By the end of the day she'd came to a decision. She felt, for the first time since she started her job that she wasn't up for it. She couldn't be bothered listening to other people's problems and try to set them on the right track. All day she spent more time thinking about her own life than the life of those who walked through her door. After a long talk with Giles over lunch, the decision had been made. She would leave her job, her one anchor for the stable life she'd been living, and she would work for Giles and the Council for a modest fee. All she did care about in the end was that her bills were paid and that she could live the life she was supposed to be living as a Slayer.

Nobody in the building said a word as Faith packed up her few belongings and left at the end of the day. She turned in her keys to the building manager and headed home. She didn't realize how much she was shaking, mostly with relief, until she walked through the front door with her small box of her stuff tucked under one arm. The relief that washed over her was intense as she placed the box near the foot of the stairs and headed to the kitchen. She threw on a pot of coffee before she headed upstairs to change into something more comfortable.

She checked her cell and found that Buffy had called her several times throughout the day. She groaned as she checked her voice mail, but Buffy hadn't left her a message. Not one. She dialled her number at the motel as she searched through the pile of clothes near the hamper for her favourite tank and smiled as Buffy answered the phone on the third ring.

"Hello?"

"Hey, B."

"Hey," she said softly and Faith could hear the smile in her voice. "Are you home now?"

"Just got in a few minutes ago."

"Giles told me what happened today."

"Did he?"

"Are you sure this is the right choice, Faith?"

"I'm sure. Wouldn't have done it if I wasn't sure. You busy right now?"

"Me? Busy? Never," Buffy laughed. "Why? Do you want me to come over?"

"Of course I do."

Faith paced around her bedroom as Buffy began rambling on about the house Xander was fixing up and about the small meeting she'd had with Giles earlier to revise the patrol schedule. Faith only smiled to herself, listening to her and murmuring the occasional reply. She could listen to Buffy talk for hours about anything and everything. Just the sound of her voice relaxed her and put her at ease.

"So, are you gonna come over, B?" Faith finally asked when she heard Buffy sigh softly. "Since we don't have to go out on patrol tonight I thought we could you know, stay in and continue where we left off this morning."

She thought at first maybe she said the wrong thing. Buffy was silent for the longest time. She could only faintly hear her shuffling in her motel room and she nearly kicked herself for saying the wrong thing at the wrong time. It was all she'd been able to think about all day, well not entirely, but still it was right there every time she let her mind wander. Her body was betraying her heart and her mind and she knew if she held herself back any longer the old Faith would come back at the flick of a switch and there'd be no looking back. Or looking forward.

"Buffy?" Faith said softly as she sat down on the edge of her bed and held her breath. "We could always go out, do something else. We don't have to stay in."

"I'd love to...continue what we were doing this morning, but I..." Buffy's voice trailed off as she fumbled for words to say. Faith held back a laugh that dared to escape at the sudden nervousness she could sense coming from Buffy. "I'll be over there in half an hour. I'll stop and pick up something for us to eat on the way."

"Wait, B. But what?"

"Oh it's nothing. I kind of promised Dawn a girl's night in with Willow and some of the girls, you know, watching movies, eating junk food, staying up all night. We'll just do it another night."

"Nah, bring them over here. I'll order a couple pizzas and I'm sure I have more than enough movies in my extensive DVD collection to choose from," Faith replied as she felt a knot forming in the pit of her stomach.

She hadn't seen her since Dawn had arrived almost a week ago. Buffy told her it would take Dawn a little bit of time to get used to the fact that the two of them were now seeing each other. Even though the memories Faith had of Dawn weren't real, she still was upset that Dawn had seemingly pushed her out of the picture and didn't want to be around her at all. It would take some time for her to fall back into Dawn's good graces and she hoped that tonight would be the start of rebuilding the friendship they once had, real or not.

"I'll tell Dawnie and Willow about the change of plans and we'll head over."

"B?"

"Yeah?"

"Why do I get the feeling you want to do the sleepover thing?"

"Well," Buffy laughed a little nervously and Faith could hear her fidgeting with the phone cord. "It kind of was in the plans. We could change them. It's not a big deal."

"Never done the whole girly thing with the sleepovers. I'm always down for doing something different, something new. No better time to start doing that than now, right?"

"Are you sure? I mean we don't have to stay over."

"Buffy, I'm sure. Bring the girls, some sleeping bags or whatever and get over here."

"No alcohol."

"Not a drop. Don't even have any in the house."

