'Cos it's a bittersweet symphony, that's life. Tryn'a makes ends meet, your a slave to the money then you die. I'll take you down the only road I've ever been down. You know the one that takes you to the places where all the things meet yea'
Sunnydale seemed darker than she remembered it was the first thing she thought as she caught a glimpse of the town speeding down the motor way that lead to it. It had been one and a half years since she'd been down here though, it had probably changed a lot since then. The people living their had probably changed too she thought with a sigh, turning up the radio as she drove. Hopefully this time they'd be a bit more welcoming towards her.
It was so dark outside, she new it was a bit late to just be dropping in unexpectedly, so maybe she'd leave the meeting and greeting till the next day. The white paint separating the two sides of the road shone under the moonlight, catching her eyes as she tried to stay awake. It hurt to think but if she didn't keep thinking she'd just feel the exhaustion of the past few days and the last thing she needed was to fall asleep at the wheel and crash the car. So with a heavy sigh she thought, of everything she'd need to do here. She didn't want to replace Buffy, far from that, she just wanted to help out. Just the thought of the blonde brought fresh, hot tears to her eyes that where so unlike her. She reckoned Angel must have been pretty shocked when she broke down in tears at the news.
She would have been down here sooner had it not been for the fact that she'd completely lost it when he told her. Buffy was half the reason she'd turned her life around. When Angel had come in to tell her she'd flipped, after the crying and crying and screaming at him through the dingy, cheap glass that it couldn't be true she'd smashed the only thing separating them. The guards had rose to their feet and rushed towards her, only to hit the floor flat on their backs as she threw them all down in blind rage. It wasn't until she hit a hard, muscled wall that turned out to be Angel that she finally calmed... slightly. After he broke her out the next day she'd spent the first three days locked in her room on the top floor of the hotel.
And now here she was, still a bit of a mess. Her brown, wavy hair tied back in a rough pony tail and wearing some old clothes that Cordelia had so kindly lent her. Which was extremely odd from what she had remembered Cordelia to be like. Though then again the last time they'd really talked when it wasn't some kind of crisis had been back when Cordelia was still living in Sunnydale and attending high school. It seemed she'd actually matured a great deal since then.
With a long, low yawn Faith rubbed her forehead tiredly. A classic Faith smile spread across her lips as she passed the 'Welcome to Sunnydale' sign, the bright green and cheery orangey yellow bringing back so many fond memories. Like dancing with Buffy at the Bronze, she hadn't cared about the crowd of boys slowly engulfing them, her focus had been completely on the blonde holding her hand as they moved to the music. And then again she had some horrible memories here, like Buffy stabbing her in the stomach and then falling backwards off her balcony onto the back of a moving truck. She shook her head and tried to concentrate on the road, she was almost on the edge of town now. And that's when she noticed the warm orange glow coming from in town and the creepy silence hanging over the town as she drove in past the first few buildings. She tried to push the off feeling she was getting to the back of her mind as she entered the suburbs, and instead try and find her way to the old Sunnydale motel. It had been quite a few years since she'd been there after all, they where definitely nothing nice as she well remembered but she needed some place to stay for the night.
Faith took a sharp turn in the small, blue car that she was surprised had managed to get her all the way here. It had been a long drive, partly because she hadn't driven in quite a while so the start had been a little jerky. Soon she was driving down the dark and dingy bad part of town. She passed familiar back alley's and just driving through she was watching old memories playing around her, many a vampire staking, late nights scouring the town with Buffy, even when they'd first met outside the bronze. She passed a graveyard and as she saw the sign her foot pushed down fast on the brake. This was the cemetery where Buffy was buried... Faith swallowed loudly, her lungs gaping for air as she sat unable to get any as she opened and closed her mouth repeatedly. She thought she'd be okay, that she'd be able to walk these streets without her heart aching every time she passed a spot where something had happened years ago with the other slayer. Be it the spot on the street where she suddenly stopped and sneezed, a tiny 'choo' that made Faith grin or the church where Faith had realized she wanted redemption, where her and Buffy's had un-switched bodies. Or worst of all Buffy's house where everything went as planned she might end up living.
A sudden bang made the brunette gasp as she came crashing back to reality, looking up and round wearily as her slayer instincts kicked in. A trash can had fallen to the ground, it's contents spilling out into the gutter messily as the person responsible sprinted down the alley a meter away. For a moment Faith thought she was just seeing another memory play out as she watched the blonde running full pelt down the alley barefoot but as she thought about it she realized that had never happened before. Confused and overwhelmed Faith quickly threw open the car door, almost ripping it of it's hinges as she did so. She leapt up with out remembering her seat belt still strapping her in, in frustration the brunette ripped the black strap in half and continued to climb out of the car, quickly braking into a run as she followed the path she'd seen the frightened girl take.
As she came to the entrance of the alley way she stopped, letting her eyes adjust to the darkness. She couldn't be sure in the poor lighting who the girl was but Faith could tell she was distressed. She knew it wasn't Buffy, it couldn't be Buffy. She repeated it to herself in a low chant under her breath as she walked quickly down the alley. The petite blonde was a sobbing brown pile on the ground as Faith approached, retreating back with each step the brunette took forward till she was pressed against a brick wall which marked a dead end. Faith knelt down, taking her steps slower now as it seemed at this point the shaking blonde was trying to keep moving back into the wall though there was nowhere to go. Faith stopped a meter in front of the blonde, stopping dead still in the moonlight. The other girl slowly raised her eyes to meet Faith's fearfully. As the cowering girl revealed her face Faith's mind stopped, her heart, her breathe as well, she knelt on the cold, hard cement frozen in motion. Finally she reached out a shaky hand towards the dirty blonde, careful not to frighten her but the girl started just stared at her, eyes wide, afraid and confused.
"I..it's okay Buffy" Faith murmured as she touched Buffy's cheek softly and some of the rough dirt came off on her finger tips "do you remember me? It's... Faith" she told her as a tear trickled down her own cheek. How could this have happened? What was going on? Was it even possible? Buffy... was back. A smile cracked the hard set frown that had taken over her lips since Angel had told her. Could it have been a mistake? She couldn't help but wonder, but surely Angel would have known. The brunette's hand trailed down over Buffy's tangled hair, the torn shirt, to her bare arms and her hands. She froze, her heart broke as she saw the dried blood and dirt beneath the smaller girls finger nails.
"Buffy, what happened to you?" she muttered aloud and the blonde moved for the first time since Faith had followed her down the alley, she moved forward, slow and jerkily at first, before she threw her arms around the other slayers neck and buried her head in the soft blue shirt the brunette was wearing. Faith smiled, wrapping her arms around Buffy's waist and hugging her tightly. If she let her go, she might disappear again, and then Faith might disappear with her. That couldn't happen. Faith wasn't one for crying, as everyone well knew, but when it came to Buffy things where different. As much as she cried when she'd thought that the blonde was gone forever, now that Faith had her back she let the hot salt tears stream freely down her cheeks and wept with joy as she held the shivering blonde in her arms. Everything... everything might be okay now. Buffy was back, Buffy... was back.
