Chapter 2

Faith took a last drag on her cigarette before flinging it down on the porch floor and stubbing it out with the heel of her boot.

"Play nice, yo." She reminded Damien as the front door swung open.

"Come on in, Hope! Heya, you must be the lucky guy," Chazza greeted them. She was a naturally loud person, and not just vocally: she wore her bright green hair in a boycut, her fringe currently a gravity-defying quiff. There was nothing about her that didn't scream for attention.

Trudy had, by contrast, a more conventional beauty. Her hair was long and dark and fell in artful waves to her elbows, and the short floral dress she wore left nothing to the imagination.

It took Damien a full second to remember he was supposed to pretend to breathe.

"Kitten," he said, sucking in a deep breath and wrapping an arm around Faith's waist, "What was your opinion on foursomes again?"

Faith ignored him and instead addressed Chazza and Trudy, who clearly had no idea how to respond. "Translated roughly, Damien likes you. Did I mention it might be a good idea to invest in earplugs? Y'know, for those unfortunate times when he decides to open his mouth."

"Miaow," Chazza laughed as they stepped into the house.

"In answer to your question, Damien, I think that was a big fat no," Trudy smiled sweetly. "Wine, anyone? We have Chardonnay."

Damien landed a kiss on Faith's cheek, "Jealous? You know I'm a one-woman kinda guy, kitten." He glanced up at Chazza and Trudy. "Did Hope already tell you we're honey-mooning in the Bahamas?"

"Yeah, I think I could pretty much put up with the sexual comments if that was one of the perks," said Chazza.

"One of many," Damien replied. "But I guess since the foursome plan is off the table you won't be finding out about that."

"That is a shame." Trudy said gravely. " 'cause, y'know, I'm just so into guys."

"The sarcasm phase," Damien nodded knowingly. "I remember it well. It was two dates before Hope moved on to the lust phase."

Trudy rolled her eyes. "You really need to work on your conversation skills, buddy."

"But I was just getting to the cute part!" Damien protested. "About how you crushing on me would be flattering, but a huge pain in the ass, because I'm strictly off limits. I'm all about my girl now. And I wouldn't have it any other way," mwah, the kiss smacked loudly on Faith's forehead. "I love you, kitten."

Oh no he didn't! Faith choked. Damn. Just say it, just say it. "Love you too, babe."

"I'd give that seven and a half out of ten for cuteness," Trudy allowed, crossing her arms. "Room for improvement."

"You're just jealous of our love." Damien grinned.

He is enjoying this way too much. Jackass. Faith seethed internally. He knows if he ever tried this couple-y crap for real, there'd be a pile of dust on my pillow faster than he can blink.

"Did someone mention wine? Think I could use some right about now." Faith muttered.

–:::–

Trudy and Chazza withdrew to the kitchen with the empty plates.

"So who do you think wears the pants?" Damien asked conversationally once the kitchen door had shut.

"What?"

"Chazza and Trudy. As in, who do you think gets to be on top?"

"Damien, are you deficient?" Faith hissed, her voice low, "They might have Slayer hearing."

"I don't think they're paying attention to anyone but each other at the moment," Damien chuckled. "It's Trudy, by the way. I know, right? You'd think Chazza."

"What are you talking about?"

"Aren't you listening?"

"I'm being polite. You should try it some time."

"Polite? How out of character can you get!" Damien scoffed. "Being a stubborn pain in the ass for no good reason? Now that's right up your street. And I refuse to give a damn – hey, guess what? Trudy's pinning Chazza against the kitchen sink and trying to convince her there's time for a quickie."

"I don't want a goddamn commentary–"

"Won't be long now. Trudy's already got a hand down Chazza's pants, and I think that sliding sound was her fly – wait, Chazza's making a comeback."

"Would you just give them a break?"

"Why? This is recon. You're the one who said we needed to find out everything about them."

Faith bit her lip. "Fine." She said, turning her attention to the wall dividing them from the kitchen.

"– and we have guests," Chazza was saying.

"Guests who suggested a foursome! I should so have taken him up on that." Trudy pouted. "But fine, whatever. Just remember that you owe me."

Chazza smiled. "Sure, sweetie."