Even though she didn't, she had the worst feeling that she'd need something strong to drink just to get through the night. They said their goodbyes and Faith nervously paced her bedroom floor for a few minutes, trying to shake her nerves. She didn't know why she was so nervous. It was just a sleepover, a natural thing of sorts among a group of friends. A natural thing that had never been natural for her. She shook them off as best as she could and ordered a few pizzas as she headed downstairs and straightened up the living room.

It was a little over half an hour before Buffy showed up with Willow and Dawn. The other girls weren't up for coming once Buffy explained the change in plans and Faith was a little relieved. It'd be easier with just the four of them. At least she was on friendly terms with Willow now and all she had to worry about was getting back on Dawn's good side. Dawn wouldn't even look at her as she mumbled a hello and dropped the bag she was holding by the armchair and sat down.

"Pizza should be here soon," Faith said under her breath as she followed Buffy and Willow into the living room and waited for them to sit on the couch before she looked over at Dawn a little nervously. "You pick the first movie, Dawn. They're all over on that shelf over there."

"Yeah, great. Whatever. You pick something. I don't care."

"Dawnie, just pick something," Willow said calmly as she sat in the far corner of the sofa.

"Faith," Buffy said as she reached for her hand and pulled her down next to her. "You can sit next to me. I don't bite."

"I know. I just like standing."

Buffy only rolled her eyes as she moved so her legs were draped over Faith's. She leaned in and kissed her lightly and smiled at her as she pulled back. "If you are afraid Dawnie is going to freak out because of us, don't worry about it. She already knows. She doesn't care."

She knew Buffy could see how nervous she was and she caught Willow staring at her out of the corner of her eye. Dawn was busy scanning through the DVD's on the shelf next to the TV and Faith took advantage of that moment and leaned in to kiss Buffy once more before she relaxed and settled back on the couch. There was awkward silence as Dawn picked out a rather random old horror movie and popped it in the DVD player, ignoring Willow when she asked what it was.

Faith sighed as she looked over at the clock, knowing the pizza would be there shortly and she got up from the couch without saying a word and headed out onto the front porch. Buffy was right behind her and when Faith turned to look at her she was faced with a pout.

"What's wrong? This was a bad idea, wasn't it?"

"Nah," Faith said as she shook her head no. "Just a little awkward with Dawn here, that's all."

"I know you wanted to spend some time alone with me. Believe me when I tell you that I wanted to be alone with you tonight too, but..."

"You never back down on the promises you make to your best friend and your sister, I get it."

"She doesn't hate you."

"I know, but she doesn't like me right now either."

"She's trying," Buffy sighed as she wrapped her arms around Faith's waist and held her close. "She told me she'd try to make the most out of tonight. She's just been cranky because she'd met a boy when she first came here and she was going on and on about how much she liked him and he completely blew her off."

"Figures. The boy is a jackass for blowing her off."

"The boy is Dex."

"What?" Faith burst out laughing. "Are you fucking kidding me? Dex? Really?"

"That was my first reaction," Buffy chuckled. "I couldn't believe it when she was telling me who he was. He's too old for her and of course he wouldn't be interested in her, you know?"

"Dawn sure likes her men older, much older, doesn't she? Dex doesn't really date at all, just kind of hooks up with random girls when he feels like it. She'll figure out that she's lucky he hasn't shown any interest in her at all. She'd be in a world of hurt and heartbreak if she did…"

"She did," Buffy said softly. "She told me about it this morning. It's kind of why I offered to have a girl's night in. I thought it'd help her take her mind off of everything that happened."

"I'm gonna kill him."

"Faith…don't. She doesn't want anyone to know and I'd like to keep it that way for as long as possible."

"Still gonna kill him," Faith muttered angrily under her breath. "I knew he was an asshole, but to use Dawn like that? Fuck no. Nobody is gonna mess with my girl's little sis and get away with it without at least a severe beating to knock some fucking sense into their heads."

Buffy smiled a little as she ran her hands up Faith's arms slowly as she tried to still the slight shake that coursed through her body as her anger rose and fell with every breath she took. Faith tried to stay calm, fighting off the deep urge to get a cigarette from her stash up in her bedroom. She focused on Buffy's hands and then her lips as Buffy leaned in to kiss her, feeling her anger fleeting as she became lost in the feel of Buffy's lips upon her own. She didn't want to stop, but the sound of a car pulling up in the driveway made her break away from the kiss and she gave Buffy a small smile as she dug into the pocket of her sweats for the bills she'd slipped in there for the pizza.

