The darkness of the room covered her like an unwanted security blanket. She was restrained and feeling weak. With no idea how long she'd been there, she didn't know the last time she'd fed. She could feel herself withering away with every minute that passed. Straining, she opened her eyes and tried to see through the thick darkness of the room. The full moon shone through the open window, illuminating a row of knives laid out on the table. A chill ran through her body as her memories came back to an almost familiar scene.

Nadine walked into the room, lighting a few candles as she made her way over to the table. With a click of her tongue she picked up a small dagger and walked over to where Faith lay restrained on the bed. Nadine's eyes raked over Faith's body, her tongue licking her lips slowly as she ran the tip of the blade over Faith's arm.

"Now, are you going to play the game?" Nadine asked as she pressed the cool blade into the skin just above her wrist. "Or are you going to be a little bitch and refuse?"

"I'll play it then," Faith responded weakly. "If I do, you'll let me go?"

"That was the deal."

"Do it," Faith groaned as she closed her eyes.

Faith ignored the pain shooting through her entire body with every small cut Nadine made. It was a sadistic game of torture and she held back her screams, not giving in completely to Nadine and her little 'game'. This was no game. This was the works of a crazed psychopath vampire who wanted nothing but to cause pain in her own kind in the only way that wouldn't kill them. The thoughts of wanting to be dead rather than here, tied to a bed with Nadine purring and cutting her lingered only until she thought of Buffy, of the others, of Giles and of Andrea. She had to be strong, put up with the torture until she could get out of the game and leave.

It was foolish for her to think that Nadine would just let her walk away, but she had to hold onto a fraction of a hope that Nadine wasn't as crazy as she was appearing to be and that she would be true to her word.

"You taste better than the other slayer and much better than the witch," Nadine nearly purred as she licked at the wounds she'd made on Faith's arms. "I wonder why that is."

"Cos I've had evil in me," Faith moaned out weakly. "Isn't that what you said before?"

"Right," Nadine laughed as she moved to straddle Faith's hips. "The witch had a big, powerful darkness inside of her once before, but I have to tell you, Faithy...it doesn't even come close to yours."

"That was..." Faith gasped out as Nadine pressed the blade into the skin just over her breasts, just above the top of her shirt. "A long time ago."

"Not that long ago," Nadine said with a smirk as she bent down and trailed her tongue over the shallow cut. "You know redemption means shit to me. You haven't redeemed yourself. You've just suppressed it deep down inside of you. One little thing is all it's going to take to draw it out again."

"Nothing is gonna bring it out of me," Faith said softly.

"You think love is going to keep it away? You think your precious Buffy is going to keep you from falling into your darkness again? Nuh uh, Faithy. If there's one thing I've learned in all the years I've been in this world is that love doesn't conquer all. The darkness always wins. There is good and then there is evil, and you will never be of the good no matter how much you try to convince yourself and everyone around you."

Faith closed her eyes as Nadine got off of her and walked back over to the table. She opened her eyes just enough to see her lick the blade of the small dagger clean before she placed it back down in its spot. Her body recovered rather quickly despite how weak she was and she strained against the ropes and chains that held her firmly to the bed. She shuddered as she thought of being found like this by Buffy and then she had to wonder why she hadn't come for her yet.

"After your last blackout," Nadine started out slowly as she made her way back to the bed. "I had to take you somewhere else where your precious Buffy wouldn't think to look for you. Don't worry though. The witch knows where you are."

"She..."

"It was her idea," Nadine laughed, the shrillness of it chilling Faith to the core. "Who knew the little witch would be so willing to turn on her friends like that. See, Faithy, I like it when people play the games my way."

"Fuck you."

"Was that an invitation or a request?"

"Neither," Faith responded bitterly. "How much longer do I have to play this fucked up game of yours?"

"We've only just begun," Nadine said as she picked up a dagger slightly bigger than the last one and ran her fingertips over the sharp tip. Faith winced slightly as Nadine approached the bed and with a wry laugh, Nadine stared down at her, knife still in her hand. "What's the matter? I thought you liked playing with sharp things?"

"I do, on disgusting bitches like you and not in the way you've been using them on me," Faith groaned out as she felt the cool tip of the blade being pressed into the side of her neck.

