Chapter Three

February 3rd

Things had been quiet for a few weeks. They'd been traveling through the southern states, avoiding the cold up north and hoping to find something, anything down there they could deal with. But there was nothing, nothing out of the ordinary. There hadn't even been a phone call from John Winchester since the night they left that small hick town in Texas.

"What the hell?" Dean asked as he came to a stop, pulling the Impala to the side of the road. "Thought I told you I didn't want to come to California. Every inch of this state is off limits unless there's a job here."

"Don't look at me! I'm not the one driving," Faith spat at him and she pulled the map out of the glove department. "Look, maybe you made a wrong turn somewhere? Where was the last place we were in?"

"Kingman, Arizona."

Looking over the map, Faith chuckled dryly. "You were supposed to get on the 93, but you kept driving."

"You're the one with the map!"

"Ugh, you're impossible, aren't you, Dean? Can't even admit you made a little mistake, can you?" Faith rolled her eyes and climbed out of the car. She reached for her smaller bag she kept in the backseat and pulled her pack of cigarettes out. "Jesus."

Shaking her head, she walked down the road a little, standing at the side of the bridge they'd just driven over. She didn't want to be in California anymore than Dean did. They could easily just turn around, go back the way they came, but something was nagging at her that kept telling her they needed to keep going whether they wanted to or not.

"Faith," Dean said as he got out of the car and walked towards her. "Come on, I'm sorry okay? I overreacted. It wasn't your fault I wasn't paying attention back there," he said as he pointed in the direction they had come.

"What's the big deal about California anyway?" Faith asked, staring at him as she took a long drag of her cigarette. "Is it because Sam is here?"

Dean leaned against the railing and stared out over the rolling hills around them. "Yeah."

"Look, Stanford isn't even near here. Let's just find a place to crash for tonight and we'll turn around, go someplace else if it wigs you that much."

"Maybe I should go see him," Dean said and Faith let out a heavy sigh as she leaned against the railing next to him. "Stop in, catch up, see how my little brother is holding up being a big man on campus, living it up and fancy free."

"Hey, that's my line," Faith chuckled. "Is that what you want?"

"Can't put it off forever, can I?"

"No, you can't."

"When he left to go to college, I was pissed," Dean said and Faith nodded, trying to hide her shock that Dean was actually talking about his brother for once. "Pissed because he was getting away from the life. I wanted him to get away from it too, he deserved better than what we grew up having, which was what? Each other and nothing else, no home, no solid set of friends, nothing. Just wanted what was best for him and when he left, I was so pissed that I haven't talked to him since."

"Wanting it for him and being pissed about him leaving and getting what you both wanted for him? Kind of a contradiction ain't it?"

"You're telling me."

"So, let's go then," Faith said as she nudged him in the shoulder. "Go talk to your brother, make sure he's doing all right, yeah? Why don't you call him first?"

"Not that simple," Dean replied, shaking his head. "Maybe this is just a bad idea all around and the whole turning back thing is a better plan."

"Don't be such a pussy, Dean."

"I think…" Dean faltered as he looked over at her. "I think I should do this alone, Faith."

"I'll wait in the car then."

"No, that's not what I meant."

"Oh. So, what then? You're just gonna leave me here to fend for myself, is that what you're saying? Finally found the perfect opportunity to ditch me, huh?" Faith asked him, furious. She shoved him away from her. "What the hell, man? I thought we were a team or something and now you just wanna go and ditch me like that? Fucking cold, dude."

Faith charged back over to the Impala and popped the trunk. She grabbed her bag out and slammed the trunk shut a little too hard. She grabbed her other bag and started walking down the edge of the highway. Faith couldn't believe what had just happened. First she got yelled at for Dean not making the right turn and they ended up in California and now she was getting ditched at the side of the road in the middle of nowhere because Dean wanted to go see his brother alone? It made no sense, mostly because she knew how well the two of them worked together, even if they did bicker like an old married couple sometimes.