Buffy stood there by the door, watching her every move as she greeted the pimply faced teenage boy who walked up to the house slowly with the four pizzas in his hands. Faith gave him the money, groaning as she caught him peering around her to look at Buffy. She waited for him to give her back her change and he stood there with his mouth open as he stared up at her, waiting presumably for a tip. Faith smirked as she pocketed her change and walked over to Buffy. She juggled the pizza in one hand as she pulled Buffy into her with the other and gave her a nice, deep kiss.

"Heh," Faith laughed as the pizza delivery boy stumbled as he spun around and headed back down to his car. "Never fails."

"What?"

"Like I'm gonna give him a tip, B."

"So kissing me with him watching was a tip?"

"Sure was," she smirked as she leaned in and kissed her again. "Plus it was a tip for me."

Buffy rolled her eyes as she opened the door. Faith walked into the kitchen and put the pizza down on the counter and found herself being spun around by a determined looking Buffy. She nearly growled as she pushed Faith up against the counter, their lips colliding as Buffy pulled her in for a rough, needy kiss. It was short-lived, but it left Faith breathless and desperate for more. She could hardly keep her cool as Dawn and Willow came into the kitchen, got themselves a plate and loaded it up with pizza. Almost the second they walked back out of the kitchen, Buffy had her pressed up against the counter, her lips seeking out hers as her hands feverishly ran over the skin under her shirt and up her back.

"B…" Faith groaned as Buffy slowly moved her hands from her back and down to her ass. "We should grab ourselves a couple slices and…go watch the movie."

"Just a few minutes."

"Buffy..."

Faith wanted to tell her that a few minutes felt like a lifetime of torture to her when she knew she couldn't take it that one step, or several, forward. Buffy ignored her as she pulled on her hips, driving her tongue deep inside Faith's mouth as she gently rocked her hips into hers. Faith started shaking as she held herself back from picking Buffy up and taking her upstairs. She broke away from the kiss, backing up a little as she let her eyes drift over Buffy's body before. It almost amazed her at how forward and almost needy Buffy was being with her. Before that morning, she'd held herself back and Faith couldn't help but chuckle at the thought that she'd released this feral, sexual being that Buffy had repressed deep inside of her.

She managed to get her overcharged body under control as she got herself some pizza and headed back into the living room. Dawn glanced over at her briefly and rolled her eyes when Faith managed to flash a rather weak smile her way. She felt the knots form in her stomach when she realized it was going to be an even longer night than she originally thought it'd be. Keeping her hands and lips from straying to Buffy was one thing, but trying to get back on Dawn's good side would be even harder. Now she really wished she had a strong drink just to relax the tension that took over every inch of her body.

But she couldn't. She was done with the pity party and with falling back down the barrel. Buffy had been there to catch her and even though she'd slipped through a couple of times, she wasn't willing to let that happen again. She wanted to go back to being herself, whatever 'self' that was, she had no idea. Change was a scary thing and she'd seen a lot of it over the past several weeks. Despite her moving on, and in everyone else's eyes and her own it was too soon, she knew it was the only thing she could do to propel her life forward instead of having it stuck in the black hole she'd been falling into previously. Moving forwards was a hell of a lot better than moving backwards. She'd done it many times before and she was definitely not doing it again.

For a moment she lost her train of thought as Buffy finally emerged from the kitchen and sat next to her. It took some type hidden strength from deep within herself to pull her gaze away from Buffy and focus on the TV in front of them. Her mind wasn't fixated on the old black and white horror movie that was playing but rather fixated on Buffy's hand that was languidly trailing over her thigh. It was the moment Buffy slipped her hand further up her thigh that made her think that having Dawn and Willow there for the night was a bad idea. There was no way she'd be able to go a whole night without touching Buffy, without kissing her, without wanting to take her up to her bedroom and rip all her clothes off of her and make love to her all night long.

"Anybody want anything to drink?" Faith asked, coughing slightly to hide the squeak in her voice. "I got Coke in the fridge."

"Do you have diet?" Dawn asked as she turned to look at her.

"I should, somewhere in there," Faith shrugged as she stood up from the couch. "Will, you want anything?"

"A small glass of Coke would be fine, thanks."

"B?"

