Disclaimer- BtVS, Angel and all related characters belong to Joss Whedon and David Greenwalt which is grand since they are the greatest people in the world for creating two of the greatest shows on TV!!

Faith-

In the dark, you never see what's really there. Regular things like coat racks and trees turn into monsters with outstretched arms, ready to grab you. Then again, things you should be scared of, mostly vampires and demons, look normal in the dark. At least that's true if you don't know what to look for. People could mistake me for a vampire, black clothes, dark makeup, I've got vamp gal written all over me. The problem with that is, I'm a Vampire Slayer. Capital V, capital S, it's who I am, not what I do. I don't mind it being like that. Buffy, well, B always cared about that. In my opinion, she cared about too many things, too many people. She even cared about a vampire! He had a soul, but still, a vampire. That's why she's here with me now; I threatened to kill him if she didn't come.

" Faith, where the hell are we going?" That was her now, Queen B. I think the thing that scared her was that she knew there were two people in this world that could kill her vampire honey, one of them was me and the other was herself. That of course was never gonna happen, she loved him far too much. I wouldn't kill Angel either; he's become my friend over the years. He helped me realize I needed help, and when I got it, he came and visited me all the time. It's been ten years since I was last in Sunnydale; Buffy was more than a little surprised to see me after all this time. I finally decided to answer her though.

" Chill out!" I exclaimed. Even though it was pitch black, I knew Buffy was glaring at me, I knew her all too well. We were alike, more than she would ever admit, probably less alike than I would have admitted myself 10 years back. After all, B was less a psycho killer and more a little girl who was only tough when she needed to be. We were both fairly comfortable in the sewers though, and that was where we were now. This was the place where all the less prosperous vamps and occasional low class demons operated. We had yet to run in to one.

Buffy's hand flew in front of me and I stopped. I heard it then too, something was in the tunnel ahead. We both reached for our stakes and headed toward the sound. Down the tunnel to the left were five vamps. Easy dusting work.

" Oh, how fun!" I exclaimed, stepping into the tunnel, closely followed by B.

" Well, what have we got here?" asked one of the fang bearers.

" Food!" came the scattered reply.

" No," said Buffy as we jumped them for a quick battle. " What we have here is to very annoyed Slayers."

" Two Slayers?" asked one of the two vamps left.

" Wow buddy, you've been out of the loop, it's been that way for 12 years or so!" I replied, finishing him off.

" No!" came the anguished cry from vampire number five as Buffy staked him.

" Aw damn, I broke a nail," I whispered to myself.

" You alright Faith?" Buffy asked, more out of habit I'm sure than anything else.

" Five by five," I said in a low but audible voice. " Let's go."

Buffy-

So we kept going. I had my doubts about where Faith was leading me however. The mayor was long gone; it had nothing to do with him I was sure. It probably had nothing to do with vampires unless we were going on a killing spree. This was also unlikely however since the graveyard was good enough for that. Finally, after two hours of traipsing through the Sunnydale sewers, I decided I had had enough. I grabbed Faith's leather jacket by the collar and pinned her against the wall.

" I'm only gonna ask this one more time, where the hell are we going?" I asked.

" Not a good idea B, I was serious about your vampire honey. I really will kill him," she said, laughing.

" Look, all I want to know is where we're going, that's all," I said just as angrily, but I let go of her collar, she had my weak spot. I hadn't seen Angel for near ten years now but I still thought about him everyday. In every relationship, I think of him instead of the guy I'm with. There was only one other guy I didn't compare to Angel, Riley. Unfortunately for me, Riley happened to think I was always thinking about my 'vampire honey' as Faith put it so bluntly. He was gone too, just as long as Angel.

Faith started talking again, snapping me back to my unbelievable reality.

" And I want to know when your gonna stop asking questions." I almost lost it right then. Faith had a way of pissing me off that belonged solely to her. I so wanted to take her on right there. I held back though. Just as I had made up my mind to turn around and head home, we stopped. There was a ladder in front of us leading up to ground again.

" We're here," she announced cheerfully.

" I kind of established that," I muttered.

" Ladies first," Faith said, climbing the ladder.

" Whatever you say," I whispered, following suit.

I reached the top and Faith was already halfway to the door of the warehouse.

" The warehouse?" I shouted. The sun had gone down about a half hour ago, the vampires who regularly resided there had probably left then.

" More questions, it's a bad habit B," Faith called over her shoulder. She was standing inside the deserted building. I stood in the doorway.

" Not exactly, I'd say it's more good than bad," I shot back.

" Now it's my turn to ask questions. Who's the better Slayer?" Faith asked. At that moment, my hands were forced behind my back and I was slammed back against the wall.

" What the hell is going on here?" I demanded. I saw a small movement behind Faith and saw a girl about the age of 14. She stepped out of the shadows and stood next to Faith.

" Let's just say you're not the only one with witch friends," Faith said. " Now, you're going to listen to me, no questions asked. For once," Faith ordered. I suppose I didn't really have a choice.

" Fine then, talk."