A few cars rumbled past her and she continued walking down the road. She had some money, it wasn't much, but she'd made it by before on less. She kicked a few rocks down the road ahead of her and rolled her eyes when she heard the unmistakable rumble of the Impala's engine.

"Faith, come on," Dean called out as he drove the car slowly alongside her. "Get in the car."

"Go to hell."

"Faith," Dean yelled as she continued to walk, ignoring him. "Just get in the car, will ya? I'm not trying to ditch you. You didn't even give me a frigging minute to explain myself. Man, you chicks are something else sometimes."

"Excuse me?" Faith stopped walking and Dean stopped the car. "We're something else? What the hell does that even mean?"

"Will you just get in the car?"

"Fuck you, Dean."

Dean growled and climbed out the car and walked around to come face to face with her. "What is your problem, huh?"

"My problem?" Faith laughed as she stared up into his eyes. "I don't have a problem, you're the one with the problem, dude. You wanna ditch me? That's fine, great even! Knew it'd happen sooner or later. Now leave me the hell alone!"

"Can we talk about this?"

Faith started walking down the side of the road again, flipping him off over her shoulder. She knew how stubborn Dean could get sometimes and she knew he wasn't going to give up and let her walk away. It might have only been a few months they'd known each other for, but being together, day in and day out, it felt like they'd known each other longer, a lot longer than what it was in reality.

"Come on," Dean said as he jogged to catch up to her. "Just give me a minute to explain myself?"

Faith slowed down and stopped, turning quickly to face him. "One minute. Clock is ticking."

"I still want you around, you're pretty cool for a chick, you know that right?" Dean smiled at her and she rolled her eyes. "You're a damn good fighter and you saved my ass more times than I want to admit. Even these past few weeks without a single job, it's been fun."

"You just don't wanna lose your favorite drinking buddy, do you?"

"That too," Dean winked. "I want to see Sam alone, but that doesn't mean I'm gonna ditch you. Things are complicated enough between us and I want to have a chance to explain who you are to him first. You know, if he'll actually listen to a word I have to say to him."

"So, make him listen. He's your brother, you're family, he can't shut you out forever, can he?"

"Probably could if he wanted to."

"Your minute is up."

"So," Dean said, flashing one of his charming smiles at her. "You gonna get back in the car and come with me?"

"You gonna let me drive?"

Rolling his eyes, Dean held the keys out to her. Faith laughed and she swiped them from him and they made their way back to the Impala. The sky was getting dark and they still had a long way to go before they'd get to Stanford. And as far as Faith was concerned, with her behind the wheel, they were taking the scenic route up the coast whether Dean wanted to or not.

In just under a day they were in Stanford, Faith sitting alone in their hourly rate motel room waiting on Dean to come back. She flipped through the channels on the TV, not finding anything of interest on. Shrugging, she got up and opened the fridge door and pulled out a can of beer. She had no idea how long Dean was gonna take, but then again it was the middle of the night and she still didn't understand why he chose to go see his brother now instead of in the morning.

Faith played with her phone, getting more used to having it with every day that passed. She'd programmed Giles' number in it one night after she nearly lost the paper with his number on it and as she settled back down on the only bed in the room, she found her finger hovering over the call button, ready to call Giles.

Even though it was late in California, it wasn't too late in Cleveland. She knew Giles kept late hours and that probably hadn't changed since she last saw him. She wanted to find out what ended up with that young slayer from Texas, her curiosity of what they did for her making her hit the button. The line rang only three times before she heard the click that it'd been picked up.

"Hello?"

"Hey, Giles."

"Hello, Faith," he replied in what sounded like a pleasantly surprised voice. "I wasn't expecting a phone call from you any time soon."

"Yeah, well I was just sitting here all bored and thinking about that girl I helped out with back in Texas."

"Ah, Erica, yes," Giles cleared his throat. "She is well, if that is what you were wondering. We've placed her in a facility in England where she, along with others like herself, are rehabilitating wonderfully."

"This place run by those Council pricks?"

