ALR was something I started because I was watching seasons 4&5 and fell in love with the Willow/Tara relationship. Fortunately, it evolved into something more than that, and here I am, finally starting the sequel.

Warnings: femslash. That's a definite.

May also contain (though this chapter doesn't) torture scenes, mild sex scenes, mentions of child abuse and non-con sex. Some swearing.

Faith carried her rucksack onto the plane and dumped it onto the empty seat beside her.

Slowly, she stretched her legs out. So. This is business class. Of course, I have nothing to compare this to but I'm guessing this is the comfy class.

Though she looked nonchalantly around at her fellow passengers, and ripped open a can of coke as soon as she got settled, a buzz of anticipation and excitement sent her to the window as the plane began to move. Childlike, she pressed her nose to the glass and stared out at the tarmac.

Across the aisle, this movement attracted the attention of a young guy about her age. Standing up as soon as the plane leveled out and the seatbelt signs turned off, he came and hovered next to Faith's seat, obviously not quite daring to take her bag off the seat next to her. Faith, still preoccupied with the fact that she was really flying, took a few moments to realise she was being watched.

"What?" she asked.

"Can I sit with you?"

Faith stared at him. "If you're thinking I'll help you join the Mile High Club then…No."

The boy flushed. "No! I just thought we could chat. Tis a long flight."

"I'm not into chatting." Faith said flatly. The young man went even redder, and turned away.

Faith felt a pang of guilt.

"Hey…" she grabbed his sleeve. "Sorry. That was rude."

She kicked the bag off the vacant seat.

"I'm Faith."

He sat down. "My name's James."

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"Dawn! Dawn! Dawn Michelle Summers get your butt down here now!"

Dawn appeared at the head of the stairs at last, dressed, but defiant in her bunny slippers.

"Michelle?" she asked sardonically.

Buffy shrugged. "Well the name thing works better if you have a middle name. And I didn't think "The Key" had the right ring to it."

"Yeah but 'Michelle'…" she said derisively, continuing to complain as she made her way down the stairs and into the kitchen where Willow was hunched over the paper reading and Tara was making breakfast.

Tara slipped a plate in front of the teenager, following that with a glass of orange juice.

Willow looked up from the paper. "Did you finish your paper Dawnie?"

Dawn nodded. "Senior History." She supplied, seeing a puzzled look on Buffy's face.

Buffy nodded. "Yeah that wasn't what I…never mind." She trailed off, and watched in silence as Dawn pulled the aforementioned paper from her bag and handed it to Willow, who checked it over quickly.

Willow looked up. "This is great Dawn."

Dawn shrugged casually but didn't suppress a smile as she put it back in her bag.

Buffy sat down, pouring herself a glass of juice. The easy routine they'd slipped into again, with Tara back, sometimes surprised her. Then she'd remember that these two had become like parents for Dawn while she was dead.

"Did I ever thank you?"

Tara and Willow looked around at the slayer as one.

"What?"

"Did I ever thank you two for taking care of Dawn while I was…dead?"

Tara raised an eyebrow. "Did I ever thank you for adopting me when my family came to get me?"

Buffy smiled.

Willow looked down at the newspaper again.

Buffy moved to approach her friend, but Dawn intercepted her.

"I need to go to school." she said firmly, looking Buffy in the eyes. "I'll be late if I walk."

"I'll drive you." Buffy offered.

Simultaneous "No!" came from everyone in the room.

"Buffy. I'm seventeen years old, and unlike you I passed my drivers test." Dawn pouted.

Buffy was halted, mouth open, by this statement.

"Just for that, no driving till you're 21."

Dawn flounced out of the room, followed more sedately by Willow, "I'll drive you."

Tara looked after her girlfriend a touch anxiously, but avoided Buffy's curious glance.

That night, with Dawn studying and the two witches cuddled up in front of the TV, Buffy stepped out of her house alone, a jacket slung over her shoulders. She shivered in the cool night air and thought wistfully of her blanket, her warm house. Crappy sacred duty. Stupid winter. Stupid vampires.

She walked with considerable speed towards the nearest graveyard, hoping that none of her foes would have risen yet, making staking them much easier. Digging out of their grave, few felt they had any reason to be cautious or quiet. She reached the entrance to the first graveyard, and sighed loudly. Empty graves only feet away confirmed this wasn't going to be one of those nights where she could sleep walk through her job.

Pulling a stake from her bag, she continued to patrol.

"Slayer. All alone tonight are we?"

Buffy winced, though she realised the vampire that had just attempted to knock her head off with a shovel was being cliché, not actually referring to the absent figure of Faith.

Nevertheless, she staked him with unusual venom, and completely lacking in a witty pun.

After a few seconds of silence, the slayer folded downwards and sat Indian style against a tombstone, staring out into the night.

"Come get me vamps." She muttered.

Almost a minute passed, and Buffy stopped looking out at the night and started looking at her hands, staring at them desperately.

Another minute passed and then came the tears.

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Willow looked up from the DVD they were watching, a BBC version of 'Fingersmith' By Sarah Waters.

"Would you forgive me for doing that?" Tara asked as they watched Sue and Maud meet again, staring at each other over the table. "Tricking you, committing you?"

Willow started to shake her head, "You would never…"

She looked at Tara properly. "You forgave me for worse."

I was all right for a while
I could smile for a while
then I saw you last night
you held my hand so tight

Tara looked at Willow steadily.

The movie continued in the background.

Have you come to kill me?

Oh Maud! I don't…I can't…

And then Tara was crying, and Willow was trying to hold her and crying herself. "I'm sorry."

Tara stopped with an effort and gave Willow a gentle shove. "You idiot I love you. I don't want you to be so unhappy."

When you stopped to say hello
then you wished me well, you couldn't tell that I'd been
Crying over you
Crying over you

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Momentary guilt at natural rudeness didn't stop Faith from chasing her companion away as soon as she wanted to stop talking, and putting on headphones she turned her music up until she drowned out every other noise around her.

James, across the aisle again, was clearly sulking and Faith shook her head. She could have been nicer. Why did being nice seem like such a betrayal of something? Some part of her? It couldn't be Buffy. It could be. It wasn't the small part of her who wanted to turn the plane around. Sourly, Faith thought of that part of herself as the 'whipped' part.

Face twisted into a scowl, she closed her eyes and leaned back, getting used to this flying business.Her hands twitched, itched for the wooden stake that she couldn't smuggle through customs. Faith fought back boredom on the long flight. She fought back anger, and eagerness, and sadness. She wore a constant smirk, and said little. She was in control. And she would not cry. She'd done too much of that already. That last time with Buffy, in the graveyard amongst the grass, wet with dew.

And here she was on the brink of it, and so instead she stood, ignoring the seatbelt sign which had flickered back on, ignoring the cautions of the stewardesses and almost ran to the bathroom, where she looked at herself in the mirror and enacted a childhood ritual.

I hate you. I hate you. No wonder he leaves us.

Bound at every limb by my shackles of fear
Sealed with lies through so many tears
Lost from within, pursuing the end
I fight for the chance to be lied to again

You will never be strong enough
You will never be good enough
You were never conceived in love
You will not rise above

So there's tears for everyone but Faith. Reviews would be appreciated. Is it good, is it bad, is it worth continuing?

I know where this story is going, but if anyone has any brilliant ideas, feel free to share.

Next chapter: Faith arrives at her new home.