A.N Starts about 2 years after the final episode. Apologies for the fast time jump but this chapter is majority prequel, with a little of the story at the end. Hope you enjoy! Let me know what you think.

Disclaimer: I don't own any of the original characters, Joss does. I'm just playing with them a little!

The quiet scares me 'cause it screams the truth – Pink (Sober)

Chapter 1

Faith watched as the car drove away. She stood with her arms crossed in front of her, subconsciously protecting herself. She heard someone approach from behind but didn't turn around.

"So did you tell her?"

The older slayer watched as the car from disappeared from sight before answering, "Tell her what?"

Kennedy moved to stand in front of Faith, ignoring the scowl from her friend, "That you want her to stay."

Faith shrugged, "Why would I tell her that? She don't wanna be here. Nothin' I can do 'bout that."

Kennedy rolled her eyes, "Don't be an idiot. You know why." At Faith's raised eyebrow, she continued, "You love her."

Faith snorted, "Like a hole in the head."

"Whatever." Kennedy shook her head, "This is me, Faith. You're best friend… Remember. A few to many beers… Drunken confessions."

Yeah, I remember that. Faith thought darkly, Kinda hard to forget considering I actually told someone my deep dark secret. "Everything's five by five, Junior. B's gone, nothin' I can do 'bout that." She repeated.

"But--" Kennedy attempted to argue but was cut off.

"Leave it, will ya. I said I'm all good so just… Leave it." Faith's voice had dropped to a growl.

"Fine." She tried to leave it there but couldn't, "You really should have told her. I bet she would have stayed."

"Kennedy."

Ok so maybe that was a step to far, what with the scowl and the growl and now her using my full name. Back peddle fast, Kenn. Kennedy threw up her hands in self-defence, "Ok, ok. I get it. The subject of Buffy is off limits for now." She couldn't help herself but still had enough sense to take a few steps away from her friend. "But not forever. We'll talk about it sooner or later."

Faith just shook her head and walked away from the younger slayer. You know she's right… What? Junior, she's right. We should have told her…. And what? Begged her to stay so she could laugh in our face? You don't know that's what would have happened... Yeah and I'm not taking the risk. So we had a moment then she spent the next ten days avoiding me until she came up with this stupid holiday idea... She'll come back... I don't care… Yes you do.. Faith sighed as she realised arguing with herself was fruitless. She headed inside, needing the noise of the new slayers to drown out her thoughts. "Damn, Kenn. Why couldn't you just leave it alone?"

Dawn waited until Buffy had stopped looking out the back window, "So you want to tell me the real reason we're leaving?"

Buffy slowly turned her gaze to meet her sisters, She can't know there's another reason. No one knows. "I told you, I need a break from slaying and I did promise you to show you the world so that's what I'm doing."

"Mmmhmmm, and it has nothing to do with running away from something… Or someone. It was kinda sudden." Dawn watched Buffy's eyes for the usual tell-tail sign that her sister wasn't telling the entire truth.

"No." Did I say that to quickly? "I just… I needed a break, ok?" Her eyes pleaded with Dawn to just leave it alone.

Dawn rolled her eyes, unconvinced. She glanced out the window, "Someone's running after the taxi."

"Faith!" Buffy snapped her head around to look out the back again and saw no one. Her heartbeat slowly returned to normal. "There's no one there."

Her question finally answered, Dawn smiled innocently, "Oh, my mistake." I know you to well, Buffy Summers.

Two months later

Kennedy walked into the kitchen and saw Willow on the phone. She walked over and placed a kiss on the top of her girlfriend's head then stepped back.

"Everyone here is fine. Kennedy's drilling the newbies. They're coming along great." Willow paused as she listened to the voice on the other end of the line, glancing up and smiled at Kennedy, mouthing Buffy.

The former potential returned the smile, nodded then turned to get a drink from the fridge, only half listening to the conversation.

"No, Xander's not quite finished the new extension so it's a bit crowded."

Kennedy chuckled to herself. A bit was the understatement of the century. Some girls were currently bunked four to a room. Thank God Willow had gotten them a room to themselves. In fact, the first extension was to make sure that all the scoobies had their own rooms. There just seemed to be new slayers coming from everywhere at the moment and they were full to brimming again.

"You know you still have your room here." Pause. "No, it's yours and stays yours. Same goes for Dawnie for when you come home." Pause. "I know, but some day."

Kennedy frowned a little at the sadness that had crept into her lover's voice.

"Faith? Faith is…" Willow looked up to see Kennedy violently shaking her head. "Faith's doing ok."

Kennedy let out a sigh of relief.

"Ok, well I'll talk to you soon. Say hi to Dawnie for me." Pause. "Will do. Bye Buffy." Willow hung up the phone and looked at her girlfriend. "I hate lying to Buffy like that. She needs to know what's going on."

