Yay! Update! Not that anyone's really been reading so far, but I figure people don't like to read just little bits of stories, so adding on is good. ^.^ Another chapter should be up soon.

Chapter 2

It was a good breakfast, it really was. They'd gone to a nice little café style diner that sat snugly at the edge of town, next to a decrepit looking bookshop on the corner of a mostly unused side street. Though there seemed to be a lack of inhabitants in the area the little restaurant received its fair share of business. The two had been lucky enough to just beat the Saturday morning rush and were given a table out on the patio in the warm spring sunshine.

The food itself was quite tasty, but little of it actually reached Darien's mouth; she sat pushing around her scrambled eggs with her fork in a bit while staring off into space.

"You got a grudge against those eggs or somethin', kid?"

Faith, on the other hand, had no problem devouring her own meal in no time and was sipping on a glass of orange juice while looking over the rim with raised eyebrows.

"Huh?" Darien blinked and looked up at Faith.

"You've been pushing your food around for the last five minutes," Faith said. "Any time now and you'll have egg soup."

Flushing slightly, Darien apologized and pushed her plate away. "I don't really have much of an appetite anymore."

The dark haired girl nodded and cocked her head to look at Darien, "So it seems. Well, kid, you wanna tell me the reason you're wasting my money?" Faith added a grin and wink to that statement, so the other girl would see she was joking. The waiter came to collect their dishes and set down the white slip that was the bill.

"I'm not a kid," Darien said distractedly, watching the waiter wind his was through tables to get back into the restaurant. "And I don't really want to talk about it," she spared a glance at Faith, who was pulling out her wallet and added, "uh, sorry. It was great, really."

"Don't worry about it," Faith reassured. There was a moment off awkward silence before she spoke up again. "Hey lets get in some of the sights, and you can fill me in on who you are and what you're doing here, specifically in my bed." She winked and pushed her chair back, "You owe me that at least, don'cha think?" Holding up a hand to stifle any protest from the younger girl, Faith stood and grabbed her jacket of the back of her chair, motioning for Darien to do the same. "C'mon."

Ten minutes later saw the two strolling leisurely down the deserted street with Faith pointing out various landmarks. It was a pleasantly warm day, complete with a slight breeze and a bright blue sky that was scattered with a few fluffy white clouds. Both girls had they're coats hanging over their arms and bottle of cold soda in their hands, compliments of Darien, to help make up for breakfast.

"New York, huh? Not bad, kid."

Darien rolled her eyes, hiding a trace of a smile. "I'm not a kid," she said for what must have been the twentieth time that morning. It had become more a of a joke between the two, rather than an insult as she had seen it as earlier.

Her companion just grinned and pointed out another Sunnydale place of importance, which Darien really didn't care about, but listened attentively to the reason behind the landmark anyway. She'd been growing more and more anxious as the morning went on and it showed through on her features. Faith noticed the girl's pensive mood and changed the subject, hoping to Darien distracted from whatever was eating at her, maybe even find out what it was.

"So how come you left New York. And why on Earth did you come all the way across the country to Sunnydale?"

With a shrug Darien kicked a stone across the road. "The guy I was staying with had to leave. He sorta took care of me."

"Just up and left?" Darien nodded sadly. "I'll have to meet this guy sometime, then thoroughly kick his ass for you."

The redhead chuckled at this. "I doubt it, but it's the though that counts anyway. It wasn't all that bad, he was a pretty cool guy. One of them bad ass types. Really not the kinda person you'd expect to be looking after a teenager, so I gotta give him credit." She smiled, though it was obvious she was upset about the guy's sudden departure. "Anyway, I was having a bit of trouble with money-"

"Like what?"

"I didn't have any."

"Gotcha."

"-and I have some family down here, so it seemed like the best bet."

Faith nodded, "makes sense." They were only about a half a block from the Magic Box, so she decided maybe she'd take the kid in to meet the gang. Well, whoever's up by now, she thought. Giles, being his old British self would most definitely still be there, even though the shop wasn't actually open yet. That meant Willow would be there as well, using the quiet time to research something or other, or learn a new spell. Faith really couldn't understand why, or how, the witch could learn on a weekend, voluntarily. It blew her mind. So then, if Willow was there, then chances were Tara was also there. The two were practically inseparable when it came to the magicy mojo. The others could be counted out. Xander called it a sin to be awake before noon on a Saturday, and swore to himself that that was a sin he would never be guilty of. Of course Anya faithfully followed his code. Faith suppressed a snicker. She didn't really know who was more whipped, the ex-demon or the carpenter. And Oz, well it had been wolf night for him so he would probably be catching up on some much needed sleep.

As they walked past the window, Faith peeked in and found she was correct: Giles was pulling unpacking some new product, that Faith decided she would have to her hands on some of, and Willow and Tara were sitting at the table huddled over a massive volume that looked to be more ancient than Faith like her books. Buffy was also there, which Faith hadn't expected, assuming that the other Slayer had gone back to the dorms to sleep.

Pulling open the door, hearing the familiar jingle of the bells Faith asked, "So who're your folks anyway? I might know 'em. Actually chances are I do, y'know small town and all. Anyway, I could point in there direction…" She trailed off, seeing that Darien wasn't listening or following her into the store. She let the door close again and walked back to where the redhead was staring into the window. Darien looked like she was in a state of shock: her eyes were wide and all the colour had drained from her face. She was looking fearfully at the back of another head of red hair… then it finally clicked. Faith had noticed the similarities, but it hadn't really connected until now. "Hey, kid, snap out of it. That is who you're looking for right? See the job's half done for you."

"No, I'm not." Darien turned her afraid green eyes on Faith, and backed away from, away from the window. She misjudged where the edge of the sidewalk was and stumbled a few feet before catching herself, then continued to move away. She was muttering breathy 'I'm not ready's and 'I can't's and Faith followed her worriedly.

"Kid, hey Darien, calm down will ya? Generally people are happy to see long lost family members, right? What's gotten into you?" Faith reached out and grabbed Darien's arm in time to prevent her from hitting the wall of the building next to the Magic Box.

The younger girl looked up her and her eyes flooded, "Please don't make me go in there."

"What?" Faith was pretty concerned now and completely lost by Darien's behaviour. "'Kay, kid, what the heck is going on? What happened to you?"