Watching Your Back

Disclaimers

Legal:All characters are (c) Joss Whedon, Fox, Mutant Enemy and probably a whole mess of other people. No infringement of copyright intended.

Spoilers:All the way to the end of season 4.

Summary:Faith comes back to Sunnydale just as Spike kicks off his latest scheme.

Prologue

Faith sat down at the cubicle and glanced slowly around the prison visiting room.

"So … it's you. I was expecting -"

"Angel?" the blonde police detective on the other side of the glass panel leaned back in her chair, "He sends his apologies. Something urgent came up. He asked me to come by and let you know why you had no visitors this week."

Faith looked down at her hands,

"'No visitors', huh? I guess that means you still ain't told him about our little heart to hearts."

Detective Kate Lockley shook her head slowly as Faith began to peel at a gap in the cheap plastic veneer of the cubicle walls.

"It tell him as much as he tells me. Which is very little. Angel is … confining. He seems to think that, having shown me the door into this world, he can shut it again and keep me out. Like I could close my eyes to it all. You've told me a lot about the things out there. Things Angel never would."

Faith rubbed her hair,

"I know what you mean. I owe the big guy a lot. Maybe as much as I owe B. He got through to me and he stuck by me when no-one else could." She gestured at the plain cement walls of the room, "And he still helps me when he visits. But if I hadn't come here … if I was still at his place … I think I would have run by now. It would have been suffocating, always under his eye."

The blonde policewoman cocked her head to one side and gave the young woman in prison garb a long, measuring look.

"You've changed in the time you've been here." She said, choosing her words carefully, "I remember when you came to the station that night -"

# I'd like to make a confession. #

"- you seemed like you were … almost self-loathing, I guess. Like you'd just realised that the monster in your nightmare was you. Now -"

"I seem to be dealing? Yeah … it's wicked weird what six months in a place like this can do for you. Not much to occupy my time between visits but training and thinking. Hell, I even took my high school equivalency test."

"Really, Angel didn't mention -"

"I don't tell him everything, either."

"Oh."

"Look, Detective, for all that I've changed in here, there's still a wall between me and them. I did some shitty things to a whole bunch of people who deserved better, and I'm lucky they didn't kill me for it. There were times I wished they did -"

"Sometimes I think there's a wall between Angel and everybody. But, he -"

"Thinks I can find my way again? Yeah, I know he does. And that's why I'm still alive to have this conversation. Even B was ready to put me out -"

"B?"

Faith paused, choosing her answer. Sure. B. Buffy. The Chosen One. Slayer Done Right.

"Nobody. A friend. So, are you here for more low-down on the demon-spawn?"

The detective shook her head,

"No. Like I said, just to give you Angel's apology. I should be going, really." She pushed back her chair and began to stand.

"Wait. Detective -"

The policewoman paused, and Faith leaned forward, so she was close to the glass,

"Can you give Angel a message for me? Next time you see him?"

"Sure, though that probably won't be for a few days. What is it?"

"Tell him how I've changed. Then tell him I've been doing a lot of thinking. Tell him -" she paused, "- tell him that I've been thinking about the Slayer powers."

"The what?"

"They're what let me match it with the vamps and the demons. B has them, too. But they're not a part of us. They're like … a gift. And any gift can be passed on. Like I said, I've been thinking. The way the world is, we both need to be out there -"

"I hope you aren't suggesting -"

"Don't worry. I ain't busting out. I've been down that road before, and I didn't like where it went. But the world needs all the Slayers it can get, and I'm not doing anything worth a damn in here. So tell Angel I'm passing the powers on. More important, tell him … him and Wesley … tell them to find the new Slayer before the Council does. Can you do that?"

The detective nodded slowly, and Faith could tell that she suspected something was being hidden from her. Not that it mattered if she did. She wouldn't guess what it was.

"I'll tell him."

Chapter 1

Buffy Summers walked slowly through the darkened campus of UC Sunnydale. She was alone. Riley had offered to come on patrol, but she hadn't wanted company. Not tonight. Besides, things had been quiet ever since the showdown with Adam. No surprise there. Every time she'd put down a major player - the Master, the Mayor, whoever - the vamps and demons went to ground for weeks or months. She'd barely staked a bad guy all summer.

# Apologise to me and I will beat you to death. #

That had been the last thing she'd said to Faith before the two of them had been fighting for their lives against the Council's Operations Team. She'd meant every word.

# Go ahead. #

Said in a certain way, it could have been a challenge, a mockery. She wanted desperately to believe that was what it was. But she'd seen Faith's eyes as she said it. The other Slayer had meant it, though Buffy had been too angry to realise it at the time.

For months she had hoped that Faith would realise she was going wrong. Hoped that she would apologise. Then the Ascension had come and gone and afterwards she'd just hoped Faith wouldn't die. It had been crazy, but she was sure that Faith had helped her beat the Mayor.

And then Faith had come out of the coma, and Buffy had hoped against hope that the other girl would have changed. But she hadn't. If anything, what she did that time was worse than anything she had done before.

And when I went to LA, I went to make her pay.

At last, Faith had been ready to offer an apology.

And I turned it down flat.

She knew now that there would never be another chance.

When Faith had been in the coma, they'd all got sloppy. If the Watcher's Council hadn't warned them, the gang would never have known she was awake until she showed up. So when Faith went to jail, they had made sure that they would know of any changes in her circumstances. It was amazing what Willow could hack into with a combination of computer skills and witchcraft. Particularly with Tara's help.

Now that had been last year's real surprise package. The idea that her best friend had a girlfriend had left her almost speechless.

But it had been 'out' for months now, and they had all learned to deal. Even Xander. Though Buffy doubted that Willow's mother knew of her daughter's relationship, even now.

You're drifting, B. She scolded herself. Then almost stopped in her tracks. "B". She never thought of herself that way. The news about Faith must have got to her worse than she realised.

Buffy flopped down at one of the picnic tables around campus. Patrol was a bust anyway. All the vamps were still in hiding. Even Spike, which was just as well for him.

So Willow had hacked the prison database and set up a program that would let them know anytime there was a change in Faith's record. Until today it had all been pretty mundane. A few fights with other inmates, Faith getting her High School equivalence certificate.

That was the only time I remember Willow using Faith's name. Only Will could get excited about something like that. She's still 'Education Gal'.

But today that had changed.

Today the prison had updated Faith's record for the last time.

Catastrophic trauma. Pronounced DOA at the prison hospital.

A four storey fall onto concrete. It should have hurt her, but not killed her. Not unless she wanted it to. The police were treating the death as suspicious, thought it was probably the result of a fight with another inmate. But Buffy doubted that anyone could have thrown Faith off a building without the Slayer's co-operation.

She laid back against the table. All those months of wanting an apology and when it came, I turned it down. I never believed she had changed. But I guess that maybe she had. Or maybe she just gave up. I'll never know.

Clouds drifted lazily across the sky as Buffy looked up at the stars. I guess this means there's another Slayer out there, again. Poor kid. I hope it goes better for her than it did for Kendra or Faith.

