Song is: Miracle by Vertical Horizon

~*~

Part 7

It's taken much too long
To get it right
Would it be so wrong
To maybe find someone
A miracle

Faith wakes up on the couch, while it's still misty grey outside. And, there are a pair of dark eyes watching her. She jumps gasping, "Jesus Christ!" As she opens her eyes to find someone watching so closely. Kennedy smirks and sits back.

"Good morning." She says cheerfully, "So. Tell me all about your crush on Buffy."

Faith stares at the girl, more than a little unnerved, "What?" She says dumbly, blinking the bleariness from her eyes.

"It's very obvious. I mean, to me anyway. I would know. So, you're gay?"

"What?" Faith repeats.

"You. Like. The. Women. Yes?" Kennedy speaks very slowly.

"I...did you want something?"

"I was just curious. I mean, the way you watch Buffy, it's all very Dawson's Creek."

"What about you? Lusting after Willow like you do?" Faith replies, one eyebrow raised. Kennedy flushes a little.

"Well...At least I'm making some progress with Willow...I'm kind of helping her."

"Right. Helping her what? Find her way between your legs?"

"Hey!" Kennedy snaps, "Watch it. Everyone else is afraid of you because of that whole murder thing, but I'm not."

"Whatever." Faith says, smiling a little. Kennedy reminds her of herself when she was called...tough, cocky, naive. "I'm just saying, people who live in glass houses..."

"Yeah. Fine. I was only asking. But now that I think about it, I really don't care if you ever get with Buffy."

"Well I'm not going to ever "get with" Buffy, Kennedy. So, there you go."

"What makes you say that?"

"It's just fact."

"I heard you guys talking last night in the kitchen, Faith. And, judging by the fact that everything went silent until I heard some nice awkward good night's, there was some R-rated happenings."

Faith stares at her again, once again slightly dumbstruck. "Kennedy, it's complicated, OK?"

"Oh, please. She wants you to stay. She practically asked you to marry her for God's sake."

Before Faith can reply, there are footsteps thundering up from the basement and down from the second floor at the same time as the rest of the house wakes up.

"Hey." Dawn says, the first downstairs, "What are you guys doing?"

"Nothing." Faith says, glaring at Kennedy to get her point across: Say a word, and there will be pain.

It's a research day, and everyone is poring over piles and piles of old and musty tomes. Faith keeps noticing Dawn and her glances at the would-be Slayers, which are usually followed by glances of a different kind towards Xander. Once again, Faith thought, Interesting. Her own glances are directed at Bufy, who had been gone for a good part of the day, and hasn't spoken to Faith yet. Hell, she's hardly looked at me. The upside to Faith's day was the lack of ghosts and voices in her head. She considers this a good sign. It has to be a good sign, or I'll lose it completely. Oh wait, I've done that already...

After hours of research and no findings, the group disperses. Xander drives Dawn to the library, Willow and Anya go for magic ingredients with Kennedy and two other Slayers tagging along, while the rest of the trainees head to the basement to train. Buffy follows them down to check on Spike, and Faith almost feels jealous. Almost. She turns on the TV to a repeat of Friends and sprawls out on the couch. Good TV, yet another thing jail is sorely lacking. When they were allowed to watch TV in the activity room, it's never anything decent. Some trashy daytime talk show or Divorce Court, and even once, Little House on the Prairie. She can sing along to the Friends theme in her head, and it's almost like she's in her old motel room, lying in the dimness of the one lamp and watching the back to back repeats to pass the time.

Sad thing is, those were the good old days...Very pathetic. A set of footsteps are coming up the stairs, and Faith can see Buffy in the kitchen from where she's sitting on the couch. She just watches, waiting, until Buffy turns her head and looks at her. She always *has* done the deer in the headlights bit fairly well. Faith just stares back, not making a move one way or the other. Buffy turns slowly and starts into the living room.

"Hi." She says in that tiny voice she always uses when she's faced with some awkward situation. Faith recognizes it right away.

"Hey." She replies in her patented don'tgiveadamn tone, but really, she's not into it. It falls flat. Buffy stops by the television and crosses her arms casually.

"So..."

"So."

"Look, about last night--"

"Oh jesus, don't do that whole 'it was just a strange moment' thing. I really don't want to do it that way."

"I wasn't going to." Buffy says, "I was going to say, let's not make it into some great big drama. It was what it was."

"Which was...? Enlighten me."

"A kiss. That's it."

"Oh, good. I was afraid you thought it was pink bunny rabbits eating your skull."

"You are really twisted."

"Thank you."

This breaks the tension a little and Buffy pushes Faith's legs out of her way and sits next to her. she watches the TV for a while and it's almost comfortable silence, really. It strikes Faith as a good opportunity to ask some questions.

"So, what's up with little sis?"

"What do you mean?"

"She's not taking this whole situation very well, is she?" Faith watches as Buffy shrugs.

"She's OK. I mean, for a while, she thought she was a potential, but it turned out it wasn't her. She took that a little hard, but I think it was just the shock of the two extremes in just one day."

"Or, maybe, she was dissappointed not to be in the Slayer Club." Faith suggests.

"Are you kidding? Dawn knows that being a potential isn't a good thing. She knows a Slayer's shelf life isn't great. She's seen what it all leads to."

"Yeah, but she's also seen Joyce suddenly treating you like a hero, your friends forming a little team around you, and now she sees you paying so much attention to these new girls, it's gotta be tough."

"If Dawn had a problem she'd tell me."

"Ah. Because being open and honest about the inner-workings of the Summers mind is just so common in your family."

"What does that mean?" Buffy demands, sitting up straighter and staring at Faith, eyebrows raised.

"It means you've never been one to show and tell. Hello, you hid Angel from everyone for over a month. You hold everything in until you just flip out. Shall I list all the incidences? Dawn's no different."

"You're really one to talk, Miss Poster Child for the Mentally Stable."

"I never said I was any better. I'm not the one with a major superiority complex."

Buffy stares at her, gape mouthed, "Are you trying to piss me off?"

"Yes. Am I succeeding?"

"Yes."

"Good. You're very cute when you get all huffy."

Buffy shuts her mouth and her glare receeds and she smiles, once again allowing that former version of herself resurface for a moment. They stare at eachother for a moment, then as if it's all just a play and there are cues being followed, they lean forward at exactly the same moment and their lips meet. Well. Third time's the charm Faith muses in the back of her mind as Buffy's teeth graze her bottom lip. Faith shivers and her fingers curl around the lapels of Buffy's suede jacket. It doesn't last long, as footsteps stampede up from the basement and the two Slayers spring apart as if they've been burned. Faith catches her breath before wondering if she could just lock all the girls in the basement for the next ever.