"The new Council, yes. I can assure you that their methods of rehabilitation are far more sensible and humane than the, ahem, old ways."

Faith sighed and she stared down at her unopened can of beer. She just called to find out about Erica, that was it, but she had this nagging feeling that she'd called for another reason as well. She just couldn't figure it what that other reason was.

"May I ask where you are now?" Giles' voice came through the line soft, a small hint that he was genuinely concerned about her.

"Stanford," Faith replied. "Long story. Dean, the guy I'm running with is here to see his brother. We're not sticking around for long."

"Ah. I see. Have you ever considered coming to Cleveland?"

"Why would I come to Cleveland? If I wanted to be there, I would've gone with you guys nine months ago."

There was silence on the other end of the line and Faith wondered if Giles had hung up on her or they'd been disconnected. She almost hung up, but stopped from hitting the button when she heard Giles breathing on the other end of the line.

"I was simply suggesting a brief visit," Giles said quietly. "It would be nice to see you again, Faith."

"Yeah, sure," Faith snorted, not believing Giles was being sincere about wanting to see her again. "Look, if I'm around that way, maybe I'll stop by, see what you guys have been up to. I'm not gonna promise anything."

"Of course. Faith? Take care."

"You too, Giles."

Faith ended the call first, a weird and yet familiar sinking feeling forming in the pit of her stomach. What Andrew had said to her a few weeks ago rang loud and clear in her head. Now that she'd heard Giles say it, maybe not the way that Andrew had, it made something inside her rise up to the surface. She was missed, and worried about and needed, even though Giles had said that other than he wanted her to come for a brief visit, she knew he probably wanted to say it.

The first thing she thought about was Buffy. Andrew hadn't mentioned her and neither had Giles. Did Buffy want her there? Did Buffy even care where she was, what she was doing? She doubted it, it wasn't as if they'd been good friends before she'd left them in the middle of the night. Yet, they had been working on talking to each other in the few days after Sunnydale that Faith had stayed with them. Now she couldn't help but wonder if things might've been different between them if she'd made the move to Cleveland instead of taking off to do her own thing.

If she decided to go to Cleveland, even just for a visit, would Dean come with her or would she have to go there alone? After spending the last couple of months with him, she wasn't really ready for him to be out of her life. She'd found a different kind of bond with him than she'd ever had with anyone before and sure, they'd slept together a few times and it didn't do it for either of them, but they were mature adults who hadn't let it get in the way of the job that had to be done, fighting the good fight and elimination just a little bit of evil along the way.

Sighing, Faith cracked open her beer and picked up the remote, flipping through the channels on the TV once again. She had a lot to think about and she wasn't going to make any solid decisions without talking to Dean about it first. Whether he came with her or decided to do his own thing, it didn't matter. She felt like she needed to see how he felt about it first. He was, after all, the only person that knew her better than anyone else and even then, he still didn't know everything about her.

Nobody probably ever would. She'd build the walls up around herself a long time ago and it would take one hell of a wrecking ball to make them crumble to the ground.

Dean didn't return for well over a day and all of Faith's phone calls had gone unanswered, her voicemails ignored, the texts she sent not returned and she figured he probably didn't know how to check them or reply anyway. Faith had been at the laundromat just down the street for a good part of the morning and when she got back to the motel, she spotted the Impala parked in the space in front of the room and she smiled. Yet, she was angry too and she had every right to be.

"You're an asshole, you know that, right?" Faith yelled out as she opened the door. Dean wasn't in the room, but another guy was. He was taller, skinnier, his hair a little shaggy. "You're Sam, aren't you?"

"And I'm gonna go out on a limb and say you're Faith," Sam chuckled as he stood up from the bed and held out a hand. "Dean went to check out. He kind of thought you left when all your stuff was gone."

"Laundry," Faith replied as she dropped her duffel bag to the floor. "And he obviously doesn't have any eyes."

"Come again?"

"I wouldn't leave the fridge stocked with beer, are you nuts?"

