Chapter 12

"I was starting to think you weren't coming Slayer." Lucky said as Faith walked up to her usual table, this time though, it was empty save for the vampire. She didn't want to have to send them away again so she made sure no one bothered her until the Slayer arrived.

"I'm a little late I know, don't go waiting for an apology, that ain't my style."

"I suspected as much, not to worry Slayer I'm not interested in an apology. Besides, we never did set a specific time though I was hoping you'd be here before sunrise and here you are, so it's all good." Lucky smiled, wanting the slayer to know that it was ok and that she still wasn't interested in fighting her.

"Good, let's go to the back and talk ok?"

"Whatever you say Slayer."

Lucky again led the way to the back room. After they were settled in Faith began to speak. "What else do you know about the vampire I am looking for? The one who killed those girls?"

"What makes you think I know anything other than what I already told you?"

"Because you're not a very good liar Lucky, or should I say Natalie?"

The change in Lucky's expression was hard to miss as she heard the name she hadn't heard in years. "H-how did you find out about Natalie?"

"I did my homework and I did the math. You are Natalie Woodson aren't you?"

"I was, when I was alive. After Angelus though, Natalie ceased to exist. I became Lucky after I survived not being dusted by my own sire. What else do you know about Natalie?"

Faith found it interesting that Lucky referred to herself in the third person, as if talking about someone else and not her former identity. Faith recalled the details that Casey had shared with her over lunch earlier. "Just what I've found out from the public records. According to the police reports, Natalie Woodson was raped and murdered by her boyfriend David Morgan. Morgan was tried, convicted and sentenced to 25 years to life for the crime. He's still in Sing Sing serving his time. Now, Lucky if Angelus killed and sired you then how did Morgan get collared?" Faith knew the case against David Morgan but she needed to hear it from Lucky--from Natalie.

"I wasn't raped, and David never hurt me. We were together that day, he'd just asked me to marry him and I was so happy I said yes. We spent the whole day in bed celebrating. Then I suggested we go out to dinner to celebrate some more. We went out and had a nice dinner, then I was so tired from everything we'd done that day that I couldn't walk the three blocks to the car so I told David I wasn't going to walk. He told me to wait by the front doors of the restaurant and he'd go get the car. I wandered away from the light from the restaurant and that's when someone grabbed me and took me into a nearby alley. I was so scared I thought he was going to rape me, I never thought he'd do what he did. He became a monster right before my eyes and while I was in shock, he leaned down and bit me. Next thing I remembered was waking up in my coffin. I broke my way through and climbed out. Angelus was there, waiting for me with a stake in his hand and a look in his eyes like he was sorry...he told me who he was and then we fought, and Angelus had me on my back and he was about to drive the stake into my heart when he looked into my eyes and stopped himself. He got up and stumbled away. After he'd left I got up and got out of there. I found a few places where I could hide from the sun during the day and I walked the streets at night."

"How many people have you killed?"

"Only five, and I regret them all but they had to be done. For the first few years I lived off of rats and stray animals, not the best way to survive but I managed."

"Why? Why didn't you kill more? What stopped you?"

"I don't know. But every time I thought about killing a human for blood I would literally get sick and wouldn't stop throwing up for a whole day."

"That didn't stop you from killing those five, but I think I know why you couldn't kill any more."

"Those five were unavoidable. Why do you think I couldn't kill any more humans?"

"Because you were sired by a vampire with a soul. I talked to a friend of mine who knows about these things and he told me that in the unlikely event that a vampire with a soul were to sire another vampire, that vampire would retain enough of their humanity to act as a...leash of sorts. A vampire who was sired by a vampire with a soul would still be able to kill but not as mercilessly as a vampire without any of its humanity left. There's still enough of Natalie inside you to stop you from mass slaughter but as evidenced by the five you've admitted to killing, not enough to prevent all killings. Wanna tell me who the other two were?"

"Angelus had a soul? If he had a soul to keep him from killing then how'd he manage to sire me?"

"I don't know, but I can find out if you really want me to."

Lucky thought about that and realized she really didn't need to know. It was in the past and it was done. "No, that's not necessary. But thank you slayer. I have a question for you."

"OK."

"Why were you so ready to trust me? To trust that I wouldn't try to kill you or set a trap for you when you came back here?" It wasn't asked in a way to make Faith think she'd done the wrong thing just a curious question. Lucky had heard tales of slayers who were merciless when it came to vampires. The closest one she'd heard of was one in Boston who'd taken on Kakistos, a really powerful vampire, then fled to parts unknown. Lucky had heard the tales about that one but never a name or description just that she was the best anyone had ever seen. Rumors came back to the east coast that the slayer had killed Kakistos out west somewhere. Lucky never wanted to meet that slayer.

