Faith

The past two months, things had quieted down. They hadn't seen a single bringer, and the First hadn't even appeared to Faith to taunt her since they had taken Wesley out and performed the ritual over the Hellmouth. The army of potentials and watchers had been reduced to a skeleton crew, some of them returning to their lives or being dispatched to problem areas around the world.

Faith had a severe sense of foreboding. She was sure the end game was almost here. She did her best to hide her worry from Buffy but knew that it didn't work completely.

They were laying in bed, trying to enjoy the respite. Faith ran her hand gently over Buffy's very pregnant stomach. "I never imagined that I could have this life." She whispered the words, not even sure if Buffy was awake.

Buffy placed her hand over Faith's and sighed, "you're worried that it's going to end."

Faith sat up a little, "even if it does. Even if this doesn't last, I need you to know how happy I've been because of you."

"Nothing is going to happen." Buffy insisted.

"Promise me that you know. Please."

"Of course I know, Faith. You tell me every day, in a million different ways." Buffy reached out for Faith, she leaned into the comforting touch and closed her eyes. A knock at the front door shook her from the moment. She kissed Buffy gently before climbing out of bed. She didn't say anything. She didn't have to.

"Angel." Faith said calmly once she opened the door.

"Faith. Is Buffy here? I need to see her." Angel attempted to enter the house, only to find he wasn't invited.

"Sorry big guy, can't let you in, and she can't get out of bed." Neither of these things was entirely true, but there was no way she was letting a vampire, even if it was Angel, anywhere near Buffy. He had been helping them from LA. Feeding them information while continuing with his own battles.

Faith had not been in direct contact with Angel, but he had provided a lot of useful information, including the location of Wesley. Which she had long suspected was a setup from the start. Still, his information was right, and Wesley was gone. That is the only reason she tried to play nice with the vampire, but she was not taking any chances by letting him in the house.

"What do you mean you can't let me in? I have important information!"

"I'm sure you do, I'll come out, and you can tell me all about it."

"Just invite me in already!" Angel was always a little rude to Faith. He never tried to hide the fact that he felt the slayer wasn't good enough to be with Buffy. Angel had tried to help her the first time around, but the second time, he never showed anything but contempt for her.

"Can't. We had to up all the protections on the house. No vamps can get in without the witches say-so, and they aren't here." Faith shrugged as she moved outside to the porch. "So, tell me what's so important?"

Angel looked back to the door and frowned. He held a folder in his hand and seemed to consider what he should do. "I found a way to close the Hellmouth for good."

Faith perked up, permanently closing the Hellmouth had been the main focus of their research, but they had made no progress. "Oh, really. Do tell."

He frowned again, "where is everyone? Wouldn't it be better to tell everyone at once?"

"They're not around. I'm all you got." Faith sighed a little, making sure she looked frustrated that everyone had abandoned them. It was all part of the plan, having it appear that the group had disbanded, that the slayers were alone and vulnerable. It was risky, but they had all agreed that it was the best hope of drawing out the First.

A grin almost appeared on Angel's face, the hint of it was there long enough for Faith to catch it and for her to be sure of what she suspected. Angel leaned against the railing next to Faith and opened the folder. There were symbols and drawings on the pages, none of which meant anything to Faith.

"Ok, what am I looking at?"

Angel pointed to the image of a dagger, this image Faith did recognize. It was the same dagger she had almost been tricked into killing Willow with. "This weapon, we can use it to seal the Hellmouth."

"Where is it?" Faith hoped her voice didn't sound as shaky out loud as it did in her head.

Angel smirked and pulled the dagger out of an inner pocket of his trench coat. Faith swallowed at the sight but remained calm. "We should go tonight. It will be best to get this done now."

"You're sure? I can do this by myself? We don't need any magic or anything?" Faith was becoming nervous. She had no idea if that dagger was enchanted the same way as it was before, or what it would mean if it was.