Sam laughed again. Faith joined him, finding him kind of cute in a peculiar sort of way. He was younger than her and totally not her type, but there was a different side to him that Dean didn't have, a softer side. The vibes she was getting from him were different, a good different.

"Sammy, come on, let's go!" Dean said as he opened the motel door and tapped on the frame. "Sam, come on, motor's running."

"Dean?" Sam said as he smirked at his older brother. "She didn't leave."

"You're an asshole," Faith said as she walked up to Dean and slugged him hard—not slayer hard—in the shoulder. "You could've picked up the phone at least once!"

"You miss me?"

"No, you ass, I was worried about you. Big diff."

"You totally missed me."

"I see why you like her," Sam chuckled.

"I don't like her!"

"I meant that as in like her as a friend," Sam replied, shaking his head. "I got to hand it to you, Faith. Takes a lot to put up with a guy like Dean."

"He's all right, most of the times, you know when he's not being an asshole," Faith smirked and she slugged Dean in the shoulder one last time, just because. "We're leaving?"

"I was," Dean replied, rubbing his shoulder. "Thought you left. Was gonna drop Sammy back at the dorms and hit the road."

"And you didn't think just for a second to call?"

Dean shrugged, but she could see the guilt in his eyes no matter how much he tried to hide it.

"Look, I don't have class for another hour," Sam interjected. "Why don't we go and get something to eat and you can tell me a little bit about yourself, Faith?"

"Sounds good."

Faith smiled and walked out of the room with Sam close behind her. She could hear Dean grumbling in the room before he stepped out and joined them. Forgotten was thoughts of Cleveland, at least for now. The three of them piled into the Impala and headed for a restaurant close to the university campus. It was a diner, surprise surprise, but the food was good and hot and it was busy, bustling with students from the university.

"Before we make this all about me," Faith said as Dean stuffed his face with his burger as soon as the waitress put it down in front of him. "Why don't you tell me why the hell you've been gone for a day, huh?"

"We talked things out," Sam replied for him and Dean nodded, taking another bite. "We caught up, talked about the uh, family business and you, what you do, who you are. Are you really a slayer?" Sam asked quietly. "I thought that slayer's were nothing more than a myth?"

"That's what I said when she told me," Dean said with his mouth full.

"Nice manners, dude," Faith chuckled and she turned to look at Sam who was sitting beside her. "Definitely not a myth. I'm sure Dean told you, but there's hundreds of us now, thousands possibly. I don't know. I'm not really in the know, if you know what I mean."

"Why's that?"

"Long story. One I really don't feel like talking about right now."

"Right."

"Why the hell couldn't you call me back?" Faith asked Dean, shooting him a glare that had him roughly trying to swallow his food.

"It was a day."

"So?"

"You knew I went to see Sam. I didn't tell you when I'd be back."

"So not the point, man."

"You totally missed me," Dean chuckled and Faith picked up one of her fries and flicked it at him. "Worried about me, sorry, forgot there was a big diff," he winked as he tried to imitate her voice. He ducked out of the way of a second french fry and smiled at her. "Lost track of time, honestly. I'll make it up to you."

"Oh yeah? How?"

"I'll think of something."

From the way Sam was watching them, Faith knew he was getting a kick out of their conversation. Luckily, Sam turned the conversation back to her, asking her all sorts of questions, but never anything too personal or things that she hadn't already shared with Dean before. Before she knew it, the hour had passed and Sam was rushing out to make it to his class on time, leaving her and Dean alone in the diner, Dean happily on his second plate of apple-caramel pie.

She started thinking about Cleveland again, unable to completely ignore the notion of actually wanting to go there, even just for a few days. A week, tops if Buffy didn't kick her ass the second she turned up on her doorstep. Sighing loudly, she looked over at Dean who was in heaven as he enjoyed his second serving of pie.

"I was thinking," Faith started and the seriousness in her voice made him drop his fork down on the plate and look at her. "Thinking about taking a little vacation."

"Where to?"

"Cleveland."

