Sorry I'm taking so long, so much work to do before the year ends! Enjoy and review!

"I'm kinda insulted." I say as I swiftly stake the first vamp to lunge at me.

"I mean, you lot are having some major party, and-" I take the head off the next one with two slices of my daggers.

"-I wasn't invited? What kind of-" Front kick, sidestep, jab.

"-bullshit is that?" Step, elbow in the jaw, dodge claws, break fangs, stake.

"Slayer." The voice resonates, and all vampires back away, letting the rather familiar tall thin man walk towards me, sword in hand.

"Hey string bean, you hosting this fiesta?" I dramatically look around, appearing bored.

"No offense, but it seems a little dead to me."

A slight grin appears on his face.

"Your humor is not lost on me, Slayer. In fact, it is one of the reasons that balanced in your favor when choosing the source."

"I'm glad I could help. A lot of people tell me I got it from the Boss, but I've had a sense of humor long before I knew him."

"Yes, perhaps you inherited it from the father you never knew?"

I can't help but make that strangled sound at the base of my throat. I clear it with a cough, but I still can't say a thing.

I'm starting to realize why that voice in my head sounded so familiar.

"Don't smash yourself over the head for not realizing, Faithy. It takes many people centuries in their own waste to figure out what I am, and by then, they're too far gone to be saved."

I lunge with a cry, but he moves quickly out of the way.

"You're a fast little fucker, aren't you?" I mutter as we circle each other.

"Hardly as fast as you are strong, my pet." He coos at me, making the hairs on the back of my neck stand.

I growl and shoot towards him again, but he shoves me back and I land on my ass with a grunt. He tilts his head and looks down at me.

"Come and catch me, if you can, Slayer."

And as soon as he says it, he disappears, and there are vamps coming at me from all sides. Somehow he'd led me right into the middle of the army.

Fuck.

I jump up, brandishing my twin daggers, blood rushing through my veins with power. As bad as it looks, I have a feeling this is gonna be the best fun I'll have in a while.

"Come on, you ugly fucks. Slayer's waiting for ya." I let out a whoop and fight.


Buffy's POV

She whirls around like a madwoman, daggers in hand and flashing in the moonlight.

My heart's pounding in my head, and fear grips me when I see the overwhelming amount of vampires crowding in on her. But at the same time, I can't help but laugh.

She looks like she's having the time of her life; she's laughing, eyes are flashing with excitement, and the moving of her mouth suggests that she's throwing witty little comments at them while she's beating their asses. God, that girl is a handful. She laughs at the face of danger, and gives death a firm handshake anytime she encounters it. She's crazy. I don't know how many times I've told her before, but she is.


"Faith, you're absolutely, positively, out-of-your-mind crazy."

She grinned and gave me a peck on the lips before taking another swig of her beer. Winking at Kennedy and Willow, she looked back at me.

"So how's it feel to be dating a psychopath, B?"

Setting herself into my lap, she wrapped one arm around my neck.

"Pretty uneventful, to be honest."

She pouted. This was one of her better nights. One of the nights when she wasn't stumbling over her own feet as if she couldn't see, or dazing off into space in her own brooding thoughts.

"Eh. Night's still young; you'll change your mind, soon enough." She said, her lips leaving a blazing trail of kisses on my neck. I moaned despite myself.

Xander blushed furiously, and Anya smacked him. Dawn rolled her eyes and the other girls giggled.

"You two make a great couple." One of the girls said, flushing. Faith grinned again.

"I'd like to meet the one who says we don't!"

Everyone laughed in agreement, forgetting for the moment the newest apocalypse we had on our hands.


I see her go down.

Then I see her get back up, struggling.

Under the wave of vampires that rushed at us, she rushed in first, telling the rest of us to stay back. We had to listen to her, she was adamant.

"Listen. This isn't about being together. Not right now. This is about keeping you safe. All of you. So until I manage to beat their asses into sorry shapes, none of you are allowed to rush out there with me. Angel and Co. will stop you if you try."

Firm and beautiful. And crazy. Before she stepped out, she turned to look at me. Excitement. Anticipation. And a hint of "don't-worry-I'll-be-fine". I swallow down the lump in my throat and nod. The corners of her lips lift into a smile. And she walked out, knowing the danger, refusing to share it until she was sure we wouldn't be hurt.

I should never have let her go.

I dash towards the door, but Angel grabs me and won't let me go. I damn the heavens for letting this happen. For rendering me defenseless. Useless. What's a Slayer without her powers?

"Angel! ANGEL! Please...please!" I cry out desperately. His grip tightens and I can sense him fighting his need to run out there, too. But he only holds me closer.

I need to be out there. I have to help her. She needs me.

"Let me go! Faith! I need to help her...please..." He can only give me those defeated eyes and shakes his head.

"I can't, Buffy. I promised her I wouldn't let anybody past these doors until she shows the signal. Especially you. And even when she does, you and the girls are the last resort. My group goes out next." I feel so useless. Without my strengths, without my power.

Faith. Faith. Faith.

I start chanting her name in my head. It becomes a mantra for calming down.

He holds onto me, staring up at the monitors, searching, waiting for the signal. He wants to dash out there just as much as I do. I close my eyes, because when it comes to Faith, that's all I can ever do. Because I can't watch her hurt anymore. Not in person, not through those damn TV monitors.

Angel's grip is gone, and he's calling his team out the doors.

"Let's go."