This chapter is mega long because it used to be two but I decided to make it one so this fic will have some semblance of being decent sized.

Hope you guys enjoy, I got a really disappointing number of reviews last chapter, so please review and make me feel better!

Thanks to:

Lolly6

Charmedfanatic3000

Kyra2

Lostangel92 – Thanks for the name suggestions but I've already decided the name I'm using for the baby. I really like you names though!

Erak – don't worry I'm not gonna kill the baby, that would be really mean!

The caffeine fairy

Allgoodfungall247

Becks89 – there will be moments of happiness, but, as usual, something bad is gonna happen. Lol and you don't want me to be harsh to my characters after what you did to Sirius in TYE! Update soon and get them back together!

Wllw979 – lol you can copy my baby stuff if you want, I don't mind! It probably won't be very good, all I've done so far is go on the net and look up pregnancy stages. I'm not good with kids, so I don't know how well I'll write their child!

Dreamer Child – don't worry, stuff will end up okay!

Renna

Chapter 30 – Setting things in Motion

Buffy, Sirius, Faith and Giles saw the others back to Sunnydale through the fireplace the next afternoon. The evening saw the steady arrival of people for the meeting.
Buffy didn't know who most of them were but she knew the Weasleys who showed up with the twins in tow.
"You guys are joining the Order?" Buffy asked and the twins nodded smugly.
"It took some work but we managed it," Fred said proudly.
"We only threatened mum with kidnapping Ginny," George said brightly.
"And brainwashing her until she became like us," Fred added. Buffy giggled and the Weasleys followed the other members into the drawing room.
Buffy saw Hagrid who said hello to her, having met her at the first Order meeting that she was present at and nearly last of all, Kingsley, Moody and Tonks arrived at Grimmauld Place.
"Wotcha Buffy," Tonks said cheerfully. "You look well. Looking forward to the meeting?"

"Hi," Buffy said. "Yeah, sort of. I don't really follow though; it gets a bit too much with the cryptic. You remember my friends, Giles and Faith? They're joining the Order."
"Certainly," Kingsley said, shaking their hands in turn. "The other Slayer, am I correct?"
"You certainly are," Faith said, eyeing him, and then winking at Buffy who smirked and turned away.

"Will you guys stay for dinner tonight?" Buffy asked them. "The twins and Bill are, Sirius is going to whip up something with his wand.
"Only if Lupin helps," Moody growled and Sirius grinned. "I've tasted his food before and without Remus, it leaves a lot to be desired."
"Remus can give me a hand," Sirius said with a chuckle.
"Then we'd be delighted," Kingsley said. "We're most interested to hear more about the Hell mouth and the slayer legacy. Fascinating." Buffy smiled and they all headed into the drawing room where the wizards and witches were amassing.

Buffy chatted idly to Tonks and Moody while the group waited for Dumbledore to arrive. She caught Snape's eye momentarily, apparently he had been able to leave Hogwarts for the evening. He nodded at her, which she returned. In a way she was glad they were on nodding terms. She had no desire to be his friend but the effort of hating someone was past her. She had so many things to think about which were much more important.
Dumbledore arrived shortly and the group quietened down to hold the meeting.
First came a report from those inside the Ministry. Percy gave a short report on what Fudge was up to, boring stuff that Buffy didn't understand so she tuned him out and idly people watched. There were more people there than there had been before, she realised. The recruiting must've been going pretty well, she noted at least three wizards and four witches that's she didn't recognise.

Buffy tuned back in when Snape spoke, but it was all pretty much stuff she'd heard the previous day, with the exception of some more stuff about Voldemort's actions and plans.
Then Dumbledore began to talk about the new members of the Order and introduce them. He ran through who the new wizards and witches were and then pointed out Faith and Giles.
"Two more additions to our fold come in the shape of a Slayer and a watcher," Dumbledore said, not loudly as he was the kind of speaker who commanded attention by his presence more than his volume. "Faith is our second slayer, a title which defies logic I know but there is a long complicated story about how that came to pass if you care to ask either slayer. Faith commands the same skills as Buffy, heightened senses, speed, and strength. Mr Rupert Giles was her watcher and Buffy's too, but he is no longer in the employment of the Watchers Council and both slayers do not take their orders from the Council. Mr. Giles has a broad knowledge of demonology and is an excellent researcher, skilled in many demonic tongues. He will be an asset, I am certain that Lord Voldemort will not have overlooked demons as a powerful ally in this second war."