The soft sound of a boot scuffing across grass and she was off the table and on her feet.

Woah, talk about drifting, B. Letting four vampires get this close. It was more Faith's voice in her head than her own. Seemed like she wasn't ready to let go of the other Slayer yet.

Buffy scanned the four, stepping slowly away from the table as she did so. Newbies, by the look of them. Fresh out of the earth. That meant some recent activity that she had missed. Getting sloppy. Things were quiet enough that nothing should have got past her.

She smiled tightly, and beckoned the vamps forward with one hand, the other sliding inside her coat to grasp the stake that was nestled there. I could do with the distraction, and it will make up for missing whoever created them.

"So," she said lightly, "Who's first?"

The vampires ran.

"Dammit!"

She took off after them.

Willow looked up as Buffy swung in through her bedroom window. She and Tara had been hanging at the Summers' house for most of vacation. No surprise there, if I'm right that she still hasn't told her Mom. I'm just glad my Mom was so cool about it. Of course, I suppose that as surprises go, it's pretty normal compared to some of the ones I've sprung on her.

"Hey," she said, giving Willow a half-wave, "Where's Tara?"

"Little Witches' Room." The redhead answered, closing the notepad computer she had been working on. "I take it from the sweat and blood that you got some bad guys tonight?"

Buffy grinned,

"I don't sweat. I perspire. But yeah. Four newbie vamps. They ran when they saw I was up for a fight. At first I figured it might be a trap, but they were just cowards, I guess."

"That's weird." Willow tucked a strand of hair behind her ear, then turned and smiled as Tara slipped into the room.

"What's w-weird?" the blonde witch asked, only half-looking at them. Even now, she was shy around Buffy and the others. Not surprising, given how 'up-front' some of us can be. Anya could send a sailor bashful. And that's on a quiet day.

"Buffy dusted four new vamps tonight." Willow explained, reaching out a hand to Tara. The two entwined fingers and sat together on the bed.

Buffy perched on her dresser and gave Willow a quizzical look,

"Weird how, Will? Dusting vamps is pretty much a nightly occurrence for me."

"Not lately, it isn't." Willow pointed out, "And you said they were all fresh, too. Which is weird, since you'd think we'd have heard about four odd deaths -"

"This is Sunnydale, Will." Buffy reminded her friend.

"Yeah, and this sort of stuff happens all the time without anyone saying anything about it. At least publicly. But I've got taps on the morgue, the hospital and the good ol' Sunnydale PD. This is the new millennium after all, so we shouldn't still be relying on the newspaper to tell us when stuff is in the process of being 'up'. Or by stumbling across bodies in lockers, like used to happen when you first came here."

True enough. The paper never even said anything when Faith and I killed that guy.

"Faith killed him, Buffy. Not you."

"Huh?" Buffy snapped her head up and stared at Willow, "What?"

Willow gave her a concerned look,

"Are you okay? You just said something about you and Faith killing that guy, Allan. But it was just Faith, Buffy. Don't forget that. You tried to stop her."

"Yeah, sorry, guess I'm pretty zoned." Must be, to say something like that out loud. And dammit, it wasn't my fault, no matter how guilty it still makes me feel.

"So, like I was saying, we should've known that there were four vamps on the way, particularly since it's all been so quiet since you took out Adam."

"Buffy and you." Tara interjected quietly, giving Willow's hand a squeeze. The redhead grinned bashfully and ducked her head. It was almost exactly the same mannerism as Buffy had seen so often from Tara, and the slayer had to suppress a smile.

"Yeah, Will. Me and you and Xander and Giles, in fact." Buffy hopped off the dresser and slipped out of her coat, hanging it in the wardrobe, "But you were explaining the weird."

"Yep," Willow flipped open the notepad computer and pointed at the screen, "nothing for days from any of my taps."

"Except Faith." Buffy said, quietly.

"Yeah … except Faith." Willow canted her head to one side, "Are you sure you're alright?"

Buffy opened her mouth to say she was, then closed it again.

"No, Will. I'm not sure that I am. I thought I'd given up on Faith, that hearing she was dead would be a relief. But I guess I didn't, not entirely. Because I've been not-focussed gal ever since I heard."

Tara glanced between them,

"But I thought Faith was bad. I mean, she wasn't v-very nice to me and Willow -"

"She was bad, alright." Willow said as firmly as she could, nodding vigorously as she did so.

Buffy sighed and dropped onto the bed beside Willow, covering her eyes.

"Yeah, Will, but you know me." Buffy mumbled, "Masochism's my middle name. Well, okay, 'Anne' is my middle name. But masochism probably should be. I mean, the whole deal with Angel. I beat myself up every day for two years over that. And Parker. I spent weeks thinking that was my fault, when all the time he was just a pig." She looked up, and half-smiled, "So I guess it will take me some time to deal with Faith taking the big fall, y'know. Even if there were times I would have gladly pushed her myself."

"Get in line." Willow muttered under her breath, then pointed at her computer's screen again. "But apart from Faith, nothing from my taps for days. Then Buffy meets four new vamps on patrol, and when she doesn't go all 'screamy victim' on them, they bolt. New vamps aren't usually that smart. They're all 'must feed' and gross stuff like that. I think someone made those vamps on the quiet, and warned them about the Slayer."

"Which means a new player in town." Buffy exclaimed, following Willow's logic.

"Or an old one." Willow closed the notepad again.

Buffy stared at her in confusion for a moment, and then realisation dawned.

"Spike?" she said.

Willow nodded,

"Spike."

Buffy rolled over and squinted at her bedside clock with one half-open eye. 7:26 AM. Too early to be up in the last week of holidays, but the sun was slapping straight across her bed, suggesting another hot, bright day in Sunnydale.

Which is why it got the name, I guess. You'd think the vamps would pick somewhere more overcast for their favourite patch of earth.

She sat up and swung her legs out of the bed. Faint noises downstairs told her that her Mom was already up. It wouldn't be Tara and Willow, she was sure of that. The two witches were sharing the spare room. Which was on the other side of the house, well away from the invasive morning sun.

Slipping on a robe over her pyjamas, she went downstairs for breakfast, taking the steps two at a time before bursting in the kitchen with a cheery cry,

"Good morning, Mom."

Joyce Summers stood at the window with a glass of orange juice in her hand,

"Oh, it's just you, Buffy. Thank goodness. I thought a herd of elephants was stampeding down the stairs."

Buffy favoured her mother with a mock-glare as she snagged a glass of juice for herself,

"It is to laugh." She said lightly, "what's for breakfast?"

"Whatever you decide to fix when the girls are up." Joyce finished her juice and rinsed the glass in the sink, "I'm expecting a shipment first thing at the gallery, so I need to get there early today."

"Cool." Buffy slid onto one of the stools next to the kitchen bench. "We'll just burn something later. But before you go, can I ask you something?"

"Sure, honey. What is it?" Joyce picked up her handbag and fished out her keys.

