Faith woke suddenly. Eyes darting around the unfamiliar room, she tried to remember where she was. Slow deep breathing sounded behind her, and the Slayer carefully turned over. Short brunette hair and a nicely toned body rewarded the action. Phoebe, Faith's mind supplied. It was too bad Angel had stressed the importance of her meeting today. The taller brunette would have been happy to wake the sleeping beauty sharing her bed.
Stealthily, the Slayer crept from the bed and donned the previous day's clothing. Boots in hand, she quietly exited the room. It didn't take long to return to the home's first floor. Resisting the urge to take a self-directed tour, Faith entered a large open room off the foyer and sat down to put on her footwear. She knew she needed to move quickly; sounds of movement came from another part of the house. Someone was awake.
Finishing up the laces, Faith stood. Before she could move a step, though, blue shimmering sparkles lit the air a few feet away. Blinking in confusion, the Slayer watched the light turn into a man. He had his back to the brunette, so she stood quietly, hoping he would go away.
"Piper?" he called.
A voice answered, getting closer with each word, "I'm making breakfast. Do you want some…" A slim brunette walked into the room. "Hello, who are you?" she asked, looking at the Slayer standing motionless behind her husband.
"Come on, I wasn't gone that long," the man replied, sounding frustrated.
"Not you, Leo." Piper grabbed him by the arm and turned him around.
"Her," the woman pointed at Faith.
Feeling a bit nervous under the dual stare, the brunette tried to explain. "Hi, I'm-"
Rapid footfalls garnered everyone's attention. "Hey, guys," Phoebe called from the stairs. "Have you seen – Faith!" She smiled at the sight of the woman she'd missed when she'd woken up.
"Faith?" Leo looked closely at the young girl behind him. "You're Faith?"
Frowning and controlling a strong urge to flee, the Slayer nodded. "Yeah. We met before or something?"
"No," the man replied. "I'm Leo. Your friend Angel said you'd meet me later this morning." He turned to Piper and Phoebe. "Faith is an, ah, expert in demons. The Elders asked her to help us out for a while."
"Hey, a demon expert. Cool," Phoebe enthused. The witch noticed, though, that Leo's statement hadn't made the brunette happy. In fact, judging by the scowl twisting her features, she was very not happy.
Faith shoved both hands into the pockets of her leather pants. "Elders?" she questioned.
"My bosses," Leo provided.
The brunette raised an eyebrow. "Thanks. That was so not helpful."
Piper smiled at the moody girl in the sitting room. "Leo works for the guys up there." She gestured with one hand at the ceiling. "And, no, I don't mean in the attic," she added, seeing the brunette open her mouth. "Leo's an angel."
Dimples flashing, Faith started to laugh. "Looking good for a dead man, there, Big L. So where are your wings?"
Leo flushed at the teasing. "Faith," he said, "maybe we should go up to the attic and talk about what's going on here."
"Don't take a rocket scientist to figure it out, L. You got a demon problem. I stop by, get rid of them, and I head back home." Faith shrugged. "No big, really."
"There's a little more to it than that." Leo looked at his wife. "Hon, I'm going to take Faith upstairs. We'll be down in a few." He smiled charmingly. "Could you save me some of the raspberry scones?"
The oldest Halliwell smirked. "Sure, Leo. Just make sure you aren't gone too long. I'd hate for your breakfast to disappear." She looked at the newest addition to their group. "Faith, is there anything in particular I can fix you?"
The young woman looked surprised. "Um, no. Thanks." She smiled fully. "I pretty much eat anything."
Piper smiled in return. "Well, when my husband gets done filling you in on the demon problems, there'll be plenty of food in the kitchen."
"Let's go, Faith," Leo said. He reached for Faith's arm, but dropped his hand when she visibly stiffened. The angel started up the stairs, with the brunette not far behind.
As she walked passed Phoebe, the witch touched her shoulder. "Hey, is everything OK?" She went up on tip toes to kiss Faith's cheek. "There were some interesting undercurrents with my brother-in-law."
For a minute, the taller girl resisted the soft kiss and question. Then, sighing, she leaned into Phoebe. "Just a few things to work out. My boss isn't big on handing out details. I think Fang forgot a few important items when he sent me up here."
"If you're sure." The middle Halliwell didn't entirely believe the explanation.
