AN: Before anyone asks the lyrics contained within are my own and the major reason I never made it as a songwriter. I can't wait to rewrite 'Once More With Feeling'. Oh lord.

FIC Faith The Series S 3 Ep 10 (37?)

"Nothing in the world I wouldn't do.

Just to be able to be close to you.

There's nothing that wouldn't be too much.

Just to feel um, your lightest touch.

I'd fight my way through Arctic frost.

Just to ensure that our love won't be lost."

"Ya think she's hot, why not make a move?"

Oz half-grinned at her comment. But then, you never got more than a half-grin out of the rock guitarist. They occasionally hung out with the musician, he was kinda cool and it was different hanging with someone who didn't have a clue about her 'nocturnal duties'. Nocturnal duties, Faith smirked inwardly, damn if that didn't make her sound like a hooker. "Thinking about it," the rock guitarist admitted.

"Playing it cool, right?" Xander nodded sagely. "Very smooth, good tactic. Or you could go over talk music with her."

"What's he gonna do, ask her to play with his instrument?" Faith scoffed.

Again the guitarist responded with a half-grin. "Never tried that one before."

"Word to the wise," Faith snorted. "Don't."

"No, playing it cool is definitely the way to go," Xander put in.

"Yeah," Faith raised an eyebrow at X's comment. "'Cause you're such an expert on chicks, right?"

Xander grinned, his arm looping around her shoulders before he kissed her neck. "I got you didn't I?"

Faith snorted. "I taught ya all ya know, and you know it." Xander reddened and squirmed in the seat beside her. "Well ya're a decent student and that's about it. But man," she shook her head and winked at Oz, "the hours I had to put in training him."

"Too much information," Oz rose, his eyes fixed on the band's lead vocalist, the singer's honey-blonde hair swinging as she sung. "See you tomorrow."

"Not staying to talk to Veruca?" Xander queried.

Again Oz half-smiled. "Leave them wanting more."

"Smooth," Faith approved. "Very cool. See ya, Oz." The guitarist nodded at them before hurrying from the crowded club.

Xander turned to her as the band's music slowed. "You want to dance?" her boyfriend asked in his normal stumbling manner that was such a turn-on.

Faith grinned. "Let's." Faith's smile widened as they reached the middle of the dance floor and Xander pulled her into his arms, her head resting on his chest as they moved in time to the music, their bodies pressing together. Life just didn't get any better than this.

"When I first smelt you, that scent.

I knew you were heaven sent.

I still remember that first glance.

I was spellbound, in a love trance.

My heart you've taken for your own.

If you knew how my love's grown.

Always wanted to stroke your silky hair.

But to pluck up the courage, I couldn't dare.

Ever since that first so fateful day.

From my heart you're never far away."

"You sensed him?"

"The purple-haired guy sat with the biker chick and the hunk?" Veruca nodded at her drummer's question. The club dressing room was only small, far too small for all of them, especially considering their heightened senses. "I sensed him, he's new. My guess is he doesn't even know what he is."

"He's never changed before?" the drummer asked.

"He has no idea he's been blessed," Veruca confirmed.

Her lead guitarist walked in, his closing of the door behind him failing to cut out the sound of the club's booming jukebox. "I asked around. His name is Daniel Osburne, known as Oz. He plays with a local band, he's their lead guitarist."

Veruca smiled. "Perfect just perfect. That makes it easier."

"It's almost time," her bassist put in.

Veruca nodded. "Yes, time to feed." Tomorrow they'd deal with 'Oz'.

"Cordy!" Jesse pulled away from his girl-friend in frustration. "I'm putting my best moves on you, and you're a million miles away."

"Sorry," his girl-friend smiled across her soft-top's front seat. "I was thinking about Faith."

"You're thinking about Faith! While you're making out with me?" Jesse stared at his girlfriend. "That's, that's… Well," Jesse paused to consider the idea, "kinda hot actually."

"Doofus!" Jesse winced when Cordy hit him. She could punch for a girl. "I was thinking it's her 18th soon, we'll have to get her a present."

