"What?" Giles said, as he was the first to bring them back to reality.
Faith's face went furious again. "You should be ashamed of yourself, the way you insulted him and treated him as being worthless!" she almost yelled to the group in general and to the three girls in particular. "And you call yourself his friends?" she added with disdain.
Then she walked stubbornly over to Xander, leaving a dazzled group of people. "C'mon, sweety. Let's dance!" she said gently and took him by the arm.
The group simply stared after the two until they were dancing for a while. The amazing looking and enigmatic Slayer easily took the attention of a large part of male population on and outside the dance floor. But she ignored them all as she put all her devoted attention to him! Xander was dazed by the beauty in front of him and felt a strange kind of pride rising up in his mind by this fact alone. She on the other hand was the real Prom Queen . . .
She closed the distance to Xander, looked at him with an amazing smile and whiped some drool from his face, as he stuttered awe, "I-I . . . I . . . thought you . . . you didn't wear d-dresses."
"Wanted to surprise you," Faith answered as she smiled at his stunned face. No matter what would happen, the look on his face was worth it all.
Buffy, Willow and Cordelia were still numb by this shocking revelation. Giles and Oz were shocked as well. But Oz found himself quickly restored. "Cool," was his answer as he saw Faith dance. The only person who knew what had happened with Faith, but was shocked nonetheless, was Wesley. His fear found itself replaced by amazement when he saw the Dark Slayer move.
Cordelia shifted her gaze toward Wesley and his stare brought her out of her shock. "Wesley!" she snapped, bringing the attention of the group towards her. Wesley looked ashamed back at her.
"What the hell happened!?" Buffy yelled to no one in particular.
"Well, uh, it seems that Xander has found himself a date . . ." Giles commented, trying to explain the obvious, but still staring at Faith with his mouth open. A hint of his Ripperness roared lightly through his throat.
Cordelia rolled her eyes. "Duh! A blind chicken can see that!" she growled, not noticing Giles' aweness.
Buffy was now aware of Giles gaze. "Giles!" she snapped.
Giles blinked. "Huh? what?" he asked, bewildered. He shaked his head lightly to bring him back to reality.
"Why is she dancing with . . . no wait, why is *he* dancing with her?" Buffy asked again.
Wesley held his face as blank as he could and only mimicked some surprise, he was too ashamed.
"It seems that Xander must have reached her somehow . . ." Giles thought out loud.
Then the coin hit the Casino Jackpot and they the won the main price. "What!!??" the three girls yelled in unison. The group stared at each other.
"Wicked!" Oz described the situation.
"Apparently he didn't fail and . . ." Giles continued his thoughts.
"What? Why would he let himself be captured? We had to return the box to the Mayor for him?" Buffy asked angry and with lots of confusion.
"Well . . . I don't know. Maybe the Mayor got in time or . . . " Giles tried to answer.
"He would do something like that, not to risk the life of Faith for her betrayal. But this is the Mayor we're talking about. Sure, Xan knows that. He can't . . . how could he protect her life when others are endangered by it?" Willow asked.
"'Cause the Mayor is only vulnerable and stoppable when he is a demon . . . " a familiar voice answered the question.
Buffy turned around eyes wide as she looked into a very serious and concerned face. "Angel!"
Angel nodded.
"You know?" Giles asked, surprised.
"Yeah, I know. Faith explained it to me this morning, in her own typical way."
"What did she say?" Giles asked again before Buffy could react.
Angel looked at them all, seeing their faces looking back at him in anticipation. Angel let his tension relief, looked down and sighed. "She showed me somewhat how far Xander went to save her."
"What? How far did he go?" a very concerned Willow asked.
Angel shook his head. "I don't know . . . I can't even guess," he spoke quietly.
They all stared at Angel.
"Well, it seems that it has worked," Giles commented.
Angel nodded. "Yeah, but her emotions are still messed up."
They all looked at the couple on the dance floor. They were slow dancing and Faith had her face down in his chest. A small single tear rolled over her cheek as Xander caressed her.
"He must have gone freaking deep . . ." Oz said, as the rest of them were lost for words.
*****
The group was silent for a while, nervously waiting for another to say something. Finally Buffy broke the silence. "What should we do?" she asked.
Giles cleaned the left part of his classes and put it on again. "I think you and Faith should have a talk, alone, Buffy," Giles answered while looking at her.
"Can we trust her?" Buffy asked with uncertainty in her tone.
"It seems to me that that question boils down to the question: can you trust Xander?" Giles shortly explained the current situation.
Buffy nodded and thought about it for a moment, looking to the dance floor for a short moment and back to Giles again. She looked unsure and nervously. "I . . . I don't know . . ." she answered the question.
That struck the rest of group. "What do you mean? . . . This is Xander we're talking about!" Willow immediately responded.
"C'mon, Willow, I don't mean it like that! I mean that Xander could be misled by her and through him all of us," Buffy explained.
Willow's eyes grew wider with fury, but then calmed down when she saw Giles nodding at her.
"Yes, Willow, Buffy has a point there. Faith could be putting up a scene here, wanting to let her trust and then betray us all together. Now I know that it is harsh, but we can't exclude the possibility."
"It's still goof boy we're talking about, here," Cordelia interrupted, trying to hide her shame and defend her honor for her recent behaviour towards Xander. But she was cut short.
