"Hey, Kid, you take the high road, I'll stay on the DL, alright." Faith slapped Connor on the back as they left the hotel. With a friendly smirk, Connor scaled the nearest building. Winter in Los Angeles had been eventful. Despite vampires, demons and a lack of forces, Angel's team had fared pretty well.

High heels clattered on the wooden planks of an old garage's upstairs apartment. A punk

rocker vamp scaled the four by four post to reach the roof. Connor and Faith had been following him since he'd picked out the dancer for his dinner. Connor came down from the A-frame roof behind the vamp while Faith lept the stairs three at a time. The punk went into game face as he sized up the slim, bottle blonde. In her fish nets and red halter top, the dancer was an easy mark.

"I'm hungry, aren't you?" Faith asked as she seized the vampire by the back of the neck. After screaming, the dancer fainted at the sight of the mohawked vamp. Connor dropped noiselessly onto the loft's stoop.

"Starved." Connor thrust his wooden stake into the punk's chest, his yellow eyes wide in horror.

"Chinese or pizza?" Faith asked, taking the blonde's keys and unlocking her door. Connor picked the dancer up beneath her arms while Faith got her feet. The pair easily carried her inside and onto a cheap, worn, leather couch and left her there. Faith dropped her keys on the coffee table and locked the door before she and Connor left.

"Definitely pizza." Connor grinned, a strand of his long, light brown hair obscuring his eyes.

"Always pizza, you're going to turn into a pepperoni." Faith playfully tapped him on the arm. Angel's son grinned slowly and looked away bashfully.

"Why do you do that?" He asked, his voice low as they walked down the street. A light breeze blew a Wal-Mart bag down the cement sidewalk ahead of them.

"Do what?" Faith's brows knitted together, her hands jammed deep in her denim jacket pockets.

"Punch me on the shoulder like that." Cars and lights surrounded them, making the rough neighborhood riddled with shadows.

"Don't know, never thought about it, guess its me just being friendly." The Slayer shrugged as she walked down the trash littered sidewalk. Connor hesitated before speaking.

"Your heart speeds up every time you touch me." He heard her heart beat hard against her ribs as she studied the distant horizon.

"Listen, Kid, you aren't going all mushy on me are you? Trying to figure out which side of the coin you'll land on." Faith shook her head.

"No, I just wanted to know if you'd mind this." Connor pushed her up against the brick building beside them and pressed a passionate, soft kiss against her full lips. His hand cradled her face as he deepened the kiss. Shocked, Faith took a second before she kissed him back. Superhuman senses picked up the smell of Faith's pheromones, the smell of her shampoo, the feel of her cheek in his hand, and every other overwhelming sensation of kissing a girl.

"WOW!" Faith breathed as Connor pulled away. A million things ran through her mind. "Angel's going to be pissed" and "The Kid's a better kisser than his old man, if that's possible." were the top two. Connor studied her reaction. It wasn't what he'd hoped for. Faith smiled, then looked away before glancing at him again.

"Did I do it wrong?" The look on Connor's face made Faith cringe inside.

"No, no, that was one hell of a kiss, don't get me wrong, I just, it surprised me is all." The Slayer liked it better when her back wasn't against a wall, literally and figuratively.

"Then what's wrong?" Connor persisted. His light eyes betrayed his confusion.

"Listen, Kid, me and you, totally a bad idea. I break every relationship I touch." The Slayer put her hands on her hips as she tried to reason with him.

"I know how that works." Connor backed away. He toyed with his stake as Cordelia's smiling face crossed his mind. Their relationship had been a lie, but still, it felt real at the time.

"Give me time, Connor. My life's been screwey up until Angel gave me another chance." A car cruised by, thumping bass to announce its arrival.

"I can do that." Connor agreed, a pouty expression on his face.

"Come on, let's get Chinese." Faith began to walk.

"Pizza, we agreed on pizza." Connor grumbled. They fussed and quarreled like little kids all the way to Pizza Hut.

Scene Break

Rebecca looked at the eight inches of chestnut hair laying around the kitchen chair in Duncan's bathroom. She wanted to cry. Soft curls lay at her feet as Amanda stood behind her with the scissors. The older Immortal smiled brightly, trying to make the drastic change less uncomfortable.

"How goes it in there?" Wes asked from outside the door.

"It's going great." Amanda answered as Rebecca sniffed, trying to hide her disappointment. Wes stood outside the door and listened, wishing he could make it easier for Rebecca.

"Alright, Sweetie, it's time for hair color." Fashionista Amanda held up a box of auburn hair dye. A tear finally broke through and fell from Rebecca's green eyes.

"It will wash out in six weeks, Rebecca." Amanda knelt down and took the young woman's hands in her's.

"I'm sorry, I'm just being silly. I've just never been in this big of a mess before. I've felt invisible all my life, but now I really have to become invisible." More tears fell as Rebecca took a shuddering breath.

"I know, Sweetie, but you've got a hunk of a Brit right out there just waiting to help you, and Duncan and I are only a phone call away." Amanda took a deep breath so that she wouldn't cry too.