"Because I figure if you really wanted to kill me, Lucky, you would've done it the second we came back here last night. If you were really any kind of threat, you would've surrounded yourself with real vampires and not kid wannabes."

"I also might not have turned my back on you as I led the way."

"That too." Faith smiled, knowing they were getting closer to trusting each other. She had to be sure that the killings would stop before she could decide what to do about Lucky, Casey, and the cops. "So, you gonna tell me who the other two people you killed were?"

"If you really wanna know it was my parents."

"Your parents? Man, do all vamps go in for that family blood thing?"

"I don't know if it was about family blood or not but I killed them because they were abusing my brother. After I died, my parents started drinking and when they got drunk they would hit Robert. He was only a kid, fifteen and a typical scrawny kid. He was no match for my father who was a former bodybuilder. My mother just let it happen, and when I went to find Robert one night after one of his basketball games I saw the black eye and the bruises on his arms. After he got over the shock of seeing me and I told him what I was now he told me what our parents had been doing to him. He was seventeen by then and about to graduate. I told him to hold on until he turned 18, that once he was an adult I'd handle it. I made him swear not to tell anyone and that's when he told me about David being in prison for killing me. And that my parents, who'd never liked David, testified against him at trial. It was their testimony that really sent David to prison. Their lies over how he abused me."

"David never hit you?"

"No, never. David was the gentlest man I'd ever known. The bruises my parents would see on my arms came from the martial arts class I was taking that they didn't know about. No one knew I was taking them, not even David."

"So David is sitting in jail for a crime he didn't commit?"

"Yup, and if there was a way I could clear him of that crime I would do it and get him out of there. He doesn't deserve what's happened to him but there's no way for me to help him."

"You killed your parents but, why did you let your brother live?"

"I love Robert, there's nothing I wouldn't do for him. When I saw what my parents were doing to him I couldn't take it so I did the only thing I could think of to protect him. After they died, Robert inherited all their money, he used it to go to college and get an education. He also used the money to help me."

"Help you how?"

"He bought this building for me, he pays the utility bills and during the day, he sometimes visits me. My brother looks out for me and in exchange, I stay out of trouble and keep on existing."

"Does Robert know about the three girls you killed?"

"Not yet, he hasn't been around for a few weeks. He sent a letter by courier that the cops had been to see him to ask him questions about me. He decided he'd better not come around in case the cops were watching him. Any idea why the cops were talking to him, Slayer?"

Faith stopped to think. Casey had told her earlier about the cops talking to Robert Woodson. Faith decided that telling Lucky about the evidence that led them to Robert wasn't going to make much of a difference now. "Yeah, see Lucky, the third girl you killed had saliva on her thigh from the bite mark. The medical examiner tested it and matched it to your DNA from your case ten years ago. Since the cops are all outta leads, they decided to talk to the only remaining member of your family. They also went to the prison and talked to David."

"They talked to David? Why would they talk to David?"

"Honestly, I don't know. I guess they were just following every lead they could."

"Oh."

Faith sat quietly for a moment as Lucky absorbed the new information. It occurred to Lucky that she'd left evidence tying her to the murders but that the cops couldn't ever use that evidence because as far as the world was concerned, she was dead.

"So what's your next move Slayer?" Lucky asked, breaking the silence in the small room.

Faith took a moment to think about that and realized that as far as Lucky was concerned, she had only two choices: kill her or cure her. If she killed her, Faith would lose her only link to the darker side of the City but she would be stopping a killer. Lucky's lack of a soul would always mean that she could kill again, regardless of her unique circumstances regarding what's left of her humanity. The only way to cure her was to contact Willow about restoring Lucky's soul. But that was a tricky issue, mainly because Olivia had a valid point earlier...having a soul doesn't stop someone from killing just makes them feel guilty about it. Faith wished there was a third option. Possibly even one that could get an innocent man out of jail.

"Right now Lucky, I'm not sure. The way I see it there are two options, neither of which I am comfortable with."

"What options?"

Faith took a deep breath. "Stake you, or restore your human soul."

"I see. You're a slayer though, why aren't you comfortable with staking me?"

"Because you're not exactly evil Lucky. Thanks to Angelus, you have enough humanity inside you to stop you from being evil, but you're still a demon and there's no indication that the humanity you have retained will last forever."

"True. But how would you restore my soul? I mean, is that even possible?"

"Yes, I think it is. I have a witch friend who's done it before. But having a soul, to me, doesn't guarantee you'll never kill again, just means that if you do you'll feel guilt over it."