"She looks sincere enough for me!" Willow exclaimed while pointing to the couple on the dance floor.
They saw Faith looking back at them, for a short moment, with red eyes and Xander nodding softly towards her after Faith had returned her face back to his.
"I think you should talk to her, Buffy. Look, if you can find back some trust and if you can find out what she wants then you really should talk to her," Giles tried to convince her.
Buffy watched the group for any kind of reaction and stopped at the emotionless face of Angel. "What do you think?" she asked.
This brought Angel back out of his thought proces. "I think you should talk with her. You should give her a chance, she . . . she deserves it."
Buffy was surprised at his last words. "You really mean that?"
Angel nodded and watched the group. "I know that your confindence in Xander's capabilities aren't very high, but you never have met him as your enemy," he spoke to the group with mild admiration.
The group looked at him with big eyes.
Angel ignored them and continued. "It's Xander who thinks she deserves it. He trusts her . . ." He paused for a moment and then sighed. ". . . I think you girls should know something about his, uh, heart . . ."
*****
Crisp and Clear
Faith stood outside, shuffling with her feet, nervously. Her anger towards Buffy seemed not to exist anymore, only frustration. Buffy stood opposite to her and was equaly nervous. It was completely dark already and the sky was crisp and clear. Music, chatting, and laughing from the party was heard up here, but seemed far away to them. They were waiting for each other to speak first. It was like a game, a combat in silence. Faith won as Buffy broke it. "It's funny, huh, that we are standing here, outside," she said while waving in the air, "trying to talk to each other. We are Slayers, but a simple talk seems too difficult for us."
Faith grinned. "Well, we're warriors. Our civilized manners stopped in the middle ages," she quipped.
Buffy chuckled. "Yeah, we are stubborn and tough, have huge egos . . ."
Faith nodded and grinned.
Buffy smiled." . . . and we're egocentric, selfish little bitches with . . ."
Faith smiled back and interrupted. "Now you're speaking for yourself . . ."
Both laughed, feeling a lot more relieved.
When they were ready again Buffy spoke. "It's good that we have such good friends . . ."
"You've got good friends, I've got only one!" Faith said firmly.
Buffy stared at her, scanned her for any trace of emotion. "He really got through to you, didn't he?"
"More than that . . ."
"What do you mean?" Buffy asked.
"You remember I told you that we're the law, that it's up to us to protect humanity?"
Buffy nodded. She herself knew the same feeling.
"When I arrived here in Sunnydale and we fought Kakistos, I resisted every chance of friendship. Hard lessons tought me that as a Slayer I couldn't allow myself any friends. They could only get killed. You saw how scared I was when we fought Kakistos. I would fail protecting them, because I would run away, leaving them behind," Faith tried to explain.
"But not with Xander?" Buffy asked, wondering.
Faith nodded. "My life had been a hell before I became a Slayer. I had kicked some assholes from my past into the hospital, when I found out that I had become stronger. Then my Watcher came, helping me, caring for me. She learned me how to fight and control my powers. She helped me with the sue cases and helped me gain my life back. Then Kakistos came and my life fell back into a hell again. I saw the Mayor as somebody who cared for me and could protect me. It gave me something of my life back."
Buffy nodded in understanding. She knew practically nothing about her past and could only imagine how her life must have been running all the time from her worries and living nightmares. "I'm sorry Faith, that I wasn't there for you, that I didn't see your problems and was so inconsiderate to your fears . . . I . . ."
Faith shook her head. "Most of it was my fault. I never told you precisely what had happened. And you helped me a great deal with my fears. Actually I became jealous about the lack of fear from you and the gang. You were so brave all the time."
Buffy stared at her and shook her head. "We have fears to. But Xander and Willow constantly remind me that you can fight them. They have a bravery that I . . ."
Faith laughed at buffy's amazed face. "Yeah, they're a duo, aren't they?" She grinned and continued. " I had just arrived, they showed me some of the things they had done. The horrors they had faced. They simply laughed it away." Her grin disappeared. "It made me ashamed of myself. Compared to them my nightmares seemed so little." She shook her head. "But in the end it was precisely what gave me the bravery to kill Kakistos."
Buffy nodded in understanding. "Yeah, that's what they do to me too. Especially Xander. He makes the most silly jokes when facing evil."
Faith laughed and nodded.
Buffy turned serious again. "Why do you accept him as a friend then?"
"That's the 64000 dollar question! It seems coming back to that question every time, doesn't it? About *all* your friends I don't know. They seem capable to fight the good fight. But I can tell you something about Xander . . . He is the most stubborn and determined guy I have ever met. I didn't know him that well. Must have something to do between not really wanting to know him and not seeing the real him. He is not very open with talking about his own heroic accomplishments and hides himself behind a goofy mask. He doesn't want to have the honor, he wants stay in the dark. It's self sacrificing . . . protecting you and himself behind a clown mask." Faith shook her head. "But since the moment he came the second time to me, he began to show more and more about himself to me. Even after he did his amazing job, and had convinced me of *even* trying to trust him and walk with him onto the right path again, he continued to amaze me. He constantly has this will . . . need . . . in him to do the right thing . . . call it a White Knight complex. But behind all that goofiness, lies a reliable, capable, inventive and strong man."
