I of course am going to thank all you guys that reviewed first. They were all amazing, and made me want to jump right into the second chapter, so thank you very very much. As some of you have probably noticed, I'm borrowing a few vamp details from True Blood. Just because….they're lots of fun, and give more room to explore the vampire world. Hope you enjoy the chapter. Oh and I added scene breaks...thank god. This site always deletes the ones I originally insert.

P.S. when I went back to reread the first chapter, I noticed I missed a few misspellings and such, so I'm wondering if anyone would be so kind as to be my beta. It would be much appreciated! If you're interested, email me at. Thanks!

Chapter Two: Blood

Faith turned the key slowly, hoping that she wouldn't immediately encounter anyone upon entering her mother's run down apartment. Seeing there was no one in the living room, she entered without hesitation, carrying a brown bag of groceries and necessities. Toothpaste, soap, shampoo, trash bags, things like that. The quietness of the place was a little offsetting, but she could feel that somewhere within the place there was still a strong pulse going. A strong, chaotic pulse, but she knew it wasn't because anyone was in danger - well, not in the sense of violence.

She entered the kitchen and cringed at the sight of the piling dishes in the sink, some beginning to grow mold, while others were being fed upon by flies and cockroaches. The refrigerator wasn't much better; before she could fully pull it open on its squeaky hinges, the smell of its rotting contents filled the air, sending Faith's sense of smell into overdrive. She slammed it shut, cursing under her breath as she moved to look under the sink for the rubber gloves she had brought the last time she was there. To her surprise, they were still in tact. She took off her jacket, and the black shirt she had worn over a grey tank, tossing them onto the couch since it was the cleanest area in the apartment that she could see.

First, she cleaned the dishes in the sink, having to constantly use the bug spray she had had a feeling she would need. After that, she cleaned out the refrigerator, and despite the fact that she was already dead she was sure that even she wasn't safe being around the rotting foods. Once that was done, she wiped it all down before starting to fill it with fresh food.

"You're not her."

Faith stopped moving, looking slightly over her shoulder at the strung out woman behind her; her hollowed black eyes, and yellow teeth; her tattered clothes, and marked arms, "I missed you too, Ma."

The woman huffed, "You're not mine," her eyes jumped around the room as she shook her head, "Nope. My daughter's dead."

"Have been for a while now. It's not so bad, really," she could have continued. Could have told the woman that compared to the life she had given her, living in death was paradise, but she didn't. Her mother had never been one to listen anyways, and it had been a long night. She had barely given herself time to even begin comprehending the fact that Buffy the Vampire Slayer was the one looking for her. There was no way she was going to end up arguing with a drug addict for the rest of the night.

"Has been from the start," the woman smacked her dry lips, desperately trying to sooth their deep cracks, "Died in the womb before I could even have her," suddenly finding herself backed against a counter, with Faith only inches away from her face, the woman shrieked, "You're not her."

She reached into her pocket, pulling out a tube of chap stick, "Tilt your head back," the woman in front of her complied shakily, and Faith gently reached out to sooth the woman's lips. Once she was done, she sat the tube on the counter, "Don't lose this one, it may be a while before I can come back. Do you remember Paul?" she asked, turning back to finish putting up the last bit of groceries, "If I can't make it, I'll have him bring you a few things," the woman had already invited him in in a stupor, to Faith's relief, "He won't hurt you, but he doesn't have any drugs, so don't ask."

"Where will you be?" her dry skin flaked as she scratched her arms, waiting for Faith to answer the question. The slayer-vampire finished with the groceries, tossed the sack into the empty trash bag she had just placed in the trashcan, and then went to collect her things off of the couch, "Answer me," the woman stomped, her eyes once again bouncing about the room.

Rolling her eyes, Faith turned to the woman, happy that she no longer had dreams of her becoming something she wasn't, "I'll come back, I promise. Paul may not even have to come by," within her she felt that no matter how much she was hoping she was telling the truth, things were going to get a bit more complicated than usual.


