Disclaimer: I own nothing but the idea for the story. No profit made. All characters are owned by their owners, not me.

Author: Me, pen-name: flileytothemoon

Feedback: please! With a side order of yes please!

Season: 3

Spoilers: Up to Consequences (S3, ep15)

Pairing(s): Buffy/Faith & allusions to Faith/Xander and Buffy/Angel

Content codes: FF, rom, angst,

Chapter 1: Consequences and Confrontations

"Faith, we need to deal! You killed a man! Not a vamp, a man!"

"Chill, B! I am dealing! We were sent to investigate what "caused" his death, I just wanna make sure I can prove what "really" caused his death."

"What? You caused his death! As a slayer, you do not have the power of life and death. We kill forces of darkness, we are supposed to be warriors of the light, not vigilantes or murderers or judges or—"

"B! breathe! You're pitching a fit for nothing! No one will ever know!"

"You will! I will!"

"And? Are ya gonna turn me in, B? We've already danced to this tune, B. We've had this chat. You ain't got the stones."

"So, now you're James Bond? You have a license to kill?"

"You have been spending waaaay too much time with Xand, B. Or maybe it's the 2 Brit watchers? "

"Is this really all a joke to you, Faith? Murder is a joke? What happened in your life that you became like this? You are a slayer for crying out loud, doesn't that mean anything to you? Don't I? Aren't we friends? I thought we were gonna fight together. Watch out for each other. I'd have your back You'd have mine. What happened to that?"

"First, the only joke is you B, you are wound way too tight, you really need to get laid, or something. As for MY life…don't go there, just…no. For the rest: Yeah, I am a slayer, someone got in the middle and got hurt. Stuff happens, we are in a dangerous line of work, slayer reflexes are superhuman, but not perfect, did I wanna kill him? No, but nothing will bring him back, and me going to jail sure as shit won't. So, actually, I DO still have your back; question is: do YOU still have MINE?"

Buffy looked around, she thought to herself, trying to stall and decide what to do, while not taking too long and getting them both caught with Finch's body. After what seemed like an eternity, but was only maybe 15-20 seconds, she finally made up her mind.

"Fine, I can't believe I am doing this but, it's true, nothing we do will bring him back so, now what?"

"C'mon, I'll show you. You've never really killed anyone? Or covered up a crime? B, you have lived some kinda sheltered life." Faith says, smirking, lighting up a cigarette and walking off. Getting over the shock of being insulted by Faith, again, Buffy shakes herself and starts to get in gear and catch up to her sister slayer, trying to imagine, but not really wanting to, just want kind of life the Bostonian slayer must have had to make her so jaded about something as serious as murder. From what Faith had said, this mustn't have been her first. And covering it up as well? Buffy didn't even want to know whether or not she would be able to pull something like this off on her own. She even had her doubts about how she would handle this. She had always had a very clear sense of right and wrong.

"You don't seriously expect this to work do you?" Buffy asked Faith for what must have been the 10th time. And again, with the patience one normally reserves for small children with profound developmental delays, Faith attempted to reassure Buffy that, in fact, this WOULD work, all the while resisting the urge to roll her eyes in frustration at how hopelessly sheltered this girl was.

"How can someone like this fight demons and vamps? And not get lunched? She's good and all but… she's not… I dunno…all there upstairs." Faith said to herself again. Also for what must have been the 10th time.

Much to Buffy's surprise, and consternation however, it had all gone exactly as Faith had predicted. It seems Faith, despite avoiding the 2 watchers like the plague, somehow either knew them better than Buffy did or just played them like a pair of violins in the hands of a pair of virtuosos. All she had to do really, was agree here and there when she was asked to confirm some of the details of Faith's story. And then keep her mouth shut for the rest of her life, or at least till this all blew over.

2 nights later, they were patrolling when Faith had finally had enough of Buffy's silent fuming. And after they had dispatched the last of their foes, she grabbed Buff and threw her none-too-gently against a tree, and pinned her there, one arm either side of her head.

"What's gotcha so worked up, B? Still not getting' any from The Broody One? What's got your panties in a bunch now?"

"You, Faith."

"Me? I'm flattered, B, didn't think our relationship would progress this quickly though, never had you pegged as playing for THAT team."

"What? Oh, OH. No, a world of no. What I meant was, I am just not getting how you can have killed a man, and not seem to care. Me, I didn't do anything except LIE and I am a nervous wreck."

"First, you threw him to me, you thought he was a demon, same as I did. Second, methinks thou dost protest too much. And finally for what I hope will be the final time I must address this issue. B. Buffy. Listen to the words coming out of my mouth. I don't care. I don't. But…so? You care. Will caring bring him back? Or anyone else who dies? Fact is, If not for us, Everyone in this sleepy lil burg would be dead or a vamp, and what do we get for extending THEIR lifespans other than an early grave? Do we get thanked, like cops do, or firefighters, or EMTs? No, we aren't even acknowledged. People largely deny that what we save them from, at the nightly risk of OUR lives, even exists outside of horror novels and slasher films. Most people, when you talk to them about vamps, think of goths, Brad Pitt and Tom Cruise."

"Is that why you do this? To be famous? For praise? I do it because, if I don't no one will. Like you said, most deny these things are real. They used to say the same about micro-organisms, couldn't see them so couldn't be real. Now we know better. Until the rest of the world wakes up, it will up to the slayer, or slayers to fight that fight for everyone else."

"Well then, you go be noble B, fact is, reasons and approaches differ, end result is the same: we live or we die. Better odds if we're together you said before, right? Well I am in, but this noble shepherd protecting the dumb herd act? Nah, I am doing this cause I gotta, and cause I'm good at it. If there's collateral damage, it's their fault for getting mixed up in a fight they had no business getting mixed up in. You don't bring a knife to a gunfight or meat to a fight with a vamp."

"Huh?"

"Meat? Steak?"

"Oh, you and your jokes, and you say I spend too much time with Xander…"

"You do, B."

"Then who should I spend my time with, F?"

"Me."

"Oh, and why is that, besides patrolling?"

"Better jokes, better looking, better fighter, better in the sack…"

"WHAT?"

"He and Will never told ya? Yep, I popped his cherry. Then promptly threw him out on his ass. I mean he's okay and well-hung, no I mean, like seriously, like he's…" but just as Faith was about to finish her thought by demonstrating the size of Xander's package, Buffy cut her off,

"I DO NOT wanna know."

"B, it was impressive, even for me…"

"Still don't wanna know, and never will wanna know."

"Why? Pissed that you missed out? That you chose Fangboy for your first when the elephant-dicked man was so close by?"

"Enough, Faith. Enough."

"What's really bothering you, B?"

"Like I said, you, Faith, you." This last response was muttered by a crying Buffy as she took off on a dead run from Faith, she didn't want to hear any more, she didn't know quite why, but not just for the reasons she was telling Faith, somehow Faith seemed able to read her too, and could tell she was holding something back, she didn't know if Faith knew what that something was, but didn't think so as even she wasn't 100% sure what was bothering her so much about this whole scenario.

TBC…