Those words made Buffy ponder. She remembered some of the things he had done. She always forgotten about them or ignored them. She loved him as a friend. She needed to know that she had a friend. Especially one she could trust . . . She saw him whenever she needed too. But somehow he seemed only to belong to the decor, pushed to the background, when the bright and normal things game back to her life. Buffy nodded. "I understand. You were afraid that you saw more then you wanted too and I didn't even see a thing, 'cause I was blind."
This made feel Faith a lot better and smiled.
"Thank you, in some kind of sick way, for letting me see this," Buffy continued.
"You're welcome!" Faith replied, grinning.
Buffy chuckled a bit. "You know, if I hadn't become a Slayer, I would never have met such great friends or let alone such nice people."
Faith frowned a bit. "That's what Angel told me, when he had rescued me from strangling Xander." Faith was still in her own thoughts, thinking out loud. Without going in on the questioning look from Buffy, she continued, "All this fighting the good fight, it takes the best out of us all!"
Buffy understood and nodded.
Faith stared at Buffy in a very sincere way. "That's the best of this Slaying thing. We get the best friends one could wish for!"
They looked at each other for some time before Buffy spoke again. "Are the things alright between us?" she nervously asked.
Faith simply nodded. She paused and then grinned. "It's time we gonna kick some ass!"
Buffy smiled. "Tomorrow we shall make a battle plan! Tonight it's prom party time!"
"No need, Xander and I already got some kind of a battle plan, well mostly Xander, but . . ."
Buffy nodded. "We will discuss it tomorrow then." She waved with her hand. "Shall we go back inside?" she asked and grinningly continued, "I think your date is waiting." Faith grinned wickedly back and nodded.
They walked towards the door when Buffy asked her something. "I can understand he got you back and everything. But no matter how hard that must have been for him, I simply can't understand that he convinced you to wear that dress. You must tell me how he did that!"
A small sparkle in Faith's eyes appeared. "I can't explain it to you . . . I barely understand myself . . . You like it?" she asked while turning around.
*****
Tears of laughter had formed in Faith's and Buffy's eyes. Buffy had tumbled over from laughter. Faith was lying on her back. "Oh, you should have seen it yourself, B. The look on his face when I said no!"
She shook her head. "He tried everything. Even his puppy-dog face . . ."
Buffy looked in awe to Faith. "You withstood that?"
Faith grinned proudly and nodded. "And then his face when he saw me enter the prom . . ."
"Well, it's a beautiful dress! Amazing!"
"Thank you, B. You know, it's his choice. Don't know much 'bout dresses. But he completely pictured me in it when he tried to convince me."
"I think he watched you a lot, F," Buffy quipped.
Faith nodded. "I guess he did . . . must have dreamt about me." She suddenly looked at Buffy and flashed a grin. "'Bout you too, B!"
"Now, you don't go there, Faith! He's head over heels about you. And you know it! And love it!"
Faith laughed hard for a long time, together with Buffy. Then her face went serious. "I don't know, Buffy. He likes me, sure. But loves me, I don't know? You'd think he would by the way he has helped me . . . but that's just him. He would have done that for anybody he likes!"
Buffy looked back at her and waited for her to continue.
"But I think I love him. Don't know much 'bout the word, but I get those funny, weird feelings when I think about him or see him. It has grown the last couple of days . . . I don't know."
Buffy stared at her and when nothing came anymore and she looked into her eyes, she began to smile. "Oh, you have got it bad, girl! Just admit it."
Faith stared back at her, nodded and frowning she hid her face in her hands. "For a long time I was so scared for this . . . I thought I would feel so scared, knowing that if I had someone to love then I had something to lose . . . Maybe even a life to live." She looked back at Buffy. Instead of fear or tears Buffy saw faith and love in her eyes. "Not anymore Buffy. I have no fear for that anymore. Not at all! You know how it feels? The freedom!"
Buffy couldn't react. She was happy for her. She knew how it felt, but her Angel wasn't meant for love.
Faith saw the emotions run through her fellow Slayer and a small tear appeared in her eye. She moved herself next to Buffy and laid an arm around her. "You know how it feels, don't you. The same fear . . . the freedom when you think you have found someone, and now you have to face the loss."
Buffy's under lip trembled and she has tears in her eyes. "He is going to leave me, alone. He is going to LA, said that it was the better thing to do."
Faith could not imagine what she would feel when Xander would leave now. Even when their relationship had to begin. She looked up at Buffy. "Come, now it's prom party time. He is standing there, waiting for you and just go dance as if nothing matters. Tomorrow you can begin to forget and you can talk to me. There is at least one shoulder free for you, if you want," Faith said while clapping her hand on her shoulder. "And Xander's too!"
Buffy waited for a moment and got her composure back. Only then Faith's words had hit her. She was surprised by the offer and nodded slowly. Buffy sighed. "Thanks."
Faith smiled and together they stood up and walked towards the door. At the door opening Buffy reached under her dress and pulled out something. It was the dagger, she had gained it from Faith during the exchange for Xander. Faith's eyes widened. Buffy smiled a bit. "A girl can't protect herself enough these days . . . and with those puppy's running around . . ." she quipped.
"Puppy's?" Faith asked.
"Hellhounds," Buffy explained. . "Some half wit summoned and trained them to trash the prom."
