When Sunnydale was finally laid to ruins and the First was destroyed, Buffy and the rest of the scoobies left for England. Giles wanted to re-establish the Watcher's Council and Buffy decided to go with him. Willow, Xander, Dawn, Kennedy and Andrew all tagged along, realizing there was really nothing keeping them in California anymore.
Faith had been invited to go...but she'd refused. England held little interest to her so she decided to relocate to Cleveland. There was a burgeoning Hell Mouth there according to Giles. So, weapons in hand Faith made her way east.
She wasn't alone however, Robin Wood had decided to go with her. They had formed a relationship of sorts after he'd healed from the final battle, and no longer having a job to speak of since Sunnydale High School was now somewhere in the bottom of a crater, Robin applied for a Principal position at one of the inner city high schools in Cleveland.
His second job was as Faith's unofficial watcher. His combat training was helpful, and he'd often go out on patrol with her. Their relationship was fun and exciting, and Faith found herself starting to truly care for him. For most of her life she'd been alone. Orphaned at a young age, she'd basically raised herself until she was called as a Slayer. That whole fiasco hadn't gone well...eventually working for the Mayor, fighting against Buffy and then getting stabbed by Buffy and left for dead in a coma. Some days Faith just felt grateful she wasn't wasting her life away in a maximum security prison.
When she'd decided to relocate, Buffy had called in a favor from Angel at Wolfram and Hart. They were able to seal Faith's criminal records, nearly making them inaccessible to anyone who might go looking for them. Angel felt it was the least he could do after Faith had helped him get his soul back when Angelus had returned. It definitely made things much easier for Faith, and she was grateful.
A few years had passed since the demise of Sunnydale and Cleveland wasn't so bad. Sure, there were vampires, demons, beasts, monsters and the occasional werewolves...but it was nothing she couldn't handle. Faith had even found a small group of potential slayers in Cleveland and offered to train them...Robin doing what he could to bring the girls potential along.
Faith should've known it wasn't meant to last. After three years, Robin started distancing himself. It wasn't noticeable at first...he'd be busy with his new job, going to educational seminars and the like. But eventually Faith realized that Robin...for all his promises of showing her the world and staying by her side, had no intentions of doing any of that. He wanted a normal life, with a normal woman...and that wasn't who Faith was. But Faith never thought he'd cheat on her...or leave her with a Dear Jane note...she had come home one morning from patrolling to find Robin's things gone and the note left on the refrigerator...she'd cried for two days straight, and then spent the next week killing every demon, vampire and evil baddie that came across her path. The last bit of hope that remained inside Faith Lehane's heart died that early spring morning and after a few months, she realized that there was simply no reason for her to stay in Cleveland any longer.
Buffy checked in from time to time, and Faith had never mentioned that Robin had left her high and dry. She just didn't have it in her to admit to her sister Slayer that she'd somehow failed again. Buffy had taken possession of the Slayer Scythe...an ancient weapon imbued with the essence of the Slayers powers. Willow had used her mojo and essentially the Scythe could present itself to any worthy Slayer who was pure of heart. In all the years since leaving Sunnydale, Faith had never been able to call forth the Scythe to her. It weighed heavily on her heart that she would never be good enough to wield the true weapon of the Slayer. She was tainted and broken...no wonder Robin left her.
Faith managed to finish the potentials training, and decided to leave them in charge of the Hellmouth that was Cleveland...not sure of what her next stop was, she called Angel to let him know she was leaving Cleveland for good. Wolfram and Hart had many subsidiaries all over the country, and Angel had mentioned that there was some unusual supernatural activity happening in Gotham City, which was a few hours away. Faith was somewhat familiar with Gotham...known for its high rate of crime and some masked vigilante known as the Batman. Getting some additional information, Angel offered her a consulting position at Wolfram and Hart as well as a place to live in Gotham if she decided to take the job. Realizing she had no reason to say no, Faith was on the first bus to Gotham City the next day. Little did she know that decision would change her life forever.