"Wesley has been great, like a rock. I care for him, but its like he's holding something back." the former heiress grabbed a length of toilet paper off the roll and blew her nose quietly.

"Have you asked him about it, about what's so personal?" Amanda grabbed a length of Charmin too and wiped her nose.

"No, I haven't, I don't want to pry, but I see the pain in his eyes sometimes and wonder about who put it there and how I can make it easier to bear." Wesley felt the words like a blow. Even with Fred's words still in his ears, his heart felt torn.

"A burden shared is a burden halved. A wise man once told me that when I was in India. Ask Wesley about it so that he can share the burden." Amanda patted Rebecca on the hand before standing up.

"Thank you, Amanda." The young Immortal smiled back at her in the mirror.

"No problem, Sweetie, now, let's get this done so that the boys can have the bathroom back." With a devilish gleam in her eye, Amanda snapped the latex gloves against the heel of her hand.

Scene Break

Faith sat on the side of the bed, her sock clad feet kicking idly. The hotel was was quiet for the time being. Knock knock

"Come in." The Slayer called out.

" 'ello, Gwen says the food is ready." Spike leaned into the doorway.

"Spike, have you ever been in love?" The question took him off guard. Spike gave her a Seriously? look before answering.

"A time or two, yea." Curious, the vampire stepped inside the small room.

"What's with the question, Girley?" he asked.

"Ah, no reason." Faith shrugged it off and slipped on her house shoes.

" 'as the love bug bit ya?"

"No, more like opened a can of worms is all." The Slayer followed Spike out of the hotel room toward the kitchen in the basement.

"Which one of ya made the first move?" The platinum vamp asked, stopping to gauge her reaction.

"What move?" It was a bad stalling tactic, but Faith didn't want to discuss it.

"Did the wee snapper get frisky, or did you make with the Casanova?" Spike clarified in his 1969, Carnaby Street way.

"It was Connor." She groaned inwardly as her face crumpled in defeat.

"And you're put off of the tyke because 'es Angel's brat, am I right?" Spike nailed it on the head just a little too well. All Faith had to do was nod. The incredulous expression Spike's face made her want to pound his face.

"Does Angel know?"

"Don't think so." Faith shrugged.

"Gonna tell 'im?" Spike persisted.

"Gonna have to eventually." She sighed as she leaned against the wall.

"Sooner is better, Love." Spike clapped her on the shoulder, until Faith pursed her lips and narrowed her eyes.

Scene Break

Connor stood by the window looking out at the alley running between the Hyperion and a dry cleaners next door. Angel's office was small, with afternoon sunlight illuminating the dark corners. With one deep inhale Connor could smell his father's essence in the room.

"Hey, Son, what's on your mind?" Angel leaned against the door jamb of the office, a mug of blood in his hand. The dark champion watched his only son turned from the window. Sometimes the way Connor moved reminded him of Darla.

"A girl." Connor let a half smile pull at his full, lower lip.

"Faith?" Angel spoke. From the way Connor hung his head before looking up, Angel knew it was true.

"Guilty as charged." the boy let the black-out curtain fall back over the window, allowing Angel to move deeper into the office.

"Do you like Faith?" Angle asked, sitting his six foot plus frame in a leather, swivel chair.

"Yea, I do like her." Connor perched on the corner of the desk. Nervous, he played with a letter opener with a harp at the head.

"Does she know?" Angel felt a knot forming in the pit of his stomach. He tried to be patient and listen, something he'd wished his own father had done. He took a long sip of his afternoon pigs blood.

"I kissed her last night while we were out on patrol, so I guess she knows." Connor hid a smirk as Angel choked on his blood.

"You kissed her!" Angel managed after a moment of coughing and sputtering. Did she, um, did Faith kiss back?" The champion vamp squirmed in his chair.

"Well, it was kind of hard to tell, but I believe she did." Connor shrugged as he played with the letter opener. Angel wondered what to say next.

"Faith asked me to give her time, how do I know she's not giving me a nice brush off?" Girls were not a topic of conversation the vampire was comfortable talking about, especially with Connor.

"Well, Faith has had a rough past, she just wants to do things right this time." Angel barely had it out before Connor cut in.

"She's afraid you won't approve." He laid the letter opener down and looked his father in the eye. The young man's intense, crystalline eyes were a mix of sad truth and questions.

"Why wouldn't I approve of Faith?" Angel asked, a little bewildered.

"Come on, Angel, you get pretty weird when it comes to me, pretty weird and pretty aggressive." Connor scoffed. The two hundred year old vampire hung his head before speaking.

"Yeah, I do, its" he paused, looking at his shoes, "I care." Angel spoke low, looking into his son's eyes when he looked up.

"Will you tell Faith you approve?" Angel nodded. He didn't intend to stand in the way. It would drive another wedge between them if he tried.

"Alright, well, I'll see you later." Connor hopped off the desk and headed for the door.

Scene Break