DISCLAIMER: I do not own anything to do with Buffy the Vampire Slayer - it all belongs to Joss Whedon.

AUTHOR'S NOTE: I'm on a huge high at the mo. . .I just got Buffy Season 4 as a surprise present (I've got Seasons 1-3 already) so I've been totally over the moon (so far, I've watched Hush and Something Blue from it). Happy Holidays everybody - I wish you many great presents!

Chapter 4

'Faith!' Buffy shouted, her voice going squeaky all of sudden.

'Heya, B!' Faith put down her suitcase and hugged Buffy, who consequently raised her eyebrows, as did everyone else around them.

'Faith, what are you doing here?' Buffy asked bewildered.

'Nothing, I just came for a surprise visit - I wanted to see Spike and Anna, I heard they came back to life.'

'Spike and ANYA,' Anya corrected.

'Right - yeah,' said Faith.

'Faith, you hate me,' said Spike. 'And you hardly know Anya; you only properly met her when we destroyed Sunnydale.'

'She doesn't even know my name, let alone me,' muttered Anya.

'Gee, first Cordelia and then Faith,' Willow whispered to Kennedy. 'If only Harmony would come too, that would complete my list of my top 3 least favourite people.'

Spike, overhearing that last part said: 'Hey, careful what you wish for Red, it could happen. . .and we all know we don't want that.'

'Is everything OK, Faith?' asked Buffy concerned. 'I mean, back in LA, is it all alright? Are you and Robin OK?'

'Yeah, 5 by 5, everything's. . .' Faith began, and then tears welled up in her eyes. 'Oh, God, I promised myself I wouldn't make a scene. . .'

Buffy reacted quickly. 'OK, Spike sweetie, take Faith's suitcase to the spare bedroom - Faith come into the dining room with me. . .'

As Buffy was saying this, she made hand gestures behind her back with which she shooed away the rest of them. They happily obliged.

Buffy handed Faith a tissue, and she wiped her tears.

'I'm sorry, I just didn't know where else to turn!' Faith sobbed.

'It's OK,' Buffy comforted, patting her arm. 'Were you in the neighbourhood?'

'No, I flew in from LA,' said Faith.

'Wow, that's a long way. . .' uttered Buffy under her breath.

'As I said, I didn't have anywhere else to turn,' said Faith.

'What about Angel and his gang?' Buffy suggested, but admittedly too late. However, this only led Faith to cry more.

'He's got them all on his side. . .'

'Who?' Buffy asked.

'Robin!' Faith exclaimed, as if it was the most obvious thing.

'Oh!' Buffy felt pretty stupid. 'What happened?'

'We had a fight.'

'Well, it must've been a pretty big fight if it motivated you to fly all the way here. . .'

'I mean. . .' Faith looked as if she was ready to go into full "relationship-discussion" mode - which was strange, because she'd never acted like this before. 'I've never let my guard down for any guy, y'know? I've always been the one who wore the pants, and that way I never got hurt.' She paused to breathe through her tears. 'You've never seen me like this, right?'

'I can't say that I have,' said Buffy uneasily.

'That's because now I let myself get hurt,' explained Faith.

'So. . .are you two broken up?' asked Buffy carefully.

'No,' she replied. 'At least, I don't think so. He said we should just have some space from each other. I thought staying here for a while would be enough space for him - you don't mind, do you?'

'Not at all,' Buffy reluctantly said. Truth was, all she wanted now was to be with Spike and her friends, concentrating on her possible job - not sitting by Faith the whole time making sure she didn't go off the edge like she was known to do.

'Thanks,' said Faith genuinely. 'I could really use kicking the ass of some demon right now.'

'Hey, careful,' Buffy warned, half joking, half serious. 'Remember what happened last time you enjoyed slaying too much?' Faith smiled.

'Besides,' Buffy went on, 'there hasn't been a whole lotta demon action since we destroyed the Hellmouth.'

'Really? Here too?' Faith seemed disappointed. 'LA's been dull as well.' There was silence for a moment, and then Faith spoke again. 'Hey, did I totally get the wrong idea when I assumed I was welcome here?'

'No! No, really, you came at a perfect time, as a matter of fact. The spare room just became available.'

'Yeah? How come?' Faith had stopped crying, but was now listening intently.

'Well. . .Anya had it until now. Of course, now that she and Xander are MARRIED, she's moving in with him.'

'Married?!' Faith looked at her disbelievingly. 'Since when?'

'Since this morning. They flew to Vegas to get married and flew right back.'

'Talk about spontaneous,' said Faith.

'Yeah. . .I don't know whether it's a good idea or not, but I guess we'll see.'

'Yeah,' Faith looked thoughtful. 'Wow, my little Xander's all grown up.'

Buffy smiled. 'Hey, really, stay as long as you want Faith. Just so long as you don't go all psycho-killer on us. . .the more the merrier!'

'That's sweet of you. You were always like that.' There was a pleasant silence. 'So you and I are OK?'

'Of course!' Buffy eased.

'It's just, we haven't had the best friendship. . .'

Buffy waved her hand. 'All in the past.' Faith seemed to appreciate it.

'Now, if you don't mind, it'll have to be an early night for me. I've got a job interview tomorrow.' Buffy started walking out of the dining room slowly.

'Oh, good luck!' Faith called out behind her.

Buffy exited the dining room and found everyone sitting in the living room, tense.

'Well?' asked Willow anxiously.

'Faith's gonna be hanging around here for a while, and I want you all to make her feel welcome, OK?'

