Title: Between the Fallen

Rating: G

The place was beautiful. It overlooked a beautiful clear blue lake, with red roses trailing up the supports like vines. The sun was shinning and Faith could honestly say she had never been anywhere this beautiful or peaceful before.

She wasn't sure there was anything on Earth like it. She didn't even know where she was. All she knew that it was the most gorgeous place she had ever been.

Not that she had seen many beautiful places in her life. She had grown up in a dirty, gritty city and she had spent her entire life in similar places. If she could do it over again, she would have bypassed Sunnydale and gone somewhere pretty. She wasn't sure where but it would have been pretty.

And that way she would never have tried to live Buffy's life and fail. Miserably.

But she was confused to how she got here. The last thing she knew, she had been in Angel's apartment. Faith's stomach twisted uneasily. She felt like she was going to be sick. What was she going to do now?

"Beautiful, isn't it?"

Spinning around and falling into a familiar fighting stance, Faith saw her intruder was a man. He was tall, dressed in white pants and a white shirt under a black robe. A strange device was clipped to his belt and it caught her eye. A weapon maybe? The man had blond hair which curled at the ends and went down to his shoulders. The man looked young, in his twenties, until Faith looked into his eyes (the left eye had a scar running over it). The blue eyes that gazed back at her looked like Angel's eyes: wise with the shadow of old pain in them.

"Who are you?" she growled. This man unsettled her. She felt as though he could see everything (even more than Angel) and the feeling did not make her happy.

"Someone who's been down this road before," he responded, smiling and putting his hands up in the universal sign of surrender. "It's okay; you don't have anything to fear from me."

She glared but crossed her arms and rocked back on her heels. She was ready if he tried anything. "What road?"

"The road of darkness, pain and suffering. What else?" he said dryly.

Faith felt her mouth go dry. "How do you know about me? And where the hell am I?"

The man smiled again. "I know you because I've been down this road before and some people upstairs aren't ready to give up on you just yet. You're still a Slayer, Faith, no matter what," he glanced about, "and for where you are, you're asleep in Angel's apartment. This dreamscape just allows me to talk to you."

For a moment Faith couldn't speak. "Why would they care about me?" she demanded in a whisper, "Buffy's the better Slayer. No one else wants me."

"Then why is Angel trying so hard to save you?" the man asked, "You should listen to him, Faith, from one Rogue Chosen to another. He can help you. I know. My son played this roll for me."

She looked at the man in front of her. Her stomach was twisting again. "Why does he want to help me? I don't deserve it. Not after what I did." She was bad. It was that simple. Why couldn't Angel and this man get that?

The man remained silent again before speaking. "Because he still believes there's good in you. My son and wife were the only ones who believed that for me. My brother and daughter couldn't. They were hurt very badly because of my choices and blinded by it, just like everyone but Angel is. I know it's hard to listen to him but Faith, you deserve this chance. You do."

She felt as though her world was spinning rapidly. "I loved him," she blurted out and her world abruptly came to a halt. "He was the only father I've ever known,"

Compassion shown in the man's eyes, "The person who turned me was too. I trusted him and he twisted my thoughts and actions for years and led me to the Dark Side. But the thing is the Mayor did, in his own twisted way, love you too."

A tear fell from her eye. "I feel like I'm betraying him."

"In a way, you are," he said bluntly, "but he betrayed you first by being evil and dragging you down this path. You don't owe him anything. The only person you owe anything to is yourself. Listen to Angel, Faith. For the first time in your life, someone wants to help you with no ulterior motives. Take this chance Faith."

"What happens if I do?" she whispered, gazing out across lake. The man slowly walked forward and leaned against the railing next to her.

"Then you begin the rocky road of redemption," she looked to him and he smiled, "Don't let what Buffy thinks of you be all who you are. You're better than that, Slayer."

"Am I?" Faith wondered, "B's always been the better Slayer."

"Really? She's made plenty of mistakes too. The only difference is she eventually faced them and you're still running."

Faith turned her back to the lake and leaned against the railing. The man did the same. "I don't know if I can," she admitted.

"You can. You're stronger than you think you are," he laughed softly. "Than just about everyone thinks you are."

She glanced at him. "No one ever said that before."

He smiled. "Then let me be the first. You're a Slayer Faith. You were Chosen for a reason."

"To screw up?" she offered.

He laughed out loud. "No. You're strong Faith. You wouldn't have been Chosen otherwise."

"You mean it's not random?" she asked, feeling curious despite herself.

"No," he looked at her, "The ones who are Chosen are always ones who aren't afraid to stand up and fight.

"I'm afraid," she said softly.

"Everyone is, sometime in their life," his reply was equally as soft.

Thoughtfully, she looked at him. Perhaps, just maybe, she could do this. This man and Angel believed she could. And so did others if what he said earlier was true. "All right. I'll listen to him."

The dreamscape began to fade. The man too was slowly beginning to vanish as well, but she could see his smile.

"Wait," she cried, as everything went black, "what's your name?"

She woke up in Angel's apartment with the whisper of Anakin Skywalker in her ears.