrug. "After me and Faith
quit for the night, I couldn't sleep. Figured I'd just come here and bore myself
to sleep with some research." She added an intentionally melodramatic eye roll. Giles tilted an eyebrow at her in response. He glanced
at the large number of books on the table. "I take it the research sedative
didn't work?" "Unfortunately, no," Buffy pretended to complain. Then
she sobered and said, "Actually, I came across some pretty interesting stuff." "What were you researching?" Giles asked curiously. Buffy pulled one of the books over to her. "Well, I
wanted to learn more about hell dimensions," she replied. "Remember when I told
you about that demon in L.A. that kidnapped young runaways and took them back to
his hell dimension?" "Yes, you said that they would enter the portal a
teenager then emerge greatly aged only a short time later." Buffy scrunched up her face in confusion. "I don't get
that. How is that possible?" "I-I-I'm not exactly sure how it works, but time
simply moves more quickly in certain hell dimensions. One day in our world could
easily be the equivalent of a year or more in a hell dimension." "So…someone who had been in a hell dimension for, say,
six of our months…" "…could have been there, in reality, for as much as a
century." "A-A-And all that time they'd be…" "…tormented, tortured, enduring suffering beyond
imagination…yes, I'm afraid so." Buffy's expression grew pained, and she had to blink
back the tears threatening to form in her eyes. She cleared her throat and
forced herself to quip, "Talk about a vacation in hell." Watcher and slayer flashed tiny smiles at the joke,
but then they were silent for a while, their minds weighed down by the current
topic of conversation. After a moment, Giles broke the silence. "I, um, I don't mean to pry, but…would I be amiss if I
suggested that Angel might be the ultimate goal of your inquiry?" Buffy's head shot up, fear in her eyes. "What?" she
asked in alarm. "I'm only asking because…Well, with the guilt curse,
we can't be certain that…I'm just afraid that you might be dwelling on the past,
on-on what you had to do to Angel in order to save the world." She let out an internal sigh of relief when she
realized that Giles didn't actually know about Angel's return. "I'm fine,
Giles," she reassured her watcher. "I'm not feeling anything like what I felt
under the curse. Honestly." "Good, I'm-I'm very pleased to hear that." "But Angel has been on my mind," she admitted. "Mainly
because of Faith. You know, relationship stuff." She gave a small shrug, and
Giles nodded in understanding. After an awkward pause, she announced, "I should
probably check in with Mom before she heads off to work." She tilted her head
toward the library door and picked up her bag. "I'll go ahead and put these away, then," Giles
replied amiably as he started to neatly stack together the books Buffy had
pulled out. "Thanks." She turned to go but then remembered
something and turned back around. She reached into her pocket, pulled out the
twenties that her mom had given her, and handed them over to Giles. "For Faith,"
she explained. "Oh!" Giles said, his face lighting up in a grateful
smile. "Wonderful. I'll see that she gets this right away." "Thanks, Giles!" Buffy said as she headed back toward
the door. "Be back later!" she said cheerily as she headed out the door. As soon as Buffy passed into the empty hallway,
though, her smile fell away. She pulled her duffel bag more firmly onto her
shoulder and hurried for the exit. Minutes later, Buffy was easing in her front door. She
could smell coffee in the kitchen but couldn't hear any sounds coming from the
other room. She quickly turned to the table by the front door and looked under
her mother's keys. Her hastily written backup note was still there. She snatched
it up and shoved it in her pocket just as she heard her mother coming down the
stairs. "Mom! Hey," she called out when Joyce stepped into the
living room, already dressed for work. "Buffy!" Joyce said with a smile, happy to see her
daughter home safe and sound after yet another night of patrolling. She gave her
a quick hug and then started gathering her personal items from the table by the
front door. "How'd it go this morning? I didn't even hear you slip out." "Another bust," Buffy answered with a shrug. Joyce gave Buffy a pat on the shoulder. "I'm sure
you'll find the monster soon, honey." She grimaced at her own words. "This is
not what a normal parent should be saying to her child," she complained
good-naturedly. "Guess you'll just have to be abnormal," Buffy shot
back with a mischievous grin. Joyce narrowed her eyes into a mock glare before
sharing Buffy's grin. "There's coffee in the kitchen," she said as she opened
the front door. "But don't dawdle. You don't have too long before school
starts." "Yessss, Motherrrrr," Buffy droned on cue. At that, Joyce rushed out the front door, closing it
behind her. After her mother left, Buffy headed for the kitchen.