"Yeah, we will," Jesse agreed. "But we didn't come up here to talk about Faith." He ran a finger down the cheerleader's neck. "We came up here to do things you can never tell your father about because he still thinks you're a... good girl."

"Oh yeah," Cordelia dazzled him with a full-on smile. "And you were just about to help me prove him wrong."

"That I was." Jesse confirmed before leaning in for a kiss. "Cordy!" he cried when his girl-friend pulled away. "What now?"

"T..there's something out there," his girl-friend peered through her window.

"Yeah, well I'm in here," Jesse impatiently reminded.

Cordy turned back to him. "Yeah, you are." His girl-friend moved towards him again.

And pulled away just as their lips were about to meet. "Okay, now I know I heard something."

Jesse shook his head. "Cordy, there's nothi-," he jumped when a hairy arm punched through the convertible's roof. "My mistake, get us the hell out of here!"

"Oh god! Oh god!" Cordy screamed as she reached for the keys, Jesse looked around the car, heart thumping as he saw they were surrounded by three, no make that four, of the monsters, including the one on the roof.

He jumped when his girl-friend slammed the car into reverse, flinging the snarling beast on their roof off and to the ground, its growls turning to screams as the convertible backed into it. Tyres spinning, Cordelia pulled the car towards the main road before turning to him. "Told you I heard something."

Faith climbed onto Cordy's car and peered at the savage tear in the roof, forcing back a shudder as she did so. Whatever did this was one bad hombre. "And you're sure it was a werewolf?" she queried as she jumped off the vehicle and turned to her friends stood in the school car park.

"Well, let's see, um, six feet tall, claws, a big old snout in the middle of his face like a wolf. Um, yeah, I'm sticking with my first guess." Jesse paused. "And it wasn't werewolf. It was werewolves. Four of them."

"It was so awful." Cordelia put her head on Jesse's shoulder.

Jesse put his arm around the cheerleader. "I know, honey."

"Daddy just had this car detailed," Cordelia added.

"Tsk," muttered Tegan. "It was so reckless, putting yourselves in danger like that," the rich bitch reproved. "If you don't care about yourself, what about Jesse?"

Sensing a by-now familiar argument about to break out, Faith shot her junior Slayer a warning glare before speaking to her guardian and Watcher. "Werewolves, what do you know about them?"

"I'm afraid," Faith groaned at an all-too recognisable gleam in her Englishman's eyes, "we'll have to research." Yep, Faith shook her head, that was what she was afraid of.

"Ahhh!" Wrapped up in his bed, Fingers looked up at Veruca. "I won't be able to play tonight," Shy's lead guitarist admitted, "that car hitting me will put me out for a couple of nights."

Veruca smiled. "That's alright," she purred, visions of the good-looking youth from the previous night dancing before her eyes, "I've got your replacement in mind." Other than the two teenagers they'd fed on last night, there'd been no reports of anything that matched werewolf killings. It appeared Oz was resisting his nature. But after he'd watched the pack slaughter, the blood lust would become too much and he'd become at one with his wolf. And hers.

Oz walked dazedly through the school's corridors. After waking naked in a ditch, with only vague, terrible memories of turning into something monstrous plaguing him. After he'd crept home he'd rung his aunt only to find that his cousin, Jordy, was a werewolf, Jordy who'd bitten him three weeks ago.

Upon reaching school things had gotten even worse when he'd heard muttered rumours of two teens torn apart by a 'pack of dogs'. Had he done that? His mind recoiled from the thought, but it was possible. If he could just remember.

"Hey!"

Hearing a voice behind him, he turned to see the honey-blonde singer from the previous night stood there. "Hey," he replied.

The blonde smiled. "I'm Veruca, the lead singer with Shy. I hear you're a guitarist?" he nodded. "I was wondering if you'd be interested in playing with us tonight only our lead fell off a car last night." The girl smiled. "How about it?"

"Sure," Oz forced a smile. Anything to forget what he might have done last night. At least he had a month to plan for the next time this happened.

"And while there's absolutely no scientific explanation for lunar effect on the human psyche, the phases of the moon do seem to exert a great deal of psychological influence. And the full moon seems to bring out our darkest qualities."