Buffy beamed, she was proud of the way that Dumbledore had described her friends, hell they were her family.
Dumbledore followed with the announcing of the addition of the Weasley Twins before they got down to business with assignments for the members. Buffy listened quietly, and Dumbledore announced her and Sirius' intention to hunt down Pettigrew with the assistance of Faith and Giles.

The meeting wrapped up quickly and Buffy played the good hostess by standing in the kitchen and smiling at people as the flooed away. Finally the house was empty, with the exception of their dinner guests. They all went to the drawing room, leaving Sirius and Remus to cook.
"I hope they're okay in there," Buffy chuckled. "The most Sirius has ever cooked for me is toast."
"He once set fire to his robes," Tonks said thoughtfully. "My old mum invited him round for dinner, he offered to help in the kitchen and then he caught fire. Couldn't work out how it was done, he was fine one minute, on fire the next." Buffy couldn't help but laugh.
"It turned out okay though," Tonks continued obliviously. "My mum put it out with a quick flick of the wand and we took him down to St Mungos. No damage done. Just a bit strange, that's all." Buffy laughed even more.
"I'm gonna go and check on them," she giggled and went through quickly to the kitchen.
When she got there, Sirius was sitting on a chair, lounging back with is tipped on two legs chatting away to Remus about babies. Remus was working hard, making what looked like chicken.
"This is your idea of cooking is it?" Buffy asked, raising an eyebrow. Sirius tipped his chair forward and landed on all four legs. Buffy hopped onto the table and sat facing him. He wrapped his arms around her waist.
"There's cooking happening isn't there?" Sirius said lightly. "It just happens to not be me doing it." Buffy kissed the top of his head affectionately.
"If we get married, you're learning to cook," she told him. "Remus you want me to help?" Remus smiled at her over his shoulder.
"It's alright," he said. "I'm better off this way anyway. Did you hear the story about Padfoot catching fire?"
"Tonks just told it," Buffy replied, twisting her fingers in Sirius' hair.
"It was a very traumatic experience," Sirius complained indignantly. "Something we shouldn't be joking about." Buffy and Remus laughed.
"Right sweetie," Buffy said patronisingly. Remus looked up and smiled.
"You want to fetch the others?" he asked Buffy. "It's about ready." Buffy hollered and the others came and all sat around the large worn table.

It was a really good evening; the basement kitchen was lit with candlelight which threw a warm glow on all their faces. There was plenty of food which they ate through quickly and they quickly drunk through a case of Butterbeer, with the exclusion of Buffy. The conversation was open and friendly and Buffy kept sneaking looks at Faith who was deep in conversation with Kingsley.
Gradually the conversation turned around to the problem at hand, Voldemort and his Death Eaters.
"If Fudge could just address the problem," Bill said frustrated. "If he had listened from the start then we could be a lot more in control. As it is, the Ministry is barely managing to keep the situation in control. Azkaban is about to break, there are more signs every day. Yet Fudge refuses to remove the Dementors."
"I don't wish to defend the Minister but he has no other options," Kingsley said. "The dementors will turn, there is no doubt and their prisoners freed but there are no other guards to use. The Aurors cannot be utilised, there's too much on our plates with the Death Eaters that are free. And no one else has enough strength to withstand an attack."
"The Aurors don't have enough strength to withstand an attack," Moody put in, leaning back in his chair wearily. "Fighting Death Eaters is one thing but not one Auror would stand a chance if Voldemort shows up on Azkaban. He will tear the walls down and the prisoners will run riot. Not even the Aurors have the strength to prevent that."
"The Aurors have strength enough," Kingsley said staunchly. Moody raised a scarred eyebrow.
"There are only two people in this world who have enough strength to take on Voldemort," he growled. "Dumbledore and the boy. I've seen the Aurors, they are powerful no doubt but nothing compared to Voldemort. They would fail and they would die. And then where would we turn."

"Muggles," Buffy put in. "You would be forced to rely on muggles." Moody made a derisory noise.
"Muggles," he scoffed contemptuously. "There is no strength in muggles. They will never make a difference in this war. They would not aid us; they would see us dead before that happened." Buffy sat back in her chair and folded her arms.
"You forget that I happen to be a muggle," she said frowning. "And Faith and Giles. And my other friends. Yet we remain to assist you."