"I can do what little magic we will need," Angel assured her.

"Ok, great. Lemme just go give B the good news, and we can head out." Faith re-entered the house, closing the door and running up the stairs.

"Who was at the door?" Buffy hadn't moved from her reclined position on the bed. She wasn't exactly bedridden, but the two lives growing inside her did make it very difficult to move.

"Angel." They had discussed many possible ways things might happen. Faith never wanted to say out loud that she thought Angel was almost certainly going to come back into their lives as an agent of the First. She swallowed hard. "He showed me some papers, telling me about a magical dagger that could close the Hellmouth for good." She had swiped the image of the dagger from Angel, and now she held it up to show Buffy, hoping she would recognize it.

"Oh." Buffy's face fell, and Faith's heart broke. It wasn't out of jealousy. They had been through far too much for that. It was only because Faith knew Buffy would always hold on to guilt for sending Angel away, even if it had been the right thing to do.

Buffy held her hand out to Faith. Faith kneeled next to the bed, holding her hand. "I love you completely, and I don't regret a single moment of our lives together."

"I know. I feel the same way." Faith tried to smile. She was too scared to have it be real. "I have to go. He's waiting." She leaned in and kissed Buffy while pouring all the love she had into their connection, feeling Buffy doing the same.

There was so much more she wanted to say, but they were never sure if they were being watched. Even though Faith hadn't seen the First since they did the ritual, she didn't fully trust that it was gone. Only when they were with the Keepers did they feel confident enough to strategize. "I'll be back soon, and this will all be over."

With all her willpower, Faith left Buffy alone in the house and followed Angel to his car. Her confidence faltering slightly. They had been waiting for some kind of end-game scenario for two months, and she began to worry it was a mistake to let this play out. She was putting a lot of faith in Tara who seemed convinced that a showdown was going to occur over the Hellmouth and that they would be able to win.

It didn't help that Tara wouldn't explain how they were going to win. Not for the first time, she doubted their agreement to keep secrets from each other.

"You know she'll always love me more than you, right?" Angel hit a button on his side of the car, Faith's seatbelt tightened, barely giving her the ability to breathe. She grunted against the pain, her arms were still free, and she flailed against him with her left arm as best she could, but he only turned and smirked at her. The wide seat giving him enough room to stay out of her reach.

"Hey baby, did you miss me?" She heard Buffy's voice in the back seat and groaned. She could have turned her head enough to see but didn't see the point. "You didn't really think I was gone, did you?"

Faith growled and fought pointlessly against her bindings.

"Don't tire yourself out. You have a lot of work to do!" Buffy's cheery voice was so close, and Faith was beyond fury.

"What do you want from me?" She growled out.

"It's simple, really, I need a new vessel, and you're going to be it."

"Like hell, I will! There's no chance I'd ever willingly accept you."

The First laughed, "too bad you don't have a choice. You're special, Faith. Not like all these other meat puppets. And since you stupidly went alone with Angel, there's no one to save you. Soon you will be mine, and you'll help me take over the world."

"I will never do that!" Faith fought harder, drawing on strength from Buffy, and the seat behind her began to crack.

Angel moved quickly, injecting her in the neck. Darkness began to cloud her vision. She used the last of her energy raising her middle finger to the backseat, and then she passed out.

Faith woke up slowly, careful to show no signs that she was now alert. She kept her eyes closed and concentrated on assessing her situation. I'm really sick of waking up strapped to things. She was held, spread eagle to some sort of platform, suspended face down. She could feel the presence of at least one other person in the room.

Carefully opening her eyes, just enough to verify it was who she thought. She reached out to Buffy, letting her know she was ok. The response she felt was not entirely comforting. Buffy had been panicking and in distress. The babies were not due for another week, and she was worried that the stress could cause problems. She knew Kennedy, Willow, and Tara would be there for her though.