"Idle threats don't work on me," Nadine whispered as she leaned in and replaced the knife with her fangs. "I could drain you, you realize that? You wouldn't be able to stop me."

"Then why don't you?"

"Nah, what fun would that be?"

Faith kept quiet after that, knowing anything she said would only provoke Nadine to go one step too far too fast. She had to keep what little strength she had inside of her to hold on and last out as long as she possibly could. Faith hadn't realized she'd blacked out, again, until she opened her eyes to the bright sunlight pouring in the open window. She was still restrained to the bed, but the table with the assortment of knives was no longer in the small, dusty room.

She lifted her head and tried to examine most of the cuts Nadine had given her, finding them already healed, most of them gone. A few of the deeper ones were just a faint red line, looking nothing more than a scratch now. Her mouth was dry and as she licked her lips, it tasted bitter. Like death. Wave after wave of nausea hit her as she tried to breathe steadily, the dust in the air making it hard to take deep breaths. As soon as she got the nausea under control she could only faintly hear voices coming from a room beneath her.

"It won't be long before Buffy finds her," Faith could hear Willow say and she felt her anger bubbling in her veins at the coldness of Willow's voice. "We'll have to move her. Again."

"I thought you told me this place was safe, kitten?"

Faith cringed at Nadine's pet name for Willow. It caused those images of that night to come back and she couldn't push them out of her head as easily as she would have liked to. She kept her eyes closed as she heard the two of them walk up a set of stairs and towards the room. Willow walked in first and when Faith felt her near her, she opened her eyes and saw the Willow she knew staring back at her, not the Willow she'd seen before.

"Will..."

"Shh, just play along, okay?" Willow said quickly and quietly as she turned around to face Nadine as she strolled into the room.

Faith didn't know what the hell was going on. Was everything before just an act for Willow? She didn't think she had it in her to play Nadine's game and in turn, playing it against her with a game of her own. Faith knew she'd seriously underestimated Willow and then she couldn't help but think of Kennedy. Did Kennedy know Willow was putting on an act or did she think it was real? Willow turned to look at her, shaking her head slightly and giving her a look to stop thinking. Faith tried, knowing Nadine probably heard her thoughts as clearly as Willow had.

"She's a little delusional," Willow laughed as Nadine slowly approached the bed. "What did you expect? You've had her chained up here for days without being fed."

"That isn't part of the game."

"Then make it part of the game or I am not playing," Willow said with a coy smile as she held her hands behind her back so only Faith could see the slight twirl of her fingers. "Go and bring up the little snack I brought with me."

As soon as Nadine was safely out of the room, Willow finished her spell that undid the ropes and chains and helped Faith off the bed. "What the fuck, Red?"

"I'll explain later. There's no time."

"What the fuck?" Faith repeated, needing some answers as to what the hell was going on.

"Faith, please. Just get out of here before she comes back. There's only one way out and if you keep following the path it'll lead you home. Now go!"

Willow was blocking the door and motioned for her to climb out the window. Before Faith could protest, she found herself already on the roof and looking down at the ground at least a good twenty feet below. She took a breath and hoped to hell she wasn't too weak to land safely and took the plunge. She landed hard, but she was okay. She stumbled on shaky legs as she walked from the abandoned house through the small clearing. She looked around nervously until she found the pathway that Willow had briefly mentioned. She glanced up at the house, stopping as a bright red glow emanated from the room she'd just been in.

She felt a little more at ease, almost as if whatever control Nadine had over her had been lifted as the light faded from red to white and then disappeared completely. She no longer had the strength to continue and she fell back onto the cool tall grass, sighing out softly as the strong pull of sleep washed over her.

****

Buffy paced the hallway by the medic ward, anxious for Giles to finish talking to Faith alone. It had been three days since she'd come back and in those three days Willow told her everything that happened. Well, almost everything. She still couldn't believe that Willow would go off after Nadine, alone and unprepared. Willow did have a plan and part of that plan was for her to find Nadine's weakness one way or another. After much apologizing and explaining, Buffy forgave her and tried to help her get back into Kennedy's good graces.

