Faith walked down the sidewalk, taking everything in—the smells, the sights, the sounds. She never realized how much she had missed the little things like this. Even downtown, with its loud traffic and the mixed smell of bakeries and pollution, was nothing but pleasant for her.

As she walked, her thoughts were interrupted by the sound of an argument coming from a nearby alleyway. She quickly made her way over to investigate, and stopped at the opening of the alleyway, watching for a moment.

In the alley, a man and a woman argued. He had her pinned roughly against the brick wall of the adjacent bakery as they yelled at each other. The woman was holding her ground verbally, but Faith could tell that the much larger man was winning the physical battle.

Faith couldn't help but smile. It had been a long time since she had had a good fight.…

"Hey pal," she grinned.

The man turned to her, frowning. "This is none of your business, lady."

"You wanna play rough?" she asked, approaching them. "I like to play rough."

"I said this was none of your business," the man growled, taking a swing at her.

Faith side-stepped the punch easily, backhanding him across the jaw with her fist. As the man reached up to touch the blood that trickled down the corner of his mouth, Faith grabbed his free arm and slammed him, face-first, into the brick wall with ease.

"Really, pal, you should choose your battles more wisely." She smiled down at the man as he collapsed upon the pavement, unconscious.

The blonde, who had remained against the wall the entire time, looked at Faith with wide eyes.

Faith turned to the woman with a warm smile. "You okay?" she asked.

In response, the woman lunged herself at Faith, hugging her tightly around the neck. "Thank you so much."

"Okay," Faith laughed quietly, gently trying to remove the woman from her body.

The woman, however, remained tightly attached to Faith.

"Okay," Faith repeated, tugging at the woman's arms a little harder.

As the woman's hold loosened, Faith felt a small prick at her neck.

"What the hell?" Faith asked, roughly removing the woman and pushing her across the alley into the brick wall. She glanced down at the empty syringe in the woman's hand as she touched her neck.

She took a threatening step towards the woman but stopped short as her eyes rolled to the back of her head and she fell to the ground beside the man she had just beaten.

"Just doing my job," the blonde replied with a smile.

**********

Wesley and Cordelia sat at the table, neither speaking.

He had shared with her what had really happened that fateful night. How he had taken Connor with every intention of raising the child out of harm's way. How his sympathy and trust in others had led to his downfall. How Justine had left him for dead in the park as she ran off with Connor. How he had thought he was going to die that night in the park, and how, it had been his need to see his friends again that had kept him alive.

"So, there's no longer a need to assume," he said, standing and walking towards the sink with his empty mug. "Now you know the truth."

"I guess I do, and I suppose you deserve the same."

"What are you talking about?"

"Connor… Holtz escaped with him into a hell dimension."

Wesley dropped his mug into the sink, cracking it along the base. He turned to Cordelia as she continued, "Quar-toth or something like that. Angel tried to reopen the portal but…"

"A hell dimension?"

Cordelia simply nodded.

"I… I don't know what to say."

Cordelia stood with a sigh. "Neither do I."

They stared at each other in silence as the phone began to ring. After a moment, Wesley retrieved the portable from the kitchen counter with a frown.

"Hello," he sighed.

"Wesley, why so down?" Lilah greeted him.

Hearing her voice, Wesley caught Cordelia's eye. He walked by her and into the living room as he replied quietly, "Do you ever give up?"

"Look, I'd love to trade our usual insults, but we have some business to attend to."

"We do?"

"Seems that a certain friend of yours is keeping me company, and boy, is she a feisty one."

"Faith," he mumbled in response. "Lilah, this has always been between me and you…."

"Yes, it has, and now it's between me, you, and her." She paused before continuing, "So, you finally ready to play?"

"Lilah…"

"The abandoned warehouse on Preston," Lilah replied, ignoring the threatening tone in Wesley's voice. "Come alone, and we'll discuss how you can save the last ally you have."

"You touch her and I'll…"

Lilah scoffed in response. "Save your insults for someone who gives a damn."

Wesley hung up his phone, tossing it angrily at the couch.

"Wesley, what's going on?" Cordelia asked as he stormed past her and towards his bedroom.

"I don't have time to explain, Cordelia," he called over his shoulder as she followed close behind him.

"Why is Lilah calling you?" she asked, standing in the doorway.

Wesley grabbed a pair of slacks from his closet and pulled them on underneath his robe. "Cordelia, not right now!"

"She has Faith, right?"

"Yes," he simply said, removing his robe and tossing it on his bed.

Wesley grabbed a T-shirt from his closet and pulled it on as Cordelia asked, "And you're going to go save her?"

He quickly pulled on his sneakers. "Yes."

"I'm coming with you," Cordelia replied, crossing her arms over her chest.

"No," Wesley replied, pushing by her and heading towards his apartment door.

Following close behind him, Cordelia frowned. "You go by yourself and you'll get yourself killed."

"You go with me and you'll get Faith killed," he replied, finally turning to her.

"Wesley…"

"Cordelia, I'm no longer your boss so I can't order you not to go, but the fact still remains that we no longer work together. Your allegiance is with Angel, and that's where it should stay. Don't involve yourself here." He sighed as he opened the apartment door. "You were right about one thing, Cordelia. It's not time yet."

Wesley walked out of the apartment, leaving Cordelia alone.