"Mom, you've been amazing about the whole deal with Tara and Willow. I mean, they've been here just about every night of the holidays. And you've just taken it all in stride. Even though, you know, they must be doing … couple stuff … in the spare room. Doesn't it bother you?"

"Not really, honey." Joyce glanced sidelong at her daughter, "I mean, no more than it seems to bother you that your father and I did 'couple stuff' in the same bed your friends are using."

"Eww, Mom!" Buffy grimaced into her juice, "That's an image I didn't need."

Joyce laughed and kissed her daughter on the forehead,

"And you have the nerve to think I might be old-fashioned." She teased, heading for the door, "I'll see you tonight, honey. Try to enjoy yourself. Only four more days until you're back at college."

Buffy grimaced into her juice,

"And there's another image I didn't need." She muttered in mock-misery.

It wasn't until about ten minutes later that Buffy slid off her stool and walked to the phone. The thing about bright, sunny mornings is that they tend to blow away those workaday cares. Like four new vamps we didn't have a clue about.

She dialed Giles' number from memory, and stood listening to the ring of her watcher's phone.

"One. Two. Three." she counted quietly under her breath, smiling. Giles always picks up in the middle of the fourth ring.

But the phone rang on. Four times; five; then six. Buffy frowned, and let the phone ring out.

No answer. The morning after new vamp activity. Not good.

Her cheerful morning mood rapidly fading, the slayer returned up the stairs as fast as she had come down them. She paused quickly to bang on the door of the spare room,

"Willow! Tara! I think something may be wrong at Giles'!"

And then she was into her room, pulling on the last night's patrol gear.

"Everything looks normal enough." Willow observed quietly, as the three of them approached Giles' apartment. "No signs of damage to the door or windows. And the spell wires are still in place."

Buffy stopped in mid-stride,

"Spell wires?"

Willow nodded enthusiastically,

"It was Tara's idea." she said, as the blonde witch blushed, "Setting up magical wards takes lots of time and energy, which is why we can't just put spells on all our houses to stop demons from entering. But Tara thought we might be able to make some sort of little signs that we would be able to see if anyone had forced their way in."

"L-like putting a hair across a drawer so you can see if anyone has opened it while you were gone." Tara explained.

"I see." Buffy realised that one of her feet was still in mid-air and slowly lowered it. "So let me guess ... when you two vanish into your room for hours on end, this is the sort of stuff you're getting up to, isn't it? Magical tricks. Practicing with your powers."

"Well, sure." Willow said, with a puzzled look, "I mean, what else did you think we were ... oh. Oh." he mouth continued to move, but there was no sound coming out as a pink flush flamed across her cheeks.

Tara took Willow's hand and squeezed it gently. Which did little to alleviate Willow's discomfort.

"So the spell wires are still in place." Buffy said, deliberately turning the topic away from any possible source of hyperventilation for her friend. "Which means that Giles should be OK?"

"Well it means that no-one has forced their way in." Willow answered, seizing on the new, safer topic. "But if he was tricked into letting them in ..."

"Yeah, right." Buffy nodded, "So we'd better go check." She strode over to Giles' door purposefully, then glanced around to see if anyone was watching.

"The thing about English librarians," she remarked casually, "is that they always leave their spare key under the geraniums."

She pushed sharply on the door, easily forcing the lock open.

"Oh!" Willow clapped her hands, and Tara smiled. "The spell wires worked! They changed colour!"

"I'm so glad, Will." Buffy remarked dryly, stepping inside, "But perhaps we ought to check for Giles?"

"Oh. Oh yes."

The three of them hurried inside, and moved quickly through the apartment, checking for signs of what might have happened to their semi-retired Watcher. It took less than three minutes for them to meet back up in the living room.

"Nothing." Buffy drummed her fingers on a table, "No Giles. No signs of a struggle. No weapons missing. Everything normal."

"Except the broken lock that someone's allowance is never going to cover." Willow said, with a small grin at Buffy's expense.

The slayer glowered at her friend,

"Don't enjoy it too much, Rosenberg. You're an accessory to the crime."

There was the unmistakeable noise of an Englishman politely clearing his throat,

"Um, just what is going on here?"

"Giles!" Buffy turned and greeted her Watcher with exaggerated enthusiasm, "Where have you been? Not that it's important, since I suppose you're wondering how we got inside without a key-"

"Not really, no." Giles answered distractedly, "I was, um, out. Yes. Out. For a walk. To get, um-" he looked down at the paper bag in his hand, "Bagels. Yes. Bagels. I was out for bagels."

"Bagels? I love bagels." Willow smiled happily.

"But I thought you were strictly a crumpets man?" Buffy said, "I'm sure you said you couldn't stand 'those bland, American pastries'."

"Well, uh. It was time for a change." Giles said, a little weakly, "Variety is the spice, yes? And what did you do to my door?"

Buffy blushed,

"That was my oops." she admitted, "I was worried about you. There was some unexpected activity on the patrol last night, and when I phoned here this morning there was no answer."

"Unexpected activity?" Giles pushed his glasses back on his nose and gave them all a quizzical stare, "what sort of activity?"

"Buffy dusted four new vamps." Willow announced proudly, "Which was weird, since we hadn't heard of any vampire activity -"

"Will thinks that Spike may be up to something." Buffy interjected, "She's quite the Shirley Holmes, when she wants to be."

"I think you'll find that's Sherlock Holmes, Buffy." Giles corrected, placing his bag on the table.

"No. Shirley." Buffy said confidently. "She's on Nickelodeon."

"Well ... quite." Giles responded, obviously giving up on the subject. "Given that this is the first real activity we've had in weeks, I suppose a meeting is in order? Perhaps you could tell the others to meet here after lunch?"

"We could just call them now -" Willow began

"- but that would be rude. We'll tell them to come after lunch." Buffy steered her friend toward the door, eager to escape before any more was said about Giles' damaged lock.

The ex-librarian watched them go, then closed the door with a sigh of relief. Quickly, he walked over to the phone and dialed a number.

"Hello? It's Rupert. I just wanted to let you know I'll be a few minutes late. No, nothing's wrong, there was just a little hiccough getting the bagels."

Chapter Two

It was over two hours later when Buffy found herself walking alone through the college campus for the second time in only a few hours. Since the Initiative had closed down, Riley had been able to come out of hiding again, and he had taken a room at the college, where he would be working as a teaching assistant to Professor Walsh's replacement, Professor Verricker.

Who hopefully doesn't play Frankenstein in his spare time.

Tara and Willow had volunteered to round up Xander and Anya, leaving Buffy to tell Riley of the afternoon's meeting. And maybe spend a little time snuggling. Snuggling would be good.

Despite the fact that it was only a few days before classes resumed, the campus was almost deserted: most people were obviously making the most of what freedom remained to them. Trust Spike to ruin the last week of the holidays.

Still, at least the campus was a lot nicer place in daylight. Much less vampire friendly, too. Which is ironic, because there's the table where those four tried to grab me. The table where I was thinking about Faith. But what's really ironic, is that the girl who is sitting there now -

looks

just

like

"Faith".

"Hey, B. Looking good, girlfriend."

