Chapter Nine
Poking his head out of the back door Xander found Spike standing on the porch leaning against one of the posts.
''We're all getting patched up if you need...'' Xander began.
''Already healed up... mostly.'' Spike said, dropping the remainder of his cigarette onto the floor before crushing it underneath his boot.
''Right... vampire.'' Xander said crossing his arms.
''I'm more than that... I will be.'' Spike said anger clear in his voice, as he stepped forward.
''But you'll never be human.'' Xander mentioned.
''That's you problem, you still don't think I'm good enough for her...'' Spike began.
''I think that it use to be... but now, not so much.'' Xander said with a sheepish smile.
''Seeing what happened with Angel… Parker and then Riley... it just doesn't matter anymore. I saw her at the bronze a few weeks ago, I watched her... you were both dancing, and she was smiling.'' Xander paused.
''I haven't seen her smile like that since...'' He pauses.
''She was happy, and that's what she deserves, to be happy. You make her happy Spike.'' Xander said.
''Okay exactly how hard did you hit your head 'cause I'm starting to think that you might need medical attention.'' Spike said, not believing his ears.
Xander chuckled at this before speaking again.
''I'm never gonna be your biggest fan Spike, but you went out there and fought for your soul... for her. You were willing to give up your life for her down in the Hellmouth... and that's more then Dead Boy ever did. So I'm thinking the whole vampire thing doesn't matter in the end.'' Xander told him.
''Hey, thanks for what you did back at the factory.'' Xander said waving his hand to the left side of his head.
''No problem.'' Spike replied.
'' Well I'm going inside, before we start to sound like we're friends.'' Xander joked. '' Which we're not.'' he added.
''Absolutely'' the vampire snorted in discus.
''Jerk...'' Xander muttered as they walked through the door.
''Poofter...'' Spike replied as he followed him inside.
Entering the kitchen they found Buffy and Willow sitting at the counter, while Dawn was packing away the first aid kit. Buffy winced as she took a sip of water from the glass in her hand.
''Okay I'll say it once more in case you didn't hear me the first fifty times, small sips.'' Dawn said.
''Check out Dr Dawn.'' Xander said from the doorway, before heading towards the living room.
''Well watcher Dawn is more accurate according to Hope.'' Buffy said her voice raspy and barley audible.
''Watcher?'' Dawn said thinking for a moment. ''I can live with that.'' she added.
''How are you feeling?'' Spike asked concerned at the amount of bruising around her neck.
''I told you I'm fine...'' Buffy told him with a small smile.
Entering the living room Xander paused in the door way, his attention drawn to the future slayer who lay unconscious on the couch in front of him. Her cloths were a bloody mess, the multiple wounds that covered her face and arms had been cleaned and were healing, but not as fast as he would have liked.
''You washed it off.'' He said noticing that the blood that had covered the future slayers hands and face was gone.
''Someone had to...'' Faith replied as she continued to pace back and forth.
''Any change?'' He asked turning to face her.
''No...'' Faith paused.
''She should have woken up by now...'' he said.
There was a short silence before Xander spoke again.
''She locked herself in there with them... we could've helped her...'' Xander said still trying to process the nights events.
''She locked them in there with her... so they couldn't get to us.'' Faith told him.
''So what do we do now?'' he asked her.
''We help her.'' Faith said turning her attention towards the future slayer.
''Your serious, that's your answer...'' Kennedy said from where she sat behind them at the small table.
''She didn't want our help when she stormed outta here this afternoon...'' Kennedy began as she walked towards them.
''...and she sure as hell didn't want it when she decided it was open season on all slayers.'' Kennedy said anger clear in her voice.
''Or is everyone forgetting that?'' she asked.
''No ones forgetting anything...but the circumstances weren't exactly in her favour...'' Giles added from where he now stood in the door way.
''And the guy in the ally what was he just another circumstance?'' Kennedy asked.
''Now Kennedy that's not fair, we don't know for sure that she had any part in that.'' Giles said raising his voice.
''That's right we don't know!!!'' Kennedy shouted.
''I know.'' Faith said not even turning to face the others.
''Back at the warehouse... she told me. She was too late, he was already dead.'' Faith said.
''And you believe that?'' Kennedy asked.
''I do.'' Faith said.
''Well I should've guessed you'd take her side... the murderers gotta stick together right?'' Kennedy asked.
''You did not just say that..'' Faith said moving forward so fast she was almost a blur.
''Yeah I think I did...'' Kennedy said refusing to back down.
''I might be a murderer, but another thing you should know about me...'' Faith said heading towards her.
''I'm not so big on the whole trusting other people thing... but if it came down to it, you or her.'' Faith paused getting in the younger slayers face.
''You haven't shown me a thing to make me wanna to take your side.'' Before Faith could say anymore she was cut off by Giles
''That's enough!!!'' Giles shouted, they had enough problems without fighting amongst themselves.
''How do you know she's any different then them?'' Kennedy called out as Faith walked away.
Before Faith could reply the sound of a small groan came from the couch as Hope began to stir.
''I am different...'' she muttered as she began to open her eyes.
The first thing she noticed was that she was on the couch in Buffy's living room, squinting her eyes against the light she could roughly make out the forms of Faith and Xander hovering above her.