"I do not doubt your loyalty to us," Moody assured her. "But, begging your pardon, you are not normal muggles. You are a slayer, and your friends are part of that world. Another slayer, a Watcher, a Wicca, a werewolf. You have seen things that muggles cannot comprehend and experienced things they would not believe. I don't think you can call yourselves muggles." Buffy nodded but still frowned.
"Maybe so," she replied thoughtfully. "But we were regular muggles once. It still surprises me how quickly Willow and Xander adapted to it. I mean Faith, Giles and me were born with a destiny, something we had to do, a gift. But Willow and Xander had no clue until I showed up and then when they knew the score they accepted it and have been more help to me than they know."

"But they are exceptions," Kingsley interjected. "The majority of muggles will do anything to shield themselves from our world. That's part of the reason we hide from them; they don't want to know. They fear us and fear leads to hatred. The witch burning of past centuries has proven that fact."

"I see your point," Giles said fairly, joining the conversation. "But that's a broad generalisation. There are plenty of us muggles out there that are willing to accept the unfamiliar and unknown, if given the opportunity."
"Your world is funny," Buffy remarked pensively. "I mean, you've got the Voldemort crowd who are vehemently anti-muggle and anti half-blood. And you can all say that's wrong, that purebloods and half-bloods should be treated equally and that muggles shouldn't be persecuted. But then you treat muggles as if they are incredibly simple, patronise them even. You treat them as if they are all closed minded and bigoted against magic. But in the end they are going to have to be the future, without muggles, wizards have no future." There was silence for a short while after Buffy's little speech.
"Check out B," Faith said smirking. "Giving the wizards what for." It broke the silence and people began to grin.
"I'm sorry," Buffy said quickly. "I didn't mean to offend you." Moody and Kingsley exchanged glances.
"You didn't offend us, what you have said holds a certain degree of truth," Kingsley said finally. "But there are other things to consider. Like the fact that the two worlds are completely different and are frankly unable to be meshed together. Wizards and muggles cannot live in harmony while one has full knowledge of the other. It is not possible; muggles would be searching for magical solutions to all their problems. The world would become a divided society, the magical and the non magical, with the non magical perhaps in servitude to us. We hold a power that muggles cannot destroy, cannot use and cannot manipulate. It is impossible." Buffy considered what he said and finally nodded.
"I see your point," she said finally. "I suppose part of it is that as a muggle I know I'll suffer a certain amount of rejection from wizards because I can't use a wand."
"Most wizards have accepted the fact that muggles are and will be a part of our world," Kingsley offered. "The numbers of marriages between the two are rapidly rising." Buffy smiled.
"Then I won't be the only one," she said lightly.

The following day, Buffy, Sirius, Giles and Faith sat at the kitchen table and pored over the file that Snape had provided for them. Remus had disappeared again early that morning, it was the full moon that night and he wanted to be far away into the countryside before he changed again.

The file contained some pictures taken of Wormtail the other death eaters. Buffy disliked him as soon as she saw him; he looked like his animagus form, even as a human. He moved about shiftily and looked weedy and weak. A coward, Buffy thought correctly.

There was also a map of the key locations Snape had mentioned, dotted across Britain in red.
"We should go to these," Buffy said, moving her finger from one to the next. "There's nothing we can do if we don't have some clue where he is."
"This one's near," Giles said, pointing to a red dot just outside of London. "If we go up the motorway we can get there. Will there be any spells on it preventing us getting there?" Sirius looked at the map carefully.
"It's Nott's place," he said thoughtfully. "Big manor house, he's still in with the Ministry. Managed to avoid Azkaban when Voldemort fell, claimed her was controlled by the imperius curse. He fought in the Department of Mysteries but he escaped before the Aurors saw him. I doubt there would be anything too heavy on the house, he's still in with Fudge so I reckon just muggle repelling spells."
"We'll be alright with that won't we?" Giles asked concernedly. Sirius nodded.
"If you can see Hogwarts and this place, you'll be able to see Nott's place," he confirmed. "Must be from living on the Hellmouth that you lot have enough magic about you."
"How will we get there?" Faith asked. "We can't exactly fly." Sirius considered.

"I'd better not go," he said resignedly. "The Death Eaters know my animagus form; you'll be more inconspicuous without me." Buffy nodded, and placed a hand on his arm.
"Can we take your bike?" Faith asked eagerly. Sirius shook his head.

"Sorry but you're gonna have to take a portkey," he said, not too disappointedly. "It's quicker and there's not room for three on the bike." Faith sighed.