With a folded towel, Buffy roughly removed her thick eyeliner. She sighed for the millionth time thinking of what happened at the club. Before she had entered the grand vampire-human establishment she had removed herself from the situation. Part of her mind had just checked out for the evening. She didn't want to walk in thinking about the countless dreams she had of the mysterious slayer-vampire; didn't want her mind to be clouded with images of skin and blood. It felt too personal that way. When she arrived at the club, she just knew that the best way of doing things would involve her walking in as if it were just another baddie they were chasing down. Another mystery they needed to solve, and one that hadn't been somewhat in her life for years. It wasn't until Faith had said those words that all of it had come crashing back.

"You gonna feed me, slayer?" she said, aloud, continuing to remove her makeup, "She didn't seem to recognize me."

"Maybe it's the hair."

She glanced over her shoulder, finding the woman in question sitting on the outside of the bathtub, "Maybe," when she turned back to the mirror, Faith was directly behind her; her reflection caught in the mirror making Buffy jump.

"Did you think it'd be that easy?" she grinned, "You're in my world now. You like?"

"Hey, Buffy…Buffy, wake up."

Groaning, Buffy sat up on the couch, "Did someone find her?" she asked, turning to Kennedy who immediately gave her an answer without even speaking. After they had returned from the club, to change into more appropriate hunting attire, Buffy had sat down on the couch to wait for any tip on where Faith had disappeared to. It was obvious to all of them that none of them were able to follow her, but they had already had a few slayers looking into a few places the slayer-vampire was said to have visited most often. Seeing that Kennedy had a tranquilizer sitting in her lap, Buffy figured that she was on the verge of having a second encounter with the object of her dreams.

"The same slayer that tipped us off before thinks she may have figured out where Faith's been staying, so I thought you and I would go check it out. Everyone else has turned in for the night, and a couple of the girls that were hiding around the club were a little put off by her vanishing act."

"Great," she sighed, rubbing her temples, "And the tranq-gun?"

Kennedy smiled, "In case we get lucky."

"In case she decides to stand close to a window just before dawn, or move at a speed that doesn't leave you thinking that maybe she was never there at all?"

"You never know," the young slayer shrugged, getting to her feet.

Buffy stood up as well, "Let me just grab a jacket from upstairs," she walked through the unfamiliar academy, glad to find Willow walking out of the room she knew was right across from hers, "I thought I was a bit lost for a second."

"Nope, not lost," she watched as the shorter woman went to enter the room she had been given while in Boston, following her inside and closing the door behind her, "So you and Kennedy are actually going to go out again tonight?"

"I told her I'd be up for it if someone could give us a location, and apparently we just got one. One very important one," after unzipping one of her bags, she paused, looking at the redhead over her shoulder, "I want you to call in that slayer that keeps popping up with these random tips. If the old Council wasn't able to track Faith down, then how is she knowing her every move and location?"

"The old Council has been out for a while now, maybe Faith is just starting to really settle down," Willow reasoned, "But she's already set to come in tomorrow. Tonight she was scheduled to take out a nest with the other girls in this district, so she couldn't make it."

"Okay," she slipped her jacket on and zipped it tight, "Good. Well, Kenn is waiting for me."

"Buff," Willow stepped in the woman's path, making her look directly at her, "I'm not sure this is a good idea. You seemed a little frazzled after what happened at the club, and I know I could have gone the whole 'say it and it shall be done' route earlier, instead the touching route, but we both saw how fast she could move. A couple of the other girls saw it too, but we were up close and personal and-"

"No, I was up close and personal. I got a taste of the speed and the strength, and all it does is convince me that we need to find her now. I need to know if she's as dangerous as she is in my dreams, and if she is, I need to take care of her before things get out of hand. Before we're having to fight a whole army of slayer crazed vampires."

"Fine. I think that you should take the night to think things through, but you're obviously not going to, and someone needs to stay here in case things get a little crazy so I can't go. You know that if you need me, all you have to do is think it-"

"I know. Everything will be fine, Will. Kenn's all gun-hoe downstairs, but I'm thinking this is just going to be a little recon. Like I said, I just need to know."