She fixed herself a large coffee and a toasted bagel, then sat down to examine
the pages she had photocopied. On a separate sheet of paper, she made a list of
the items she would need for the spell. She already had the most critical item,
the Orb of Thesulah, which now sat upon the kitchen bar on top of several of her
photocopies. When she was done writing, she looked over the list again and
re-read the details of the ritual itself. "It looks simple enough," she said, frowning
worriedly at the Orb, once again relegated to menial duty as a paperweight. Then
she let out a heavy sigh. "I wish Willow could look at this…" She glanced at the
phone and debated whether or not to call her best friend and seek her
assistance. On the one hand, Willow was a real witch. She had
proved that fact with her re-cursing of Angelus the previous spring; as a
result, she would have a greater chance than Buffy of pulling off the spell
successfully. On the other hand, Willow had made her feelings about
Angel more than clear. "Kick his ass," she had told Xander to tell Buffy, all
without bothering to mention her plan to re-attempt the gypsy curse. Sure, she
acted like she felt all guilty about it now, but… Buffy shook her head. She knew that, given what Angel
had done to them, none of the Scoobies would blink an eye at killing him,
whether they knew he had a soul or not. And Faith…well the last thing she wanted
to hear about right now was Angel. No, Buffy resolved, she would have to do this
alone. And if he turned out to be Angel and not Angelus, then
she'd find a way to let the others know, and they'd go from there. But if he
turned out to be Angelus instead of Angel… Buffy closed her eyes and hung her head. The idea of
reliving the events of last spring – Angelus or not – was more than she could
bear. She forced herself to shake off the thought and to focus on the task at
hand. Buffy didn't go to school that morning. Instead, she
went and camped out in front of the local magic shop, waiting for it to open for
business. As soon as the owner had unlocked the door and turned over the "We're
open" sign, Buffy hurried inside. The owner scanned Buffy's list and quickly collected
the items on it. He rang up them up on the register and gave her the total.
Buffy handed over the necessary cash. He opened the drawer, removed her change,
and gave it to her with the receipt and the sack of items she had purchased. Buffy tucked the sack into her duffel bag, thanked the
owner, and then rushed out, this time on her way to the butcher's shop. In less than a half hour, Buffy was back at the
mansion. She was still carrying her duffel bag, but in her arms she was carrying
another paper bag from the butcher's shop. When she rounded the corner to the
stairwell, feral Angel growled and rushed her. His chains held him back, but
Buffy jumped anyway. "Angel?" she called out in a soothing voice. "It's
me…Buffy." Angel just growled more and pulled angrily on his
chains before sinking weakly to his knees. "Remember? I-I-I was here before?" His growling lowered, but he didn't de-vamp, and he
didn't show any recognition of Buffy. Instead, his eyes were locked onto the
paper sack in her hands. She set her duffel bag down, pulled a container of
blood from the sack, and cautiously approached Angel. As she had done the night
before, she rapidly set the container down and backed out of the way. Once
again, Angel snatched it up and devoured its contents in gruesome fashion.
Within minutes, Angel morphed out of his vampiric visage and fell into exhausted
sleep, his need for blood temporarily sated. When she was sure that Angel was fully asleep, Buffy
started making her preparations for the spell. "Let's hope I've paid enough attention to Willow's
witchiness to make this work," she mumbled to herself, "and that my natural
slayer supernaturalness will give me an edge." She laid the Orb of Thesulah on the floor several feet
from Angel. Beside it she set down two candles: a white one and a black one. She
lit both. She got out a smudging stick and a strange powder in a clear plastic
bag. She used the powder to create a circle around Angel's body. Then using that
same powder, she drew a line from the circle to where she had placed the Orb of
Thesulah on the floor. She drew another smaller circle around the Orb. As she
did all of this, she recited some highlighted words from her photocopied spell.