As Giles read from one of his dusty old books, Xander indulged in his favourite past-time, Faith watching. His girl-friend turned to him, a vaguely amused look on her face. "Something wrong?"

"No," he smiled back at the brunette, "view's great."

"If you two don't mind?" Giles huffed before turning back to the book. "The

werewolf is such an extreme representation of our inborn animalistic traits that it emerges for three full consecutive nights: the full moon and the two nights surrounding it."

"Whoa," Xander tore his eyes away from Faith to look at the Watcher. "So it'll rise again tonight?"

"Yes," he glanced across at Willow who was busy reading another of the Englishman's books. "The Werewolf acts on pure instinct. No conscience, predatory and aggressive."

"In other words, your typical male," Faith commented before affectionally swatting the back of his head, "'least until they're house-trained."

"On behalf of my gender, hey!"

Giles peered over his glasses. "Yes, let's not jump to any conclusions."

"I didn't jump." Faith defended. "I took a tiny step, man – animal, obvious."

Giles sighed. "The point is that our wolfman could also be a wolf woman, depending on who was bitten by a werewolf."

"Yeah," Xander agreed before looking towards Giles. "Bitten?"

"That's the standard-," the librarian's voice trailed off as he stood up, "Xander, what is the matter?"

"I've got a lead," he replied before hurrying out of the library, shouting behind him, "I might know who our werewolf is!"

Xander shoved the locker room open and walked in. "Larry."

The sole figure washing his face in the sink jumped. "Harris! Sheesh.!" The jock shook his head before opening his locker. "Next time wear a bell."

"Why so jumpy, Larry?"

"Geeks make me nervous."

"Is that really it or is there something you're hiding?" Xander pressed. "Like how did you get that cut?" he pointed to the bandage on the school bully's forearm.

"A dog jumped out and bit me, sixteen stiches," the youth stared at him. "What the hell has it got to do with you, anyway?"

"No," Xander shook his head. "I don't believe you. I know your secret, big guy. I know what you've been doing at night."

"You know, Harris, that nosey little nose of yours is going to get you into trouble someday... " Larry grabbed him by the shirt, but Xander didn't react, knowing a combination of his Halloween possession and Giles' training meant he could handle the footballer. "Like today."

"Hurting me isn't gonna make this go away. People are still gonna find out."

Larry let go of him and stepped back, a scared look on his face. "Alright. What do you want? Hush money? Is that what you're after?"

"I don't want anything! I just wanna help!" Xander exclaimed.

"What, you think you have a cure?" Larry scoffed.

"No, it's just... I know what you're going through because I've been there. That's why I know you should talk about it," Xander responded.

"Yeah, that's easy for you to say. I mean, you're nobody. I've got a reputation here."

"Larry, please, before someone else gets hurt."

Larry shook his head. "Look, if this gets out, it's over for me. I mean, forget about playing football. They'll run me outta this town. I mean, come on! How are people going to look at me after they find out I'm gay." Xander blinked, okay not the revelation he was expecting. Larry smiled. "Oh, wow. I said it. I'm gay. I am gay."

"Yeah," Xander nodded dazedly. "I heard you the first time."

"I can't believe it. It was almost easy. I never felt I could tell anyone. And then you, you bring it outta me," Larry shook his head.

"Really," Xander shook his head. "It probably would have slipped out even if I wasn't here."

"No, no, because knowing you went through the same thing," Larry leant on the locker opposite him, "made it easier for me to admit it." The other boy scowled. "But don't you think it's a little unfair on Faith, using her as cover?"

"A…as cover?" Xander stuttered.

"And Jesse, the way you two used to hang around together?" Realisation dawned in Larry's eyes. "He's using Cordelia isn't he? Wow, I mean Jesse's really hot. You're okay, but him."

"You think Jesse's hotter than me?" Xander was in turns insulted and then relieved. "Really not the point," he shook his head. "I'm not gay!"

Larry smiled sympathetically. "Of course, of course not. Don't worry." Larry patted him on the shoulder. "I wouldn't do that to you. Your secret's safe with me. If you ever need to talk…"

"Thanks," Xander muttered before bolting.