"And there's no third option?"

"None that I can see. I have a favor to ask of you."

"Okay."

"I need you to give me a few days. I am going to contact some friends and see if there's another option that I'm not aware of, ok?"

"Ok, not sure what you're asking of me yet."

"This will mean that I might not be able to come see you for a few days. I don't want you to think that my absence is a declaration of war."

"Oh. I see. Ok Slayer, on one condition though."

"What?"

"If I am going to trust that you're not going to plan an ambush and raid this place I need a show of trust on your part."

"What kind of show of trust?"

"Your name." Lucky asked, knowing that slayers rarely gave their names to vampires, something about once the vamps know your name, the slayer is no longer the hunter or some crap like that. Lucky didn't want to hunt the Slayer, she knew better than that, she just wanted a show of trust.

Faith hid her surprise well. She, of course had heard the warning of her first watcher about letting the vampires know her name but in this instance, it didn't matter. She realized that she might be opening herself up for a fall if Lucky recognized her name from her time in Boston but she didn't care. If she wanted Lucky to trust her enough to give her some time to figure things out, she'd have to make the first move.

"Faith."

"Faith." Lucky repeated, letting the name sink in. "Where are you originally from Faith?"

"Born here in New York City." It wasn't a lie, and Faith didn't want to reveal her Boston origin just yet. "So, do I have your word that you won't start thinking I'm out to kill you if I don't show up for a few days?"

"That's a lot for a Slayer to ask of a vampire."

"Lucky, when I am out to kill you, I'll let you know before I go after you. And I won't bring a raiding party into a club full of humans. So, we have a deal?"

Lucky studied her carefully. "Deal Slay-I mean Faith."

"Good." Faith checked her watch and realized that it was almost morning. "I gotta go Lucky. The sun's coming up and the City awaits. I'll be back in a week ok?"

"Ok. See you Faith."

Faith left the room and the club and made her way back home. It was 7am and still way too early to call Willow in Long Island but Angel might be awake still. Faith pulled out her cell phone and dialed the number to Angel's hotel.

With an irritated impatience in his voice Angel answered after two rings, "Angel Investigations."

"Hey, big guy! It's Faith. Sorry about the early call. Got a minute?"

Angel, upon hearing it was Faith, relaxed and smoothed his voice out, not wanting to take out his current frustrations out on the young slayer. "Hey Faith, yeah I got some time. What's up?"

"It's a little complicated but..." Faith trailed off before launching into a detailed account of her interactions with Lucky and Angel's part in it all.

Meanwhile across the city...

Detective Olivia Benson woke up from a night spent plagued by dreams of vampires and Faith. Olivia had gone back home after her 'date' with Faith and picked up her vampire book again and, after getting ready for bed, she propped herself up in bed with pillows and continued reading. When she could no longer keep her eyes open, she dropped the book next to her on the bed and slept.

As Olivia opened her eyes, the first thing she saw was the spine of the book and the word Vampyres and was able to rationalize why she'd dreamed about vampires and Faith the night before. She ignored the fact that this explanation didn't cover the other times she'd had the dreams.

Olivia slid out of bed at 7:30 and headed for her shower. As the hot water cascaded down her body she let her mind clear of everything but the events of the previous evening. She had to admit that she'd not had as good a time as she had last night since Alex left. It had been a while since someone had come along and made her feel so comfortable and relaxed even after they knew what she did for a living. Alex had been the first one and now, Faith was the second person. That made Olivia smile. Luckily, Olivia had Sunday off and she only had one thing on her agenda, lunch with Faith. Until it was time for that, she'd decided to clean her apartment and then continue reading the rest of her vampire book.

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Faith sat in her bedroom, wearing just a towel having just gotten out of the shower. Her conversation with Angel had given her way too much to think about, the main thing being that Angel couldn't (or wouldn't) tell her over the phone why he'd sired Lucky. He remembered it though, very clearly but insisted on making a trip to New York to tell Faith face to face. Faith wasn't sure if she wanted Angel in New York right now. It'd be hard to explain to Casey if she ever saw Angel. Why he could only go out at night and also why Faith was friends with a vampire. Then there was the issue of Olivia. God help Faith if Olivia found out that Angelus was real. Faith truly didn't know how she'd be able to explain it all to the detective and the ADA. Faith wasn't even going to think about how she'd explain Angel's presence to her father.

However, Faith also didn't know how she'd be able to convince Angel to stay in LA. He may have a soul but he also had a stubborn streak and there was no guarantee that he wouldn't bring Buffy along for the ride. It was too much for Faith's brain to handle right then so she decided to get dressed and call Willow on her way to pick up Olivia for lunch. Faith looked at the clock by her bedside and realized she only had an hour before her lunch date with the sexy detective.

