Disclaimer: I own nothing. All characters belong to Joss Whedon.
Title: The Girl In Question
Fandom: Buffy the Vampire Slayer
Characters: Faith, Buffy
Emotion: Confused
Rating: R
Spoilers: Takes place after 'Sanctuary'.
Summary: A counselor attempts to analyze Faith while she's in prison.

"Ms. Lehane?"

"Someone else supposed to be here?"

The psychiatrist studied the young woman in front of her. Her skin was a bit pale. The prison nurse said she showed signs of malnurishment. She'd had a cut on her forehead that had been healing, although it seemed to have faded by now. Remarkable.

Her brown hair lay touseled on her shoulders, her eyes were dark with guilt, pain and determination. The shadows under her eyes hinted at a lack of sleep. She looked relaxed, but guarded, her arms crossed over her chest. The psychiatrist cleared her throat and offered a small, polite smile.

"Ms. Lehane, my name is Dr. Devlin. I'm going to be your counselor for the next few months."

"I don't need to be psycho-analyzed," Faith growled.

Dr. Devlin offered another small smile and gestured to the folder and paperwork in front of her. "I'm afraid it's court-ordered. If you undergo counseling with me and I see improvement, they may take that into consideration when you're up for parole."

"Yeah, in about twenty-five years," the teen scoffed.

The psychiatrist frowned and looked at the file. "It says here that you're nineteen," she murmured. Faith cocked an eyebrow. "I know my own age, lady." Smartass. The woman looked at the list of charges and the fragments of information they had on her. "You've committed two murders and a slew of aggravated assaults." Faith's eyes darkened a bit and she nodded. "Once again, this is all shit I'm very much aware of. So unless you have something you wanna ask, or something new to tell me, I'd really like to go back to my cell."

"Ms. Lehane, you were seventeen when you committed the murders of Deputy Mayor Allen Finch, and Professor Wirth. What happened that you committed these crimes at such a young age?"

Faith looked uncomfortable, and for a moment her eyes looked haunted. "I fell in with a bad crowd," she said, and her voice sounded hollow. Dr. Devlin looked at her file for a moment. "It says here that you were frequently seen with a 'Buffy Summers' while you resided in Sunnydale. Is she part of the bad crowd you're speaking of?"

The file on the table went flying toward the wall before Dr. Devlin had a chance to blink. How did she move so quickly? Eyes wide, she looked to the young woman in front of her. She looked pissed. Royally pissed. Should I call for security?

"Buffy had nothing to do with it. Not in the way that you're thinking," she snarled. "If anything, B's the only one who tried to reach out to me, besides Angel."

Dr. Devlin crossed her legs, took some notes and subtly attempted to gain some composure.

"You seem protective of Ms. Summers. Were you two close?" she asked, and looked up when she heard Faith chuckle darkly. "Closer in ways you can't imagine. But we were never friends."

"Were you lovers, then?"

Dr. Devlin felt her insides quiver a bit at Faith's dark, whistful grin. "Never."

"I'm afraid I don't understand, Ms. Lehane."

Faith leaned backwards, tipping her chair back, and crossed her legs.

"Me neither, Doc."

Dr. Devlin took a few notes and was silence for a moment.

"Speaking of the murders bothered you, but didn't incite a reaction like the topic of Ms. Summers did. Tell me, did you have feelings for her?"

Faith tensed. "That's really none of your fuckin' business."

The psychiatrist let out a breath and said in a tender voice, "you've been carrying quite a burden, Faith. And it's been wearing down at you, probably for years. The topic of your crimes and also of your... Of Ms. Summers, seems to re-open a lot of wounds. I want to help you learn how to cope with these issues. To help mend those wounds so that you can move on with your life. But I can only help you if you let me. Prison isn't just a place of punishment. It's a chance for rehabilitation. So please, Ms. Lehane, let me try."

The brunette looked torn, but relaxed a bit. Dr. Devlin took that as a good sign and tried again.

"Faith, did you have feelings for Buffy Summers?"

Faith's doe eyes met Dr. Devlin's, and a small, painful smile tugged at the corners of her mouth.

Author's Note:

Hey all! Thank you so much for keeping up with this. It means a lot. :)

Aquarius121: I'm glad you think these one-shots have so much potential! And you never know, I might just turn one of them into a multi-chapter fic one day. :)
Whitecat: Aw, thank you!
DobbyRoxMySox: Thanks. I like playing devil's advocate, not to mention I'm a massive Lehane fan. But if I can make you feel sympathy for her, then I've accomplished what I was trying to. So thanks. :)
Senehta: Thank you. Some chapters are cute and fluffy, but I really enjoy writing the ones with depth a lot more.

To everyone else, thank you for your reviews! Keep 'em coming! They keep me motivated! :)