"Will we be okay on our own, without magic?" Buffy asked him and he nodded.
"I made a potion for you," he said, handing her a corked glass bottle. "If you get in trouble, break the bottle and it will freeze your attackers for a minute. You can use the portkey to get back whenever you're ready." He got up and went to the cupboard, taking out a saucepan.
"Portus," he muttered and tapped it with his wand. It glowed blue momentarily and then looked normal. "This will take you near to the Nott mansion, but not directly to it." Buffy nodded, took the folder and tucked it into her coat.

"Weapons?" Faith said brusquely and Buffy nodded. They went into the drawing room to where they were keeping their weapons. Buffy tucked a couple of stakes into her pockets.

"There probably won't be vampires," Sirius reminded her and Buffy shrugged.
"I just like it," she remarked. "It kills pretty well." Faith grinned and tucked one into her pocket.

Buffy also picked up the sword she had used to get Sirius out of hell and a long handled curved knife. Faith took a large axe and a large knife. Giles took another large axe and a small knife.
"All set," Faith said, tucking the knife into her belt and brandishing her sword. Buffy nodded and looked to Giles who also nodded.
"Okay, you're purely checking out the place," Sirius said slowly, looking at all of them. "No going in, they'd kill you too easily. Don't take any unnecessary risks, it's too dangerous. Under no circumstances, go anywhere near Voldemort. If you see Pettigrew, don't try and grab him unless the opportunity is unmissable. Don't put yourself at risk."
"How will we know who Voldemort is?" Faith asked distractedly. "I've seen some pics of the others, but not him."
"He'll stand out," Sirius assured her. "He doesn't look human, got a face like a snake. Plus, his power emanates off of him. You won't mistake him for anyone else, I promise."

"Cool," Faith said. "I'm five by five, let's get on and case the joint."

They went back into the kitchen and all together took hold of the portkey. Buffy was whirled away, feeling her arms banging against Faith's side as blackness took over.

They landed hard, and Buffy was careful to prevent her sword from sticking into anyone as they landed. When she finally got her bearings and they were all on their feet, they discovered they were in a quiet estate, with large mansions surrounding them. Dusk was beginning to set in, and darkness was descending upon them.
"Wizards homes?" Giles asked quietly and Buffy looked around. The place was deserted, quiet in the way that a rich private estate is and there were no signs of life anywhere.
Buffy closed her eyes and felt with her mind and slayer senses. She remembered doing such a thing when she'd had to fight in the dark, and when she'd fought invisible Marcy. Except this time, she wasn't listening for movement, she was feeling for magic. Finally she opened her eyes.
"I don't think so," she said softly. "Just that one." She pointed to a mansion on their left. Like the others, it had a gated drive but unlike the others, this didn't appear to be controlled by electrical system. There was definite magic emanating from it, but Buffy couldn't tell what kind or for what purpose. Faith looked over at Buffy.
"What are we waiting for?" she asked with a wicked grin and sprinted across to the tall black iron gates.
"Faith!" Buffy hissed, following her over. "You don't know what kind of alarms they've got." Faith shrugged and quickly vaulted over, landing lightly on the other side.
The three of them waited on tenterhooks for about thirty seconds. When it was clear that nothing had happened, Faith smirked and Buffy vaulted over the gates too. Together, they broke the chain that was looped around the gates, and pushed them open so Giles could follow.

"You should've waited to make sure it was safe," he berated Faith who merely smiled.
"We were never gonna see anything from behind the gates," she replied easily. "Houses like this have driveways as long as the Nile. Chill out G-man." Giles frowned but didn't reply and they all headed up the driveway.

Buffy felt they ought to be skulking in the shadows, but the drive was annoyingly bare. As they drew closer to the actual house, tall, thick bushed flanked it on either side. Quickly they moved into them, finding a good hiding space in the thick shrubs. They moved along, until they were as close to the grand front door as they could be without being in the open. Thankfully the bushed went right up to the front.
"What now?" Faith whispered, glancing towards the front door.
"There's no way we're going in there," Buffy murmured. "They'd kill us for sure. We wait it out, see if anyone shows up."
"Anyone bring travel monopoly?" Faith said boredly.