Faith nodded, she grinned and reached under her dress. "I totally agree with you," she said as the pulled out her 'Walter PPK'.
Buffy looked at the gun in some kind of mock surprise. "You're wearing a gun?" she asked.
Faith smiled.
Buffy repressed her questions and she handed the dagger over to Faith. "For you!" Buffy said and continued, "it will seal our friendship."
Faith gulped with this sudden change. The two of them had gone from bitter enemies to 'friends' now in only one talk. Faith prepared to take the next step and accept it as she laid her hand on Buffy's and the dagger. "Thanks, Buffy," she said while accepting the dagger back., but then refused. "I appreciate this, but you better keep it. Can't have it now, would be too suspicious if the Mayor would find me with it . . ."
Buffy thought for a moment and nodded in understanding. Then she grinned. "Now tell me what that is with you and guns."
Faith grinned back to her and showed it to her. "It's a Walter PPK. It's my protection . . . it's my talisman!"
Buffy frowned. "Talisman?'
Faith grinned, aimed it at her and shot . . .
*****
*****
To the surprise of every member of the scooby gang they saw the two Slayers enter while laughing and chatting. Then they smiled at each other and both walked to their boyfriend and pushed them to the dance floor . . .
That evening they had the best dance ever!
Buffy was having the time of her life as she forgot her worries and the fact that this was her last time with Angel. She was in Angel's arms, smiling brightly and sexy at him. "You and Faith had a good talk?" Angel asked.
Buffy nodded.
"You trust her again?"
Buffy nodded and just smiled at him.
Angel was somewhat confused by this, but nodded anyway. "Good."
He lowered his hands and placed them around her waist and pressed her at his body, continuing their dance. She looked warmthly at him with lust in her eyes as he frowned a bit. "Why are you wet?" he asked and her smile grew . . .
Faith was having the time of her life too as she was the attraction of the evening, especially to Xander when she danced for him. She closed the distance to Xander, held him in her arms and looked at him with an wonderful smile, as she whispered, "I love you . . . "
*****
The Next Morning
Sand, sand, sand and sun . . .
Xander frowned, and looked around, worried. He pushed his senses to the max, hoping to find something. At least a place to shelter and something to drink. A cactus, or underlying water, anything that could help him survive. But there was nothing, not even a Fata Morgana. For almost an hour he found himself in the middle of a desert with a bright sun burning on his head. He almost lost all hope as he stumbled forward, exhausted.
"No!" he suddenly shouted. "I'm not going to die!" The hyena and the soldier in him took over. His search pattern became structured and it intensified. He used everything that could help him. He found himself in a trance and it helped. He saw something, it moved under the sand. Thinking it was better to go the other way, he turned around and there he saw something too. He looked carefully and his eyes widened as he saw something nibbling away at the desert. He tried to look behind it, but saw only darkness. Then the desert started to completely fall away, at an ever increasing rate, even the stars above it winked out, becoming absolute nothingness. Xander had two choices, the rippling, or nothingness. He turned and ran straight at the rippling.
The movement under the sand in front of him increased while it came closer as it moved closer, towards Xander as well. He fell to the ground when he saw and felt a giant snake-like creature coming out of the sand and then looking down at him. Laughing . . . A rush of fear ran through his body as it came down. He stumbled backwards, but it's mouth was too fast and all he saw was darkness . . .
Screaming in shock he woke up, bathing in his own sweat.
*****
Faith walked through the hallway of Sunnydale, a bright smile gracing her face. Things were working out for her . . . for the first time in her life. The horrors of her past were fading away and she realized she saw the light again.
For the first time in months she had been able to sleep without a nightmare from Kakistos. It had replaced itself by something else. A dream she thought as impossible, something not meant for her. Suddenly she was disrupted in her warm and fuzzy feelings as she heard Harmony talking with two other girls about her.
"That dress she was wearing and that neckless. I tell you, she has stolen it. How else could she afford it?"
Faith smiled at their jealousy and listened further, until Harmony mentioned the subject of her dream. "And she danced with Xander. In front of other people! I mean . . ." Harmony shook her head as Faith grimaced and walked towards her. ". . . of all the guys she could get, she chooses him as a date? I mean, now low can you go? She is really . . ."
*BANG.*
The last Harmony saw before everything went dark was a fist hitting her straight in the face.
Faith stared at her, murderous anger rushing through her body and she looked at the other girls. Both girls gulped as they saw pure hate flaring up in her eyes. Faith clenched her fists as she forced herself to calm down and walked away from them. She rushed to the girlsroom, scaring a girl away with her anger. She walked over to the mirror, gripping the sink firmly as she stared herself in the eyes.
#Damn . . . fucking damn, Faith. Don't . . . don't . . . do it . . . it's not worth it. You're so close, don't let them kill you . . . again.# Her grip tightened and pieces of the sink crumbled under her strength. #You have people now, Faith! People who care . . . trust you.# She saw her own furious face reflecting in her eyes. She wanted to destroy it, destroy this image. #Pleaaase, don't. You have a future . . . ideals . . . friends.#
"Someone who you fucking love, Faith!" she yelled as she destroyed her so hated self-image with one hit. With a huge crack the mirror shattered into a thousand pieces. Her face turned down as tears and blood mixed itself into the sink . . .