The brunette slayer swung her leg over the bench she was sitting on and slowly stood up. She looked a little thinner, and her right wrist was bandaged, but the black jeans and leather jacket were exactly the same as Buffy remembered them.

The blonde girl slowly raised her hands in readiness for the fight she was sure would come.

"I should have known four storeys wasn't enough to kill you." she said bitterly. "Just a nice little dodge to get me off guard, huh?"

"It was supposed to be eight." Quiet, almost too quiet to hear.

"What?"

"It was supposed to be eight." Faith repeated, her voice louder and firmer, but her hands still relaxed and at her side. "Highest place in the joint. Swan dive off. Headfirst into concrete ... it would have crushed my skull like a grape."

Despite herself, Buffy winced.

"Wicked gross image, ain't it, B? But we're damn hard to kill. I had to pick a way that would be sure."

"So what happened?" Buffy snapped, not relaxing in the slightest, "Your swan dive turned chicken?"

For a moment, Faith's hands reflexively clenched. Then they opened again, slowly.

"Angel." the taller girl slowly leant back against the table, "He got word of what I was planning. Jumped me as I was going up. Threw me off the damn building. Which I should be used to by now, I guess. Four storeys won't kill us, but it did slow me down enough for Wesley to get a dose of that Council drug into me. Stuff has a wicked kick, B. I went out like a light. Woke up twelve hours later to find out that Angel had bluffed the prison Doc into declaring me DOA. Not surprising, what with the blood all over me and the way my vitals had been knocked cold."

"My heart bleeds. Now are we going to get to it?"

"Chill, B. I'm not here to fight." Faith spread her hands, palms out.

"Sure. You're here to make nice. Like I believe that. You're suicidal or you're crazy, Faith. Either way, I'll put you down."

"You could be right, B." nodded the dark haired slayer. "Suicidal might well describe me." she began to walk slowly toward Buffy. Hands still down, relaxed. "Because you once told me that if I apologised to you then you would beat me to death. Because I'm going to do it, anyway. Because I am sorry. Because while that will never make it right between us, it still has to be said."

Somehow, they were only inches apart. Buffy tense and ready, Faith seemingly calm, unprepared.

Stupid. She's distracted you. You're too close. Better hit her first.

Buffy's jab caught Faith above the eye, knocking the taller girl back a step. The blonde stepped forward, grabbing the bandaged wrist and wrenching it around behind Faith's back. A leg sweep followed, and they crashed to the ground: the brunette face down, Buffy sprawled across her.

"You were stupid to come here without healing up first, Faith." Buffy whispered fiercely, squeezing the other girl's injured wrist and feeling the reaction in the body beneath her. "Even at full strength you weren't a match for me. Like this, it's not even a contest. So I'll give you one last chance. If I ever see you again I'll kill you. But if you leave Sunnydale now, and never come back, then I'll let you live." she paused, the squeezed Faith's wrist again, "Got it?"

"No."

Buffy froze. The whispered reply was soft, but firm.

"What?" she wrenched Faith's wrist, and was rewarded by a stifled yelp of pain, "You're not in a position to make a choice here, Faith."

"No, I'm not." Faith agreed, "But my coming here was never about me making a choice. It was about you making one."

"What the hell -"

"You wanna let me up so we can talk about this?"

"Not a chance. You can talk just fine like this. Not that I expect to hear anything worthwhile. I don't buy Angel's line that you're just a poor, lost soul."

"Five by five with me, B." Faith replied, twisting her head to one side, "As long as you're cool with bystanders thinking you're playing the same team as your little red-headed frie-aargh!."

Buffy unclenched her hand from Faith's wrist.

"Don't. Ever. Talk about Willow. Like that."

Faith was silent for a moment, then she began to speak, quietly,

"Angel kept me up to date on what you were doing while I was inside. He didn't want to, at first. Thought it might upset me to hear about you. But I needed to. It gave me something to think about, between his visits."

"Nice. So you have a stalker thing for me. I'm supposed to be happy?"

"About two weeks ago, he finally told me what went down with Adam." Faith continued, without responding to Buffy's interjection, "How you and Red and Xander and Giles combined your powers to stop him. How just being the slayer wasn't enough. He also told me you woke something by doing it. Something that didn't like what you'd done. The world's in trouble, B. Every year it seems you face something bigger and nastier than the year before. One slayer isn't enough anymore."

Faith was silent for a moment, then continued,

"I once told Wesley that I didn't think about destiny, or fate. But in prison, there isn't much else to do. I think there are two slayers now for a reason, Buffy. Because the world needs them. But I wasn't doing jack for the world where I was."

"So you got Angel to bust you out." Buffy broke in, bitterly, "So now he will be implicated if I drag you back to jail. Clever. I guess I'll just have to kill you, instead." She braced for Faith to struggle.

But it didn't happen.

"So I decided to pass on the slayer powers to someone else. Someone who wasn't in jail. Someone who could back you up. I asked someone; a cop; to tell Angel to look for the new slayer. To find her before the Council did. The cop was smarter than I realised. She got word to Angel straight away, and of course he knew the only way I could pass the powers on was to die. I would have jumped, B. I owed you that."

"Uh huh. I'm sure. And now you're out you want to kiss and make up? Is that it? Pretend the stuff you did never happened? I'm not that naive, Faith."

"This has nothing to do with what we want, Buffy. It never did. I'm out of jail, and the world thinks I'm dead. You kill me now, no-one but you will ever know. Even Angel would believe you if you said you hadn't seen me. And that's the choice you have to make, B. Because you see, I'm in Sunnydale to stay. You don't kill me, then I'll always be around. Watching your back whether you want it or not. Because someone has to."

"I have plenty of people watching my back already, Faith. I don't need you."

"What, the beefstick? No offence, B, because I'm sure he's good at what he does, but he's just a guy. He's not a slayer. And you're going to need a slayer. So it's either live with me, or kill me, and hope Angel finds my successor before the Council does."

Buffy burst through Giles' door, completing the destruction of the already damaged lock. Willow, who was sitting on the couch with Tara, started noticeably. The blonde witch, meanwhile, looked like she was about to faint.

"Was that necessary, Buffy?" Giles asked mildly, polishing his glasses, "I didn't realise my door had done so much to offend you."

"Yeah, Buff." said Xander from the kitchen, where he and Anya were calmly raiding Giles' fridge. "It's not like Spike can get up to much at this time of day. Where's Riley, anyway? Willow said you were getting him."

Buffy looked at them all, trying to speak, but not sure how to start. Get a grip, girl.

"It's Faith. She's in Sunnydale."

There was a moment of silence and stillness.

Willow slowly took Tara's hand in hers,

"Buffy. Faith's dead."

"No," Buffy shook her head, "She isn't. I just saw her. Spoke to her. She's back in town, and she said she's hear to stay. Unless I kill her."

Xander spread his hands,

"So you made with the slayage, right? Since that would leave us free to concentrate on Spike?"