Faith dressed quickly and grabbed her elevator key before heading out the door. Her father had left Saturday afternoon for his other house to 'open the house up' or something like that. Faith didn't mind having the place all to herself and it also allowed her to come and go without having to explain her movements. Faith was riding the elevator to the garage when her cell phone rang. Looking at the call ID she recognized the number and smiled as she answered the call.

"Hey C, s'up?" Faith said by way of answering, knowing her cousin was on the other end.

Casey smiled, she was getting used to Faith's way of answering a phone. Made a nice change from the detectives who usually answered with their last names in a terse voice. "Hey Faith, was actually wondering if you had plans for lunch. I know Martin's not there so I thought I'd see if you wanted to join me for lunch."

"Damn, C I'd love to you know that but I kinda have a lunch date."

"Really? You didn't mention it yesterday, you holding out on me Faith?" Casey teased, curious who Faith was having lunch with.

Faith laughed, "Nah, C you know I'd never do that. These plans were made last night over drinks after we talked."

"Oh yeah? Mind if I ask who with?"

Faith hesitated, not sure if Casey knew about Olivia or not. "Um...Detective Benson." Faith waited for the shocked dismay, or worse the disbelief.

Casey smiled on her end, knowing Faith couldn't see the look on her face. Of course Casey'd heard the rumors about Olivia and her predecessor the late Alexandra Cabot being more than friends, but she'd never lent much credence to office rumors. After all, there were already similar rumors about herself and Serena from Homicide (thanks to one innocent lunch that ended with Serena's hand on her thigh wiping off a sauce spill) and heaven knows that there was nothing between them but friendship. Not that Casey didn't want there to be more but she couldn't seem to get her act together around the beautiful blonde.

"Casey? You still there?" Faith's voice cut through Casey's reverie and brought her back to the present.

"Yeah Faith I'm still here. Sorry about that I guess my mind ran away with me. So, Detective Benson huh? This a date date, or just a friendly lunch?"

"I dunno yet but I am treating it like a real date. You sure you're ok with this? I mean you guys work together."

"Faith it's fine. Maybe you can get more information about the case during lunch."

"Maybe." Faith didn't want to admit to Casey yet that she had the case all but figured out. All she needed now was to figure out what to do with Lucky. "Listen I gotta let you go. I am on my way to pick up Olivia and I still have to try to call a friend of mine for some help. So can I call ya later C?"

"Yeah sure. Have fun Faith." Casey said then hung up the phone. With the whole day looming in front of her with nothing to do and no one to hang out with Casey decided to rent some movies and make some popcorn and just relax all day.

Faith ended the call and dialed Kennedy's number on Long Island. The phone rang twice before a male voice answered, "Preston residence, hello?"

"Um, hello is Kennedy there please?" Faith asked uncertainly, not sure if she'd reached the right house. She never thought to ask Kennedy her last name.

"Just a moment, whom may I ask is calling?" The voice had a definite English accent though not as pronounced as Faith was used to hearing from her watcher and Giles and Spike.

"Her friend, Faith."

"One moment please I'll get her. Please hold." There was a pause then a low hum of what could only be described as tinny classical music. Faith rolled her eyes at the sound, who had hold music on a house phone? Faith waited patiently as she drove to Olivia's building, still 20 minutes ahead of schedule. Finally after a few minutes the music ended and Faith heard Kennedy's immediately recognizable voice.

"Hello, Faith?"

"Hey K! Who was that that answered the phone? Sounded like a watcher."

"Oh, that was Leonard, the butler. Anyway, what's up?" Kennedy talked fast and tried to change the subject. She always got uncomfortable talking about her parents' wealth.

Faith got the hint and got right to the point. "Nothing major yet but I wanted to get Red's opinion on something. Is she around?"

"Yeah one sec." Kennedy turned away from the phone to where her red headed girlfriend was sitting on the couch reading a book. "Hey Will, Faith wants a word." Kennedy called Willow over in the vaguest way she knew how. Willow looked up and after placing a bookmark in her book she made her way over to the phone. With a quick kiss on Kennedy's lips Willow took the phone and spoke with Faith.

"Hey Faith, what's going on?" Willow, with Kennedy's help, had managed to get over all her negative feelings about Faith and now accepted her as a friend and one of the good guys.

"Hey Red, I uh, actually ran into a problem down here that only you can help me with I think."

"What's the deal?"

Faith took a deep breath then began an explanation similar to what she told Angel but without mentioning who sired Lucky.