Faith focused on clearing her mind and not adding to the distress she knew Buffy was feeling. She could hear a steady dripping and a tightness in several locations across her torso. Knowing what she was going to see, she slowly opened her eyes. Her shirt had been torn open, and several shallow cuts across her midsection were allowing her life to fall from her and onto the seal she was suspended above. The seal they had tried so hard to protect. She watched in horror as it glowed more and more with each drop.

"Oh good, you're awake," the image of Buffy appeared below her. The face she loved smiling up at her with an evil sneer. "I wouldn't want you to miss this."

The seal started to shift, the points of the pentagram folding and creating an opening. Faith's eyes were focused on the horrors she saw trying to claw their way out. She didn't turn away when the shouting started. Hands were working to remove her from her bonds. She watched dispassionately as Angel's head was removed with the Scythe, wielded by Kennedy.

Once her blood stopped dripping on the seal, it stopped moving. Demons were still attempting to crawl out, Kennedy made short work of them.

The First crossed her arms and glared at the scene, Faith stared back at her.

"This isn't over." The First stated, "it will never be over."

Faith looked around the room and finally realized who was here. "What are you doing!? You left her alone!? This wasn't the plan! Go now!"

"Sorry, she's scarier than you are," Willow said, not budging an inch under Faith's intense glare. "She's at the hospital. Everything is fine."

"What? Why is she at the hospital!?" Faith stalked towards Willow.

"Ok.. maybe I was wrong about who was scarier." Willow shrunk away from Faith and tried to hide behind Tara.

"Willow, you should go. We've got this under control." Tara said calmly. "Take Kennedy with you."

"But.." Willow frowned and watched as Kennedy sliced another monster in half.

"Go. It'll be fine. Keep Buffy safe. She needs you more than we do right now."

Kennedy tossed the Scythe to Faith before they vanished. Faith had a moment of excitement as she began to wield the powerful weapon that she'd only held a few times. Faith had no idea what Tara's plan was, but she felt immense relief when Willow and Kennedy left. She could tell Buffy was in pain and needed her, but she also knew she had to be here. Being here, right now was what she was meant for.

She continued to swipe at any creatures crawling out of the partially opened seal, waiting for Tara to make her move.

"Do you know what this is?" Tara held out a small box in her hand, sliding the cover open slightly.

"Stop!" The First narrows her eyes. All movement of the creatures below the seal stopped. "You wouldn't!"

"I would. I will." Tara stands confidently, her mouth tight with determination.

"You'll lose everything. Everything that makes you special." The First replied, its voice shaking with fear.

"We'll be fine. You're the one who will lose everything!"

The First is clearly nervous now, "what about Faith? Don't you care what will happen to her?"

"What is that thing, Tara?" Faith moved cautiously to stand next to Tara. Keeping one eye on the seal in case any of the demons decided not to honor the First's commands.

"It's the end, to all this. It's the way to prevent the First from ever being set free." Tara says nervously, and Faith could sense that she was losing some of her confidence.

"It's so much more than that!" The First yells, "it's the end of all magic!"

Faith shrugs, Buffy had wanted to retire, this would help with that. "If no magic means no more you, then I'm all for it. Do it, Tara."

The First laughs, "you don't understand! The magic that's been protecting you all this time will be gone. All those memories that have been hidden from you will be returned."

Faith furrowed her brow.

"Did you think I showed all your memories to you? That was just a taste! I didn't want you to go completely insane, so I just gave you a few choice memories. The truth is so much worse than you can imagine."

The First transformed into the woman Faith had always believed was her mother and stalked closer. Faith scowled but kept eye contact.

"I bet you think all the things she did to you was because of me. You couldn't be more wrong. Now that she's dead, I know everything she did. She only finally came to me for help because she couldn't figure out how to kill you by herself."

Faith shook her head. Even if what this thing was saying was true, it didn't matter. She would easily sacrifice her sanity for the lives of everyone else. Buffy was about to give birth to her children. If she could make the world safe for them, there was nothing she wouldn't do.