"Okay," she gave a short nod, and then turned to leave with Buffy right behind her. Once they were back in the hall, she turned back to her friend, "The brunette thing is kind of weird," she laughed.

"It really is," Buffy said, laughing as well, "We won't be long, the sun will be coming up soon," just before she rounded the corner, she heard Willow call her name and poked her head back around, "Yeah, Will?"

"When you're ready, I'm here if you ever want to talk about what really happens in your dreams," she started to walk in her room, "Be careful."

Buffy stood there for a moment, her jaw slightly hanging, and then made her way back downstairs, "Let's go."


It was a mere hour before the sun would rise, and Faith was more than anxious to have at least one good meal before turning in for the day. She pulled opened her last fresh bottle of blood, Mihaela having finished off the other bottle, and poured it into a large mug before heating it up. It wasn't that she couldn't enjoy room temperature blood, but her adrenaline was still pumping from her encounter at the club, and she was still frustrated with her mother situation. Warm blood was the closest she would get to a hunt at the moment, and she knew it. There would be no early morning rumps, or hunting of the early rising, unsuspecting, workers of Boston.

"You're getting to be a little bit too much like her," she said, sensing someone behind her, "As much as I love you, kid, I can't have people just coming into my home like this. It's beginning to feel like an open house or something."

Paul laughed, "Or something," he watched as she pulled her mug from the microwave, licking his lips at the smell of the slayer's blood, "How did you get that anyways? Who the fuck do you know from South Africa?"

"I know people," she grinned, turning to face him, "So what, did Mihaela send you to make sure I didn't slaughter everyone in that damn club? That place was fucking crazy. I mean, you could screw someone and feed off them with the whole fucking place watching. A little too trashy for me, but it's good to know I've got some new options."

He walked over to her, taking the mug from her hands and taking a quick sip before setting it down on the countertop, "You know there are two slayers on the building across the street spying on you?" his fangs descended, "We should eat them," he grinned, placing his hands on her sides and moving even closer.

She shivered when his lips grazed hers, his fangs pushing against her lips. It was obvious to her that he was still in his 'obsession-devotion' stage when it came to her, as his maker, "Sometimes I'm not so sure that you really drive stick."

"You're my only exception," before Faith could manage another word he managed to unbutton and unzip her pants, and then quickly yanked them down, "I'm guessing we won't be eating the slayers then? It's a shame, one of them smells so good."

Faith's fangs shot out, a low growl rumbling in her throat, "You have no idea," he pushed her up onto the counter, making sure to avoid knocking over the mug of blood that she quickly downed before pulling him forward into a bloody kiss. Both of them moaning at the taste as the tongues slid across and around one another's, sometimes wonderfully grazing their fangs.


Glancing over at Kennedy one more time, Buffy let out a long held breath seeing that the younger slayer was still asleep leaning against the ledge of the rooftop. Slowly, she turned to look back through the scope of the tranquilizer. It was what she was supposed to be doing after all; watching the slayer-vampire. They were on a stakeout; an outing to determine whether the dark haired vamp was a threat, the leader of a supposed rising vampire army, but at the moment Buffy wasn't getting conformation or evidence of otherwise.

She watched as the male vampire continued his assault between Faith's legs, his hands gripping her bare ass on the countertop. One of her hands spread and gripping his dark hair, while the other was high above her head quivering and shaking as she tried to grip the flat surface of the cabinet behind her, mostly scratching it instead. Her bare breasts rose and fell in jerking motions, and her legs shook as she stared down at him, her mouth hanging open with her fangs still out. The look of lust and pure enjoyment captivated Buffy. Every dream of skin and sweat rose to the surface, causing a rise in temperature that she couldn't quite explain in the chill air of Boston. She could picture every moment she had found herself between those very legs; the feel of the other woman's fingers gripping her hair, her own hands holding onto Faith's quivering. She could hear the moans that were entrapped within the wall of brunette's apartment; the panting, and begging for more.