Kennedy leaned back against the kitchen counter, taking a long swig out of the milk carton, giving herself time to answer. How do I explain without giving up Faith's secret? As far as everyone else knew, the slayer had just slipped off the wagon a little. Nowhere near as bad as before but she had gotten reckless and had started she lowered the milk, ignoring the scowl from her lover, "No she doesn't. Faith will get over whatever it is and come around. She's just going through a rough patch. She's never been a good one under pressure. Maybe that's the problem." The lie settled heavily in her belly. She hated lying to her witch.

"If Buffy knew, she might come home."

"For all the wrong reasons. Buffy left for a reason. We've got to let her come back when she's ready, not when we need her."

Willow stood up and drew Kennedy into a hug. "I hope you're right."

Me too. Kennedy returned the hug, "Trust me."

Kennedy tossed the unconscious slayer into the shower and turned on the water.

Faith came up spluttering, "What the hell, K?"

The younger slayer readied herself for a fight, "Wake up to yourself, Faith. You let her go. She's been gone for two months. Stop with this shit."

Sixty-seven days, nine hours and thirty-six minutes but who's counting. "She's got nothin' to do with it." Faith made to stand up and Kennedy pushed her back down, earning a growl from the older slayer.

"Bull shit."

"You calling me a liar?" Faith reached up and turned off the water but stayed sitting where she was. Just cos I'm on the ground, don't mean I can't whip your arse, Junior.

"I'm calling it how I see it. You can't keep doing this. You're slaying with no thought for your own safety. Half the time you're drunk." Kennedy tried to reign in her temper, "Hell, I just had to haul your unconscious arse back from the cemetery."

"So what?"

"So what? You're my best friend and I'm sick and tired of seeing you beating yourself up. You let her go." Kennedy pushed, trying to get past the wall Faith had erected, trying to get some sort of emotion out of her.

Faith stood up, this time Kennedy let her. She stepped out of the shower and grabbed a towel and began drying herself off. "I told you, Buffy has nothing to do with it. I'm just… Taking a break from responsibility, ya know."

"No, I don't know, Faith. Ever since she left, you've been hell bent on getting yourself killed."

Faith smiled but it didn't reach her eyes, "Guess I'm not doin' such a bang up job of it cos I'm still in one piece."

Kennedy shook her head, trying again to penetrate the older slayer's defences. "She's gone, Faith. You lost out, you had a chance to make her stay and you were too scared to take it. Get over it."

Faith stilled with the towel, slowly her gaze slid up to meet her younger counterpart's. "You don't know shit, Junior. You got no fucken idea what happened."

Kenendy cringed a little inside. Seems like I got under those defences alright. If looks could kill, I'd be six feet under by now. "So tell me? You love her, what else could there…" Kennedy stopped, seeing past the anger in the other woman's eyes to the hurt. There shouldn't be hurt. "You told her? You asked her to stay?"

Faith snorted, averting her eyes. "Like hell. Already knew there was no reason to. Buffy didn't need a break. She needed to get away from me. There was this… Look, I just know that asking her to stay would have only have made her run harder, ok. So can we just drop it?"

Kennedy knew when to leave the subject alone, and now was one of those times but she stored away the information anyway. "She'll come back, you know."

"I wouldn't hold your breath, Junior. Sixty-seven days, nine hours and forty four minutes. She ain't coming back."

"She can't stay away forever."

"Shows how well you know Buffy. She's stubborn as a mule, once her mind is made up." The brunette shrugged.

"She'll be back." Kennedy said stubbornly.

"You keep thinking that, Junior and at least one of us will believe it." Faith finished drying herself off the best she could while standing there in wet clothes.

"Whatever. Look you can't keep going on the way you have. We've got newbies here. If they see you like that, they'll think its ok." They weren't leaving this room, despite whatever Faith was thinking until at least this matter was settled.

Faith sighed in defeat, she was wet and fast growing cold and couldn't be bothered to argue anymore. The bourbon she had written herself off with was starting to play havoc with her belly. "Fine. No getting drunk in front of the kids."

"And don't go slaying, drunk." Kennedy ignored the scowl from her best friend, instead folding her arms across her chest.

Faith gritted her teeth, "Don't push it, Junior."

"No drunk slaying."

Faith rolled her eyes, giving in. "Ok, no drunk slaying. Now can I go and get changed?"

Kennedy smiled, feeling as if she had won a major victory. "Yep, then meet me downstairs in ten minutes. We've got maggots to train."

All Faith could do was groan. Shoulda just pretended to stay unconscious in the shower. Woulda been so much easier.

Four months later

The phone call came in the middle of the night. Faith heard it ringing and pulled a pillow over her head hoping someone else would get it. It took a moment for realisation to sink into her sleep-filled mind that it was her mobile and not the house phone which had dragged her up from a dream she was enjoying which meant she had to answer it. Could just ignore it. If you try real hard, you could get back into that dream. The phone kept ringing and finally, with a groan, she admitted defeat and grabbed it off the side table. She squinted at the phone not recognising the number then glanced at the time. Three-thirty. You gotta be fucking shitting me. She flipped it open and growled into the phone, "Who the fuck is this?"