"Do it."

"Are you sure? Maybe there's another way." Tara looked at the box in her hand.

"This was the whole point of everything, wasn't it? The Keepers gave you that, knowing we would end up here." Tara nodded sadly. "Do it."

"No! We can make a deal!" The First squealed, "I'll leave you alone. You'll never hear from me again!"

Faith laughed, "no deal. Though I do want to tell you something."

"What?" The First growled and paced.

"You already won once. You ruled this world entirely."

"What!? How? When?"

Faith giggled, nudging Tara. "Just wanted to see your face. Let's do this."

Tara took a deep breath and opened the box the rest of the way. Faith could already feel the magic pulling out of her. Tara took out the small black stone and screamed as she held it in her hand briefly before tossing it towards the seal.

Faith collapsed to the ground next to her, holding her head as magic is ripped out of her. She couldn't feel Buffy, Tara, or Willow. She couldn't feel anything. Her body felt slow and weak, that constant stream of power that had been part of her since she was called was gone.

Memories started flooding into her, but they weren't all bad memories. There were lots of new terrible memories. The First hadn't lied about that. Flashes of pain and fear, so much that it started to choke her. Other memories began to mix in with the fear. Calming voices telling her she was special. Her real parents and their smiling faces. Love, she was loved and cherished first by her parents and then by Buffy and her friends. The horrors she had experienced were still there, they still burned her, they twisted inside her and tried to unmake her.

She had learned so much though. She knew what to focus on. She knew what mattered. All those awful memories came from evil, and if she let them hurt her now, then evil would win. She was way too strong to let that happen.

She focused on one particular memory.

Xxxxx

Faith was in agony, she had thought she had known pain before, but nothing compared to this. Her shoulder felt like it was filled with glass, just breathing caused the joint to move and cause her immeasurable pain. Her head throbbed from the hours of continuous pounding. And her thigh, she had been trying to erase every memory of every touch by digging into it with the knife. She needed everything to stop. The blood pooled under her, and was soft and warm and conflicted with everything else she felt.

She saw the blood, and she wondered what the hell she was doing. This wasn't right. She had a way out. The pounding had stopped, her mother was gone. She tore her shirt and wrapped it around her leg. Grabbing the thin sheet from her bed and making a quick sling for her shoulder.

The wound on her thigh was superficial at this point, a few shallow cuts that had been just enough to wake her from her stupor. As she attempted to drag herself through the opening in the floorboards, her bindings caught on something. As she jerked her leg forward to pull it through, she impaled her thigh on a nail. The nail dug deep, and she bit her lip to keep from screaming. She carefully pulled herself off the nail and slid the rest of the way out from under the shed.

Then she ran. She ran through the woods until she reached the street. Collapsing to her knees as headlights appeared in the distance. Finally succumbing to the pain and blood loss, darkness overtakes her.

"Are you sure about this?"

"We have to do something!"

"Yes, but we don't know that this is the right something."

"Kara, I told you what I saw. We have to help her, and this will help her."

"You're talking about taking all of her memories! Even the good ones!"

Faith opened her eyes to see two women arguing over her. She remembered seeing one of them before. The woman had told her she was special, and that she was going to help her. She didn't help though, just like everyone else who said they would.

Faith began to laugh and tried to sit up. The pain reawakened in her shoulder, and she stifled a scream. Hiding pain was one of her many talents, she shoved the pain away and tried to figure out where she was and what to do next.

"Faith! Lay back down, please. You'll hurt yourself." The look of concern from this woman was very confusing. Faith chuckled and tried to move enough to get out of bed. She noticed then there were tubes in her arm, she wanted to yank them out, but her left arm wouldn't cooperate. She tried to use her teeth instead.

"What are you doing? Let us help you please."