"A vacation on a Hellmouth?" Dean chuckled, making sure he kept his voice low. "Not really an ideal place to have a vacation."

"You know what I mean." Faith waited for him to respond, but instead he just continued eating the rest of his pie. "Dean?" Faith asked when he hadn't said anything. "Are you gonna come with me?"

"To Cleveland? In February?" Dean chuckled. "You know how cold it's gonna be there, right?"

"Point being?"

"It's going to be cold," he said, enunciating the last word. "Oh what the hell, it could be fun."

Faith smiled as she waved down the waitress to bring the check. At least she wouldn't be going to Cleveland alone. But still, it was a far drive from Stanford to Cleveland and there was no telling what kinds of problems they'd run into on the way.

March 8th

After a month on the road, they finally arrived in Cleveland. Just as she had thought, they managed to run into problems in every state they passed through, from shape-shifters, poltergeists, vampires and human's possessed by demon's. It'd been a long month and for a city that Faith had never been to, she'd never been happier to see the sign 'Welcome to Cleveland' as the Impala roared down the busy highway.

Faith laughed as Dean sang along to Black Sabbath's Iron Man, belting out the words like a pro. She turned to look out the window, watching as the sky grew darker as dusk approached quickly. When Dean pulled off the next exit and pulled into the nearest gas station to top up the tank, she used the pit stop as an opportunity to get a few packs of smokes and some snacks.

"So, where to now?" Dean asked when she'd gotten back into the car.

"Uh, I have no idea."

"You're joking right? We came all this way and you have no idea where we're going?"

"Dude, chill," Faith sighed and she spotted a pay phone on the side wall of the building. "Look, one of them has gotta be listed, right?"

"Why don't you just call that Watcher guy?"

"I kind of like the whole element of surprise thing," Faith replied as she got back out of the car and jogged over to the pay phone. Opening up the phone book that was attached, she flipped through it quickly looking for Giles' name. She didn't find any Giles listed in the book and she groaned as she found the S section. The only listing for Summers was a 'Summers, D'. Ripping out the page, she headed back to the car.

"Got something?"

"Hopefully," Faith replied and she grabbed the map for the state of Ohio from the stack in the glove department. "It ain't too far from here."

"Right, let's get a move on then."

Faith grabbed the bag of Doritos she'd bough and opened them, ignoring the look of disgust on Dean's face. He really hated Doritos although she had no idea why. Once she'd found out that little fact, she made a point in buying them whenever she could, just to piss him off.

It didn't take them too long to find the address that was under the Summers, D listing. They parked across the street from the small apartment building in a quiet part of the city, not quite in the city, but not quite the suburbs either. Dean drummed his fingers on the steering wheel as he stared at Faith.

"What?"

"You just gonna sit there all night?" Dean asked her. "Or are you gonna go in and make with the big surprise?"

"Maybe this wasn't such a good idea," Faith muttered under her breath.

"Now you tell me," Dean grunted and he turned off the engine. He grabbed the page from the phone book from her hand and scanned over it quickly. "Who is Summers, D?"

"Buffy's little sister, at least I'm hoping it is. Only Summers listed in the book. Couldn't find Giles, which makes sense since he would be smart enough not to be listed."

"And I'm gonna take it the little sister ain't too fond of you?"

"Not so much, no."

Dean got out of the car and walked around to the passenger side and yanked open the door. "Come on," he said as he motioned for Faith to get out. "We came all this way, faced a lot of nasty things along the way. I ain't about to let you pussy out of this."

"Hey, who you calling a pussy?"

"What, no 'takes one to know one' comeback, Faith? You growing all soft on me, sweetheart?"

Faith growled as she got out of the car and slammed the door shut, making Dean wince. "Don't you ever call me a pussy, jerk."

With a wink, Dean lead the way across the street to the apartment building and they walked inside. Faith scanned the list of names beside the call box and spotted it, clear as day. Summers, Dawn, apartment 407. Before she could try to get out of it, Dean was already punching in the number and the ringing could be heard loud and clear, echoing off the small walls around them.