It was another hour before anything happened. Faith and Buffy were whispering, boredom and discomfort setting in. Giles had drifted off into a doze and was snoring lightly. No one had come in or out of the house.
A loud series of thumps awoke them all from their stupor, Giles nearly falling out of the bush in surprise. They all peered out between the leaves and watched in amazement as two winged black horses trotted briskly up the drive towards the front door, pulling a large carriage behind them that resembled a black box. A man dressed in black robes with a hood covering mot of his face pulled the horses to a halt just in front of the small stone staircase that led to the front door.

The horses stood still but rustled their wings irritably. Shortly, the front door was opened and four men with black masks covering their faces came out. The quickly descended the staircase and stood two on either side of the bottom step, in front of the carriage door. Thy held their wands out and looked around them alertly.
Next out of the door was a dark haired man without a mask who stepped out of the door, breathed the fresh air deeply and then descended to stand next to the carriage. He too looked around suspicious, nervously even.

Then he came and Buffy, Faith and Giles knew him as soon as they saw him, even thought they had never seen him before.

He had the palest skin they had ever seen, so white it almost glowed eerily in the darkness. His nose was flat, with slits for nostrils like a snake. His eyes were red, glowing like a cat. He was skeletally thin, large pale hands with unnaturally long fingers clutched a long wand.

Lord Voldemort walked down the steps regally, not bothering to look about him as the others had. He stopped at the bottom of them and it was then that Buffy had to catch herself before she gasped. There he was, almost hidden behind Voldemort but so visible now. Wormtail stood in Voldemort's shadow, looking around uncomfortably and not daring to look at the Death Eaters around him. Buffy saw his silver hand that Voldemort had given him; it clutched his wand.

"You have done well Nott," Voldemort said coldly to the unmasked Death Eater. "Your hospitality will not be forgotten. I trust everything is in motion?"

"Yes my Lord," Nott said. He was a powerful looking man, but Buffy noticed the fear that crept into his voice. "All is to plan. Will you not remain longer?" Voldemort then looked around him, as if considering his surroundings haughtily.
"The Ministry get more adept at tracking me everyday," Voldemort said disdainfully. "No, I must move on. Narcissa has been kind enough to offer us a place to stay. I daresay she feels lonely with Lucius in Azkaban." A note of amusement was evident in his voice.
"Still," he continued. "If everything is to plan, she will not be lonely for long. When we are all gathered, we shall have strength enough to take on that fool Fudge. Once the Ministry has fallen, Dumbledore will have no choice but that of death." Voldemort chuckled and the coldness sent chills up Buffy's spine.

"What of the Slayers my Lord?" Nott asked and Buffy felt Faith tense next to her.
"We shall see," Voldemort said reflectively. "Peter has provided some first hand knowledge of one, a Miss Buffy Summers; we have other sources investigating the two of them. We know they are in Britain, Dumbledore has been housing them. It is apparent that the second slayer, Faith I believe she is called, is not as pure as the first. Perhaps she can be persuaded to embrace the darkness. We shall see."

"Don't hesitate to let me know if there is anything I am needed for," Nott said with a nervous chuckle, bowing deeply. Voldemort surveyed his with disdain.
"Don't worry, I will," he said smoothly. "Come Wormtail, I wish to arrive in time for supper." Wormtail scurried around Voldemort and opened the door for him, grinning sycophantically. Voldemort swept past him and into the carriage.

Wormtail followed him, casting a cursory glance behind him and closed the door with a bang.
At once the carriage was wheeled around and the horses cantered down the drive, finally taking off and soaring off into the night, becoming invisible against the velvety blackness.

Looking back, Buffy couldn't see how they managed to make it back to the portkey outside the gates, with the fear of being discovered by a Death Eater at any moment. But they did and were grateful to land sprawling in the kitchen of Grimmauld place, right on top of the kitchen table. Giles fell off and Faith ended up hanging off the edge, while Buffy stood precariously in the middle.
Sirius jumped up from the chair he'd been sitting at to help Buffy down from, the table and getting her seated comfortably.
"Thanks for the help Sirius," Faith said irritably, clambering up to a seated position and then jumping down to sit in a chair. Giles too picked himself up to sit with them.
"So how'd it go?" Sirius asked eagerly and they exchanged looks.
"We saw him," Buffy said finally, taking the role of story teller. "Voldemort and Wormtail, they had been staying at Nott's and they were just leaving in this flying horse carriage thing to go to Narcissa's house, whoever she is. Said she was lonely because Lucy or someone was in Azkaban.
"The Malfoys," Sirius said grimly. "Narcissa and Lucius. Lucius is currently experiencing the delights of Azkaban."