''Hope, can you hear me?'' Xander asked.
''Load and clear.'' she said raising her hand to the side of her head.
''Do you guy's have to shout so load.. or so much? she asked as Xander helped her sit up.
''You alright?'' Spike asked as he and the others came into the room.
''Can I answer that in a week...'' Hope said as she moved forward.
''...or a month.'' she said wincing at the pain in her chest.
''Is there a lot of pain?'' Xander asked handing her an ice pack.
''Only when I breath.'' she smiled weakly accepting the ice pack.
''That was quite a beating you took...'' Spike said.
''Trust me I've had a lot worse...'' Hope replied noticing for the first time that everyone had gathered in the room.
There was a long silence before Hope spoke again.
''I didn't kill him. The man in the ally, he was dead when I found him... it was a trap and I walked straight into it.'' She told the group.
''Hope no one is saying...'' Giles began.
''No but you were all thinking it. I could see it on your faces...'' she paused.
''So what happens now... the body.'' Hope began awkwardly.
''It's taken care off.'' Giles said not meeting her eyes.
''I only did what I had to do. I know that you don't agree with what I did...'' she begins as pushes herself to her feet.
''But a part of you understands it, or I wouldn't be here right now... you would have left me back there at that warehouse.'' She says.
''I know you don't trust me...'' she began.
''Hope that's...'' Buffy began.
''All this time...'' Hope said repeating Buffy's words from earlier.
''At the factory... you said all this time.'' she said turning to face Buffy.
''I'm not asking you to trust me, I'm not sure you ever did.'' she began.
''Can you blame us?'' came Kennedy's voice from the corner.
''You killed them, you stood by and watched her kill Ethan and now you want a second chance...'' Kennedy said.
''Did you even give me a first!!!'' she yells as she turns to face Kennedy.
''Think what you want Kennedy I don't care.'' She turns and heads towards Buffy.
''What I said before I left I wasn't lying. Where I come from there are two different kinds of slayers.'' she began.
''The ones who do the demons dirty work, and the ones who pick up the pieces when they're done.'' she told her.
''I don't blame you, I never did. Truth be told without that spell the world would have ended a lot sooner then it did.'' she paused.
''... I guess you do make the tough decisions after all.'' she said before heading towards the kitchen.
''She killed Ethan... after everything that you said you let her go... why?'' Buffy asked.
''She killed the bad guy, she could've killed me she didn't.'' Hope said turning to face the group.
''What aren't you telling us?'' Giles asked.
''She saved Dawn...'' she told them.
''Saved me?'' Dawn asked stepping forward.
''Nineteen years from now, all of this... everything you fought for all these years it won't matter...'' she told the group.
''Ethan came back, and he killed your sister. The world ended that night...''
''Ethan killed your sister... and my sister killed him. '' she paused.
''I've watched him die twice. The first time I couldn't stop it... and tonight I didn't want to.'' she admitted.
''You want to know how I feel. I feel sick.'' she told them before heading towards the kitchen.
Buffy began to follow but was stopped by Faith.
''I got it...'' she said before heading after the future slayer.
Entering the kitchen Faith found Hope putting on her jacket while her bag was packed and sat on the counter.
''You're leaving.'' Faith said.
''I can't stay here Faith...'' Hope said pulling her hair from out of her jacket.
''If this is about Kennedy...'' Faith began.
''You here to plead her case?'' Hope asked.
''Hell no...'' Faith answered quickly.
''Then what, you think I should've hit her?'' Hope asked only half serious.
''I think you should've hit her.'' Faith replied.
They both shared a small smile at this. There was a short silence before Hope spoke.
''Doesn't matter, she wasn't the only one thinking it... I could see it on their faces...'' Hope began.
''And me?'' Faith asked.
''You?'' Hope paused.
''You're kinda hard to read, anyone ever tell you that?'' Hope asked.
''Look who's talking...'' Faith replied as Hope placed her bag over her shoulder.
''Where are you going?'' Faith asked, knowing it was pointless to try and talk the future slayer around.
''I scoped out a few places during patrols.'' Hope said picking up her Scythe from the counter top.
''I'll be around...'' Hope said before heading towards the door.
''You said there were two different kinds of slayer... which are you?'' Faith calls out.
''I'm the one that picks up the pieces, I'm the one that does what I have to, to survive.'' Hope said keeping her back turned.
''About Kennedy...'' Hope paused by the door.
''Don't make her the bad guy okay...'' Hope said before opening the door and leaving the house.
Faith didn't need to turn around to know that Buffy was standing in the doorway behind her.
''You think she'll be alright?'' Faith asked.
''She's a Slayer, she can take care of herself...'' Buffy replied, as she walked over to the counter.
''That's not what I meant.'' Faith said, turning to join her.
''I know...'' the blonde slayer replied as she took a seat.
''They just vanished...'' Faith said sitting opposite her.
''I know...'' Buffy answered.
''What aren't you telling me?'' Faith asked.
''Back at the warehouse when Hope...'' Buffy began.
''C'mon B, spill it.'' Faith said.
''She said that I wouldn't be the first slayer that she'd killed.'' Buffy told the rogue slayer.
The two slayers sat in silence neither of them seeing Kennedy who hid in the shadows of the dining room.