"Very sure," Faith said. She leaned down and caught the witch's lips in a fierce kiss. Sliding her tongue along Phoebe's lips, she demanded entrance to her mouth.
The situation might have gotten out of hand if an impatient voice hadn't called out, "Faith? Are you coming?"
Panting, the couple broke apart. This time, Phoebe did the smirking. "Damn. Maybe you should tell Leo the coming would have happened if he'd left us alone for a few more minutes." She nibbled on Faith's neck. "You should go, before he decides to see what's keeping you."
"Yeah," the taller girl agreed. Reluctantly, she stepped away and took the stairs three at a time.
"Damn. How does she do that?" Phoebe asked aloud.
Faith hesitantly opened the door at the very top of the stairs. Leo stood behind a lectern that supported a large book. "Hey, L. What did you need to tell me?"
The angel looked up. Closing the book, he walked over to sit on the arm of an old sofa. "Faith, did Angel tell you anything about what's going on here?"
"Not really." Faith sat down on the opposite end of the couch, facing Leo. "I mean, he ain't really good with details. He just called me up and told me I had to go to San Francisco and that I needed to meet a contact of his in some park at noon today."
Leo looked frustrated. "Faith, the Elders called you here for a reason."
"OK, more about that in a minute," the Slayer interrupted. "Who or what are the freakin' elders?"
"They are the Senior Angels, I guess you could say. They watch over humans and assign Whitelighters, guardian angels, to witches."
Faith nodded in understanding. "You mean the Elders are the PTB." When the angel looked confused, she explained, "The Powers That Be. Good, now that I kinda know who's calling the shots, tell me what you need me to do."
Leo looked at his hands. "Faith, this isn't a short-term assignment." He looked up, meeting intense brown eyes. "The Elders want you stationed here to help the Charmed Ones fight off the Source of All Evil and his demon army."
"Alright." The brunette sensed there was something else. "Why the big private conversation? Is this something the two downstairs can't know?"
"No," the Whitelighter responded. "All three sisters will know you're here to help. But, I'm supposed to watch how you handle the situation and report back to my bosses. They want to make sure you've really repented. If things work out, you'll be free to go. If not…" Leo paused, looking for the right words. "Consider yourself on probation, Faith."
Phoebe waited until Faith was out of sight before going into the kitchen. She smiled at Piper who was busy pulling muffin trays from the oven and watching over pots and pans on the stove. "Smells good," she said. The witch snatched a strawberry from a bowl on the island and sat down at the kitchen table to enjoy the fruit.
Dumping the warm muffins into a wicker basket, the older Halliwell turned to face Phoebe. "So, it seems the sexy stranger won't be a stranger for long." She gave the innocent-faced Phoebe a long look. "But I'm betting you got to know Faith pretty well last night."
"Piper!" the younger sister exclaimed. "That's just wrong."
"Hmmm, avoiding the question. She's either very good or very bad." Piper cocked her head. "And, you don't look like you've just experienced 'very bad.'"
Phoebe was just about to answer that outrageous statement when both witches heard something break in another room. They sprinted into the entry hall. A tall, blue-skinned demon tossed a lightening bolt their way. Phoebe dropped to the ground while Piper waved her hands at the deadly energy. In stunned horror, the younger Halliwell saw the lightening bolt continue its journey, striking her sister in the shoulder. Screaming, Piper fell against the wall and then slid down to the floor, unconscious.
"Leo!" Phoebe yelled. "Leo!"
The Whitelighter materialized next to her. "Phoebe, what…" He broke off when he saw his wife crumpled to the floor.
The demon decided to finish the Charmed Ones off. Grinning, he paced towards them, energy swirling around his body. Raising his hands, he let the power gather there. Leo rushed the demon but was flung aside. Knowing she had to do something. Phoebe left Piper's side and took a defensive stance.
"Hey, no fair starting without me," a rough voice called from the foot of the stairs. Witch and demon stared at Faith. The young woman stood casually, a piece of wood in one hand. "Man, look at the big Smurf. Did they feed you too many vitamins as a kid or what?" She moved in front of Phoebe.
The demon snarled and raised his hands again. "See, I think your boss forgot to warn you the sisters got a new bodyguard. The name's Faith. I'm the Slayer." The brunette hurled the wood at the demon, sinking it deep into its heart. Seconds later, the body erupted into flames and disappeared. "That's new. Nice, though. No body to hide or nothing."