"Don't need any help. Gotta get back before she finds out I'm gone." Faith's voice was flat and dispassionate.

"You don't have to go back there, Faith. You don't belong there." Faith was weak, and the woman was able to force her to lay back down.

"Yeah right, you just want to steal me and hurt me like everyone else. She's the only one who cares about me!" Faith yelled and tried to sit up again.

"That's not true, Faith. We want to help you."

Faith's bark of laughter startled the woman back, "heard that before. Nobody can help me. Just let me go!" Faith's movement had reopened the wound on her leg, and blood began to flow. Darkness overtook her again.

She opened her eyes to a warm smiling face. "How do you feel?"

Faith grunted and tried to twist away. When she realized she was bound to the bed, she began to panic. Thrashing wildly, but completely unable to move.

"Please, relax. I promise you I am not going to hurt you. You need to heal more, and you kept hurting yourself."

Faith narrowed her eyes, but knowing the futility of her situation, she stopped fighting.

"Do you remember meeting me before?"

Faith nodded.

"I'm sorry I couldn't help you. I begged the council, but those arrogant bastards wouldn't listen."

"Whatever, can I go now?" Faith rolled her eyes.

"No, not quite. I want to tell you a story. Then, once you are healed enough, you can make your own decisions."

Faith frowned, "she's going to find me. Then we'll all be in trouble."

"She won't find you here, I promise. Even if she does, I will protect you." The woman brought over a tray of food. A large plate of pasta, covered in red sauce. It smelled amazing, and Faith's stomach rumbled in response. "If I let your arm out will you behave?"

Faith knew this game, food for favors. She was pretty sure this woman didn't want the kind of favors people usually wanted from her. If all she wanted was to talk, Faith would gladly take the trade. She nodded eagerly without taking her eyes off the food.

"Slow down. You'll get sick."

Faith smirked around her mouth full of food and didn't slow down at all. The woman only shook her head and gave up trying to intervene.

"My name is Diana. I am a Watcher. You are a potential slayer, one day you will become a full slayer, and it is my job to prepare you. You are going to save the world."

Faith stopped chewing for a moment and looked at this woman like she was insane.

"I know it's a lot to take in, but it's true. There is magic in this world, and you are part of that magic. You are incredibly important, and you are needed to fight evil." Diana's words were sincere, but Faith didn't believe them.

Faith swallowed what she had been chewing on and dropped her fork. "Pretty sure you got some bad info. I'm a worthless piece of garbage that can't do anything right. No way am I saving the world from anything."

Diana winced. "Are you sure about that? Does that feel right to you?"

Faith frowned and closed her eyes. "Don't know about feeling anything, facts are just facts."

"What if I could prove it to you?"

"How?" Faith had finished her plate of food and leaned back in the bed. She had no idea what was going on, but she was warm and full. So for the moment, she was content not to fight and listen to whatever this crazy woman had to say.

"I can show you."

Without waiting for Faith to respond, Diana leaned forward and pressed her fingers to Faith's forehead. Faith was overwhelmed by what she saw and felt. It took her several long moments to calm enough to speak.

"Is that real? I could…" Faith shook her head, a small smile on her face.

"You could, Faith. That could be you. I am sure your journey is going to be difficult. I don't know all that will happen that will lead you there, but it could be your life." Diana released the straps that had been holding Faith in place.

Faith looked the woman over carefully, "what do I have to do?"

Diana frowned a little, "you have to let me take your memories."

"What? Why?"

"Because if I don't, you'll go back to her." Faith frowned, she wanted to deny the claim, but she could already feel the itch in the back of her head, telling her she was upsetting her mother and she had to fix it.

"She used magic and conditioning on you. She built in triggers to get you to respond in a certain way. Taking your memories will erase those triggers so that she won't have a hold over you anymore. You'll be able to make your own decisions."

Faith looked at her leg and frowned. Having a good idea that what she was hearing was true, but part of her was fighting the truth. "How do you know all this?"