Buffy bit her lip a little then nodded as she took a bite of her slice of pizza. She motioned towards Dawn and Faith walked into the kitchen, breathing out loudly as she placed her plate on the counter and closed her eyes. She knew she had to get herself under control. Nothing was going to happen between her and Buffy tonight, at least not with Willow and Dawn there. It was hard to ignore her libido as it screamed at her in frustration. She'd never held back like this before, not with Jennifer or those who she had been with before her. Holding back was never something she'd done and it was a definite test of self-control. But, as always, she was up for a challenge and she was never one to back down from a challenge even if it meant she was against herself.

Faith glanced down at the Hellhound as it lay by the back door. For the first time since hearing the truth behind Severin and the connection he had to her Hellhound, she felt uneasy having it there in the house. She walked to the back door and sighed as the Hellhound only glanced up at her, barely raising its head as she motioned for it to go outside.

"Just for tonight, girl," she said softly as she bent down and reached for its collar. "Come on, let's go. Outside."

The Hellhound whimpered as it stood up and walked out the back door. It sat down facing Faith as she slowly closed the door. It was these little moments that made her look at the Hellhound as if it was just any other dog with the way it acted. She knew it wasn't and that it'd never be, but it was her sidekick, faithful to her or not, nothing would change that.

"Could we talk?" Dawn asked as Faith turned around. She hadn't even heard her walk into the kitchen and she tried not to look a little freaked out as she nodded. "I'm sure Buffy told you about Dex, right?"

"Yeah."

"Is he...you know, a man-whore?"

Faith chuckled as she walked over to the fridge and pulled out a couple cans of soda. "If you want to put it that way, he is. I don't think he's found the right woman to make him be a good boy and stop straying."

"He really led me on to believe that we'd be together if I slept with him," Dawn whispered as she fought back her tears. "I...I can't stop hating myself for letting him do that to me, for even believing him."

"Want me to kill him for you? Cos when I found out I was ready to kill him for using you like that."

"No, I don't want you to kill him. Maybe hurt him a little?" Dawn chuckled as she reached for a couple of glasses in the cupboard near her and placed them on the counter. "I wanted to apologize too, for being such a bitch."

"It's nothing, Dawnie. You shouldn't be the one apologizing. I should."

"You left without saying goodbye," she sighed softly as she slowly brought her eyes to meet with Faith's. "I thought you would have at least come and said goodbye to me."

"Is that why you are acting like you hate me right now?"

"Pretty much. Pathetic isn't it?"

"Nah," Faith smirked as she opened the can of diet and poured it into a glass. "Not pathetic. I was too wrapped up in myself at the time and all I wanted and cared about was getting out of there and being with Jen. It was pretty fucking selfish of me considering you and me were friends."

"I understand. I mean, Jen changed you into this great person and I spent the last couple of years thinking that you and Buffy would never have a chance to be together."

"You thought about me and B being together?" Faith asked with a raised eyebrow. "For how long?"

"Since Sunnydale."

"Huh," Faith sighed as she shook her head. "Well, you are okay with me being with B now, right?"

"Of course I am. I haven't seen her happy for a long time, Faith. Not since Angel..."

"Stop," Faith said as she held out her hand. "Don't say his name or even compare me to him. Me and Angel are nothing alike."

"But you are. Buffy has never loved anyone as much as she loves you. Not even Angel, even though I think he did come close. She did believe that he was her true love and everything. Then you came to Sunnydale and everything changed. I knew right from day one she had fallen for you, that she wanted to be with you. I'm just so relieved she finally stopped swimming with denial when it came to admitting what she feels for you."

"When did you get all observant and smart?" Faith joked as she gently nudged Dawn in the shoulder.

"I've always been observant and smart. At least about certain things," she laughed. "You feel the same way about her, don't you?"

"I do. Always have."

"You aren't going to hurt her, are you?"

"Wouldn't dream of it, Dawnie."

Dawn hesitated for a moment before she threw her arms around Faith and hugged her tight. "Good because if you hurt her and break her heart, you'll have to deal with me. Buffy taught me a couple moves and Willow has been teaching me some spells. You don't want to mess with me."

Faith laughed, but she nodded as Dawn backed away slowly. The wide smile on Dawn's face and the glimmer of acceptance in her eyes told her that whatever rift, whatever little ounce of hatred Dawn had for her, was gone entirely now. It felt a little too easy, but then again the reasons for the hatred were almost petty. Faith knew they weren't though. She knew she should have at least made an effort to say goodbye to Dawn then. She'd been selfish then and she hadn't seen it until tonight just what her selfish actions had done, the pain that it had caused.