Buffy looked down at her hands, realised she was unconsciously rubbing them together, and slowly willed herself to stop,

"No." she admitted, slowly, "I just ... couldn't. She wouldn't fight back. Just kept saying she was here to back me up, and that the only way to stop her was to kill her. I was going to do it, too. But it seemed so wrong. I freaked. I just ran. I forgot all about getting Riley. I just ran ... here."

There it was again. That silent moment of stillness.

"Let me get this straight." Anya gestured with a spoonful of yoghurt, "The dead psycho who tried to steal your life and kill your friends isn't dead, but she gave you a free shot to kill her and you didn't take it because she said she wanted to be pals again? Are you on something?"

"Uh, yes. Thank you for the summary, Anya." Giles interrupted, "Perhaps if you explained a little more, Buffy?"

Buffy sighed, and slumped dejectedly in a chair,

"I had her pinned on the ground. Face down. She was helpless. But she just kept saying that there needed to be two slayers and that if I couldn't live with her I'd have to kill her -"

"I'm still failing to see the problem." Xander spread his hands, "Make nice with the lunatic or kill the lunatic. I wouldn't even need to 'phone a friend'."

"But I just couldn't do it!" Buffy yelled, leaping to her feet. "It's easy for you to pass judgement, Xander, but you don't know what it is like to be responsible for killing a person. When Faith and I killed Allan, I could have just crawled into a hole and hid. Or when I thought I'd killed Ted; before I knew he was just a robot. I was shattered. Give me a hundred vamps and I'll dust them all. But people, Xander. People are different. I'm not a killer, I'm a slayer."

Xander slapped the butter knife he was holding down on the kitchen bench. He looked away from her, and for a moment Buffy thought he was going to storm out. Then he sighed,

"I guess you're right, Buffy." he said slowly, "I don't know what it is like to kill a person. I hope I never do. But if Faith is in town it's going to put you off your game. And with Spike up to something sneaky that's got to be bad news. The question is, what are we going to about it?"

Buffy twisted her hands miserably,

"I don't know. I just don't know."

Faith paused at the door to her motel room. It was the same fleabag place she'd stayed in before the Mayor had set up her new digs. Jesus, B. For a moment I really though you were going to do it. My hands are still shaking.

She took a deep breath, then unlocked the door and entered.

The man who had been sitting waiting for her got to his feet,

"I wish you would have agreed to a less dangerous way of approaching Buffy." he said, quietly, "I was watching today. She came within a breath of killing you."

Faith shrugged,

"But she didn't. We talked about this, and you agreed that as long as I kept my cool, the chances were good that Buffy wouldn't kill me. And I had to let her know I was alive straight away. The longer I left it, the more suspicious it would have looked."

"Well, yes." the man admitted reluctantly, "But it was whether you could keep you temper that always worried me. I must say I was very impressed with how well you did."

"Hold on ... you were watching?" Faith was angry, "I told you not to! I told B we were alone, that what happened was just between her and me!"

"I was worried abo-"

"What would you have been able to do, if she had attacked me?"

"Nothing." the man admitted, "But I couldn't just sit here whilst you went off to face her. It wouldn't have been right. I had to be there for you, whether I could help or not."

He trailed off, and for a moment they shared an uncomfortable silence.

"Thanks." Faith said, quietly. As a word, it was almost as hard as 'sorry'. Because it's an admission of debt. Not that I don't owe him a lot, but it can be hard to say so.

"Don't mention it." the man rested a hand on her shoulder, "I just wish I had been more supportive sooner. Perhaps then we would never have come to this impasse -"

Faith shook her head,

"There were plenty of people offering me support back then. I just wasn't willing to accept it."

The man made a soft, non-committal noise in his throat,

"So now what do we do?" he asked, softly.

"Now, we wait." Faith folded her arms and looked down at the threadbare carpet on the floor, "B's a smart girl. She and her friends will find us pretty quick. We haven't made any effort to hide, after all. What happens this is up to her. It has to be her choice."

"And what if her choice is to kill you?"

Faith looked up at him, and smiled, and he could see in her eyes that that was exactly what she was afraid Buffy would choose to do.

"Then you and Angel find the new slayer before the Council does, and you make sure she gets a better chance than they gave to me. But then, I know she will. She'll have a good Watcher."

Wesley Wyndham-Price blushed,

"If it comes to that, you know I'll do my best."

Chapter Three

Buffy rested her arms on the back of Willow's chair and looked at the redhead's glowing computer screen.

"You're sure? It was that easy?"

Willow nodded,

"Uh huh. She's booked herself in at the same place she stayed at when she first came here. Same room, even, I think. She's using the name Faith Clements."

"So how do we know for sure that it's her?" Xander asked from where he and Anya were half-sitting, half-snuggling on the couch, "I mean, there are other people called Faith in the world."

"Yeah, but how many of them came into Sunnydale yesterday and charged their room to a cheque account in the name of Angel Investigations?" Willow asked, pushing a strand of hair behind her left ear and trying not to look too smug.

"Point taken." Xander waved his finger in the air, "Remind me not to doubt you in future, Will -" he broke off as Anya raised the snuggle quotient by nibbling on his ear.

"So we know where she is." Buffy stood up, trying to ignore the way her heart was hammering in her chest. Showdown. Whatever she's planning, she'll do it there.

"There's just one other thing, Buffy." Willow twisted in her chair and gave the slayer a look of concern, "The booking is for two people."

Buffy felt a moment of sickness as her stomach lurched.

"You think she brought Angel?"

Willow opened her mouth to answer, then closed it again slowly. Finally, she half-nodded,

"Who else would she bring?"

The slayer sighed heavily and put her hands on her hips,

"She told me he wouldn't know if I killed her. I guess you can't trust those homicidal rogue slayers the way you used to."

Giles laid his hand gently on her shoulder. Buffy nearly started at the unexpected touch, but controlled herself at the last moment. Giles is not usually touchy-guy. What gives?

"You realise Buffy, that we could always just tell the Council where she is."

"No." even Buffy was surprised by the vehemence in her own voice, "No. You didn't see the way they were, Giles. When they had me prisoner and thought I was Faith. Or when they came after her in LA. They're no better than the things they fight." she paused, then went on, "I have to deal with this, myself. Angel or no Angel."

"We'll support you in whatever you choose to do." Giles reassured her quietly, "But I think you need to decide what that is, before you go there."

"But I don't know, Giles." Buffy shook her hands in front of her in frustration, "She makes me so ... so ... confused. She saved my life, then betrayed me. Then, after I stick a knife in her, she told me how to beat the mayor. I waited months for her to wake up, hoping she'd be okay. But when she did, she was worse than ever. After that, I was finally ready to kill her, but when I went to help Angel, I find her sobbing in his arms and confessing to the police. Now she's back and she says she wants to help. I just don't know what she really wants. I don't even know what I want, anymore."

Giles squeezed her shoulder gently,

"We're all here to help you, Buffy." he reminded her.

"Well, all of us except Riley." Willow remarked, "We really ought to call him and get him here to help." She got up to move to the phone.