Kennedy was a little harder to break. She didn't know what to believe and after awhile and a lot of tears shed by her and Willow, they came to terms and Kennedy told her that one day she'd forgive her for what happened when Willow had forced her to come to see Nadine with her that night.

Still, there were a lot of things that hadn't been explained. Willow said as soon as Faith was back to feeling herself, or as much as herself as she could, she'd tell them how she defeated Nadine once and for all. Buffy of course had heard a few rumours floating around the castle, but she knew not to believe a word of them. Only Faith had been there and she'd been sleeping until that morning, refusing to talk to anyone until she'd spoken with Giles first.

"Is she going to be okay?" Andrea asked as she slowly approached Buffy in the hallway. "I'm getting kind of worried about her."

"You didn't hear? She woke up this morning."

"Oh. What are you doing out here then?"

"She wanted to talk to Giles first before she saw anyone else," Buffy said with a heavy sigh. "He's been in there for hours. What the hell could they be talking about?"

"Who knows? They used to do that a lot back in Cleveland. They'd just sit out in the backyard and talk for hours on an end. Couple of times I tried to listen in on their conversation, but Faith wouldn't have it and threatened to kick my ass so good I wouldn't be able to walk for a month."

Buffy laughed as she stopped pacing and took a seat on the bench just outside the doors. "They've gotten close, haven't they?"

"Yeah," Andrea nodded as she took a seat on the bench next to her. "With all the crazy stuff that's been going on, I think she just needs someone that's not exactly in it all to listen to her."

"I guess so."

"You are jealous," Andrea stated as she raised an eyebrow in a way that was so much like the way Faith did. "You are jealous because they are close like you had been before."

"I'm not jealous!"

"You so are."

"What do you know? You haven't been in the circle that long."

"Long enough. A year training here and the last three months in Cleveland with them is plenty long enough to know exactly how things are. Plus, I've heard stories."

"From who?"

"Some of the girls that have been here a lot longer than myself," Andrea chuckled softly. "Don't worry. I was being nosy and got it out of them. But, you know something, Buffy? None of that matters. The past...it should stay there. I'm not saying forgive and forget, but just let go. You've done it with Faith and I think you need to do it with yourself too."

"I..."

"Think about it, Buffy. Why do you think all this bad shit keeps on happening?"

"Because I can't get over the past?"

"Who knows? Could be a big part of it."

"Are you sure you are related to Faith?" Buffy laughed as she playfully nudged Andrea with her shoulder.

"Should I take offense to that?"

"No," Buffy said quickly. "Just that...I...never mind. You're too wise for someone so young. Has anyone ever told you that?"

"Once or twice," Andrea shrugged. "When you spend a lot of time with yourself you begin to see everything else nobody tends to notice. I see things I'd rather not see or know about, you know?"

Buffy nodded, trying to understand what Andrea was trying to say to her. Giles walked out of the ward with a rather solemn smile on his face as he approached them and took a seat next to Buffy on the bench. He didn't look at her and waited until Andrea had left the two of them alone.

"How is she feeling?"

"Better. She's rested and uh, fed. She'll be fine."

"You two sure spent a long time talking."

"We did. We talked about a lot of things. I helped her see why she shouldn't give up so easily."

"Give up?"

"Not what you think, Buffy. She's strong. You and I both know that. The responsibility of being a slayer is a huge burden to carry. You know that all too well," Giles said softly as he turned to her. "She wants a break. She doesn't want to run away from her responsibilities completely, but sort of divulge into a period of semi-retirement."

"Oh."

"And we both agreed you needed a break as well," he finished with a warm smile. "I know that starting out your semi-retirement in Cleveland might not be the best place to start, but she has uh, plans and she needs to be there to make them happen."

"What kind of plans?" Buffy's curiosity was piqued now as she hung on his every word. "Giles, tell me."

With a soft chuckle he stood up and looked down at her. "I believe it involves a Harley and a very long road-trip."

Buffy laughed as she stood up and hugged him. "Don't know what we'd do without you, Giles."

"Well, you did get along quite fine without me before," he chuckled softly. "All in the past, isn't it not?"

"Yeah. Definitely."

