Summary: This is a sequel to my story A Creature I Don't Know which can be found here: s/8467907/1/A-Creature-I-Dont-Know

A/N: I strongly recommend a good understanding of season 5 to follow this: Tough Love especially for this update.

Disclaimer: Joss Whedon, Mutant Enemy, 20th Century Fox, UPN and WB Television Networks own the television shows, "Buffy the Vampire Slayer" and "Angel". Dark Horse and IDW own the Comics. No copyright infringement is intended, no money is being earned by myself. The title of each chapter, and the story as a whole, come from K's Choice songs/Album titles. (Given that I had soundtrack for the first I thought I should have one for the second).

Thank you all for your kind words and support for my last story. I hope you enjoy my continuation of it. I would love to hear your thoughts on my thoughts. Many thanks.

14. Everything For Free

Faith wandered slowly through the fair, hands deep in her pockets. She and Buffy were going to spend the afternoon being all cultural with Willow and Tara. Only now, Buffy had turned into Ubermom with Dawn and cancelled, forcing Faith to be a third wheel. Faith wasn't entirely sure how she felt about that; especially as she didn't think she'd spent any time alone with just Willow and Tara since the weird dream with the First Slayer.

Now she thought about it she wasn't even sure she'd ever spent time alone with just Willow and Tara. She'd third wheeled with Anya and Xander, but that was different - Xander was cool and half the fun came in winding up Anya. Not that she didn't think Willow was cool too, she just didn't have all that much in common with her.

She found Tara wandering aimlessly past one of the many balloon stalls and Faith instinctively looked around for Willow.

"Why so glum?" She asked her. "All out of cotton candy? Or is that where Red is?" She waited for a response but soon realised that none would be coming. "Yo!" She waved her hand in front of Tara's face. "You in there?"

"Sorry." She sighed by way of response. "Will's not coming."

"No bother." Faith shrugged. "B dumped me too, we'll just-" she stopped suddenly realising that tears were silently falling. "What'd I say?"

"Sorry. Willow and I had a fight."

"Oh," Faith instantly relaxed, "is that it? B and I fight all the time. One of our fights had me cooped up in a chair. Oh no..." She trailed off again, "please don't cry. I had mad moves and it was kinda my fault but I would never say that to B! And;" she slowed her nervous speech down enough to stop and point triumphantly at Tara, "that last fight I got a fun holiday to England and now we're better than ever."

"I can't go to England." Tara managed a very weak smile.

"No," Faith conceded, "but I thought I saw a United Kingdom stall a couple of stands back." She stopped while she thought for a while, "That's England, right?"

"Maybe later." Tara sniffed.

"How bout I go get you that cotton candy?"

"I prefer hot dogs." Tara told her.

"Done. Three dogs coming up."

"Three?"

"I'm wicked hungry." Faith smiled. "Now go wait..." She scanned the crowd quickly until she found a bench, "there! And come back with some food. Sauce and onions?" Tara nodded before allowing Faith to leave.

Faith headed back through the stalls and joined the line for the hot dogs. It was nice having a weekend to just do weekend things. She'd managed to persuade Giles that her curfew should be relaxed again given that finals were coming soon and she knew she'd be confined to the house again. She'd intended on spending the time with Buffy, but given Buffy's new desire to follow Dawn around with her homework that was no longer an option. Maybe she and Dawn could have matching curfews.

"Faith." She spun round and found Willow looking agitated. "Where's Tara?"

"She's on a bench over there." She pointed in the vague direction of the bench. "You come to kiss and make up?"

"Where is she?" Willow asked again with far more urgency.

"She's just past China."

"Where's that?"

Faith rolled her eyes and gave up her place in the queue.

"I don't know what you're fighting about," Faith told her, struggling to keep up with Willow, "but-"

Suddenly she was running. Glory's hands were fusing into Tara's skull, into her brain and all Faith knew is that she wasn't going to get there, past all those people, to Tara.

Willow crumpled in a heap before the girl. Faith scanned the crowd looking for the god.

Neither knew what to do now.

Slowly everybody came. Slowly everybody knew.

Willow had struggled to get Tara to comply with the examination. Faith had to help pin her down, keep her still, as they plastered her wrist.

Slowly everybody came. Slowly everybody knew.

Willow sat on the doctor's stool, holding Tara's good hand. She'd barely stopped crying, it took all her strength to simply be there. Stopping the tears was a bridge too far.