"Where did you go?" Faith queried as Xander rushed back into the library, face pale.

"What is it with you people!" Xander cried. "Always with the accusing! Judging people! Prying!"

"Jeez," Faith looked towards her Watcher, eyebrow raised in confusion. "Chill pill, take one." Faith turned towards Willow. "Red, any luck?"

The Wicca looked up from her lap-top. "There is one name that keeps getting spit out. Aggressive behaviour, run-ins with authority, about a screenful of violent incidents."

"K," Faith nodded eagerly. "Give me a name and I'll track the asshole down and kick-," Faith's voice trailed off as realisation hit. "It's me, ain't it?"

"And why," Tegan snorted, "am I not surprised?"

Deciding punching her way through her fellow Slayer's face wouldn't help her argument, Faith instead went on the defence. "Okay, most of those were not my fault. Somebody else started 'em. I was just standing up for myself."

"They say it's a good idea to count to ten when you're angry," Cordelia put in.

Faith eyeballed her friend. "One... Two... Three..."

"I'm guessing your standard silver bullets are in order here?" Jesse interrupted.

Giles shook his head. "No. No bullets. No matter who this werewolf is, it's still a

human being, who may be completely unaware of his or her condition."

"So tonight we bring 'em back alive," Faith concluded.

"What time do you want us?"

Faith hid a wince at Xander's query, knowing her boyfriend hated it when she sidelined him. Turning, she shook her head. "Sorry X, this is a two Slayer, one tranq gun, guy job."

"But-."

"Hey," she put her hands on her man's shoulders and kissed him on the chin, "you go have fun at the Bronze, I'll meet up with you later, promise."

"Find anything?" Giles queried as the three of them walked through Sunnydale's darkened woods.

"Yes. And you won't believe what I saw. Brittany Podell was making out with Owen Stadeel, but he goes with Barrett Williams." Both he and Faith stared at Tegan. "If she ever found..." The blonde Slayer's voice trailed off. "No, no sign of the werewolf. How about you?"

"The same." Giles looked around. "I thought we might, I thought we might knock on a few windows, uh, ask if anyone has seen anything yet."

Now it was his turn to get a double-stare. "G, no one's seen anything."

Giles reddened at his girl's knowing tone. "No, of course not, no. Yes." He looked around, towards some bushes. "Shall we?"

Faith snorted. "You asking two Slayers into the bushes with ya, G? Ya stud, ya."

He shot his unrepentantly grinning Slayer a glare. "Oh do belt up." Shoving aside the bushes, he started into them. At the last moment he heard a click and suddenly was flying into the yanked upwards by the rope around his leg. "What the bloody hell!"

"G!" Faith cried out in horror.

"What the hell?" a tall, weather-beaten American with a shotgun stepped out of the shadows. "Hands are good right about there."

After a second Faith and Tegan raised their hands. "Who are you? What are you doing?" Giles demanded.

"The name's Cain," the American replied. "I'm the one with the gun, which means I'm the one who gets to do the interviewing."

"Before we begin, perhaps you'd be so good as to release me?" Giles tartly suggested.

Cain exhaled before pulling out a knife, and, his shotgun still trained on them, cut the rope holding the snare. Giles grunted as he crashed to the ground, landing on his shoulder. "You alright?"

He smiled at his daughter. "Yes."

Cain tilted his head and glanced from Tegan to Faith and back again. "Gotta say, I'm impressed."

Giles' eyes narrowed at the lecherous note in the man's voice. "Excuse me?"

Faith looks up at Giles, then back at Cain. "Oh shit," the brunette muttered. "This can't end well."

Now Cain openly leered. "Well, it's good to get the fruit while it's fresh."

"You'd be wise to take that back," Giles growled.

"Hey congrats really," Cain laughed. "A guy my age with two honeys like this, you're a player, man. "

Fists clenched, Giles started, forward but Faith held him back, head turned as she glared at the man. "Yo, this ain't like that." Faith shot him a warning look before releasing her grip. "We're hunting werewolves." Cain laughed. "Okay, it's funny if you don't believe in werewolves."