" Thanks for the permission. Mandie you might want to take a seat."

Mandie-

So that's how it all started. How Buffy and I got caught in the warehouse with Faith, listening to her life story. I guess neither of us took into consideration how screwed up her life must have been for her to turn out so angry and detached. I sat down on the cold stone floor next to Buffy and waited for Faith to start. For a second I considered freezing the whole thing and getting out. That is what I do, freezing things and moving them, but I couldn't for two reasons: one, Faith would find me and kick my ass and two, I couldn't leave Buffy alone here. So we sat and waited. Finally, Faith started.

" So, my life as a kid, what do you think it was like? Bet you can't even begin to guess. You don't know what my dad did for a living, where I lived, who I was. This girl here, hell she's not even a girl, she's a Slayer. Not even the Slayer, just one of the Chosen Two, and I wasn't even the first. You wonder what that does to a girl; well let me tell you, you don't even want to know. I wish I could go back to being a normal girl, however screwed up that was. I assure you, being a Slayer is two million times worth. Can't attach to anyone, if you do, it's a 99.9% chance they'll die, or worse, they're already dead!"

I assumed this was directed at me since Buffy knew what it was like to be a Slayer. Faith had obviously lost it. She was rambling and she never did that, no matter what.

" Faith, I think-" she cut me off.

" What a revelation Mandie, you think! Well, sit down and shut up!" Faith was practically screaming. My mind was torn away from the psycho; Buffy was trying to break through my partial freeze. It required all my strength to hold her back. I tapped my foot to get her attention. I shook my head and mouthed don't. She shot me a questioning look but stopped and my attention went back to Faith. She was talking again.

" So, my dad worked for the U.S. government. At first it was just the army and then a much more secretive area. That's when we moved to London. I found out my dad was actually working for something like the Initiative. I wanted to tell someone but who could I tell? My mom was either so drunk she wouldn't even listen or she had such a bad hangover she couldn't get out of bed. So I sat around and did nothing about it. My dad got promoted. Several levels in fact. The he was part of the Watchers Council. I didn't find that out until I was a Slayer though. You know what else?" she asked and I kind of figured it was a rhetorical question. "He made sure I was on the list of future Slayers! That's right, my dad wanted me to risk my life every night to kill vampires."

Buffy-

I always knew Faith had a talent for drawing attention to herself and it always annoyed me, but today I'm not only annoyed, I'm scared. Scared because the only person in the world who is capable of killing me is on a crazed mission. I'm also sorry for her. The story she's telling is one of the saddest I've ever heard. Now wonder she is so unattached. Being a Slayer is hard enough when it's tour destiny but knowing your own father was the reason you put your life on the line every night? That would make anybody crazy.

"I'm sorry Faith," I whispered.

" Your sorry?" she laughed. " Don't worry B, I'm 5 by 5. Unfortunately that's not always a good thing."

To this I had nothing to say. Instead I glanced at Mandie. She looked as shocked as I was. Faith started talking again.

" I decided when I came to Sunnydale, I would devote myself to Slaying. I put my life on the line more than I had to, taking my anger out on any evil creature that crossed my path. Of course I never counted on another Slayer, the term Chosen One kinda made me assume I was the only Slayer. Imagine my surprise when I met Buffy, a Slayer and just about the strongest gal I ever met. Within a few weeks, I learned a lot about her. We were pretty alike. She had guts, that was for sure. The only thing was they were completely different than the kind I had. She had the guts to defy her Watcher; she had the guts to sleep with a vampire, even if he had a soul. She had the guts to send him to hell and help him get through his pain when he came back, all the while hoping there was some way she could make her own pain go away. The pain from loving someone and not being able to be with them, possibly never being able to be with them. Then, when her vampire lover decided it would be better for them if they stopped seeing each other, Buffy let him go.

" She acted like the pain left when he did, but I knew she missed him and would give anything to get him back. She was fighting harder than ever and this held a painful resemblance to my own battle with anger." She stopped. She was staring at me harder than I've ever been stared at in my life. I stared back in sympathy and amazement. She had me pegged. I saw a single tear fall down her cheek and off her chin, splattering on the ground. She took a deep breath and continued: " I acted like I didn't notice but once in a while I gave a sympathetic comment, secretly, I was mad. She was getting the sympathy but my situation was just as bad. Faith gets nothing easy does she?" I stood up right then, Faith had just pissed me off. She had to pay.

Angel-

" What should I wear?" I asked Cordelia.

" Here, wear this," she ordered. She held out a light blue dress shirt and black slacks.

" Thanks. I really appreciate you coming to Sunnydale with me," I said. I was, I needed someone to help me with being human. It was much harder than I remembered, but 260 years would do that to you. I had to be across town in half an hour.

" Here, wear your glasses, they make you look more sophisticated," Cordelia recommended. I took them. She stood looking at me for a minute. I looked at the door and pointed at it.

" Oh right, you have to get changed," she said as she left. I dressed slowly and looked at myself in the mirror. Good. I had finally gotten used to seeing my reflection. I walked into the kitchen.

