The room was dark, save for the light of the moon shining through the half-drawn curtains. Its pale light revealed a small spartan motel room. A bed and a table were the only furniture. The walls were whitewashed and there was no decoration of any kind. There wasn't even a washbasin, a dresser or a chair.

Two female figures were sleeping on each side of a rather large bed, which was occupying most of the entire room. One of them was curled up on the edge, almost ready to fall. The other was lying on her back with her right arm hanging down along the mattress, her hand nearly touching the floor.

Both girls appeared to sleep peacefully.

An alarm clock rang suddenly and Faith jerked awake. She eagerly hit her mobile phone - responsible for the alarm - and silence came back to the room. Beside her, Tara mumbled something and turned to her.

"What's up Faith?" the blonde asked in a sleepy voice. "What time is it?"

Faith sat completely up and rubbed her eyes before answering.

"Go back to sleep Blondie" she said. "It's five in the morning. Time for me to go to work"

She pushed herself off the bed and stretched. Then, she rummaged in her bag lying at her feet.

"Remember that little job I got?" She asked. "It's time."

Tara turned frankly to her as Faith was putting some clothes on.

"We-we came back from p-patrol only a few h-hours ago. You've g-got to be t-tired," the witch said.

Faith couldn't help but grinning.

"Well…" she began as she laced her boots. "First, Slayer here."

Her voice sounded more serious when she added:

"Second, we do need that money."

She looked up at Tara.

"Remember: you told me yesterday that I need regular meals. And we don't have much money left for that."

"Food won't come out of thin air," she explained as Tara went on looking at her without any change in her expression. "Nor free"

She stood as she was done with her boots and took a stake and a knife from the table and put them into her jacket.

"And third," she said finally in a lighter tone, checking around to see if she hadn't forgotten something. "I'll get a nap this afternoon"

She went to the door and added as she put her hand on the doorknob:

"I'll be back around noon Blondie. You, go back to sleep"

Then, she exited the room without giving Tara time to reply. The blonde watched her disappearing, and then listened carefully to her footsteps fading in the corridor.

When she wasn't able to hear the Slayer at all anymore, she lay back in the center of the bed and closed her eyes to finish sleeping.


Faith pushed open the door of the motel room at twelve on the dot. The air outside was chilly despite a beautiful blue sky and the Slayer appreciated the warmth inside.

The brunette closed the door behind her and glanced around the room. The curtains were wide-open and the bed was made. Rays of sunshine nicely bathed the room. Tara was up, showered and clothed. The witch turned to her when she came in and gave her a hint of a half-smile to acknowledge her presence.

She was standing near the little table and was obviously taking care of lunch. Faith slipped her jacket off and threw it casually on the bed. Then she came to the table and took a look at what Tara was doing.

"What's this?" the Slayer asked.

"L-lunch" Tara replied without looking up.

"I can see that," Faith answered with a hint of annoyance in her voice. "What did you do?"

"Well, I went across the street to get a few treats at the deli"

"I thought we talked about this" Faith said. "I don't think we can afford that kind of meal."

"We can," Tara shot back. "You really need to eat better than you usually do. And you're working for the whole week."

"You know, lifting some boxes won't exactly make me a millionaire" Faith replied.

She rummaged through her jeans' pockets and she pulled out some notes she threw onto the table. She sighed with a defeated expression and let herself fall on the mattress.

"I asked to be paid daily," she explained. "It's not that much"

Tara glanced quickly at the money, then at Faith with something on her face that Faith supposed was an unsuccessful try at a smile.

"It's just for today," the blonde stated. "We'll go back to cheaper stuff tomorrow"

"Yeah, right" Faith said.

She pushed herself to the head of the bed and leaned against the wall.

"Y-you tired?" Tara asked a little later, coming to her with a Tupperware and a plastic fork.