Faith's face went furious again. "You should be ashamed of yourself, the way you insulted him and treated him as being worthless!" she almost yelled to the group in general and to the three girls in particular. "And you call yourself his friends?" she added with disdain.
Then she walked stubbornly over to Xander, leaving a dazzled group of people. "C'mon, sweety. Let's dance!" she said gently and took him by the arm.
The group simply stared after the two until they were dancing for a while. The amazing looking and enigmatic Slayer easily took the attention of a large part of male population on and outside the dance floor. But she ignored them all as she put all her devoted attention to him! Xander was dazed by the beauty in front of him and felt a strange kind of pride rising up in his mind by this fact alone. She on the other hand was the real Prom Queen . . .
She closed the distance to Xander, looked at him with an amazing smile and whiped some drool from his face, as he stuttered awe, "I-I . . . I . . . thought you . . . you didn't wear d-dresses."
"Wanted to surprise you," Faith answered as she smiled at his stunned face. No matter what would happen, the look on his face was worth it all.
Buffy, Willow and Cordelia were still numb by this shocking revelation. Giles and Oz were shocked as well. But Oz found himself quickly restored. "Cool," was his answer as he saw Faith dance. The only person who knew what had happened with Faith, but was shocked nonetheless, was Wesley. His fear found itself replaced by amazement when he saw the Dark Slayer move.
Cordelia shifted her gaze toward Wesley and his stare brought her out of her shock. "Wesley!" she snapped, bringing the attention of the group towards her. Wesley looked ashamed back at her.
"What the hell happened!?" Buffy yelled to no one in particular.
"Well, uh, it seems that Xander has found himself a date . . ." Giles commented, trying to explain the obvious, but still staring at Faith with his mouth open. A hint of his Ripperness roared lightly through his throat.
Cordelia rolled her eyes. "Duh! A blind chicken can see that!" she growled, not noticing Giles' aweness.
Buffy was now aware of Giles gaze. "Giles!" she snapped.
Giles blinked. "Huh? what?" he asked, bewildered. He shaked his head lightly to bring him back to reality.
"Why is she dancing with . . . no wait, why is *he* dancing with her?" Buffy asked again.
Wesley held his face as blank as he could and only mimicked some surprise, he was too ashamed.
"It seems that Xander must have reached her somehow . . ." Giles thought out loud.
Then the coin hit the Casino Jackpot and they the won the main price. "What!!??" the three girls yelled in unison. The group stared at each other.
"Wicked!" Oz described the situation.
"Apparently he didn't fail and . . ." Giles continued his thoughts.
"What? Why would he let himself be captured? We had to return the box to the Mayor for him?" Buffy asked angry and with lots of confusion.
"Well . . . I don't know. Maybe the Mayor got in time or . . . " Giles tried to answer.
"He would do something like that, not to risk the life of Faith for her betrayal. But this is the Mayor we're talking about. Sure, Xan knows that. He can't . . . how could he protect her life when others are endangered by it?" Willow asked.
"'Cause the Mayor is only vulnerable and stoppable when he is a demon . . . " a familiar voice answered the question.
Buffy turned around eyes wide as she looked into a very serious and concerned face. "Angel!"
Angel nodded.
"You know?" Giles asked, surprised.
"Yeah, I know. Faith explained it to me this morning, in her own typical way."
"What did she say?" Giles asked again before Buffy could react.
Angel looked at them all, seeing their faces looking back at him in anticipation. Angel let his tension relief, looked down and sighed. "She showed me somewhat how far Xander went to save her."
"What? How far did he go?" a very concerned Willow asked.
Angel shook his head. "I don't know . . . I can't even guess," he spoke quietly.
They all stared at Angel.
"Well, it seems that it has worked," Giles commented.
Angel nodded. "Yeah, but her emotions are still messed up."
They all looked at the couple on the dance floor. They were slow dancing and Faith had her face down in his chest. A small single tear rolled over her cheek as Xander caressed her.
"He must have gone freaking deep . . ." Oz said, as the rest of them were lost for words.
*****
The group was silent for a while, nervously waiting for another to say something. Finally Buffy broke the silence. "What should we do?" she asked.
Giles cleaned the left part of his classes and put it on again. "I think you and Faith should have a talk, alone, Buffy," Giles answered while looking at her.
"Can we trust her?" Buffy asked with uncertainty in her tone.
"It seems to me that that question boils down to the question: can you trust Xander?" Giles shortly explained the current situation.
Buffy nodded and thought about it for a moment, looking to the dance floor for a short moment and back to Giles again. She looked unsure and nervously. "I . . . I don't know . . ." she answered the question.
That struck the rest of group. "What do you mean? . . . This is Xander we're talking about!" Willow immediately responded.
"C'mon, Willow, I don't mean it like that! I mean that Xander could be misled by her and through him all of us," Buffy explained.
Willow's eyes grew wider with fury, but then calmed down when she saw Giles nodding at her.
"Yes, Willow, Buffy has a point there. Faith could be putting up a scene here, wanting to let her trust and then betray us all together. Now I know that it is harsh, but we can't exclude the possibility."
"It's still goof boy we're talking about, here," Cordelia interrupted, trying to hide her shame and defend her honor for her recent behaviour towards Xander. But she was cut short.