"No," Buffy waved her friend back to her seat, "Last time Angel was here, he and Riley were pretty much ready to kill one another. I don't need that to add to my worries when I go to see Faith. We'll keep Riley out of this one. Besides, it would be just like Faith to use him to hurt me, if he were there."

Willow sat down slowly on the armrest of the chair where Tara was sitting. The two witches clasped hands unconsciously,

"Is everything alright between you two, Buffy?" the redhead asked anxiously, "It's just that you seem to be pushing him away at the moment."

Buffy blinked. Now she mentions it, I guess I haven't seen much of Riley in the last few weeks.

"Yeah, Will. Everything's fine. I've just needed a little space to myself. All that stuff with the Initiative and Adam was pretty ... intense. Riley and I are still cool."

"Well, yes." Giles said uncomfortably, "Perhaps we should focus on the matter of Faith?"

Tara raised her free hand tentatively. Buffy smiled at her,

"You don't need permission to say something, Tara. Speak up. You're a Scooby now."

The blonde witch blushed,

"W-well, I don't know all that much about what happened with Faith before she took your body, but I remember that when I met her then, her aura was ... confused, chaotic. Like she was at war within herself. If you gave us some time, maybe Willow and I could do a spell to see what her aura was now. That might tell us something."

For a moment, everyone was silent. Even Xander and Anya paused in their necking. Tara began to look like she regretted ever saying anything.

And then a broad smile spread across her face as Willow hugged her enthusiastically and Buffy began to slowly nod,

"That's a great idea." the slayer told the now blushing blonde witch, "How quickly do you and Willow think you could rustle up that spell?"

"We'll need to get some ingredients from the magic shop." Willow said, her arm still around Tara, "but after that, just a couple of hours. We know where Faith is, after all. And we can use her kni-" she paused, "and we can find something of hers to use as a focus."

Giles nodded,

"I agree with Buffy. It's an excellent idea. I can see you'll be a very useful part of the team, Tara. We sometimes tend to overlook the potential of magic, I'm afraid."

By now, even the tips of Tara's ears were bright pink from embarrassment.

"We'll get started right away." said Willow, rescuing her lover from further praise, "come on, Tara."

The two witches quickly left, Tara's relief to be out of the other's attention clearly evident.

After the door had closed behind them, Xander shook his head in mock-wonderment,

"That Tara. Always has to be in the spotlight."

"I like her." Anya announced, "Since she won't try to steal my boyfriend."

"Your tolerance is an example to us all." Giles pinched the bridge of his nose, "but if we could keep our minds on the matter of Faith?"

"Well we could." agreed Xander, "But do you really need Anya and I now? If you aren't willing to risk taking soldier-boy to see Faith, Buff, I'm guessing you won't want either of us there, either. And there's a killer Roger Corman marathon this afternoon."

Buffy looked in surprise at Xander. Now that is odd. Xander always wants to get involved, no matter how dangerous it is. Something's wrong. But I don't have time to deal with him, now. It'll have to wait until this Faith thing is over.

Aloud, she said only,

"Spot on, Xander. We'll call you when we're ready to talk about Spike again."

"Yeah. I look forward to it." Xander's tone was flat as he and Anya rose and left.

Giles and Buffy stared after them for a moment, silent.

"What was that about?" the slayer muttered under her breath.

"Xander's history with Faith is, uh, colourful to say the least, Buffy. He doubtless has many unresolved emotions about her. And he could be worried about Anya's reaction to his ... physical liaison ... with Faith."

"Yeah, I guess." Buffy looked down at the floor. Then she turned to face Giles and her expression was completely blank, cold. Despite himself, the ex-watcher felt an urge to step back.

When Buffy spoke again, her voice was strained,

"I was just thinking." she said, "Faith told me that Angel had been keeping her informed about things here in Sunnydale. I didn't pick up on that at first, but it just occurred to me that I certainly haven't been sending him the gossip these past few months. And I've been around Willow enough of the time to know it wasn't her, either. So who else might it be?"

The slayer took a half-step forward and Giles shifted nervously.

Buffy continued to speak in that same, slow monotone,

"Xander perhaps? Or Riley? No, I don't think so. Angel's hardly their favourite person." she continued, "and Anya and Tara barely know him. The field's thinning, isn't it?"

"Yes, rather." the librarian said weakly, as Buffy came to a stop only an inch or two away from him.

"Anything you'd care to share, Giles?"

"Buffy," Giles started, trying to sound calm, "it is perhaps, not quite what you're thinking -"

"No? Then what is it, Giles? Because I'm sure you once promised never to betray me again, and this is feeling a lot like betrayal."

"Yes, I suppose it must." Giles agreed, polishing his glasses at a frenzied rate, "But it wasn't intended as such. You see, Wesley felt somewhat responsible for all the things Faith had done -"

"Wesley felt responsible for her tying him up and torturing him?"

"Yes. Even that. He felt that if he had been a better Watcher; more trusting, tolerant, friendly; that things might have been different. He wanted to try to reach out to her again, and since Faith was asking about you, he asked me to keep them up to date with things. He really seemed to think that telling her about you was helping her, Buffy."

"I'm sure it was." Buffy said fiercely, "Helping her plan her revenge. Men. You see Faith's pouty lips, her come-on eyes and her heaving chest and you're tripping over your tongues to help her. Then when she goes psycho it's up to me to deal -"

"Buffy!" Giles snapped, breaking into the slayer's increasingly strident monologue. The blonde girl stepped back, almost as if she had been physically struck.

"Buffy," Giles continued in a more careful tone, "I assure you that, self-evident though Faith's physical charms may be, they had no part in either Wesley's or my decision to help her, and I feel offended that you would suggest such a thing. Whilst I admit that I probably should have consulted you first, I did it because Wesley, for all his faults, has never given up on Faith. And neither should we."

Buffy clenched her fists, twisted away from Giles, then stepped back toward him. For a moment she seemed poised between hitting him and running away. Then she sighed slowly, and spoke in a soft, hurt voice, her head down,

"Please, Giles. Tell me that there's nothing else you are hiding from me."

Giles coughed,

"Whilst there are aspects of my personal life that I don't share with you, Buffy." he said earnestly, "I assure you that there is nothing that impacts on your duty as the slayer."

"I'm sorry, Giles." Buffy looked up at him, and he could see that she was close to tears, "I shouldn't have said what I did. It's just that the thought of you keeping something from me ... it hurts. It hurts more than I can say."

Giles rested a hand on each of her shoulders,

"I understand, Buffy." he said, awkwardly, "I know ... I know we don't say anything about it. And that you think I'm a stuffy old man at times. But ... well ... what I want to say is ... uh -"

"Giles," Buffy broke in gently, resting her hands on his, "it's okay. I know. You don't need to break that stiff upper lip for me."

"Oh thank goodness." Giles sighed in relief.

"Now," said Buffy firmly, "I'm gonna go see Mom and warn her about Faith. I'll check back here later to see if you have heard from Will and Tara."

"Yes. Yes. That sounds like an excellent strategy." Giles concentrated on polishing his spectacles.