Never in her life had she pictured herself peeking in on private moments, especially not private moments between vampires, but at the moment she just couldn't tear her eyes away - minus the far and few glances she sent in Kennedy's direction. Not when the male vampire had initially bent down between Faith's legs, trailing his tongue down her abdomen, and not now as he took a bite to drink from her thigh before standing to enter her. She could see every muscle in his back ripple and flex as he thrust against her, and couldn't help but wonder…if she were to take that step - if her dreams were to become a reality, would it be like that? Would her hands caress that soft pale skin, lips ever be pressed on the other woman's fuller ones, or would it all be blood and chaos? And even if it wasn't all blood and chaos, if it was just like what she was witnessing, and all the dreams that ended with her desperately trying to catch her breath, what would that really be?

Hearing a bit of shuffling beside her, Buffy moved to lean against the ledge of the rooftop, her eyes moving to the dark sky above her. At some point her breathing had picked up without her noticing, she gripped her jacket tightly trying to focus on anything but what she had just seen. What she really wanted to do was remove the jacket, but that would only lead to questions she wasn't so sure she wanted to ever be asked.

Kennedy yawned and stretched, "Why didn't you wake me up?" she asked, looking over at the other slayer, noticing her tense posture, "You cold? I can lend you my jacket, I'm pretty used to-"

"No," not meaning to say it so quickly, she gave a small smile, "Sorry. I'm just tired."

She pulled out her cellphone, "The sun will be up any moment now. Is that guy still with her?"

Buffy couldn't help but let a small laugh escape her lips, "Definitely."

"What's that supposed to mean?" Kennedy smiled, "What are they doing?"

"Fucking."

Her brows rose at Buffy's choice of words, "Seriously?" excitedly she moved to look through the scope of the gun only to find herself looking at the back of the other slayer's hand.

"Kennedy, no," as much of a hypocrite it might have made her, she felt that she had to protest. Not only because she didn't want to be around as her best friend's girlfriend got a live viewing of vampire porn, but also because she felt that one peeking-tom had been enough.

"Aw come on," she whined, "Aren't you even a little curious to see how vampires go at it? With each other I mean, since you know…." she shook her head, "You can't seriously not be wanting to take just a little, little peak. At least let me take one."

"Fine," she sighed, moving her hand away from the scope. Trying not to seem like she was watching for a reaction, she only looked at her from the corner of her eye. Part of her mind wondered, too; tried to gasp what was now going on in the apartment. Had they finished in a symphony of whimpering moans, moved from the countertop into a different position?

Kennedy moved back from the lens with a mixed expression of a smile and frown, "Yeah, it's looking a little more painful than pleasant right now."

'That's how she likes it sometimes,' Buffy thought.

"But from the faces they're making, I'd say they should be wrapping things up any second now," she laughed and settled back against the ledge, "I can't believe that she's a vampire, and a slayer. That she's half of our sworn enemy, and yet somehow like us at the same time, you know? I mean, does she have a soul because she's part slayer?"

"We both know that the slayer half of us is a demon, so if she does have a soul, it isn't because she's half slayer," Buffy stated, "We're probably going to need Willow to do a spell or something, check to see if it's there. With the way the world is willingly feeding vamps now, we can't really tell just by watching her unless she goes out and slaughters a bunch of people, and even then…she could just be psychotic."

"Didn't you ever ask about the slayer that was called after Kendra was killed? Did they tell you the next slayer was called was killed, or what?"

"I did ask once, when Glory was trying to use Dawn as a key to tear open the worlds I asked Giles about her. We needed help, and having two slayers definitely would have made a difference, especially when I went all comatose in my own mind. But Giles just said that he had only heard a few things about the slayer that was called after Kendra, and that from what he knew she was presumed to be dead. There wasn't any time to find out if another one had been called, we weren't exactly on speaking terms with the old Council."

"Right," Kennedy nodded. They both sat in silence for a moment, the sky above beginning to turn shades of purple, "I wonder…I wonder what she's like. Part of me just wants to get in there and stake the shit out of her, but another part of me is curious."

"Me too," Buffy admitted.