"You can start by calling me kitten."

"Kitten?" Chazza sounded amused. "Are you serious?"

"What? I thought it sounded hot when the vamp said it."

Faith and Damien froze. They'd found the Slayers.

"Run," Faith found her voice first. "I'll tell them you got a call and there was some kind of emergency."

"I'm not leaving." Damien replied. "Roxelana would never let me forget it. I'm not a coward, kitten." He spat the last word. "Besides, if they were going to do something, they would have done it by now."

Chazza and Trudy came in with dessert.

"So Damien, did Hope tell you how we met?" Trudy asked, and went on when Damien shook his head. "She tried to save our asses from this huge dem– um, this huge biker guy."

"Tried and failed," Faith interjected, ignoring Trudy's slip. "I still don't know how you managed to not get your asses seriously whooped."

"Hey, I'm stronger than I look." Trudy replied with a grin.

"That, and Hope kinda distracted him so we had time to get a handle on the situation," Chazza added. "Lucky he punched you in the direction of the couches. If you'd hit anything else you'd be in a hospital right now. You must be crazy bruised as it is."

"Crazy," Faith agreed. Crazy how life throws these curve balls. I never would have had you pinned as possible Slayers if you hadn't survived. And I wouldn't have tried so hard to set this all up.

"So that's why we're here, huh," Damien said, "You invited us to dinner, not out of the goodness of your hearts, but to try to pay off the debt."

"Anything for our knight in shining leather," Trudy grinned.

"Speaking of debt, I think we know how to even the score." Chazza said.

Damien glanced in Chazza's direction, and that was when Trudy threw her stake.

Faith screamed.

"Damien! Shit!"

They were all on their feet now, all except Damien, who no longer had feet because he had been reduced to a pile of dust.

"Hope, stay calm," Chazza said, "I know how this looks–"

"Like a hell of a practical joke," Faith laughed nervously. "How did you do that anyway?"

She looked from the pile of dust to Chazza and Trudy's slightly dumbfounded expressions.

"Um." said Chazza. "This isn't some kind of Houdini act, see, it's kinda hard to explain, but–"

"He's dead." said Trudy bluntly. "He was a vampire, we're vampire slayers. Pretty much the whole deal."

Faith let her eyes travel away from the Slayers and back to the pile of dust on Damien's chair, let her chest start to heave a little – let the Slayers think she was on the verge of a nervous breakdown.

"Hope!" Chazza's hands were on her shoulders, turning her away from the dust pile. "Don't freak out on us, please, we had to kill him–"

"He's r–really dead? This isn't just some practical joke?" now with the trembling of the lower lip.

"He was going to kill you if we let him go. I'm so, so sorry. I know how much he meant to you." Chazza's sincere worry somehow made the role more real to Faith,

"What are you talking about? He would never want to kill me. He loved me." Rapid blinking of the eyes, as if tears were just barely being held back. "We were getting married next month!"

"He was a vampire, Hope." Chazza said softly. "Vampires don't know what love is."

"Vampires." Faith repeated. Chazza and Trudy thought she sounded calmer. The thought was short-lived. "You're both fucking insane. I'm calling the police. Before you decide I'm a vampire too."

Faith started walking in the direction of the door, but she didn't even make it out of the dining room. Chazza blocked her way.

"Hope, please." Chazza's voice was soft. "Do you see a body? Do you see Damien's corpse?"

Faith didn't reply.

"No." Chazza answered for her. "Because there is no corpse. It'll be your word against ours." She paused. "Besides, how many people do you know that turn to dust when you stab them?"

"Excuse me?" Faith demanded. "I don't make a habit of stabbing people!"

"Alright, but it doesn't take a genius to work out that people bleed when they get stabbed!" Trudy said, bored. "Don't you know anything? Vampires turn to dust when you stake them. That's like common knowledge, even for non-Slayers."

"Vampires don't exist." Faith said, making her voice small and shaky, like the world she knew was on the brink of collapse.

"Oh, come on. Naïve, much?" Trudy muttered. "You work at a demon club. Don't tell me you haven't seen a couple strange-looking customers. That biker guy who knocked you flying was a goddamn demon. Jesus."