There was silence for a moment and just as Faith was getting ready to hurl obscenities down the phone at the prank caller, a voice spoke.

"Faith?"

The sleep fog cleared from her mind and she sat up. "Buffy?" Her heart started pounding, why was Buffy calling? Did it mean… Faith shook her head. Yeah, right… Idiot.

"Faith, I…"

The dark slayer pressed the phone closer to her ear, Buffy's voice didn't sound right. She started to frown in concern. "Is everything ok? Is Dawn…" She let her voice trail off.

"Dawn's fine. It's me. I don't…"

Faith heard the crack in her voice, and despite everything she had worked hard to forget where the blonde slayer was concerned, her heart ached just a little at the lost quality to Buffy's voice. Then her slayer hearing picked up another sound. Crying, that's what she could hear. Why is B calling me upset? It didn't make sense. Yes they had begun as friends again after the fight with the First but then there had been… The Incident. Besides, Red's her best friend. Why she calling me? Unsure what to do, she followed her gut instinct and asked the obvious question."What's happened?"

"Nothing, it's ok. I shouldn't have called."

"Hang on, B. Obviously it is something, cos you're calling me all upset like." Faith felt helpless, sure her and Kennedy were best mates but it was different. When they had a problem, they yelled or fought about it. I don't know what to do when she's crying. Why'd she have to call me, Red woulda been much better at this. Shit, shit, damn! "Talk to me, that's why you called, ain't it?"

"I d-don't know what I'm doing anym-more."

"Whatcha mean?" Faith ran a hand through her hair, frustrated. If Buffy was here, she could… Could what, bright spark? Give her a hug and tell her it's ok? Then she'd freak out again, think you were coming on to her. Faith growled softly, I've never come onto her… Ok maybe once when we were young, but we were kids. Shit, the last time was just wrong place, wrong time. Still sent her bolting across the ocean thought, didn't it. That was not my fau.. She was cut off mid thought argument by more whispered words.

"My life. I don't… I want to come home, Faith."

The dark slayer frowned in confusion, trying to ignore the pounding of her heart. "Nothing stopping ya from coming home but you, B."

"I can't."

Faith took the phone away from her ear and glowered at it as if it had done something bad. She put it back to her ear, "Why not?" The dark slayer was just about ready to throw the phone across the room in frustration. Just get her home, bright spark. "Whatever the hell it is B, can't be that bad. Just spill it."

On the other side of the world, Buffy tried to get the words out, tried to explain. In her head it had made so much sense, call Faith and tell her she was sorry. Tell her she was scared of what she felt, of what it all meant and so she had run. Tell her that for six months she'd tried to forget that one moment in time where everything had finally made sense.

"Faith, I…" I'm sorry. I miss you. She tried to make the words come but they wouldn't. What if Faith yelled at her, or worse, hung up. If I can just come home, I can make everything right. I just need to get home. Faith said to come home… Ok, not in so many words, but she hasn't said don't come home either. That was a positive, wasn't it? "I said I didn't want to slay anymore." Chicken.

"B, you'll always be a slayer, like me. It's in our blood, it's who we are. Everyone wants a break every so often, ya know. Don't mean you can't come back. Everyone misses you."

Tell me to come home, Faith. "Everyone?" Buffy held her breath.

"Yeah, everyone. Red, Xander, G-man. I think even K misses you. No one to butt heads with, ya know."

"Oh." The blonde slayer tried to disguise the disappointment in her voice. What did you expect? You left. You left her there with no explanation.

Faith didn't miss the pained tone to that one word. She rubbed her hand over her face. Shit! When she thought about it later she would blame it on tiredness, on the darkness giving her confidence or making her stupid. Any excuse to explain away her next statement. "Buffy, I miss you. Just come home. It's where you belong. We can work out… Whatever then."

"Home."

Faith heard the wistful sigh in the voice and felt her heart flutter. Don't get your hopes up stupid. I thought we were over this whole Buffy thing. She didn't say she misses you too. She tuned out her inner voice, "That's right, home. Come home, B." She ignored the pleading tone that had now taken over her voice.

"Ok. I'll come home."

Faith couldn't stop the grin that spread across her face. Just cos she's coming home, don't mean anything, bright spark. Shut the fuck up! She's coming home and that's all that matters. Idiot... "Make the arrangements now. Don't think about it, just do it. Six months, B. It's about time."

"I know… I'll let you know the when and where later. Sorry for waking you, get some more sleep."

"It's all five by five, B." Faith knew she wouldn't sleep after this. To much churning through her mind. Nothing a good work out in the training room wouldn't help curb. Buffy's coming home!

"And Faith…"

"Yeah, B?"

"I miss you, too."