"Well…"

Buffy and Kennedy both jumped, Kennedy grabbing the tranquilizer and immediately firing off two in the direction of the voice that wasn't theirs, but they were both caught.

"…I guess you're about to find out," Faith grinned, holding a dart in each hand. She met Buffy's eyes, and then plunged the darts in the side of her neck, collapsing on the rooftop.

Both slayers were now on their feet and slowly approaching the other woman, Kennedy still pointing the gun at the still figure, "What the fuck was that? One moment she's naked and screwing that other vamp, and the next she's up here and dressed," cautiously, she poked Faith with her foot a few times, relieved when she didn't move.

Seeing that the vampire was actually out, or at least she hoped, Buffy picked her up and threw her over her shoulder, "Let's go before she's a pile of dust."


"What did she say?" Buffy asked, when Willow and Kennedy walked out of the interrogation room Faith was placed in. They had waited for only and hour or so before waking the vampire with one of Willow's remedy, daylight and all, and she had been pacing ever since. Her best friend had questioned why she herself hadn't wanted to be in the interrogation room, and in all honesty she had even questioned herself, but considering her peeking activities on the rooftop she just hadn't trusted herself.

"Nothing. Absolutely, fucking nothing," Kenned said, through grit teeth. She turned to her girlfriend, "I'm going to go to bed."

"Okay, I'll be up soon," they gave each other a quick kiss, and then she turned her attention back to her best friend, "Buffy, she says she'll only talk to you, and it has to be alone. But I don't think that's the best idea. This seems a little too easy."

"She stabbed two tranq darts into her own neck, it was extremely easy."

"Do you think it's a trap?" she asked, worriedly.

"Unfortunately, there's only one way to find out," running her fingers through her hair, she took a deep breath, "I've got to go in there."

"Maybe I can do an invisibility spell and be in there with you."

"No, for some reason I just have a feeling that wouldn't work out so well. I'm just going to have to do this," she could see that Willow didn't like the idea, that she was worried about how many ways it could all go wrong, but she really didn't see any other way, "There are slayers around every corner, and you're just going to be-"

"Right here," Willow cut in, "I may not be able to keep you from going in there, but I'm not leaving this spot until you come out," she paused, "Maybe a truth spell-"

"Will," Buffy sighed, "Let's just try things her way. I'm tired, and if she wanted me dead, I'm pretty sure she could have done it on the roof. Her doing that with the darts put her in danger of being staked, or left on the roof to burn - I just think we should at least give this a shot."

"Do you really, because the Buffy I know doesn't usually just agree to do things on other people's terms, especially when their terms may lead to a bunch of people dying. I know the situation is a little different because of your dreams, but I don't know Buff - Do you know if she's sharing them with you?"

"How could I know?" she straightened herself up and walked over to the door, "It'll be fine" after a moment, she turned the knob, "Go ahead and lock the door behind me," before Willow could say anything else, she entered the room and closed the door, glad to hear the clicking of its lock, "I heard you were asking for me."

Faith lifted her head off the table, blood beginning to run from her nose and ears, "You mind?" she looked down at her shirt, "I need a little help with the wiping."

As Faith had been placed into the room, Willow had put a spell on her hands to keep them magically bound to the table, "Uh," Buffy took a few steps forward, "I don't really have anything to…"

"How about your shirt?" she grinned, "No?"

"No," she said, folding her arms, "Definitely not going to happen."

"Never hurts to ask, though I usually don't have to. Just rip the bottom of mine, I've got plenty of them at home."

Swallowing hard, she cautiously made her way to the other side of the table, "If you try anything, there are hundreds of slayers, and one very powerful witch here waiting to kill you."

"Or waiting to be eaten. I could make myself through this whole place in the blink of an eye, but why would I do that when I can spend a little time with you?" the slayer approached her, slowly reaching beneath her arms to tear a piece of her shirt, "If I wanted, I could stand up, pull up into a handstand and wrap my legs around that tiny little neck of yours," they met each other's eyes, faces inches apart, "But then how would I get my hands free?"