Chazza shot Trudy a look that said 'shut up, you're going too far'. Faith saw it, and squeezed a few tears out.

"I was in love with him." She sniffled.

"It's OK, sweetie." Chazza led her into the kitchen. "It isn't your fault he was a lying bastard. You just sit, we'll clear up. Then break another bottle of wine out."

Chazza left her and went back into the dining room with a dustpan and brush.

Faith listened to the Slayers talking softly to each other:

"I so didn't figure her for a crybaby."

"It's always hard when you first find out demons exist, sweetie."

"Yeah, well I didn't cry about it. Jeez." Trudy said, grumpy. Then she brightened suddenly, "Hey, you think she might be up for a threesome? It would be like her rebound–"

"Trudy," Chazza cut her off, "Sometimes I think this whole Slaying gig has desensitised you, sweetie."

"Huh? Yeah, well," a good comeback did not immediately present itself. "You're supposed to be calling me 'kitten', so there." Trudy reckoned it was better than no comeback at all.

Chazza ignored her. "Sweetie, you're not being fair. Remember she just lost her fiancé."

And Trudy shut up, Faith noted with satisfaction.

"Maybe we should ring Buffy, and get the super-witch to do damage control." Chazza mused. "Hope might be better off not remembering this."

And with that Faith's peace of mind was shattered.

–:::–

She was exhausted, and her body was aching. She should have been able to sleep on the bus journey to LA, the second front. But Sunnydale was too close to the surface, and she couldn't stop thinking about all that had happened. Buffy's life had never had so little direction. I can do whatever I want with my life now. Somehow the thought wasn't as liberating as it should have been. So what do I do? Is this how it is for non-Slayers all the time, never knowing what to do with their lives?

Unable to sleep and too tired to think, Buffy found herself tuning into others' conversation.

Faith was with Robin Wood, her expression unreadable.

"Hey, stay awake."

"You still here?" Wood blinked sleepily. "Shouldn't you be in full-on blowing-me-off mode?"

Faith chuckled. "I'm kinda trying to overcome my defensive, isolationist Slayer crap."

Wood chuckled. "Maybe I should nearly die more often."

"Not exactly out of the woods yet, in case you hadn't noticed," Faith replied. Then bit her tongue. "I mean, stay positive. People survive stabs to the stomach all the time."

"I'm optimistic," Wood smiled. "So, assuming I'm one of the many who survive stabs to the stomach, where does that leave us?"

It was a bigger question than Faith knew how to deal with, and she hesitated, taking a few long seconds to respond. "I'm thinking … I'm thinking I could use a friend right about now," she replied finally. "Y'know, if you're one of those decent guys you seem to know so much about." she grinned.

"Man, I need to learn when to keep my mouth shut," Wood feigned a sigh, then flashed her a smile. "Nah, I would like that." He paused. "Now would you let me sleep?"

"Yeah, let me think about that – how about no?" Faith replied. "You gotta stay awake, alert, that means no sleeping. Here's a couple more Don'ts to add to the list: don't close your eyes, don't stop talking to me, don't go towards the light – hey, are you listening to me?"

There was a friendly intimacy to their conversation that Buffy missed. The kind of boost she would have got from Willow, if she hadn't been with Kennedy, or Xander, if he hadn't been staring so determinedly out of the window, fighting back the tears. Saving them from his grief, because they deserved to enjoy their victory, and because mourning the death of a demon hardly seemed appropriate.

"Please go back to the defensive isolationism. I'm so tired."

"Stop complaining. You should be thanking me, I'm saving your life."

"But I'm tired."

"Plenty of time to sleep when you get to a hospital. Trust me, I know all about that."

Buffy didn't like to listen in, but they were in earshot, and hearing Faith so unreserved, and even caring, was oddly uplifting. If also a little annoying. Jeez. I got stabbed in the stomach too. Where's my complimentary babysitter?

"Hey, appreciate me." Faith reproached him playfully. "Soon as everything's under control, I'm turning myself back in. I give it a week, tops."

"What?" Wood was genuinely shocked. So was Buffy. "You're going back to gaol? Why?"