"Now, Faith wants to talk to you about all of this and as soon as you two have finished, I believe there is a rather important meeting to have. I'm rather curious to hear about how Willow managed to defeat Nadine and I believe," Giles said as he glanced at his watch. "Angel should be arriving shortly to find out as well."

Buffy waited until Giles left the hallway before she walked into the medic ward and found Faith lying in the bed furthest from the window, her eyes on the small TV next to the bed as an old black and white movie played. Buffy smiled a little as she approached the bed and sat down, reaching out for Faith's hand as their eyes met.

"How are you feeling?"

"Better," Faith said dryly as she reached for the remote and flipped off the TV. "Giles tell you what we talked about?"

"Little bit, yeah."

"What do you think? You and me, riding around the country on a Harley?"

"Could be fun," Buffy smiled as she lay down on the small bed next to her and ran her fingers over her stomach. "Do you even know how to drive one of those things?"

"Gonna learn," Faith laughed. "Could be fun, you know?"

"Mm-hmm."

"B?"

"Yeah?"

"Did Willow tell you how she..."

"Not yet. We're going to go have a meeting real soon. She was waiting for you to feel better before she told us."

"Don't see how that matters. She could have just told you guys then told me later."

"Guess she wants everyone to find out at the same time. I swear I'll kill her if it's something pathetic like she used some sort of spell on her and made her go all kaplooey."

Faith laughed a deep, throaty chuckle as she pulled Buffy so their lips were mere inches apart. "I'm sure it's more interesting than that, B. Glad that bitch got what she deserved. The last thing we needed was some psychotic super vamp doing nothing but ruin and control our lives."

They laid there for awhile, just holding onto one another before Buffy helped Faith into some clean clothes and they joined the others in the study. Angel stood off to the side as the Scoobs and a few of the younger slayers took their seats. Willow looked around at everyone and began pacing, looking a little nervous at first until Angel sat down on the edge of the desk and nodded for her to start.

"How'd you kill the bitch?" Andrea blurted out before Willow could begin to speak.

"A spell," Willow replied.

"Damn," Buffy sighed under her breath as she looked over at Faith as she chuckled softly. "I knew it."

"I had to almost drain her dry before I could do it," Willow continued, ignoring Buffy as she smiled proudly. "In some ways, Nadine turning me ended up working out for our benefit. But this spell, I had spoken with a couple members of the coven and after I revealed myself to them, we figured out exactly how to do it."

"Just had to become a sexy little vamp to do it," Faith laughed and winced as Buffy jabbed her in the ribs. "What the hell was that for, B?"

"You just called her sexy."

"So?"

"So!" Buffy pouted as she crossed her arms over her chest then became fully aware that all eyes were on her. "What? So I'm jealous. Big deal."

"I'm curious about this spell," Angel spoke up as Willow spun around to look at him. "You don't plan on using it again, do you?"

"When we find Christopher and Laurence, yes. It seems they might not be as strong as Nadine, but they cannot be dusted in the...normal way," Willow said, fumbling with the last couple of words as she looked away from Angel.

"Hey Red," Faith said as she rubbed her still sore ribs. "What was with that light thing I saw?"

"Part of what was left of Nadine's soul being destroyed," she replied with a smile. "Quite a sight and such a rush, really."

"So, it was just that easy? All it took was a spell?" Dawn spoke up as she walked in and the room fell quiet at her sudden arrival. "Here I was hoping for some explosion of some kind, something exciting."

"Oh Dawnie, you should have seen it. There was an explosion, of sorts," Willow chuckled. "Nice to see you decided to come back."

"Yeah, you know, figured I had to let bygones be bygones, or whatever," she shrugged as she looked over at Buffy and Faith. "Buffy, I'm sorry. For everything."

Buffy only nodded as she linked her fingers with Faith's, not bothering to move as Dawn walked over and sat next to her on the couch. She threw her arms around Buffy and hugged her tight and when she pulled away, she looked over at Faith, studying her reaction before she leaned over and hugged her too.

"Ease up, squirt," Faith laughed as Dawn let go. "Guess that was your way of telling me you're sorry too?"

"Yeah, it is."