" Cordy, let's go," I said.

" Slow down Angel, we've got 20 minutes to get across town and it only takes ten to get there." Cordelia pointed out. I sat on a bar stool and waited. "Makeup?" she asked.

" What?" I asked, confused.

" My makeup, is it alright?" she asked again, more specific this time.

" Oh. Yeah, it's fine," I answered.

" Ok then, let's go." Cordy suggested. She picked up the keys and we left.

Mandie-

"Buffy!" I exclaimed. She had just broken through my freeze. My concentration was torn apart. I had a splitting headache and I knew it wasn't going away anytime soon. Faith and Buffy were circling each other in the middle of the room. If I didn't have such a problem concentrating, I might have realized how dangerous it was and ordered them to stop but I couldn't pay any attention to anything. My headache worsened suddenly.

" Shit!" I cursed under my breath; " I really do not need this right now!" Whoever gave me my ability of premonition didn't seem to care though because I was slammed with a vision anyway.

"Come on Angel, let me fool with B, I haven't had the chance for ten years! I promise she'll still be perfect when you get there and save her from my wrath." That was Faith; she was talking to the guy, Angel. I had heard a lot about him, especially in the last few hours, here in the warehouse.

" Fine, warehouse at 7:30 good enough for you?" Angel agreed. Faith nodded and smiled. That was all I got. My vision was over and I was back in reality with a headache that almost made me faint. I figured they were talking about today, I thought maybe I should do something. I summed up my strength and shouted.

" STOP!"

Faith-

I heard Mandie scream for us to stop but I wasn't going to. Neither was Buffy from the look of things. Suddenly I couldn't move. Buffy had stopped too and not because she wanted to.

" Mandie!" I exclaimed angrily.

" Stop! This is like a sudden death match. Buffy won't be perfect if you guys keep this up," she said, coming to stand between us.

" How did you know about that?" I asked, shocked. She was going to ruin it. Angel was due any minute.

" Freeze her," I ordered.

" Fine," she agreed, throwing her hands at Buffy. Once she was completely frozen, I started yelling at Mandie.

" What the hell do you think your doing? Angel's gonna be here any minute!"

" I know, that's why I stopped you guys. She was about to kill you and then you would have seriously hurt her defending yourself," Mandie pointed out calmly.

" Fine, just unfreeze us and I'll stop. I promise," I added the last part when Mandie raised an eyebrow in my direction. She knew me pretty well. She unfroze us both and I pinned her easily.

" What just happened?" Buffy demanded angrily.

" We need to talk, not fight," I explained. She stopped struggling and I let her up. She burst into tears.

Buffy-

I was crying and I wasn't sure why. Faith was staring at me and Mandie was holding back a laugh.

" You want sympathy Faith? Well, sorry but your not getting it from me. If you wanted it, you should have told me when you were a valid Slayer; when I was working with you!" I yelled. I wasn't used tot asking my anger out verbally but it felt good.

" Fine, I'm not giving you sympathy either, because now you have everything you ever wanted." She was smiling the whole time. What the hell was she talking about? She knew I didn't have Angel. Just then the door opened.

" Surprise!" Yelled four voices I recognized. Faith, Mandie, Cordelia and Angel. Cordelia and Angel? What were they doing here?

" Angel?" I asked, incredulous.

" In the… human flesh," he said, smiling. I was too shocked to realize what he had just said.

" Oh-my-God! Your human?" I screeched, jumping at him and throwing myself into his arms. By this time I knew he was telling the truth, he was warm. He kissed me.

" I love you, Buffy," he whispered in my ear.

" I love you too, Angel," I said kissing him back.

Angel-

To say it felt good to hold Buffy in my arms again would be the biggest understatement in the universe. Knowing that I no longer had to worry about losing my soul if I experienced true happiness was almost as comforting as knowing I never had to leave Buffy again.

" You set this up?" Buffy asked Faith.

" Yeah, I did," Faith said, nodding. I thought for a second that Buffy might pound Faith into the ground but instead she threw her arms around her.

" Thank you," she repeated over and over.

" No problem, I missed making you mad," Faith said, pushing Buffy away and looking her over.

" I missed you too Faith," Buffy said smiling. I realized then that they were both crying and for about thirty seconds I was jealous. I wanted to have a bond like they did. Of course I knew it exclusive to them.

" What you said, was it all true?" Buffy asked.

" Yeah, every word of it," Faith assured her.

" Wow, where have you been?" Buffy asked.

" In jail if you can believe it. I turned myself in," Faith said.

" Oh, I believe it. Are you back for good?"

" For now and as long as it stays legal yeah, definitely."

" Let's get some dinner, then we can really talk," I suggested. Cordy and Mandie (whom I knew through Faith) both looked relieved. We walked out into the cool night and I saw Buffy was wearing my leather jacket, which I had given her when I left Sunnydale, 14 years before. I put my arm around her and smiled, I was truly happy. I think everyone was happy, as far as I could tell. It was the first time in a very long while.

THE END