Diana sighed and leaned back, "Think about what happened tonight. How did you finally manage to leave that place? You've had the knife for months, but why tonight?"

"She caught me and said I was never going to get out again. It was so loud." Faith held her hand to her head as she remembered the pounding. "Then I... used the knife... and when I did, I suddenly felt free. I finally realized that I could leave."

"What you did with the knife broke the hold she has over you, we need to make sure it stays broken and that you stay free."

"I don't get to remember what you showed me?" Faith was disappointed. She didn't want to lose the feeling the vision of her future had given her.

Diana hesitated, "I am going to be honest with you. I always will. I don't know what you'll remember. I receive visions from the powers that be. They show me future events, and sometimes give me information to intervene when things aren't going to happen the way they should."

"Are you sure you're not crazy?"

Diana chuckled, "I'm sure. They told me where to find you, if I hadn't, you would have likely died on the side of the road."

Faith frowned and considered. If she had been told that a few hours ago, she would have laughed and said she should have died. But now… now she wanted a future. She wanted to meet the blond girl that would smile every time she saw Faith. She wanted to fight and kill demons. She wanted to win for once.

xxx

It had always bothered Faith, remembering what she had done to herself in the shed that night. She hadn't been allowed to see what happened after, but know she knew the truth. She hadn't truly given in to her mother's torture, like she had always thought.

Something had gone very wrong with Diana and Kara's memory spell. When Faith awoke, she had been left with no memory of what had happened to her or who she was, only the emotional residue from what her step-mother had done to her. All she knew was that she was worthless garbage that didn't deserve to live and that everyone was out to hurt her. She knew that no one could be trusted and that all anyone could ever want from her was to cause her pain.

She was filled with anger that she didn't understand and couldn't control. Her actions were detrimental and contrary. The worse something felt to her, the more she wanted to do it. It was a constant war inside her head, and neither side was winning.

She was combative and ran away constantly, only returning to Diana for the occasional meal and warm bed. Every time Diana would welcome her back, and never chastise her for her actions, even when she stole anything of value.

Things began to improve slightly once Faith was called as a slayer. Faith was no longer powerless, and the outlet of killing vampires gave her focus for her rage. She was actually slowly growing to trust Diana, and then Kakistos came and pushed her back into despair.

Meeting Buffy and killing Kakistos started to turn things around for her again, things were beginning to look up until the fateful killing of the deputy mayor. She'd gotten it right the second time. And now here she was, she had become the person Diana had shown her in the vision.

Smileing as she rose, she slmost wished The First was still there so it could see how it had failed. She helped Tara to her feet. Picking the Scythe up as well, she was amazed at how heavy it was. She wondered if she'd even be able to carry it while also helping Tara.

Tears were streaming down Tara's face, and Faith held her tight. "It'll be ok. We're going to be ok."

"It's gone. It's all gone." Tara was looking at her hands, flexing them as if she could will magic back into them.

Faith walked the witch slowly out of the high school. Everything was so much harder now that she was just a normal girl. The constant presence in her mind of Buffy, Willow and Tara were gone, and she ached for it to come back.

"Willow is going to be so upset," Tara choked out between sobs.

Faith sighed, "she'll understand, eventually. They all will. We had to. It was the only way to keep the world safe."

"Are you sure it was the right thing to do?" Tara had stopped moving and wouldn't budge.

Faith frowned and considered what to say. Tara was usually the one who knew how to make everything better. "What did the Keepers tell you when they gave you that thing?"

"Something about cycles - death, and rebirth." Tara's breathing was starting to calm, and Faith hoped that meant the girl would be OK.

"Rebirth?"

"Yeah, not sure what that means. They said without us, there wouldn't be any rebirth."

Faith tugged on Tara again, "c'mon. We need to get to the hospital. It'll be better once we're all together."

"Willow," Tara whispered. "It was her fault before? She's the one who set it free?"