"No," the man shook his head, "it's funny thinking about you three catching one. I mean, this guy looks like he's auditioning to be a librarian, and you're girls."

"How 1890s," Tegan muttered.

"I assure you they're quite capable."

"Yeah," again Cain leered at his Slayers. "Capable of what, though?" Giles growled and started forward only to stop when Cain levelled his gun at his chest. "Here's the thing. Werewolf pelts fetch a pretty penny in Sri Lanka, and it's a little hard to skin 'em when they're alive."

"And it doesn't bother you that a werewolf is a person twenty-eight days out of the month?" Faith queried.

Cain smirked. Giles realised he was really beginning to loathe the bombastic hunter. "That's why I only hunt 'em the other three. I'd really love to stay and chat, but I'm on a tight schedule. Any idea where else the boys and girls like to get together around here?"

"You're looking for a party?" Tegan asked.

"No, but the werewolf is. They're suckers for that whole sexual heat thing. Sense it miles away. Since this little doggie ain't here, I guess he found another place."

"Thanks for the info," Giles winced when Tegan crashed a right into Cain's jaw, cracking it and sending the man crashing to the ground before picking up his gun and bending it into an u-shape.

"Well done, Tegan," Giles approved.

"Hey, I was fixing to do th-," Faith's voice trailed off, a horrified, terrified, look coming over the beautiful brunette's face. "I…I know where Wolfie's gonna be, the Bronze."

"Where the others are," Giles turned. "To the car, and hurry!"

"In the bar stands a gigolo living on his good looks.

Next to him, a short fat man whose more into books.

But the way you look, that just don't mean a damn.

The beauty of your heart, that's the measure of a man."

Xander looked around the crowded club. Jesse was dancing with the girls, leaving him alone with his thoughts and fears. Suddenly a beaming, perspiring Willow appeared beside him. After chugging down part of her soda, the Wicca spoke.

"Oz is really rocking tonight," Willow exclaimed. Xander smiled vaguely and shrugged. "You don't need to worry, Faith's like super-tough, Tegan's a bitch, but she's tough too, and Giles is the book-slayer!"

A grin on his face, Xander opened his mouth to query if 'book-slayer' was an actual term. And then paled as he registered something. "Right now, I'm not so much worried about Faith and the others as us. The band are all going 'Bad Moon Rising' on us."

"Bad Moon-," Willow followed his gaze. "Oh boy."

"That doesn't come close to covering it." Xander replied, seeing the others heading towards him, he started barking out orders. "Get everyone out now!"

"Hurry, G!" Faith implored as she leapt up and down on the seat beside him.

"I'm going," he gritted his teeth as he roared around a corner, tyres screaming in protest, "as fast as I can!"

"Go faster!"

Oz swallowed as he continued to play, fingers, deftly, lovingly stroking the guitar strings. Something was very wrong, he didn't know what, but tonight, he could almost smell the sweat of the dancers, hear the pounding of their hearts and every muttered whisper. "Oz," he glanced towards Veruca. "Join us."

His eyes widened when the lead singer's body began to swell, clothes ripping, and sprout thick, golden hair. "N…no," his guitar slipped through nerveless hands, crashing to the ground as his temporary band-mates leapt from the stage and into the crowd. Eyes fixed on the carnage before him, Oz felt himself begin to change, the wolf's howling call impossible to deny.

"This is not going well," Xander muttered as a werewolf leapt off the stage and onto a fleeing patron, the teen's head disappearing into the monster's jaws. He winced as the bar was sprayed with viscera. "I so didn't need to see that. Four, make that five werewolves from the look of Oz," Xander continued. "We are seriously out-numbered."

"Lucky we're here then."

Xander's heart leapt at Faith's voice. "Faith!"

"Yep!" his girl-friend shoved her way through the screaming to his side. "And if you two jabronis don't start for the door you'll have more than just werewolves to worry about."

"But-."

"Go, X!" Faith grabbed his collar and shoved him towards the door, her eyes fixed on the ensuing carnage.

"You ready, G?"