"Love you, Giles." she said simply, and hugged him. After a moment of indecision, he awkwardly returned the embrace.

Buffy stepped back,

"And don't worry, I promise never to reveal your gushy paternal side to anyone. Well, probably not, anyway."

Giles smiled wanly,

"Take care, Buffy. Remember that Spike and Faith are still out there."

"Will do." she gave him a double thumbs-up and grabbed her coat from its hook. "I'll call in a couple of hours."

Willow and Tara sat cross-legged on the floor of the Summers' spare room. They were facing one another over a small brazier, which was still unlit. Miss Kitty, their never properly-named cat, was perched at the end of the bed, watching them both. She always did this when they were casting spells, and both witches found it endlessly adorable. This inevitably meant treats for Miss Kitty, and the young cat was looking very smug with itself about that.

"So, did you realise that Buffy thought we were ... you know ... in here?" Willow asked in a whisper. No-one else was home, but the subject seemed something that should be whispered about, even so.

Tara shook her head,

"No. I n-never thought they'd think that." her voice was as low as Willow's.

"Yeah." Willow mused, "I guess I always thought that they'd find us doing ... that sort of stuff ... in their house, a bit ... impolite."

Tara's eyes widened,

"You've been thinking about ... 'that sort of stuff'?"

Willow blushed,

"Haven't you?" she asked, quietly.

"Well, y-yeah. But I th-thought you wouldn't be r-ready, yet." Tara said, looking everywhere but at Willow.

The redhead reached out and touched Tara on the hand,

"I think I've been ready for a while. I just ... didn't want to do something in Buffy's house that she and her Mom would be upset about."

Tara nodded, then looked up at Willow through her fringe,

"Buffy didn't seem too upset by the idea of us doing ... that stuff."

"Yeah." it was Willow's turn to look down, "And I guess, if she doesn't, then maybe her Mom wouldn't either."

They both looked at the bed for a moment. Miss Kitty preened, assuming the attention was for her.

"We should do the s-spell, first. Buffy is relying on us."

"Yeah." Willow fought to keep her voice calm, "The spell. First. After that -"

"Call Giles."

"Yeah. Call Giles. Second. After that -"

They both looked at one another silently, then Tara smiled, and Willow felt a pressure come off her chest.

"Yes. After that."

"Hi Mom!" Buffy burst in through the door of the gallery, her good mood of the morning somewhat restored. God, I can't believe how mean I was to Giles. Having Faith around really screws with my head. Not that I'm the only one acting strange. What was with Xander?

"Hi, honey." Joyce looked up from her desk, where she was filling in an invoice, "Would you like a bagel? They're a few hours old, since I got them this morning when that order came in, but they should still be pretty good."

"Yeah, sure." Buffy snagged one of the bagels from a brown paper bag, "Geez, Mom, how hungry did you think you were? There must be half a dozen types in here!"

"Yes," Joyce said, not looking up from her papers, "I was, uh, not sure what filling I liked. Uh, felt like."

Buffy took a big bite of her bagel and said through a mouthful of pastry,

"Buh you are stric'ly a hum un cheese persuh."

Joyce shrugged,

"I just felt like a change, that's all. And please don't talk with your mouth full, dear."

"Surry." Buffy said through the last of the bagel.

"So to what do I owe this pleasure?" Joyce looked up from the invoice book and laid aside her pen, "I always thought Mom's work was a bit on the dull side for you. Surely you're not finally getting bored with the holidays?"

"No chance of that, I'm afraid." Buffy looked around for something to wipe her hands on. "Thanks." she added as her mother passed her a paper napkin.

"What do you mean?" Joyce gave her a puzzled look, "Is something wrong? Something slayer-y?"

Buffy drummed her fingers on the table and eyed the bag of bagels. Joyce smiled,

"Have another if you want."

Buffy reached out to the bag

# Isn't it crazy how slaying always makes you hungry and horny? #

she jerked her hand back.

"Uh, no thanks. I've had enough." Buffy shook her head. "And yeah, something 'slayer-y' has come up. For one thing, we think Spike is up to something -"

"Spike? He's a vampire, right?"

"Yeah. One of the nasty ones. But that's not the main problem. The real thing I wanted to see you about is Faith."

"Faith, isn't she still in jail?"

That's right. I never got around to telling Mom Faith was dead. Just as well, I guess.

"No. She's in town. I saw her this morning. She got Angel to help her fake her death. We think he may be in town as well."

"Is Angel ... is he evil again?"

"No. Or at least, we don't think so. We think he thinks Faith is better. She kept telling me this morning that she was here to help, whether I liked it or not. I wish I knew what she was planning."

"Could she really be here to help?"

Buffy stared at her mother, not sure if she had heard correctly,

"Pardon?"

"I said, 'could she really be here to help?'" Joyce repeated, "I know it seems unlikely, but when I saw her last -"

"When she was holding you hostage!"

"Yes, then. When I saw her then, she seemed so hurt and confused. She felt you had rejected her, Buffy -"

"That's not what happened!"

"I'm not saying it is, honey." Joyce placated her daughter, "but Faith was a very lonely young woman, and she seemed desperately to want to live up to your standards. When she couldn't, I think she blamed you for setting the bar too high."

"I never asked her to be any better than me!"

"But did you ask her to be better than she could be?"

"What?" Buffy couldn't believe what she was hearing. "Faith's a homicidal murderer and I'm in the wrong? How the hell does that work?"

"Have I ever told you how proud you make me, Buffy?"

Buffy was taken by surprise by the change in topic,

"... yeah, Mom. Sure. Lots of times."

"And Mr Giles, too? And your friends?"

"Yes." Buffy frowned, "But what's the deal, Mom? Are you going to give me that 'poor Faith, she had a hard childhood' line? Because I've heard it before and it doesn't excuse what she did. Nothing could."

Joyce shook her head,

"No, Buffy, I'm not going to give you that line. What I want to remind you of is just how special you are. It's not that you have special powers or that you've saved the world a dozen times. It's your character. Your courage, your compassion, your loyalty. It's coming to save me from a crazed vampire even though you didn't have your powers. It's risking your life in an endless war simply because it's the right thing to so. It's accepting your friends for who they are, even when what they are shocks the heck out of you."

Buffy said nothing, surprised and moved by her mother's words.

Joyce took her daughter's hands in her own and continued,

"When Faith came, you expected her to live up to your standards, even though you'd never expect it of Xander, or Willow, or me."

"But she was a slayer -"

"Remember what I told you, honey. It's not the powers that make you so special. It's just you. Faith isn't you. She could never be you. Very few people could. But she could be a good person, if she was given a chance."

Buffy looked down at her own hands, still clasped between Joyce's.

"So you're telling me I should give her another chance? Take her at her word?"

Joyce shook her head,

"I'm not telling you to do to anything, Buffy. It's your choice to make."

Buffy shivered and her mother looked worried,

"What's the matter, hon?"

"Nothing." Buffy took a deep breath, "It's just that Faith said almost exactly the same thing. That this was all about me making a choice."