"She looks sincere enough for me!" Willow exclaimed while pointing to the couple on the dance floor.
They saw Faith looking back at them, for a short moment, with red eyes and Xander nodding softly towards her after Faith had returned her face back to his.
"I think you should talk to her, Buffy. Look, if you can find back some trust and if you can find out what she wants then you really should talk to her," Giles tried to convince her.
Buffy watched the group for any kind of reaction and stopped at the emotionless face of Angel. "What do you think?" she asked.
This brought Angel back out of his thought proces. "I think you should talk with her. You should give her a chance, she . . . she deserves it."
Buffy was surprised at his last words. "You really mean that?"
Angel nodded and watched the group. "I know that your confindence in Xander's capabilities aren't very high, but you never have met him as your enemy," he spoke to the group with mild admiration.
The group looked at him with big eyes.
Angel ignored them and continued. "It's Xander who thinks she deserves it. He trusts her . . ." He paused for a moment and then sighed. ". . . I think you girls should know something about his, uh, heart . . ."
*****
Crisp and Clear
Faith stood outside, shuffling with her feet, nervously. Her anger towards Buffy seemed not to exist anymore, only frustration. Buffy stood opposite to her and was equaly nervous. It was completely dark already and the sky was crisp and clear. Music, chatting, and laughing from the party was heard up here, but seemed far away to them. They were waiting for each other to speak first. It was like a game, a combat in silence. Faith won as Buffy broke it. "It's funny, huh, that we are standing here, outside," she said while waving in the air, "trying to talk to each other. We are Slayers, but a simple talk seems too difficult for us."
Faith grinned. "Well, we're warriors. Our civilized manners stopped in the middle ages," she quipped.
Buffy chuckled. "Yeah, we are stubborn and tough, have huge egos . . ."
Faith nodded and grinned.
Buffy smiled." . . . and we're egocentric, selfish little bitches with . . ."
Faith smiled back and interrupted. "Now you're speaking for yourself . . ."
Both laughed, feeling a lot more relieved.
When they were ready again Buffy spoke. "It's good that we have such good friends . . ."
"You've got good friends, I've got only one!" Faith said firmly.
Buffy stared at her, scanned her for any trace of emotion. "He really got through to you, didn't he?"
"More than that . . ."
"What do you mean?" Buffy asked.
"You remember I told you that we're the law, that it's up to us to protect humanity?"
Buffy nodded. She herself knew the same feeling.
"When I arrived here in Sunnydale and we fought Kakistos, I resisted every chance of friendship. Hard lessons tought me that as a Slayer I couldn't allow myself any friends. They could only get killed. You saw how scared I was when we fought Kakistos. I would fail protecting them, because I would run away, leaving them behind," Faith tried to explain.
"But not with Xander?" Buffy asked, wondering.
Faith nodded. "My life had been a hell before I became a Slayer. I had kicked some assholes from my past into the hospital, when I found out that I had become stronger. Then my Watcher came, helping me, caring for me. She learned me how to fight and control my powers. She helped me with the sue cases and helped me gain my life back. Then Kakistos came and my life fell back into a hell again. I saw the Mayor as somebody who cared for me and could protect me. It gave me something of my life back."
Buffy nodded in understanding. She knew practically nothing about her past and could only imagine how her life must have been running all the time from her worries and living nightmares. "I'm sorry Faith, that I wasn't there for you, that I didn't see your problems and was so inconsiderate to your fears . . . I . . ."
Faith shook her head. "Most of it was my fault. I never told you precisely what had happened. And you helped me a great deal with my fears. Actually I became jealous about the lack of fear from you and the gang. You were so brave all the time."
Buffy stared at her and shook her head. "We have fears to. But Xander and Willow constantly remind me that you can fight them. They have a bravery that I . . ."
Faith laughed at buffy's amazed face. "Yeah, they're a duo, aren't they?" She grinned and continued. " I had just arrived, they showed me some of the things they had done. The horrors they had faced. They simply laughed it away." Her grin disappeared. "It made me ashamed of myself. Compared to them my nightmares seemed so little." She shook her head. "But in the end it was precisely what gave me the bravery to kill Kakistos."
Buffy nodded in understanding. "Yeah, that's what they do to me too. Especially Xander. He makes the most silly jokes when facing evil."
Faith laughed and nodded.
Buffy turned serious again. "Why do you accept him as a friend then?"
"That's the 64000 dollar question! It seems coming back to that question every time, doesn't it? About *all* your friends I don't know. They seem capable to fight the good fight. But I can tell you something about Xander . . . He is the most stubborn and determined guy I have ever met. I didn't know him that well. Must have something to do between not really wanting to know him and not seeing the real him. He is not very open with talking about his own heroic accomplishments and hides himself behind a goofy mask. He doesn't want to have the honor, he wants stay in the dark. It's self sacrificing . . . protecting you and himself behind a clown mask." Faith shook her head. "But since the moment he came the second time to me, he began to show more and more about himself to me. Even after he did his amazing job, and had convinced me of *even* trying to trust him and walk with him onto the right path again, he continued to amaze me. He constantly has this will . . . need . . . in him to do the right thing . . . call it a White Knight complex. But behind all that goofiness, lies a reliable, capable, inventive and strong man."