"Indeed I am," her Watcher raised his tranquiliser rifle and fired a dart into the nearest werewolf. "Although we have a problem," the Englishman hurriedly reloaded his gun and fired again, even as the werewolf turned and headed for him. "This is single-shot, and I'll need time to -."

"Understood." Leaping into the air, Faith jumped over the heads of the fleeing patrons and into the path of three of the four remaining werewolves, the other just prowling on the stage. She was relieved when Tegan appeared by her side. "Let's do this."

One of the werewolves jumped at her, bared teeth shining in the half-light. Faith dropped to one knee, reached above her head and grabbed two handfuls of fur and flung the monster into the bar. Even as she spun around to face the werewolf, another jumped at her from behind, only to be put down by a back-heeled kick to the jaw.

Turning her attention back to the first werewolf, she caught it with a left hook to the jaw as it leapt at her, knocking it back into the bar. The wolf leapt at her again, obviously not a Mensa member, only to be caught by a dart to its back. Yelping in surprise, the wolf hit the ground with a bump, and looked towards Giles as he fired a second dart into it.

"Well done-." Faith grunted as a heavy weight slammed into her shoulders, knocking her face-first to the ground. Conscious of the werewolf's hot breath on her neck, she reached out, grabbed a bar stool, and swung it behind her.

The heavy seat connected with a solid thump, the werewolf yelped, and rolled off. Faith leapt to her feet and spun to face her attacker, only to be hit by the werewolf leaping at her again, the force of the collision carrying her and her attacker over the bar. "Fuck!" Faith grunted as she hit the ground, pain reverberating through her body, but had presence of mind to drive a knee into the wolf's stomach, knocking it off.

Rolling up to her knees, she grabbed a bottle from behind the bar and flung it at the werewolf. The monster howled as the bottle smashed into its snout, glass flying everywhere, before leaping at her.

Faith flowed into a side-on stood position and caught the monster with a side-heel kick to its face. The wolf howled as it flew back over the bar. "Demons, vamps, werewolves, it don't matter," Faith placed her hand on the bar counter and prepared herself to one-hand vault over it, "I kick as-, shit!"

Faith screamed as her hand slipped on some fluid on the bar as she leapt into the air, sending her sailing over the werewolf's head and crashing into the jukebox by the wall before bouncing to the ground. Winded and head ringing, she was helpless to roll away from the jukebox falling on her legs, pinning her to the floor. Faith turned her head to see the werewolf advancing on her, eyes glinting balefully. "Oh, fuck."

Suddenly a furry shape hit the werewolf, powerful jaws sinking deep into its neck. The first werewolf howled at its unexpected attacker and tried to shake him off, but the other lycanthrope's jaws were inescapable, and soon the first werewolf sank to the ground, blood pooling on the ground beneath. "Okay," Faith swallowed as the surviving wolf prowled around her, gleaming eyes fixed on her throat. "Is this a good moment," she tried and failed to push the jukebox off her, "to tell ya I was thinking of contributing to PETA?"

Suddenly there was a slight 'pfft', a split-second later dart appeared in the werewolf's neck. The monster howled and leapt at her.

Only to hit the floor with a thud when Tegan threw a dagger into its shoulder. Snarling, the werewolf turned towards the other Slayer only to crumple under the effects of a second dart. For a second there was a strained silence. "Great guys," Faith commented. "Now how about getting me up and these wolfies chained up before they wake up?"

"Nag, nag, bloody nag," muttered Giles.

"I heard that!" she warned.

"How's your legs?"

Faith winced at the question. She hadn't felt it at the time, she'd been too jazzed, but the jukebox had made a hell of a mess of her. If she'd have been normal, she'd had been on crutches for weeks, as it was she wasn't gonna be wearing the leather mini X loved for quite some time. "Sore, but I'll live," she turned to her questioner, "thanks to you."

Oz half-smiled. "My pleasure."

"You going?" Faith queried.

"Yeah," the rock guitarist stared into the woods. "I've got a flight to Tibet in an hour. A guy Giles knows, some shaman who he reckons knows how to control this stuff." The rock guitarist looked towards her. "Have I told you how weird all this?"

Faith laughed. "Welcome to my world!"