"Hello?" Dawn's voice echoed out of the call box. "Hello?" She said again, sounding irritated. "Look, if this is someone playing yet another prank, you can go to hell. Stop bothering me!"

"Hey," Dean said as he stepped towards the speaker. "Dawn?"

"Who is this?"

"Friend of a uh, sort of friend of your sister," he said as he glanced back at Faith. "Go on," he whispered. "Say something before she calls the cops on us or something."

"Hey, Dawn," Faith spoke up and there was nothing but silence.

"Faith?"

"The one and only."

Dawn didn't respond, but the buzz clicked as she unlocked the door for them. Dean smiled as he pulled the door open and waited for her to walk through.

"Come on, don't tell me you're scared of this chick," Dean chuckled as they headed for the stairwell as there was no elevators for the small building. "Fourth floor, right?"

"What it said on the list," Faith replied as she started to climb the stairs slowly, Dean close behind her. "And I'm not scared of her, Dean."

"The way you're acting tells me otherwise, sweetheart."

"Stop calling me that!"

"Never bothered you before."

"It bothers me now."

They didn't speak the rest of the way up the four flights of stairs. Faith didn't know why she was feeling so strung out and nervous. It wasn't like she was showing up on Buffy's doorstep, right? It was just Dawn and even though Dawn could be scary, she didn't pack a punch the way Buffy did.

Faith easily found the right apartment, right down at the end of the hall and before she could knock, the door flung open and she stood face to face with a very angry and pissed off looking Buffy.

Crap, Faith thought as she backed up as Buffy stepped out into the hallway. She didn't expect to find Buffy there. Yet, before Buffy could say anything, Dean stepped in between them and held out his hand, smiling that charming smile of his that completely threw Buffy off.

"I'm Dean," he said as she reluctantly took his hand. "Friend of Faith's."

Buffy didn't say anything as she let go of his hand and stepped around him, standing face to face with Faith. "What are you doing here?"

"What, I can't stop by for a little surprise visit, B?" Faith asked, her laughter forced and making her sound more nervous than she thought she oughta be feeling at the moment.

"Surprise is not the word I'd be using," Buffy said coldly. "Unwanted is more like it. What are you doing here, Faith?"

"Whoa, who is the hunk?" Dawn asked as she came out to join them in the hallway. "I'm Dawn. Ignore my sister, she has really bad manners sometimes."

"Dawn, go back inside."

"Are you freaking kidding me, Buffy? Faith just showed up with this gorgeous guy, who hello, is standing right there and you've barely even noticed him! Why don't you guys come inside?" Dawn said sweetly and she pushed Buffy out of the way as she grabbed on to Dean's arm.

Chuckling, Faith walked past Buffy, following Dawn and Dean into the apartment. She barely made it two steps inside before she was being dragged back out into the hallway by Buffy.

"What gives, B?"

"You have no right showing up like this."

"Thought that was the whole thing about surprise visits, showing up unannounced and all."

"Nobody has heard from you for ten months, Faith, ten months and then you just show up here randomly and you expect what?"

"Nothing. And that's not true. Called Giles a few times, helped your boy Andrew with a slayer down in Texas few months back and—"

"Are you kidding me right now? Why didn't anyone tell me?"

Faith shrugged. "Don't know, that's their deal not mine. So, we gonna do this, B? You gonna deliver one of your sweet right hooks to my face, do it proper? Just like old times?"

"Buffy!" Dawn yelled from inside the apartment. "No fighting in the hallway! I so do not need to be evicted because you can't control yourself."

"You," Buffy said lowly as she backed up into the apartment, her eyes never leaving Faith's. "You are going to explain what you're doing here and why the hell you think you have any right just showing up like this. And then you're going to explain what you're doing with that—that guy!"

"Dean," came the reply from further inside the apartment.

Chuckling, Faith followed her inside the apartment and cautiously shut the door behind her. This was going to be one helluva interesting conversation, one Faith wasn't looking forward to at all.