Joyce nodded,

"Whether she's really reformed or not, she's right about that."

"But I don't know what the right thing to do is, anymore!" Buffy wailed.

Her mother smiled sadly,

"Welcome to being an adult, honey."

Giles picked up the phone in the middle of the fourth ring.

"Hello?"

"Giles, it's me." Buffy sounded strained, and her Watcher could clearly imagine the frustrated expression on her face.

"Ah, Buffy. Did you speak to your mother?"

"Yeah, I grabbed some lunch from her. Bagels. Mom had a whole bag."

"Oh. Quite." Giles twisted the phone cord around his hand, "How did she take the news about Faith?"

"Pretty well actually. She seems to be getting a grip on the trials and tribulations of being the one and only Slayer-Mom. So, did Will and Tara call?"

"Yes. About twenty minutes ago. Willow said the spell went off perfectly, but they didn't learn as much as they had hoped. Faith's aura is much less confused than it was before. Much more focussed, they said. That could mean she's reformed, or it could mean that she's lost any last qualms she may have had. Willow said that whichever it was, Faith seemed to be totally committed to it."

"Great." Buffy's tone said exactly how not-great she found the news, "Anything else?"

"Yes, Willow said to tell you that she's sure you'll make the right decision. Whatever you do."

There was silence at the other end of the phone line.

"Buffy?"

"Yeah, Giles. I'm here."

"Willow also said that Tara had some ideas for spells, if you wanted to call them. Though she said you'd have to give them an hour before calling. To clean up after the spell."

"Yeah, okay." Buffy sounded tired, "I'll do that."

"Oh, and Buffy?"

"Yeah?"

"Willow isn't the only one who knows you'll make the right choice. We all do."

"Thanks, Giles. It's good to know I have you guys."

"Always." he said, simply.

"I gotta go."

They both hung up. For several seconds, Giles stared at the phone. Then, silently, he said a prayer.

"Please, please let her make the right choice. Whatever it is."

Faith paced back and forth across the small motel room. It's been hours. B shoulda found us by now. Jesus, I wish this was over. I always sucked at waiting. Instant gratification is much more my style.

It wouldn't have been too bad if Wesley was still around to talk to, but she had sent him away soon after arriving back at the motel. She knew he wouldn't have gone far, but she didn't want him in the room when Buffy arrived. If she comes in to kill I want to be the only one in the way.

She couldn't remember when she had ever felt this knotted up inside. Don't lie to yourself, girl. You can remember a dozen times just like this one. And B figured in almost every one.

Pace to the window. Glance out. Not more than an hour until sunset. Better get here soon, B. Whatever goes down, you'll need to patrol, afterward.

Turn. Four steps. Almost all the way to the other side of the room.

The door clicked softly open behind her and she turned.

"B."

"Faith."

Buffy stepped inside and closed the door behind her, thumbing the lock that Faith had deliberately left open. She glanced around,

"Where's Angel?"

Faith frowned in confusion,

"In LA, far as I know."

"Don't play games, Faith." Buffy looked tense, but composed. Beautiful and deadly. And so sure she's right. Why could I never be that sure?

"I swear, B. He ain't here."

"We know you booked the room for two, Faith. You gonna tell me Cordelia came here with you?"

The thought was almost enough to make Faith smile, but she didn't know how Buffy would take that,

"No, not Cordelia. Wesley."

"Wesley? Wesley came with you? Why the hell would he be here?"

"He's my Watcher."

Buffy looked stunned. Woah, guess there are some chinks in that armour, B. Makes me feel better. I just hope you aren't here to do me. I don't want to die. But I will, if I have to.

"He's your Watcher?"

"Every Slayer has to have one, B. Just took me a little while to appreciate mine. Mainly on account of him being such a prat at first. But we're five by five, now."

"You're ... 'five by five' ... with Wesley. The man you tortured only six months ago."

"Angel tortured Giles. You all forgave him."

"Angel got his soul back."

"So have I."

For a moment, neither of them said anything. Buffy still seemed to be trying to take it all in. To process it. To regain control. Faith braced herself. She's gonna do me. I never should have said that. She'll take it wrong.

But the expected attack didn't come. Jesus, can B see the sweat coming off me? Does she know how scared I am?

"So," said Buffy carefully, "where is ... your Watcher?" She grimaced as she said the word.

"I sent him out. If you came to kill, I didn't want him in the way. He would have tried to stop you."

Buffy hooked back her jacket and pulled out a knife. The knife. Faith felt herself go white. Jesus. She still has that? But then, I guess this was always going to be the way it ended.

"So you expect me to believe," Buffy said, idly waving the blade in her left hand, "that you're just gonna stand there while I gut you a second time."

"No." Faith shook her head, "I don't expect you to believe it. But it's what's gonna happen."

The blonde slayer switched the knife to her right hand.

"And if I was crazy enough to let you live? Does Wesley expect to stay in Sunnydale too?"

"Nope. If you do me, he and Angel will find the new Chosen One, and protect her from the Council. Stop them screwing her over like they did you and me." Faith paused, "If you don't kill me, Wesley will go back to LA to help Angel. There's already a Watcher here."

Buffy almost choked,

"You think I'll let you take Giles from me?"

"Jesus, Buffy. Nothing on this earth could take Giles away from you, least of all me. The man loves you like a daughter. Like a daughter should be loved, anyways." Faith ran her hands through her hair. A nervous gesture, but she couldn't help it. Not surprising, given that I'm scared out of my wits. "But he can be Watcher to both of us. And Wesley thinks it would be for the best. Angel needs his help, and we thought you might be more comfortable if you knew I had no back-up."

Buffy laughed,

"Let me get this straight. You, who tried to kill me, and steal my life, and take away everything I loved. You wanted me to be 'more comfortable'?"

"Jesus, B!" Oh great, lose control. Now she really is going to gut you. "Just goddamn do me already. I've never been good at this heart to heart shit and I used up everything I had this morning. Waste me and dump me. Wesley and Angel will do the rest."

Faith realised she was crying. Christ, girl. You didn't shed a tear when she put that knife in you. Now you bawl because she hasn't killed you yet? The voice in her mind was mocking and sly. It was a voice she'd spent a lot of time listening to the last time she was in Sunnydale. Now, she pushed it down.

Slowly, Faith dropped to her knees. Her legs were shaking so much she couldn't have stood if she wanted to. Every instinct, every nerve was shouting at her to run, to fight, to take Buffy down before she lost her own life. But she did none of those things, simply watched the blonde slayer through slowly drying eyes.

Buffy cursed, and hurled the knife into the wall. The blade sank in, four inches deep at least. Cheap plaster cracked into dozens of fragments.

"You do what I say, when I say. The same for Giles. We have to know where you are and why you're there, twenty-four hours a day. Willow and Tara have some ideas for some spells to help us keep tabs on you. You'll co-operate with them. And if you ever even look like hurting someone I love, I'll kill you faster than you can imagine. You got all that, Faith?"

Faith nodded,

"Five by five, B. Five by five."