"A little" Faith replied quickly, grabbing what Tara was handing to her. "I'll have a nap after lunch"

Then, Tara sat at the foot of the bed with her own Tupperware. This one was far less filled than Faith's and the Slayer had already gulped down half of her plate while Tara had just had a few mouthfuls.

"You don't sleep much lately" Tara commented. "May-maybe you sh-should sleep more"

"I'll sleep this afternoon," Faith repeated. "Stop that Blondie"

Tara looked down at her plate and slowly swallowed a new mouthful.

"I-I'm trying to h-help" the witch whispered.

"Yeah, I know" Faith said simply.

They both went back to their lunch and silence fell over the room. Only chewing sounds were audible for a few minutes. After some internal debate, Faith eventually looked up from her meal and tentatively asked:

"So, Blondie," she began and she appeared to search for her words. "You look to be doing better"

Tara looked up with surprise and frowned.

"Yeah, yeah," she answered hesitantly. "I guess…"

"So, what?" Faith pressed.

"So, what what?"

"What are you gonna do?" the Slayer asked.

Tara's face crumpled at the question and she looked hurt for a moment. Faith noticed and she tried to backpedal.

"It's not that I want to get rid of you or something." The brunette explained. "Just wondering you know. If you had an idea…"

Tara nodded then shrugged. Faith glanced at her from the corner of her eye before adding carefully:

"You can stick with me as long as you need to. It's just... I was wondering about Willow and stuff…"

Tara's eyes narrowed and she let go of her fork.

"W-what a-about W-Wi-Willow?" she stuttered.

"Well, you two… I sort of figured…"

Faith fell silent for a moment, looking like she was searching how to put in words what she had in mind.

"I kind of understood that Willow was concerned by your return. I thought you two would reunite at some point." Faith explained. "But… Maybe it's still too soon."

Tara looked at the Slayer in silence for a moment, with a rather puzzled expression and trying to sort out what she had just said.

"She doesn't w-want to s-see m-me." she said after a long time.

"Well… it was some time ago. Maybe she changed her mind" replied Faith.

Tara shrugged and looked down again, a look of utter sadness and confusion on her face.

"She made a new life," she whispered. "I'm not sure I would fit"

"I'm not even sure she still loves me," she added in a lower voice after a pause.

"She still loves you. Buffy told you that. She needs some time."

"Time? How would Buffy know about this? She was so sure that having me back was what Willow wanted. But it wasn't. And I'm still here.

"And I'm nothing again. Goddess…" she added after another pause. "On the road with a former psycho Slayer who doesn't know anything else than slaying."

"You had a choice" Faith replied, ignoring Tara's comment about her. "Buffy wanted you to go to Rome with her and Dawn. They love you like a sister. They told you this. They wanted you to come and live with them."

"For what?" Tara shot back. "Seeing the guilt in their eyes every day of my life? Being a burden for them?"

"Being a burden for ME doesn't bother you.

Once more, Tara looked hurt but she didn't reply. Faith felt inexplicably bad and sighed with annoyance at the look of pain painted on Tara's face.

"Well…" she said in a soother tone. "It's getting better Blondie. I'm sure I might eventually start to like you at some point."

Only silence answered.

"And you should think about it another way. Just like you told me: it could be a lot worse. You've been given a second chance. It doesn't happen very often from what I know

"Yeah, right," Tara said in a dark, totally unconvinced tone.

"And…" Faith added in a cheerful voice. "You've got somewhere to sleep, something to eat and a hottie to take care of you. Told you it could be worse"

Tara looked up at Faith with a hint of a grimace she had probably intended to be a smile.

"Thanks." she whispered.

Faith shrugged casually at this and swallowed the last mouthful in her plate before saying:

"I'm trying"

"I'm fine." Tara replied and tried again – still unsuccessfully- to smile. "I'm fine," she repeated.

Faith nodded and started to clean the bottom of her Tupperware.

"All right then."

When she had nothing more to eat, she got up from the bed and went to the table where she left her plate and fork. She went to the window and looked outside for a few seconds before turning to Tara who was still sitting on the bed.