Faith looked at Tara and nodded, it didn't matter now. There was no more magic, no more chance that Willow would open the Hellmouth and destroy the world. "It wasn't on purpose. She was trying to find B.". Faith wasn't even sure if this was true, but she doesn't want to completely destroy Tara's impressions on Willow.

Instead of seeming relieved, Tara held her head and groaned, "There's more, isn't there? She brought me back?"

Faith sighed, "I don't really know what happened. You didn't know, and we never got around to asking her about it. Once we managed to kick evil out of her... she felt pretty awful about it."

Tara frowned, "you were trying to save me from her."

"She asked me to. Before I was sent back, she asked me to keep you away from Sunnydale."

Tara sucked in a breath, "I don't think there's anything you could have done to stop me."

"I guess this was what was supposed to happen." Faith shrugged. Faith was anxious to get to the hospital quickly, but her weakened body was not cooperating. She knew Tara needed comfort, it was not something she was particularly good at, but Tara was important to her.

"Willow is not going to forgive me for this."

"Whatever happens, you know I've got your back. B too."

"You're not worried… about what we might find." Tara swallowed, and Faith could guess what had Tara worried. The babies were created from magic, what if taking magic from the world took them away too?

Faith grinned, "Nah. I've seen the future."

"You've seen this future?"

"Bits of it. My memory has been messed with a ridiculous amount of times. Trust me. Everything is going to be ok. For you too." Diana had shown her flashes of events far into the future. She didn't know the details of everything that happened, but Tara was always part of her family.

"Don't tell me. I don't want to know."

It had taken far too long to make their way out of the school. Faith felt like an eternity had passed. She was intensely relieved to see that Angel's car was waiting for them. She wrapped her jacket tightly around herself, wishing Willow had thought to heal her before she left.

The scene they walked in on was not good. Kennedy was nowhere to be found, Willow and Buffy were hugging each other and bawling uncontrollably.

"B?" Faith moved to the other side of the bed and tried her best to get Buffy's attention while Tara did the same with Willow.

"Faith! You're not dead! I was sure you were dead. Why can't I feel you anymore?" Tears were streaking down Buffy's face and soaking Faith's shirt.

Faith smiled and leaned into Buffy, "nobody is dead, and The First is never going to bother us again."

"What? How?"

"Magic. They killed all the magic." Willow whispered, looking at her hands in complete confusion.

"But…" Buffy frowned for a second and then smiled, "no more magic? No more vampires or demons? Our girls aren't going to have to grow up endlessly fighting evil?"

Faith chuckled, she had been sure this was how Buffy would react. She hadn't quite figured out how she felt about no longer being a slayer, but she knew Buffy would be happy. She felt sorry for the witches and Kennedy. "Nope, they're going to get to be normal girls."

"Everyone needs to clear out, except the parents." The doctor appeared in the doorway. Willow gave Faith a nasty look and pulled herself out of Tara's arms as they both exited the room. The doctor began to examine Buffy and smiled, "looks like it's time! Are you ready?"

Buffy laughed and gripped Faith's arm as tightly as she could, "not at all." Faith was surprised at how little strength the grip had and at the same time, how much it hurt.

"Great, let's get this going." The doctor ignored Buffy, and nurses entered the room.

Eight hours later, Buffy and Faith were each holding one of their two perfectly formed daughters. Tara, Dawn, Giles, and Kara were there and fawning over them.

"What are you going to name them?" Dawn asked, playing with the toes of the one Buffy was holding.

"This is Hope Diana Summers-Lehane." Faith said. They had found out Faith's real mom's name. Deciding to use her name and the name of her watcher.

"And this is Joy Summers-Lehane. Still working on the middle name." Buffy smiled down at the girl in her arms.

The group smiled and cooed at the new life brought into this world. None of them yet speaking about the loss of magic. All seemed to silently agree that this was not the time for such things.