"So, Faith is back in town. This is just lovely." Giles removed his glasses and rubbed his forehead. "Angel, you tracked her to Los Angeles and that law firm, didn't you?"

"Wolfram & Hart," Angel confirmed. "I ran across them a few times while I was in LA. Not the friendliest group of people."

"I have a suggestion," Willow piped up. Everyone turned to look at her. "Beat the crap out of her."

Buffy smiled tightly. "Not exactly that simple, Will."

"You did it the last time you two fought," Willow reminded her.

"And it's pretty clear what she's after this time," Oz added. "Revenge."

"She's going to come after me," Buffy said with a nod. "I can deal with that. But Mom's still in the hospital for observation, and there's Dawn—"

"I can stay with Spike," Dawn suggested. Buffy glared at her younger sister.

"I already talked to you about Spike, Dawn Elizabeth. You aren't supposed to be spending time with him."

"That's not fair!" Dawn exclaimed. "You aren't Mom! You can't tell me who I can and can't hang out with."

"As fascinating as this conversation is," Giles interrupted, "It isn't helpful to more immediate concerns."

"We have to find Faith," Angel said. He was playing with the wooden-bladed knife Oz had given him the day before. "Preferably before she makes her first move."

"We can use a location spell," Cordelia suggested brightly, and then frowned. "Oh, wait, that wouldn't work. We don't have anything of Faith's to use as a reference."

Doyle raised his hand. "Uh, I've got a question. Who's Faith?"

Buffy blinked. Surely they had mentioned her at some point…guess not. "Short version, my psycho homicidal sister Slayer. She used a poison to try to kill Angel. The only cure was the blood of a Slayer. She ended up in a coma and I got this." She touched the scar on her neck and Angel pointedly looked away.

Doyle peered at the scar in confusion for a minute, and then his expression turned to surprised horror when he realized what it was. "Oh," he said weakly.

"We have civilians looking for Faith," Angel said, his voice flat. "If we don't step in, they're going to get hurt."

"There are only so many places to hide in Sunnydale," Cordelia said. "We'll find her eventually."

"I have a better idea," Buffy said, crossing her arms. "I'm going to let Faith come after me."

There was a burst of protests, which quickly wound down when they realized it was probably the best plan.

*****

Faith stood in the shadows on the back porch, peering in through the window, spying on the lives that played out within. For a moment the kitchen was empty, and then Buffy entered from the direction of the dining room.

"I'm serious, Dawn," she said. "Spike is dangerous. It's not safe for you to be around him."

Dawn followed her sister, carrying an armful of plates. "He has the chip, remember? It's not like he can hurt me."

"That's not what I meant," Buffy retorted. "Spike isn't exactly the most responsible of people. I don't trust him to take care of you. Who knows what kind of trouble he could get you into?"

"Spike would never get me into trouble," Dawn protested hotly. "He likes me. You don't even know! You never spend any time with him. He's good now."

"He's a vampire, Dawn! You cannot be friends with a vampire!"

"You were!" Dawn put her hands on her hips and glared at her older sister. Buffy shook her head.

"That's different," she began, but Dawn interrupted.

"Of course it's different. It's always different for you. 'I'm so special I'm the Slayer I can do whatever I want.' It's not fair!" With that she turned and ran out, leaving Buffy standing by the sink. After a minute, who should enter but Angel himself.

Faith blinked in surprise. Gone was the dark, brooding vampire she had come to know and hate. In his place was a much more relaxed person with brown eyes sparkling with laughter. Isn't there some sort of catch? Like he'd loose his soul or something? What the fuck is going on?

Buffy looked up at him. "Did Caddie go down okay?"

"Sleeping like a rock." He put his hands on her waist and leaned his forehead against hers. "If rocks slept, that is. Where did that saying come from anyway? It's only slightly less disturbing than 'sleeping like the dead.' Which makes no sense since I'm a very light sleeper."

"I know," Buffy said, her voice full of amusement. Then she sighed. "Dawn isn't being very cooperative."

Angel leaned back and studied Buffy's face carefully. "I can talk to Spike. Tell him to leave Dawn alone."

"Do you think it would work?"

Angel's expression grew cunning. "I can be very…convincing when I need to be."

"He can hurt you, remember?" Buffy reached up to touch his face.

"Just because he's able doesn't mean he can," Angel told her. "I'll be fine."

"Okay." Buffy went up on her tiptoes to kiss him soundly on the mouth. "I love you."

Angel replied with a lingering kiss. "I love you."

Faith turned away from the window, sickened by the show of tenderness. The whole world was sick. Buffy, the one who had tried to kill her, who had put a fucking knife in her gut, was happy and living her life with her so-called "soul mate." Well, Faith was going to shake things up a bit. It was time for Buffy to bleed.

*****

Dawn carefully shut the front door and paused, waiting to see if anyone had heard. She slipped off the front porch and broke into a jog, heading for the graveyard. It was early enough that Spike wouldn't have left the crypt.

She was so tired of Buffy trying to play at being Mom and telling Dawn what to do. If she wanted to hang with Spike, then Buffy wasn't going to stop her. Besides, it wasn't as if they'd miss her. Angel and Buffy would be too busy to notice she was gone.

She poked her head into Spike's crypt and looked around. No sign of Spike. She walked over to the hole in the floor and called, "Spike? Spike, you awake?"

There was a loud thump and a muffled yell. Dawn smirked behind her hand. "Nibblet?" Spike called. "That you?"

"Yeah! Can I come down?"

"Just a minute." She heard him rustling around and then he called, "All right."

She scurried down the ladder to see him standing in jeans and a t-shirt, running a hand through his un-gelled hair. "What's up, bit?" he asked.

"I was hoping we could do something tonight," she said. She stuck her hands in her back pockets. "Mom's still in the hospital and Buffy and Angel tend to forget I exist."

"Oh." Spike scratched his head. "You want to stay in or go out?"

Dawn brightened, pleased that someone actually wanted to hand out with her. "Can we go out? Please? We could go to the Bronze or, or see a movie, or go patrolling."

"I've told you a hundred times, I'm not taking you patrolling. You could get hurt."

"I'd be careful," Dawn pleaded. "I'd stay hidden, I promise. You won't even know I'm there."

Spike seemed to consider that for a while. He had been feeling antsy lately, with lots of pent-up aggression. Indulging in a spot of violence would do him good. And, if he was perfectly honest, he did want to show off a little."

"Fine," he said after a minute. "But you promise to say out of me way?"

"Cross my heart!" Dawn said, practically jumping up and down. Spike grabbed his duster and a stake.

"All right. Let's do this."

As the pair emerged into the night, a shadow detached itself from a nearby mausoleum and began to stalk them.