"Well, I saw a sign saying there's a fair in town" she said, leaning against the window frame. "We could check it out, what d'ya think?"

Tara shrugged, obviously indifferent to the news.

"We can use some distraction," Faith went on. "That'll be a different sort of evening out"

She paused and looked like she was giving some thought to the matter.

"Well, even if I'm pretty sure it will be a nest of vampires." She paused again. "Which won't be so much of a change. But that's my job, right?"


The lights and noises of the fair were not far as Faith and Tara walked along the deserted streets. Night had fallen an hour ago and stars shone in the clear sky. Strands of lights hung festively above the streets as a reminder of Christmas to come. Children's shouts and laughter could be heard in the distance among the background noise of the fair. The air was chilly and a slight wind was sweeping the sidewalks.

As usual, Faith was walking in the lead, attentive to her surroundings, ready to face any threat. Tara was on her heels, with her arms tightly wrapped around her chest, deeply lost in thought. The blonde wasn't very enthusiastic about going to the fair but Faith had so strenuously insisted that she had finally given up.

For the hundredth time that evening, Tara shivered with cold and she opened her mouth for the first time since they had left:

"Why on earth did you want me to come along?" she asked. "It's freezing."

Faith stopped and turned to her.

"Please Blondie, it's a beautiful night. You never see anything else other than motels rooms and cemeteries. It'll be a change."

"You'll kill vampires at the fair instead of killing vampires in a cemetery. That's a change?" Tara replied in a mocking tone as she stopped beside Faith.

"And do I have to remind you that last time you took me out, we got lost in the mountains for a night."

"Girl's got a point," Faith grinned. "But hey, good news here: no mountain around. And I'm pretty sure we can't get lost in here. Well, there's just…"

Faith turned left then right before looking at Tara again.

"Something like twenty streets here. We should be able to handle that"

Tara rolled her eyes and resumed walking.

"Well, I guess." she said simply.

Faith caught up to her with just two steps.

"Don't go too far from me," she said, suddenly serious again. "Avoid dark corners and don't talk to people sporting fangs."

She paused and considered the pouting blonde for a second.

"Well, you never talk to anyone. Should be a plus to keep you alive."

"Faith, we're going to a fair, not to a massacre."

"Right." Faith answered, still looking straight in front of her where the fair was. "I feel my Slayer sense tingle. There's something unnatural around here. Maybe vamps, maybe something else. Keep your eyes open."

Tara nodded and both girls resumed walking toward the fair.

"Well, try to have some fun anyway Blondie. I'll take care of the supernatural stuff. Just be careful and listen to me."

Tara didn't answer and the girls finally reached the fair.

It was surprisingly big and crowded compared to the size of the town. Faith supposed that all the surrounding villages were gathering here tonight. Children were running around as families and couples were quietly strolling between the merry-go-rounds. A kid almost lost his cotton candy on Tara's jeans but Faith reacted quickly enough to avoid the disaster. The Slayer frowned at the boy, put the saved candy back into his hands and he disappeared with a quick "thanks" as fast as he had appeared.

The girls had to refuse many invitations to play some games from the carnies. Faith wouldn't have minded stopping at the shooting range to impress some guy with her Slayer ability but they desperately needed to save money. So she kept her wish in check and they just wandered through the fair among the crowd.

It was almost half an hour during which they hadn't exchanged a word when Tara finally asked:

"No vampires around?"

Faith almost jumped when she heard her voice. She turned to her surprised and shook her head.

"I don't think so," she replied. "But I still feel something weird around here."

Tara shivered and looked around as if to check if the brunette was right.

"What kind of thing?" she asked finally.

"Dunno," Faith answered, shrugging nonchalantly. "Something."

Tara rolled her eyes but kept quiet. They went on wandering through the fair, taking a look at each stall. Faith went from time to time behind one of them to check if vampires were not hidden in the shadows, waiting for a prey.

