It had been two months since the battle against The First's army of Turok-Han, resulting in the destruction of the Hellmouth, Sunnydale and the death of Spike, Anya and a few of the newly awakened Slayers. The Scoobies had all gone their own separate ways since then; Xander was now living in Glasgow, slowly recovering from Anya's death. Willow and Kennedy had moved to Rio de Janeiro to continue their relationship and find more Slayers while Giles was living in Bath, enjoying his free time. Andrew was living in Rome, trying to redeem himself after killing Jonathan and Robin was busy in Cleveland, ready for an uprising from the Hellmouth residing there.

Buffy and Dawn however hadn't moved as far as their other friends, deciding to live in San Francisco while Buffy was enjoying being free for the first time in what seemed like forever. They still kept in contact with the others, finding out how everyone was doing but more often than not it would just be the two of them relaxing and spending time together in their apartment.

Coming back from a shopping trip in which Buffy felt obligated to buy Dawn as many shoes as their father used to, Buffy flopped onto the couch while her younger sister ran to her room and tried on her shoes. Grabbing the remote, Buffy switched the TV on which was showing an episode of the Looney Tunes. Not caring what was on, Buffy placed the remote next to her, took her shoes off and laid back on the couch.

"Hey Buffy!" Dawn called out from her room. It wasn't a big apartment, it only had four rooms; two bedrooms, a living room/kitchen and a bathroom. Still it was big enough for the sisters… even if they'd get into arguments about how long the other would be in the bathroom for.

"What is it Dawn?" Buffy replied, her eyes glued to the cartoon on the TV. "Do they not fit?"

"No it's not that." Dawn walked out of her room and into the living room, leaning against the doorframe, a beaming smile on her face. "They fit perfectly, thank you for buying them Buffy."

Buffy looked over at Dawn and smiled back. "Its fine, I'm enjoying going out and buying clothes and shoes again." She looked back at the TV. "I feel… like a proper girl again." She looked back at Dawn. "What's up?"

Dawn sat next to Buffy on the couch, grabbing the remote and changing it to a soap opera.

"Hey, I was watching that." Buffy protested.

"Oh please Buffy, how many times can you watch that poor coyote get blown up before it becomes old?" Dawn looked at Buffy.

Buffy looked blankly at her sister before raising an eyebrow. "Excuse me, who was the one who wanted to watch Animaniacs over and over again?" Dawn quietly sighed and looked back at the TV, prompting Buffy to cross her arms as she too looked at the TV. "So how come you called me anyway?"

Dawn put the remote next to her. "I was just wondering if you've heard from Faith since that day." She looked at her older sister, who's body had seemed to have gotten stiff upon hearing Faith's name. Knowing full well Buffy's reaction was her answer, Dawn looked back at the TV. "Oh I see… Do you think she we-"

"I don't know Dawn!" Buffy snapped causing Dawn to look at her. Quickly sighing and looking at her younger sister, Buffy spoke softer. "I'm sorry, I didn't mean snap I just…"

"Don't want to talk about her?" Dawn smiled slightly. "I get it, I really do."

Buffy and Faith had a really complicated relationship; at first they didn't get on but over time Buffy grew to respect and care for Faith… hell the word "love" was thrown around at that time but for Buffy that word was only associated with loving Faith like a sister. Eventually they had a massive falling out which ended up with the two Slayers fighting, resulting in Faith ending up in a coma. After Faith woke up she ended up switching bodies with Buffy, causing all sorts of trouble, sleeping with Buffy's boyfriend at the time before they reverted back to normal. Years later they patched things up when Faith came out of prison to help Buffy out against The First.

But still, even though they patched things up Buffy couldn't bring herself to forgive Faith completely. She used Buffy's body for sex that she didn't consent to for one thing… although Buffy was at least glad it was with Riley and not some random person from a club. Faith had also killed people but she was working to redeem herself, in the same way that Angel was. Although everything that happened to them, Buffy couldn't bring herself to hate Faith. In some way she was hoping Faith would turn up one day, or at least call her, they had a lot to talk about in the short two months they were apart but the thought of Faith turning up was one that both terrified and excited Buffy, for reasons she herself didn't quite understand.

"It's not that Dawn." Buffy brought her younger sister into her arm and looked at the TV again, stroking her sister's beautifully long brown hair. "I just don't know what I'd say to her if she should come in contact with me. Hell I don't even know where she is now."

"I thought her and Principal Wood were in Cleveland together?" Dawn rested her head on Buffy's shoulder. "Weren't they in a relationship?"

"I…" Buffy clammed up suddenly, she didn't understand why but the thought of Faith and Robin being with one another sickened her to her stomach. "I didn't know they were… but I suppose they work together." She forced herself to smile. "They're good for each other."

Dawn looked at Buffy, despite not being a magical being anymore Dawn could sense that Buffy was hiding something. However the brunette decided not to say anything, Buffy and Faith had something complicated after all, such a complicated relationship that not even Giles would dare ask about Faith in his phone calls with the Summers girls.

"Now come on…" Buffy started braiding Dawn's hair. "You watch this trash show while-"

"It's not trash!" Dawn interrupted.

"While I play with your hair all fiddly-like." Buffy carried on, a small smile on her face. "It's my turn to cook tonight, what would you like?"

"Pizza!" Dawn enthusiastically spoke.

Buffy laughed. "Alright, pizza it is."

-A Few Hours Later-

After having their pizzas – Buffy having cheese and Dawn having anchovy – Dawn went back into to her room to watch one of her new DVDs that she had bought that day, leaving Buffy to wash the plates.

As Buffy ran the hot water she stared at the sink, watching the soapy bubbles fill it up, grabbing a few of them in her hand and staring blankly at them in her hand. Her mind wandered as she started thinking of all her friends, how far away everyone was. She thought they would all be together forever after all they've been through, but everyone was off with their own lives now. She thought that her and Willow would remain close, after all they were going to grow old in an old people's home together, though that was going to be difficult what with Kennedy attached to the redhead's hip.

She thought about how poor Xander not only lost the love of his life but also his eye due to the literal hand of Caleb. A small smile appeared on Buffy's face as she thought about how she avenged Xander, but even that wasn't enough to distract her from thinking of everyone. She had phoned Giles the other day but the timezones were not in their favour, there was never a good time for them and that upset Buffy.

And of course, her mind drifted to Spike. The once evil vampire who tried to kill her who ended up becoming a decent colleague before becoming a friend and then a lover, Buffy's relationship with Spike was about as complicated, if not more complicated the hers with Faith… there was her name again. The name of her Slayer partner for little under a year. She didn't want to think about Faith but no matter what else she thought it would come straight back to the woman she fought alongside with. How Faith would act around her, the things Faith would say, the way Faith made her feel… the times when her and Faith would get so close they were literal inches away from kissing each other, it was all rushing through her head and they wouldn't come out.

As Buffy continued to think about Faith she was brought out of her trance by a knock on the front door. Shaking her head and quickly turning off the tap so that the sink didn't overflow, Buffy called over her shoulder.

"Dawn could you get that?" Buffy said, no movement came from Dawn's room. "Dawn!" She called out again. "Dawn!" Sighing and grabbing a tea towel to wipe the bubbles off her hand, Buffy walked to the front door, putting the tea towel over her shoulder as she opened her door.

To her surprise stood an all too familiar figure, one which she never thought she'd see for a long time, if ever.

"Hey there B, long time no see."