"As in Draco?" Buffy asked and Sirius nodded. She made a face. "Yuck. Okay I'm over it. Anyway, Voldemort said that if everything goes to plan, she won't be lonely for long and that he can then take on the Ministry and Fudge and Dumbledore." Sirius frowned.
"He must be talking about an Azkaban breakout," Sirius said pensively. "It makes sense; we've thought he's been planning it for a while. And not a damn thing we can do about it either. There'd be no chance of success even if we all went to Azkaban. No one can contend with the Dementors. Did they say anything else?"
"They mentioned us," Buffy said after an uncomfortable pause. "Nott asked Voldemort about the Slayers and he knew about us, he's got sources researching us. Our names, the fact that we were here in Britain on Dumbledore's team. And he knew about….about Faith. He said that she might be persuaded to join the darkness again." Everyone looked to Faith who looked awkward.
"I've got no plans to turn evil again," she said helpfully. Her expression turned serious. "Look, you don't have anything to worry about. I'm on your team now, one of the good guys remember? I'm not gonna join snake-face." Buffy smiled.
"We're not worried," she reassured her. "Not about you turning anyway. We trust you. It's just we're worried about what he might do." Faith cracked her knuckles.
"I'm about ready to beat down any Death Eater that tries to attack me," she said smirking. "But first, I've got a date." The other three stared at her dumbly.
"A date?" Buffy said suspiciously. "But you don't date? You take guys back to your room and you eat them alive, but you don't date them? Are you feeling okay?" Faith sniffed disdainfully.
"Chill out mom," she said haughtily. "I date. I just don't make a habit of it. But when in London…."
"Who are you going out with?" Sirius asked, almost as aghast as Buffy. Faith smiled knowingly.
"Kingsley," she said shortly. "He asked me out last night and I said yes." They were once again dumbfounded.
"Kingsley?" Buffy repeated. "Wow, you actually snagged him. There was me thinking he was tall, cool and unattainable." Sirius looked mildly affronted.
"Why were you thinking about his availability?" he protested. "You shouldn't be thinking about that." Buffy grabbed his hand and kissed it.

"Not for me sweetie," she said playfully. "For Faith." Sirius was pacified and they turned back to Faith.
"Well, it looks like no one can resist the Slayery goodness of me," Faith said casually. "He's taking me for dinner at a wizard's restaurant." Buffy dropped Sirius' hand and glared at him.
"You never take me out," she accused him. "We just stay here; you don't take me for dinner." Sirius raised his eyebrows and Buffy looked sheepishly.
"Sorry forgot the wanted criminal thing," she said embarrassedly. "Anyway, what are you going to wear?" Faith shrugged.
"Something to make his eyes pop out of his head," she said casually and Buffy grinned.
"You'll knock him dead," she predicted brightly.

Buffy had sat up in the kitchen talking with Sirius, Giles and Bill, who returned home from his date later. Buffy wasn't sure but she thought he'd got back with his French girlfriend. They sat in the kitchen talking, and told Bill about their day at Nott's Mansion. Buffy found herself getting tired, as she did often since she became pregnant so she simply laid herself on the table and went to sleep.

When she came to, there were no lights in the kitchen and she was still atop the table, with a blanket covering her. Clearly they hadn't wanted to disturb her. She had been awoken by voices in the hall and she slid off of the table and went to the door to investigate. Peering out she saw faith and Kingsley in the hall, but they didn't see her. They were talking, she couldn't hear what they were saying and then they shared a kiss. Buffy smiled to herself, she had wanted faith to find someone who was right for her for a long time. She had a habit of picking guys that were really wrong for her.
Kingsley was a gentleman and bid Faith goodnight, leaving Grimmauld place through the front door.
As soon as he was gone, Buffy pushed open the door and accosted Faith.
"Good date?" she asked eagerly and Faith nodded, smiling absent-mindedly that told Buffy that it definitely had been.

"Very good date," Faith affirmed.

"Good kisser?" Buffy teased.
"Do I look like the kind of girl who kisses and tells?" Faith asked with a smile playing about her lips. Buffy raised an eyebrow. "Great kiss, really great kiss." Buffy smiled, recognising the signs of a serious crush, something she couldn't remember seeing in Faith before. She said her goodnight and climbed the series of staircases that led to her room. She changed quickly into her pyjamas and then flopped onto the bed next to a sleeping Sirius. She kissed him lightly on the cheek before letting sleep take her.