Saving the boss of a candy stall earned her a giant bag of sweets she was all too happy to receive.

"If you don't take something quickly Blondie," Faith said a while later with her mouth full as they reached the end of the fair, "There won't be nothing left"

"No thank you," the blonde replied. "I don't really like them."

"God Blondie, do you ever think of having fun?" Faith asked as she put some more candies into her mouth.

"Well…" Tara said. "No." She concluded after a pause.

"Right," Faith said between two sweets. "I noticed that"

Silence came back between them and slowly surrounded the girls as the noise of the fair was fading away. The last stalls were beginning to close or trying to catch the passers-bys' attention.

"Good evening girls."

Faith looked up from her sweets bag to see a man standing next to her, smiling. He was too old for her to guess his age. Two of his upper teeth were missing, he was half-bald and his remaining hair was gray, long and greasy. His skin was tanned and wrinkled and many deep furrows marked his features. He didn't look clean and Faith could smell the stench of alcohol around him. She felt Tara tense behind her.

"It's still early girls," the man resumed. "I'm sure you still have time for a last game"

"Don't waste your time," Faith said quickly. "We don't have money"

"You don't?" the man asked in a mocking tone. "That's a shame"

"Yeah, right" Faith answered in a bored tone.

She took a step to get away but the man stepped in front of her.

"You really should check my booth out," he added seriously. "It's worth the ride, I promise."

"We don't have any money," Faith repeated.

"Just take a look." He insisted.

He crossed his arms over his chest and looked at Faith with a smile. He suddenly appeared a lot more sober to the Slayer.

"Your friend and you look like you could use some fun. You won't regret it, I promise."

"We don't have any…" Faith began once more.

"I heard you," the man interrupted.

"It's free for you," he added a second later. "You REALLY looked like you can use some fun."

Faith frowned and looked suspiciously at him. She opened her mouth to say something but he was quicker and raised her hands in front of him as if to surrender.

"I had a great day. I don't need your money," he explained. "And you're two hotties. Just come and take a look."

Faith kept on staring at him but didn't make a move to agree and follow the man.

"Come on," the man insisted. "It's just there. It won't be long, you'll have fun!"

Faith looked where he was pointing and sighed, as he was about to speak again.

"For God's sake, stop talking," she said. "We're coming."

She turned to Tara and saw the blonde narrowing her eyes at her. There was a hint of an apologetic smile as Faith bent toward the blonde to whisper in her ear:

"Don't worry Blondie, we check this out and then we'll go home. It won't take long. And it's free. We can't say no to something free, right?"

Tara rolled her eyes and shrugged.

"Right," she replied in a defeated tone. "Let's go."

The man smiled broadly, showing them his missing teeth.

"Come with me," he said and turned round, gesturing for them to follow.

They did. A few feet away, on the other side of the street, he stopped in front of a door of a newly built structure. Just a wooden chair was there, under a painted sign on the white wall, saying "the paths of possibility".

"What's this?" Faith asked as the man went to the door and put his hand on the doorknob.

"It's a labyrinth," came the answer in a casual voice.

"A labyrinth?" Faith repeated.

"You know, a place made of a complicated series of paths, which it is difficult to find your way through"

"I know what a labyrinth is" Faith replied, annoyed.

"Well, you know what the goal is in there then," The man smirked.

Faith turned curiously toward him:

"So, that's it?" she asked. "We have to find our way through the labyrinth?"

"That's it." The man nodded with a glimmer of amusement in his eyes. "Do you think you can?"

"Of course we can," Faith snorted. "I guess we have to do it as quickly as possible?"

"That's the plan," the stallholder replied. "You can try."

"Well, get ready to see the quickest crossing of your labyrinth you'll ever get to see."

"Ready Blondie?" she asked, turning to Tara.

Tara nodded indifferently and followed the Slayer closely as she crossed the door the man had just opened for them.

"Have fun." The witch heard as the door closed behind them.