Buffy ripped the shirt roughly, keeping her eyes locked with the slayer-vampire's, and then began to wipe away the blood from her nose and ears, "I've never actually seen this happen to a vampire before."

"We're a little different these days, and in different regions from what I've heard and seen. Not as different as me of course," once Buffy was done wiping the blood off, she watched as the slayer went to sit opposite of her, "I'm one of a kind, just like you."

"I'm not. Not anymore, at least, but let's just get to the point," the faster she was out of the room, the better. As much as she felt at ease, she felt just as tense; the woman across from her was familiar in so many ways, but at the same time she didn't know her at all, "You were asking for me, so let's talk about why we're both here."

"Please, don't pretend you weren't just on the other side of that door the whole entire time. Even through these thick ass walls," she took in a deep breath through her nose, "I could smell you. Why not just come in in the first place, huh? Why send your groupies, and students when you could face me yourself?"

Buffy sighed, "Look, it's been a long couple of days and I'm not in the mood for any games, so how about I start. Do you have a soul?"

"Wow, ask a girl on a date first," she said, with a false expression of shock, "That's not what you want to know."

"Actually, it is."

Faith frowned, she was sure that the woman was going to ask her about Mihaela. Though her maker had said that the people that would be looking for her would also try to assess Faith's state as well, she hadn't exactly thought it would be the case, "It doesn't matter. Having a soul or not having a soul makes no difference in this age and time. Either you're a killer, or you're not."

"Are you a killer?" she asked, knowing what Faith said was true.

She shrugged, "That's really none of your business. Not with the new vamp government that's being set up."

"Screw you and your vampire government, I'm a slayer and if you're going around slaughtering people, it is my responsibility to kill you."

"Oh you could try," her fangs descended slowly, "In fact, please do. It's been a while since I've had even a fraction of a challenge. But even if you do manage it, then you'd never get the info that you're really after."

"That may be true, but I'm kinda liking the possible outcomes right now. I mean, if you're the leader of the vampire army and I kill you…then they've lost their leader, but if you're not and you're connected to the actual leader then I'd be sending them a message."

Her fangs retracted, "Here I was thinking that you'd be a little brighter than the usual slayer I bump into, all young and naïve, at least in terms of how to use their abilities and how they piece things together, but obviously I was wrong," she made sure to look the slayer directly in the eyes, "You're looking a little tired there, slayer. Been awake for a few days?"

"Are you trying to insult me, 'cause I've gotta say-"

"When the human brain doesn't get enough time to recharge it becomes weak, and vulnerable. I may be a young vampire, but like I said I'm different. There are parts of my vampire side that have developed a little further, and faster than most…"

Buffy's expression slid into a neutral calm, her eyes glued to Faith's. Suddenly, she didn't feel so torn by being in the room; there were no feelings of fear, or questions about just how dangerous the woman in front of her was.

"You are not in any danger," Faith said, in a level voice, "Do you believe me?"

"Yes."

Faith smiled lightly, "Stand up, and walk over to me," the slayer complied, keeping their eye contact as she moved to the other side of the table, "Now, reach behind me and pull out the knife that you have behind between your jeans and your back," she complied again, "Good. Cut your arm with it, and let the blood drip over my hands."

Buffy cut her arm, gasping at the sharp pain, and let the blood drop onto Faith's hands, "How much?" she asked, her voice empty.

"Until I tell you to stop, of course," smelling the slayer's blood, her fangs reemerged. It was so strong, and sweet smelling that for a moment she almost lost her focus, but she forced herself to snap out of it. After a minute her hands were covered, and she quickly jerked them away from the table, happy to see that it worked, "You have no idea what your blood can do, slayer," she stood up, stretching as she kept their eye contact. She picked up the torn piece of her shirt from the table and wrapped it around Buffy's cut arm, "What do you say?"

"Thank you."

"Good girl," finally blinking, she grabbed the slayer and turned her around, making her bend over the table she was just bound to, "Now it's your turn to put your hands on the table," she said, harshly slamming the woman's hands on the table beneath hers, pressing her front against her, "God, you smell so good."