Most of the people gathered in the room began to leave, most of them mumbling under their breaths how they'd expected so much more. Buffy tried to hold back her laughter as she left Dawn and Faith on the couch, the two of them talking and finally hashing out their differences. She felt like she was there yet she wasn't at the same time. The atmosphere in the room was light, everyone was happy...overjoyed at the fact that Nadine was no longer a threat to any of them. Buffy walked past Giles and Angel, smiling at them as they stared at her. She stopped when she reached the window and looked outside, the moonlight dancing over the courtyard almost mesmerizing her.

She kept looking back at Faith, smiling as she watched her and Dawn joke around, finally getting along with one another. Xander walked up next to her and placed a hand on her shoulder and when their eyes met, he could only smile and then sob softly as he pulled her in for a tight hug.

"I can't believe you're leaving."

"Just for a little while, Xander."

"It won't be the same around here without you," he whispered. "I'm going to miss you, Buffster."

"I'm going to miss you too."

Xander composed himself, wiping at his eye as he fixed a semi-permanent goofy smile on his face. "Isn't it surreal? Everything finally feels like it's going to be okay now."

"It really does, doesn't it?" Buffy laughed as she looked around the room at those closest to her heart. "Maybe now we'll all finally get a chance to feel free, happy, before the next big bad comes around and decides to wreak havoc on our lives and we'll have to save the world. Again."

"This time though," he said softly. "I think it was more about saving us. Saving you and saving Faith."

Buffy thought about it for a moment before realizing he was right about everything. Rather than give him the satisfaction of saying it, she gave him a quick hug and walked back over to the couch and sat down next to Faith. Everything in the last couple of months flooded her mind as she ran her fingers lightly through Faith's hair as she continued to joke around with Dawn. Despite it all, her going to LA to see Faith had been the one right decision she'd ever made even though, in the beginning, it hadn't worked out quite as she'd hoped. Everything that happened from that point on all happened for a reason.

She had to save herself and Faith from the inevitable darkness that was in both of them, always waiting for that right moment to creep out and take over them. They'd always been standing on an edge, whether it was of their own darkness, their own self-destruction or the unknown, but at least now Buffy knew she'd be ready for whatever would come their way. They did have an eternity ahead of them and there'd be plenty of obstacles always threatening to bring them down.

"Love conquers all," Faith whispered as she leaned in and gave her a light kiss. "Never forget that."

"I won't."

****

Faith sat on the shallow rooftops for what she had a feeling would be the last time she'd be able to in a very long time. It'd be a couple hours before the sun would rise and she was using this moment to sit there alone and think about all the things that had happened over the last couple of months while the others sat around in the kitchen and drank and laughed and talked about what the future had in store for all of them.

"Did you want to be alone?" Angel asked as he stood near the window behind her. "Or could I come out there and talk?"

"About what?"

"Everything. How you are feeling and what you really think about what happened to Nadine."

Faith laughed as Angel climbed out and sat next to her. "Kind of expected more to happen with Willow destroying her and all, you know? In a way she just went poof with some weird light show."

"You didn't see it the way she did. Willow conjured some very powerful magic, some of the darkest she has reached in a long time."

"She played a game with all of us, Angel. I kind of wondered if she was, I mean hello, it's Willow. No matter how far she lets her own darkness drag her in, she's still on our side, on Buffy's side."

Angel nodded and stared at her intensely as she did all she could to avoid looking at her. "I wanted to tell you before about Andrea. Nobody knew how you'd take it and at the time, when we all found out, we weren't even sure if she was your half-sister."

"What made you so sure she was?"

"Blood tests."

Faith raised an eyebrow as she looked over at him. "How? I never gave any of my...oh."

"Yeah. Oh," Angel chuckled. "You keep forgetting that there is a medical record for you complete with all the information we needed including DNA samples. The old Council really kept an extensive record. It was through those files that we learned about Andrea."

"When you say we..."

"I mean Giles and myself. We told Buffy when Andrea came here to begin her training."

"Right," Faith sighed. "The whole Andrea thing kind of threw me for a loop, you know? Never in a million years did I ever think I'd have a sister. Thought my parents figured they had enough on their hands already with me and besides, they never really had your typical loving relationship. Figures this is what ends up coming out of it."