"Can't she go home now?"

"Unfortunately, no." The doctor apologised as he finished up Tara's third examination from her third doctor. While the spate of mental illness patients were ever increasing, every doctor had a fresh opinion. "Hospital policy dictates we keep her for the night."

"Does she have to?" Willow pleaded with him. "I can take care of her at home."

"It's poisoned." Tara told the doctor before scolding Willow, "Why don't I tell you that? It's got to be checked though."

"Is she your sister?"

"It has to be verified of course. Anyone could tell you that. Of course. Of course."

"She's my everything." Willow replied simply.

Faith slid down the wall. Slowly everybody had come. Slowly everybody knew she had failed.

"Words cannot express how much I hate this place." Xander complained as the doctor passed him, dropping a hand on Faith's shoulder and squeezing it tight. "And yet the same words I say when I hit my thumb with a hammer keep coming to mind."

"It's dreadful." Giles nodded.

"It's like Communism." Anya sighed.

"Its my fau-" Faith stopped and climbed to her feet as Buffy entered the room.

"Will." She headed straight to the girl and held her close. "I'm so sorry."

"They kill mice." Tara told her.

"I'm sorry it took me so long." Buffy continued. "But I'm here now and Dawn's safe with Spike so I can stay as long as you need me."

Faith looked between the three women. She had failed them all.

She remained silent while forms and papers were filled out. She remained silent while Willow fought the doctors taking her girlfriend away. She remained silent while Willow fought Buffy, while Willow tried to be let to go fight. While the others let Willow simply walk away, Faith followed and remained silent no more.

"What's the plan?" She asked her desperately trying to keep pace as Willow left the hospital.

"Plan?"

"How you want to do it? Go in guns blazing?" Faith explained. "Where do you want to look for her? That apartment block on the edge of the park."

"We need to make a stop first." Willow told her and she led her back to the Magic Box.

Faith left Willow to plan the witchcraft and wizardry, she simply stocked up on weapons. She took anything she could carry on her and waited for Willow to finish in the restricted section before heading back out after the redhead.

Faith followed Willow into the penthouse. While Willow dealt with Glory, Faith took out any and all of the minions who came out to protect her.

Willow's magic was fading though and fading fast. Glory, while she had been imprisoned in a force field was now simply deflecting everything Willow threw at her.

"We need to go, NOW!" Faith screamed at her, struggling to load a fresh bolt into her crossbow while trying to defend Willow from the table Glory threw at her.

"Go?" Glory laughed, "but we're just starting to have some fun. Now," Glory grabbed Willow by the neck, while Faith tried to shift the weight of the oak table on top of her, "you know what they used to do to witches, lover?"

Faith shot her remaining bolt straight at Glory's chest. She was sickened to see that the god simply caught it and held it against Willow's neck.

"I was talking to the witch!" Glory sighed, "That's the problem with you, so rude. Give me the other slayer any day!"

"Here I am." Buffy told her pulling Glory's hand and the bolt within it, from Willow's neck. "Want to play with me?" She twisted Glory's hand and arm back behind her back, forcing her to drop the weapon.

"Buffy," Faith called out as she managed to lift the table above her head, "DUCK!"

Buffy did as commanded and dodged the flying table just as it collided with Glory's head.

She grabbed Willow and the exhausted Faith and pulled them out of the room.

Willow muttered one last spell delaying the lone god and as they descended the stairs she could still be heard bellowing threats of revenge.

Buffy walked Willow home and wished her goodnight before turning on Faith.

"What the hell was that?"

"What?"

"You going after Glory like that? You could of got yourself killed. You could of got Willow killed. God!" Buffy was besides herself with rage. "If Spike hadn't of sent me after Willow, if Spike hadn't-"

But Faith didn't hear any more of the girl's anger, she simply heard the vampires name over and over.

Willow begged Buffy to be silent while Dawn helped Tara eat a sandwich. Buffy simply kept apologising for Faith. Willow realised that trying to explain to Buffy that she would have gone, with or without Faith, was like talking to a brick wall so she simply let the girl complain about her girlfriend while she cared for her own. She could only hope that Buffy's anger was based on worry than anything else.

Buffy was midway through her third run through of her ranting when the walls came crashing down around them.

"Told you this wasn't over." Glory smiled at them all.

Thank you all for your support, Circus