They nodded, as Faith came in.

'Hey, can you show me where my room is? I gotta get used to this house.'

'Sure,' said Buffy. 'I'm going up to bed; I'll show you on my way there.'

'I'll come with you pet,' Spike said quickly.

Going up the stairs, Faith observed them curiously. 'Are you two, like, together?'

'Yeah, we are,' said Buffy, and Spike was pleased to notice, proudly.

'Wow,' she thought as they reached the upper floor. 'Is it true that you're human now?' she asked Spike.

'An "I love sunlight, garlic food and pieces of wood with pointy ends" yes,' Spike replied.

'That was an artistic yes,' admired Buffy. They reached the spare bedroom.

'Well, here you go,' said Buffy. As Faith opened the door, she gasped. 'That's some "spare" bedroom. Are all the other rooms this big?' Buffy nodded.

Astounded, Faith went in and shut the door behind her, followed by an outburst of 'I even have my own bathroom!'

Buffy and Spike went into what was now their bedroom.

'Be honest,' she said. 'How's everyone reacted to Faith's surprise stay?'

'I can't say they're thrilled,' Spike answered. 'But they'll learn to live with her. How long's she gonna be staying anyway?'

'I dunno. A while I think. But let's forget about her now,' she put her arms around his neck and kissed him lightly. 'I have a job interview tomorrow which I'm incredibly nervous about, and I need something to calm me down.' She kissed him again, this time more intensely.

'I think I can help you. . .' he said, as he showered her with passionate kisses, and they got ready to express more of the love they felt for each other.

**********

The next morning, despite only having her interview at noon, Buffy got up early to select an outfit. She got several things out on the bed and observed them, judging them as if she were the manager.

'That one will make him think I'll sleep with him. . .' she said, tossing it back into the wardrobe. All this movement made Spike stir, and he woke up.

'Buffy?' he said sleepily. 'What are you doing up?'

'I'm trying to pick an outfit for my interview,' she said, not looking up from the clothes.

Spike glanced at the clock. 'It's 7 in the morning! Your interview's not for another 5 hours!'

'A girl's gotta be prepared,' she said, dismissing his comment.

'Well, I'm working tonight, so I'll sleep a bit more. Just. . .try to keep your "picking an outfit" routine quiet.' He rolled over and went back to sleep.

Buffy frowned. She needed some help choosing this outfit, and the only man in the household was asleep.

She walked out of their bedroom, carefully shutting the door behind her, and stepping down the stairs. In the dining room, she found Kennedy eating some cereal.

'You're up early,' said Kennedy surprised. 'Isn't your interview at noon?'

'Yeah,' said Buffy. 'But I haven't picked an outfit yet.'

'Ah,' she understood. 'Still, you should be well-rested.' Kennedy took another gulp of her cereal.

'I am. Why are you up so early anyway?' Buffy asked curiously.

'Bar opens at 8. Gotta be there at 7:30,' explained Kennedy.

'What about Anya? Is she working today?'

Kennedy sighed. 'She should be, but something tells me that she won't be up to it as it's the day after her wedding.'

Buffy leaned against the kitchen counter. 'It's not like it was really exhausting though. A Las Vegas chapel isn't exactly my idea of a perfect wedding location.'

'I have to ask,' Kennedy said, lifting her spoon in the air, 'because I haven't known Xander and Anya that long - is this a good or a bad thing? Willow seems to be really cold about it.'

'Well,' Buffy thought how she could put it into words. 'They got together strangely, and their relationship was never the most functional - but deep down I think they really do love each other and will make it work. Anya's demands just need to be toned down, that's all. As for Willow's coldness. . .Xander's her best friend. She wants the best for him, and I guess she feels that he's thrown himself into this without thinking about the future.' She paused. 'Or maybe she's just mad she wasn't at the wedding, either way.'

Kennedy smiled. 'Y'know, it's good when you live with your girlfriend's best friends. If you ever need her explained. . .'

'. . .just turn to us?' Buffy finished off. Kennedy nodded.

'Yeah, it's good to have another Slayer around - one that's not Faith I mean.'

'Yeah - what's her deal? I thought she was gonna stay in LA with that principal guy. Anyway, didn't she used to be evil?'

Buffy laughed darkly. 'Yep - there was a time when we wanted to kill each other, but I trust her now - that's why I'm letting her stay here as long as she needs. She and "principal guy" are having problems.'

'That's so weird though,' said Kennedy finishing her cereal. 'After that apocalypse, I swear she never wanted to see any of us again. And also. . .I never got a chance to discuss this with you. . .an evil Slayer?'

Buffy nodded knowingly, remembering all the events that led up to her Graduation Day. It sent a chill down her spine.

'But I guess it was lucky that you were there too,' Kennedy went on. 'Because if she had been the only one, nothing would've stopped the evil, and the world would've been doomed.'

Buffy was surprised - someone like the council would have surely stopped Faith eventually - but she'd never fully thought about it. Kennedy was quite right. It was lucky she'd been there to stop Faith.

'I'd better be off to work,' said Kennedy. 'I'll see you later. And good luck with the interview!' She rushed towards the door, but Buffy stopped her.

'Kennedy?'

She turned around. 'Yeah?'

'I'm glad we talked.'

She smiled. 'Me too.' She hurried out the door to work.

Buffy was left there, with a lot of things to think about that Kennedy had put into her head, as well as what she was going to wear to her interview.

**********

A/N: Coming up. . .Buffy's interview, and she gets asked a very strange question by her employer. . .followed by an even stranger request. . .