Angel already knew pieces of her childhood from some of their talks years before. Faith hated talking about her childhood, but she'd told Angel all that she was comfortable in saying out loud one night, shortly before she started with her disappearing act. Angel knew things Buffy didn't even know and Faith wasn't sure how to feel about that. She didn't know why she felt more open with Angel when it should be that way with Buffy. With a heavy sigh she lit a cigarette and leaned back against the stone wall.

If anyone understood the way she was without asking questions, it was Angel. He could read her better than anyone else ever could and even the emotions she thought she never showed he'd always seen.

"What are you planning to do once you leave?"

"Go back to Cleveland for awhile, get my license and take B on a little road trip around the country."

"You'll come down to LA and visit?"

"Of course," Faith laughed. "Couldn't do a road trip without going to LA at least once."

"Right," Angel nodded as they both laughed until it almost hurt. "How is it we get along so well?"

"I was gonna ask you the same thing. Tortured souls or something along that line? Wasn't that something you said to me years ago?"

"I believe so yes."

"Angel?"

"Yes, Faith?"

"I never got to thank you for everything you did for me before. For all the shit you helped me get through."

"I think Buffy helped you a little more in ways I never could," he chuckled softly and when Faith saw the look he gave her she punched him in the shoulder. "I'm not talking about what you think I am. She saved you from the pull of the darkness inside of you and you saved her from her own. I had a feeling years ago you two were meant to be together and now I know for sure that you should be together."

"Uh...did we break up or something?" Faith laughed uneasily as she tried to understand what Angel had just told her.

"What I meant was, you two should have been together before this whole...vampire incident happened."

"Know of any kind of time machine I can hop into and go back to let's say, seven or eight years ago and change the way everything went?"

"Nope."

"Not even one that can take me back a couple of months and prevent the whole...vampire incident from happening?" Faith asked, laughing humorously as she looked away from him when he finally caught her eyes with his own. "Didn't think so."

"Everything happens for a reason, Faith. You know that as well as I do. I think things between you and Buffy needed the amount of time it had taken. If it happened years ago I don't think it would have worked out for you two."

"What do you mean?"

"She wasn't ready for you then, the intensity of what you can offer to her. Your love is different than anyone else's, Faith. You love her with more than just your heart, more than just your soul. It's intense. It's real. And it's not going anywhere."

"Better not," Faith laughed as she looked up at the sky, watching as the very first tiny rays of sunlight began to appear. "Damn, didn't think it was so close to morning."

"It's not," Angel replied as he pulled out the small pocket watch and checked the time. "Maybe it is. I should get inside. Not all of us are as fortunate as you and Buffy to still retain the ability to walk about unharmed during the day."

"Jealous?"

"Maybe just a little," Angel laughed as he reached out and gave her shoulder a gentle squeeze. "I'll see you when you come to LA."

Faith nodded. She hated saying the word 'goodbye' to anyone she cared about and Angel was one of those she'd come to learn to love, to open up to, over the years. It'd take time before she could open up to Buffy that way, but she knew one day she would because she loved her and she didn't want to keep everything about herself from Buffy. It was one thing about her that a lot of people that had come in and out of her life either didn't understand or didn't bother to care about.

As she watched the sunrise a short while later, she started to think about what had happened between her and Nadine. It bothered her to no end. She had no idea why Nadine was playing a game with her and everyone else. Sure Nadine had told her it was for her own entertainment and she could understand why, but that wasn't the answer she wanted. She wasn't satisfied without knowing the real answer behind it all. Maybe Nadine was just truly evil and years of torture living the way she was with a soul she just gave up somewhere along the way and let the darkness take over.

The more she thought about it, the more she realized how she could have ended up if she didn't constantly fight within herself, against herself and for herself. There was no way she'd ever let herself become what Nadine had been. And for a moment, she almost felt a small twinge of pity that Nadine had never known what true love was like, that she had never known how strong true love really was.

Things were going to be interesting from here on out, Faith knew that much and she was definitely looking forward to what was in store for her and Buffy along with everyone else. She knew that even though for now, they'd defeated their own self-destruction, it'd come back one way or another one day.