She read haltingly at first, her nervousness very apparent, but she grew more
confident as she went along. With that portion complete, Buffy set aside the powder
and took up the smudging stick. She placed the end of the stick into the flame
of the white candle and then into the flame of the black candle, making more
recitations from her script. She took the smoldering stick and awkwardly waved
it in the air over her powder line, first around Angel and then around the Orb,
again reading from the spell. Then she stubbed out the smudging stick and set it
down. Finally, she knelt before the Orb. She took a deep
breath and recited the major commands of the spell – the words that called upon
the spirits to reveal whether or not Angel's soul was present. When finished,
she swallowed and anxiously waited to see what happened. The smoke in the air from the smudging stick began to
glow, and its swirling took on seemingly conscious movement. The lines Buffy had
drawn on the floor erupted like gunpowder, encircling Angel, then the Orb,
before fizzling out and transferring their fire to the Orb itself. The Orb lit
up, and inside it two clouds of energy, one white and one black, twisted upon
themselves and each other as if vying for dominance inside the globe. After a
moment, the white won out, and the Orb flashed in a brilliant light of white,
causing Buffy to shield her eyes. When the flash stopped, she looked down and
saw that all the glowing had ceased. The black candle's flame had been snuffed
out, and only the white candle still burned. Buffy smiled widely. The spell had indicated that
Angel had a soul. She exhaled a long breath and let her shoulders sag in relief.
She picked up the candle and held it before her. She thanked the powers she had
called upon and then blew out the candle. She put her spell items away and then came to kneel
next to Angel, who was lying on his back. As she looked down at him, tears
filled her eyes. "It really is you," she whispered. But then she
frowned as questions and uncertainties hammered her brain. Angel, how did you get here? she asked him in her
mind. Who sent you, and why are you here? Her eyes grew pained as she remembered the
conversation she had had with Giles
Disclaimer: All of the materials borrowed from Buffy the Vampire
Slayer belong to Joss Whedon and to the entities and companies associated
with their creation. I have borrowed them for creative and entertainment
purposes only. No compensation has been or ever shall be received for the
writing below. No copyright infringement is intended.
Distribution: The Mystic Muse: http://mysticmuse.net
Forever Faith:
http://mysticmuse.net/faith
Cyber Lair:
http://www.dragonwriter17.net/
If you are interested in posting my story on your site, please contact me first
for permission.
Feedback: Yes, but only if it's of the non-flamey variety.
Spoilers: BtVS Season 3's Faith, Hope, and Trick and
especially Beauty and the Beast
Author's Notes: (1) The first chapter of this story was originally written
for Lilly as part of the Watchers Auction for WriterCon 2006. Lilly and I had
been chatting for some time about a possible Buffy/Faith story idea of mine
which basically rewrote Season 3 to put the two slayers together ('cause, hey,
Fuffy is hot!). When Lilly won me at the auction, she said that I could use that
same story to fulfill the bid. Since then, that original short piece has grown
very long. (2) I
have borrowed liberally from some episodes, especially the two mentioned above.
When borrowing, I have used the Buffy-vs-Angel website for transcripts
and basic BTVS research. Many thanks to that invaluable website! I have
deviated from the canon storyline in that Angel does not return at the end of
"Faith, Hope and Trick" after Buffy has left her Claddagh ring at the mansion.
After Part 03, the story moves into mostly original territory. (3) For Faith’s
backhistory for this series, I am using the novel Go Ask Malice: A Slayer’s
Diary by Robert Joseph Levy (excellent book, by the way). I may not use all
of its plot details or use them exactly as they appear in that novel, but I am
assuming that Faith’s past in “Twice Chosen” is very similar to Faith’s past in
Go Ask Malice. (4) Most importantly, I would like to thank Lilly for her
beta reading and editing. In fact, Lilly won Best Beta in Round 11 of the SunnyD
Awards for her work on this story. Congratulations!
Pairing: Buffy/Faith
Part 10
Part 11
Part 12
Part 13
Part 14
Part 15
Part 16
Part 17A
Part 17B
Part 17C