She was able to relax as she went back into the living room and sat next to Buffy. The movie was already over and from the looks on Buffy and Willow's faces horror definitely wasn't a good choice. They already seen enough horror in life and as cheesy and unrealistic as it was on screen, it still dug down deep and pulled up the harsh reality of the world they lived in. They needed something light, something funny, possibly romantic, but Faith had never been one to watch those types of movies. After Willow and Dawn scanned the shelf for a second movie, they both made plans to head to the video store a few blocks over and pick up something else.

"Did you and Dawn have a good talk?" Buffy asked softly as soon as the two had left.

"Yeah. We did. We're five by five now, B."

"Haven't heard you use that saying in a long time."

"Haven't felt the need to use it," Faith shrugged. "But we're good now. She threatened me with some kick ass moves you've taught her and spells."

"She threatened you?"

"Told me I better not break your heart or hurt you."

"God," Buffy laughed as she leaned into Faith and laid her head on her shoulder. "Well, I don't have to worry about that happening, do I?"

"Never. I would never dream of hurting you or breaking your heart, Buffy. At least not intentionally."

Buffy smiled shyly as she stood up and reached for Faith's hand. "Come on."

"Where we going?"

"Upstairs," she whispered as she pulled Faith up from the couch. "Now that we've finally got a chance to be alone, I want to uh, continue from this morning."

"B, we shouldn't. Will and Dawn will be back soon."

"I love how you are holding yourself back and trying to be modest," Buffy laughed as she began tugging Faith towards the stairs. "But you drove me absolutely insane this morning and I haven't been able to stop thinking about it all day."

Faith groaned softly, not in refusal, but in annoyance as she reluctantly let Buffy drag her towards the stairs. It was almost painful to be holding back when her body was screaming at her just to give into taking what she wanted and to giving Buffy exactly what she'd been after. She saw the same look in Buffy's eyes that she'd seen that night Buffy had stood behind the tree and watched her and Jennifer. Now, more than ever, she wanted to confront Buffy about that night, but her heart and her head was telling her to leave it alone and to let whatever was about to happen, happen.

She always felt so nervous around Buffy and now more than ever her nerves were causing her to be reluctant and to hold herself back more than she had been. They passed though as Buffy led her up the stairs, continuously looking back at her with her eyes dark with desire. As Faith stepped up from the last step, her heart was racing and her own needs took over the nervousness she'd felt just moments before. She was now inwardly asking herself why she ever felt so damn nervous in the first place. This is what she wanted, this is what Buffy wanted and nothing was going to step in between them and stop them this time.

It happened in a blur and Faith blinked several times, trying to get off the cloud she was floating on. Buffy was kissing her deeply, passionately, her hands working at slipping off her shirt, her bra and her sweats. It took her a moment to get herself together and she slowly undressed Buffy as she backed her up to the bed. Faith moved her lips to Buffy's neck as her fingers hooked around the waistband of her panties and she heard Buffy moan and felt her body shudder as she gently laid her back on the bed. She stood there for half a second and gazed down at Buffy and grinned as she moved to lay next to her, her lips instantly on Buffy's as her hands began to flutter over her stomach.

Faith groaned into Buffy's mouth as Buffy slid a leg between hers. A steady stream of arousal and electric-like currents ran through her body as her body began to react to every slight movement Buffy made beneath her. Her mind felt as if it were in a fog, taking over whatever prior thoughts she'd had before. Slow was no longer existent between them and although this wasn't how Faith wanted to go about their first time together, she couldn't be picky and she knew she had to let it just happen, let it unfold, let her body and mind take over.

She was in control and she knew with every moan, every soft sigh and slight whimper that Buffy made beneath her told her that she wasn't going to be in control for much longer. Buffy took Faith's hand in her own as they broke apart from the heated, passionate kiss and just stared into each other's eyes.

"You sure you want this, B?"

"More than anything."

"What about..."

"They won't be back tonight," Buffy laughed as she let go of Faith's hand and ran her fingers over Faith's creased brow. "While you and Dawn were in the kitchen, I talked to Will. She completely agreed with me when I told her that you and I need to connect on a different level."

"What level is that?"

"A naked one," Buffy laughed softly as she stared deeply into Faith's eyes.

Faith said nothing as she took a moment to just look at her until she found what she was searching for. Love, trust, longing, desire. It was all there and it was all she needed. She yielded to everything Buffy felt, feeling those same feelings course wildly throughout her body. After tonight nothing would be the same. It would be better.