Faith shrugged. "World's saved, right? Mission accomplished as far as I'm concerned. Besides, I haven't exactly done my time, y'know. And I'm done screwing up, I'm done running from my screw-ups. Don't worry," she said suddenly, "I'm not about to screw up with you. I'll make sure you make it to hospital."

"I don't know about that," Wood disagreed, "You might exhaust me to death yet. Not that talking to you isn't great. It's just, y'know, the whole forcing me to stay awake despite all this pain and tiredness."

"And this is how decent guys show their appreciation for women, huh?"

Buffy couldn't repress the smile that curled across her face.

Faith, she wondered, When did this happen? When did you grow up?

When did you become someone I want to know?

–:::–

"Where's Damien?" Roxelana looked past Faith, then back at her worriedly, checking her over for injuries, when she realised he wasn't there.

"Dust. Dead." Faith sighed. "We found the Slayers. We'll have to set some kind of watch on them and make sure they don't catch on to us."

"Shit." said Roxelana. She took Faith's arm and led her to the couch. "Shit. I didn't really think tonight would be so dangerous. This sucks. I'm going to miss him."

"You don't have to pretend to be sad, Roxy," said Faith with a little smile.

"Alright, it's true I won't miss him," Roxelana admitted, "he took up too much bed-space, and we never hit it off: he saved all his charm for you. But I'm not pretending to be sad. I don't like when you're unhappy."

"I'm not upset," said Faith.

"I said unhappy," murmured Roxelana, moving closer and putting a comforting arm around Faith's waist, " 'upset' is your word." She started kissing Faith's neck. "And it's OK to be upset."

Faith frowned, too tired to be genuinely annoyed, "Whatever. I'm not upset. It's just I've been playing the upset lover for over an hour, and now it's in my system, it won't get out."

"Some actress," Roxelana smiled. She slid her hand up Faith's thigh. Faith sighed and leaned into her. Then she put a hand on Roxelana's, stopping her.

"I'm sorry, Roxy," she said, "I'm not feeling it tonight."

Roxelana stopped nuzzling Faith's neck, kissed her cheek once, and turned her hand palm-up to hold Faith's. She saw how drained Faith was.

"That's OK," she said, "But let me lie beside you. Let me take care of you, baby."

Faith could feel her body tingling. If it had been anyone else, Faith might have thrown them out of her flat. But she loved it when Roxelana called her 'baby'.

She let Roxelana guide her to bed.

"Want me to get you a drink?" Roxelana asked, tucking her in.

"I think I have some JD in the–"

"Hot chocolate coming right up,"

"Mm. I changed my mind. Hot chocolate sounds way better." She looked at Roxelana's grinning face, "you know me too well."

Some time later, Roxelana crept into bed beside Faith. Faith, lying on her back, tilted her head to look at her sleepily. Roxelana slipped an arm over Faith's stomach, her body warm against hers.

"How come you're warm?"

Roxelana chuckled beside her, "you only noticed now? I was sitting next to the radiator for a half-hour waiting for you to get back."

"I love when you're warm."

"The distinct lack of loving going on right now suggests otherwise." Roxelana pouted. But Faith had already drifted half to sleep and didn't reply, maybe hadn't even heard.

Roxelana tried to follow her to sleep. But it was so noisy. The soft red throb-throb threatened her control at all hours of the day, but never more so than now, in the silent hours of slumber when humanity lay so helpless.

Faith's pulse sang to her through vein and skin, so loud she could smell it, could see it in the dark, dancing blackly up her throat. The blood. She felt her lust for it wake.

No.

But her will was not enough. She could feel her face deforming and kept very still so as not to wake the Slayer. She could only hope to win if she took Faith by surprise.

No. The other lust stirred.

How many vampires could say they had slept with a Slayer, consensually at least? How many vampires could say they had made a Slayer scream, and not from pain? She thought on the immortalised names of vampires who had killed Slayers, brought Slayers to their knees. But my Slayer is on her knees most every night, and willingly. Tell me that is not the sweeter victory.

Roxelana was building a legacy, and she wasn't done with the Slayer just yet. Or so she told herself.

The song of Faith's blood fell to whispers and she felt her face settle, and the demon did not devour her.

Roxelana was sure getting to sleep had never used to be so hard.