Those words made Buffy ponder. She remembered some of the things he had done. She always forgotten about them or ignored them. She loved him as a friend. She needed to know that she had a friend. Especially one she could trust . . . She saw him whenever she needed too. But somehow he seemed only to belong to the decor, pushed to the background, when the bright and normal things game back to her life. Buffy nodded. "I understand. You were afraid that you saw more then you wanted too and I didn't even see a thing, 'cause I was blind."
This made feel Faith a lot better and smiled.
"Thank you, in some kind of sick way, for letting me see this," Buffy continued.
"You're welcome!" Faith replied, grinning.
Buffy chuckled a bit. "You know, if I hadn't become a Slayer, I would never have met such great friends or let alone such nice people."
Faith frowned a bit. "That's what Angel told me, when he had rescued me from strangling Xander." Faith was still in her own thoughts, thinking out loud. Without going in on the questioning look from Buffy, she continued, "All this fighting the good fight, it takes the best out of us all!"
Buffy understood and nodded.
Faith stared at Buffy in a very sincere way. "That's the best of this Slaying thing. We get the best friends one could wish for!"
They looked at each other for some time before Buffy spoke again. "Are the things alright between us?" she nervously asked.
Faith simply nodded. She paused and then grinned. "It's time we gonna kick some ass!"
Buffy smiled. "Tomorrow we shall make a battle plan! Tonight it's prom party time!"
"No need, Xander and I already got some kind of a battle plan, well mostly Xander, but . . ."
Buffy nodded. "We will discuss it tomorrow then." She waved with her hand. "Shall we go back inside?" she asked and grinningly continued, "I think your date is waiting." Faith grinned wickedly back and nodded.
They walked towards the door when Buffy asked her something. "I can understand he got you back and everything. But no matter how hard that must have been for him, I simply can't understand that he convinced you to wear that dress. You must tell me how he did that!"
A small sparkle in Faith's eyes appeared. "I can't explain it to you . . . I barely understand myself . . . You like it?" she asked while turning around.
*****
Tears of laughter had formed in Faith's and Buffy's eyes. Buffy had tumbled over from laughter. Faith was lying on her back. "Oh, you should have seen it yourself, B. The look on his face when I said no!"
She shook her head. "He tried everything. Even his puppy-dog face . . ."
Buffy looked in awe to Faith. "You withstood that?"
Faith grinned proudly and nodded. "And then his face when he saw me enter the prom . . ."
"Well, it's a beautiful dress! Amazing!"
"Thank you, B. You know, it's his choice. Don't know much 'bout dresses. But he completely pictured me in it when he tried to convince me."
"I think he watched you a lot, F," Buffy quipped.
Faith nodded. "I guess he did . . . must have dreamt about me." She suddenly looked at Buffy and flashed a grin. "'Bout you too, B!"
"Now, you don't go there, Faith! He's head over heels about you. And you know it! And love it!"
Faith laughed hard for a long time, together with Buffy. Then her face went serious. "I don't know, Buffy. He likes me, sure. But loves me, I don't know? You'd think he would by the way he has helped me . . . but that's just him. He would have done that for anybody he likes!"
Buffy looked back at her and waited for her to continue.
"But I think I love him. Don't know much 'bout the word, but I get those funny, weird feelings when I think about him or see him. It has grown the last couple of days . . . I don't know."
Buffy stared at her and when nothing came anymore and she looked into her eyes, she began to smile. "Oh, you have got it bad, girl! Just admit it."
Faith stared back at her, nodded and frowning she hid her face in her hands. "For a long time I was so scared for this . . . I thought I would feel so scared, knowing that if I had someone to love then I had something to lose . . . Maybe even a life to live." She looked back at Buffy. Instead of fear or tears Buffy saw faith and love in her eyes. "Not anymore Buffy. I have no fear for that anymore. Not at all! You know how it feels? The freedom!"
Buffy couldn't react. She was happy for her. She knew how it felt, but her Angel wasn't meant for love.
Faith saw the emotions run through her fellow Slayer and a small tear appeared in her eye. She moved herself next to Buffy and laid an arm around her. "You know how it feels, don't you. The same fear . . . the freedom when you think you have found someone, and now you have to face the loss."
Buffy's under lip trembled and she has tears in her eyes. "He is going to leave me, alone. He is going to LA, said that it was the better thing to do."
Faith could not imagine what she would feel when Xander would leave now. Even when their relationship had to begin. She looked up at Buffy. "Come, now it's prom party time. He is standing there, waiting for you and just go dance as if nothing matters. Tomorrow you can begin to forget and you can talk to me. There is at least one shoulder free for you, if you want," Faith said while clapping her hand on her shoulder. "And Xander's too!"
Buffy waited for a moment and got her composure back. Only then Faith's words had hit her. She was surprised by the offer and nodded slowly. Buffy sighed. "Thanks."
Faith smiled and together they stood up and walked towards the door. At the door opening Buffy reached under her dress and pulled out something. It was the dagger, she had gained it from Faith during the exchange for Xander. Faith's eyes widened. Buffy smiled a bit. "A girl can't protect herself enough these days . . . and with those puppy's running around . . ." she quipped.
"Puppy's?" Faith asked.
"Hellhounds," Buffy explained. . "Some half wit summoned and trained them to trash the prom."
Faith nodded, she grinned and reached under her dress. "I totally agree with you," she said as the pulled out her 'Walter PPK'.
Buffy looked at the gun in some kind of mock surprise. "You're wearing a gun?" she asked.
Faith smiled.
Buffy repressed her questions and she handed the dagger over to Faith. "For you!" Buffy said and continued, "it will seal our friendship."
Faith gulped with this sudden change. The two of them had gone from bitter enemies to 'friends' now in only one talk. Faith prepared to take the next step and accept it as she laid her hand on Buffy's and the dagger. "Thanks, Buffy," she said while accepting the dagger back., but then refused. "I appreciate this, but you better keep it. Can't have it now, would be too suspicious if the Mayor would find me with it . . ."
Buffy thought for a moment and nodded in understanding. Then she grinned. "Now tell me what that is with you and guns."
Faith grinned back to her and showed it to her. "It's a Walter PPK. It's my protection . . . it's my talisman!"
Buffy frowned. "Talisman?'
Faith grinned, aimed it at her and shot . . .
*****
*****
To the surprise of every member of the scooby gang they saw the two Slayers enter while laughing and chatting. Then they smiled at each other and both walked to their boyfriend and pushed them to the dance floor . . .
That evening they had the best dance ever!
Buffy was having the time of her life as she forgot her worries and the fact that this was her last time with Angel. She was in Angel's arms, smiling brightly and sexy at him. "You and Faith had a good talk?" Angel asked.
Buffy nodded.
"You trust her again?"
Buffy nodded and just smiled at him.
Angel was somewhat confused by this, but nodded anyway. "Good."
He lowered his hands and placed them around her waist and pressed her at his body, continuing their dance. She looked warmthly at him with lust in her eyes as he frowned a bit. "Why are you wet?" he asked and her smile grew . . .
Faith was having the time of her life too as she was the attraction of the evening, especially to Xander when she danced for him. She closed the distance to Xander, held him in her arms and looked at him with an wonderful smile, as she whispered, "I love you . . . "
*****
The Next Morning
Sand, sand, sand and sun . . .
Xander frowned, and looked around, worried. He pushed his senses to the max, hoping to find something. At least a place to shelter and something to drink. A cactus, or underlying water, anything that could help him survive. But there was nothing, not even a Fata Morgana. For almost an hour he found himself in the middle of a desert with a bright sun burning on his head. He almost lost all hope as he stumbled forward, exhausted.
"No!" he suddenly shouted. "I'm not going to die!" The hyena and the soldier in him took over. His search pattern became structured and it intensified. He used everything that could help him. He found himself in a trance and it helped. He saw something, it moved under the sand. Thinking it was better to go the other way, he turned around and there he saw something too. He looked carefully and his eyes widened as he saw something nibbling away at the desert. He tried to look behind it, but saw only darkness. Then the desert started to completely fall away, at an ever increasing rate, even the stars above it winked out, becoming absolute nothingness. Xander had two choices, the rippling, or nothingness. He turned and ran straight at the rippling.
The movement under the sand in front of him increased while it came closer as it moved closer, towards Xander as well. He fell to the ground when he saw and felt a giant snake-like creature coming out of the sand and then looking down at him. Laughing . . . A rush of fear ran through his body as it came down. He stumbled backwards, but it's mouth was too fast and all he saw was darkness . . .
Screaming in shock he woke up, bathing in his own sweat.
*****
Faith walked through the hallway of Sunnydale, a bright smile gracing her face. Things were working out for her . . . for the first time in her life. The horrors of her past were fading away and she realized she saw the light again.
For the first time in months she had been able to sleep without a nightmare from Kakistos. It had replaced itself by something else. A dream she thought as impossible, something not meant for her. Suddenly she was disrupted in her warm and fuzzy feelings as she heard Harmony talking with two other girls about her.
"That dress she was wearing and that neckless. I tell you, she has stolen it. How else could she afford it?"
Faith smiled at their jealousy and listened further, until Harmony mentioned the subject of her dream. "And she danced with Xander. In front of other people! I mean . . ." Harmony shook her head as Faith grimaced and walked towards her. ". . . of all the guys she could get, she chooses him as a date? I mean, now low can you go? She is really . . ."
*BANG.*
The last Harmony saw before everything went dark was a fist hitting her straight in the face.
Faith stared at her, murderous anger rushing through her body and she looked at the other girls. Both girls gulped as they saw pure hate flaring up in her eyes. Faith clenched her fists as she forced herself to calm down and walked away from them. She rushed to the girlsroom, scaring a girl away with her anger. She walked over to the mirror, gripping the sink firmly as she stared herself in the eyes.
#Damn . . . fucking damn, Faith. Don't . . . don't . . . do it . . . it's not worth it. You're so close, don't let them kill you . . . again.# Her grip tightened and pieces of the sink crumbled under her strength. #You have people now, Faith! People who care . . . trust you.# She saw her own furious face reflecting in her eyes. She wanted to destroy it, destroy this image. #Pleaaase, don't. You have a future . . . ideals . . . friends.#
"Someone who you fucking love, Faith!" she yelled as she destroyed her so hated self-image with one hit. With a huge crack the mirror shattered into a thousand pieces. Her face turned down as tears and blood mixed itself into the sink . . .