Disclaimer : Not mine
Summary: Buffy and Faith fight once more, but this time, for each other and
with each other(as in side by side) to stop a great evil. They get help
from a source that they don't expect and manage to find love.
Feedback: Always Welcome
The Purest of Hearts
A light breeze played through the trees in one of Sunnydale's finest
graveyards. What appeared to be a fog was sweeping between headstones at a
rather quick pace. The faint whispers of a female voice was heard in the
midst of the fog as it made twists and turns until it reached it's
destination. Once it reached the edge of the cemetery it stopped abruptly,
raising a squeal from the voice inside. The fog flattened two feet from
the ground and seemed to open from below. Suddenly a girl fell from the
fog. She landed with a grunt before springing to her feet. She scanned
her surroundings before smirking.
"Ya think they could've dropped me off a little closer to Giles' house."
She reached inside her denim jacket to make sure her stake was still in the
waist of her dark, faded jeans. She reached into her pocket and pulled out
a map. After studying it for a moment, she replaced it and started off
towards the watcher's house.
Rupert Giles was enjoying a rare quiet Sunday night. He had just sat down
with a fresh cup of tea and a book when he heard a knock at the door. He
sighed briefly before standing to answer. When he opened the door he found
a young girl, she appeared to be about 16, she had blonde hair and deep
brown eyes. She was wearing a smirk that Giles found oddly familiar.
"Can I help you with something?" He smiled briefly at her thinking he knew
her from somewhere, he just couldn't place her.
"You're Giles right? Buffy's watcher?" His face fell solemn.
"How do you know about that?"
"I'm her daughter, Dylan." She smirked again.
In L.A., Faith was sleeping, not very soundly in her cell. She began
thrashing around as if she was fighting in her sleep. She suddenly bolted
upright and looked around wildly. Beads of sweat traced her forehead and
she was gasping for air.
"I have to get to B."
Back in Sunny D, Buffy was sitting in the same position as Faith in her bed
at home. As she struggled to catch her breath she began to replay the
dream in her head. She was fighting something. Vampires, she realized.
But there was a demon, a huge demon and Faith was there, she was fighting
the vamps too. Why wasn't she or Faith fighting the demon? The girl.
There was a girl in the dream who was fighting the demon, she kept stabbing
him. Weird. She tried to shake it off as a stupid nightmare, but she knew
it was a slayer dream, so she knew that Faith had the same dream. She got
out of bed and padded to Dawn's room and peeked in the door that stood
slightly ajar. She smiled at her sister sleeping soundly and backed out
quietly. She stopped at Willow's door and listened briefly, when she heard
two sets of snores, she walked back to her room. She stood at the window
and cracked it open a bit. She breathed in the cool night air as she slid
back into bed. After some tossing and turning, she slowly drifted off to
sleep again.
Giles stood at the still open door and stared at the girl for a moment.
"Her daughter?"
"Yup, Elizabeth Anne Summers, the vampire slayer, is my mom." She looked
up expectantly at the man. Giles was trying to process the information
the girl had given him and figure out how it was possible. He opened his
mouth as if to say something, but shut it before opening it again. He
absentmindedly took his glasses off and cleaned them.
"How?"
She smiled at the older man and slipped through the door past him. She
turned but continued into the house backwards as she smirked at him again.
"Come on in and I'll tell ya all about it." He thought for a moment before
shrugging and closing the door and walking back into the house. He waved
her towards the couch and she sat across from him. He sat watching her
expectantly. She looked around nonchalantly before she realized him
staring.
"Oh...sorry, I guess you want an explanation."
"Um, well, yes to be perfectly honest." She took a deep breath.
"Well, okay...I'm from the future. Not like, super future, just twenty
years. I was sent here because my future and the future of everything
that's good is being threatened. See, I'm a warrior, and I am supposed to
lead an army against the greatest forces of darkness that have ever
existed. Now, the reason that's all in danger is because my parents are
having some issues in the present, well this present, and may never get
together to create me. So, without my existence, there's nobody to lead
this army and darkness will overtake the earth. Basically, if I'm not
born, the world as we know it, is over." She sat looking at the man as he
processed the information. She began to fidget. Her foot was tapping to
an imaginary beat and she couldn't keep her hands still.
"So, Buffy is your mother...who is your father?" She bit back a laugh and
looked him square in the eye.
"Faith." His eyes narrowed slightly.
"Faith."
"Well, not my father, but the donor of the other half of my being."
"How exactly is that possible?"
"Well, four years from now, the Powers That Be, decide to give Buffy and
Faith a child, they magically merge their genes as if I was created the old
fashioned way...eww...I was created from two slayers, pretty much for the sole
purpose of defeating this army. I know that slayers aren't supposed to be
able to have kids, but the PTB knew I would possess the strength of two
slayers, and they needed all the power they could get to defeat the bad
guys." She noticed the look on his face; he was having a hard time
believing the story.
"You don't believe me do you?"
"Well, it's just it is a little far fetched is all." She rolled her eyes
at him and began to chant under her breath. Giles narrowed his eyes and
watched her carefully.
"Someone's at the door." Dylan said knowingly, a smug smile gracing her
features.
"I didn't hear a knock." As soon as the words were out of his mouth, a
knock came to the door. He glanced at her as she smiled back at him. He
stood to get the door and Dylan followed close behind. On the other side
of the door stood a man. He smiled when he saw Giles and Dylan open the
door.
"Hey Dylan, Giles how are you?"
"Do I know you?" Giles asked trying desperately to figure out what was
going on.
"Nope, I'm from the future too, I'm a seer. I came to give you this."
With that, he placed his hand on Giles' head and sent him a vision. Giles
stood with his eyes closed for minutes taking in the vision, his breathing
increased and he opened his eyes when the man removed his hand. The seer
smiled again and disappeared into thin air. Giles stood for a moment with
a strange expression on his face as he turned and faced the girl. He
smiled lovingly at her for a moment and placed his hand on her cheek.
"You called me Grandpa." She smiled back at the man.
"Well, mom said that even though you aren't really my grandpa, you were
more of a father to her than her real father, so Gramps you became." He
smiled at her for a moment before he recalled more of the vision.
"Is everything about Faith true?"
"Yup, you saw everything the way it really happened, the edited version was
shown to the public, but what you saw was all raw and uncut."
"So, Faith is actually innocent." She said with a smile
"On all accounts." He thought for a moment before walking to the kitchen.
"I need to make some phone calls, we need to get Faith out of prison and
fast, the council will help with that. You will stay here for tonight and
we will talk to Buffy and pick Faith up tomorrow. Help yourself to
anything you want."
"Thanks gramps." Giles shot her a look. "I mean Giles." She smiled the
sweetest smile she had. The one she knew melted his heart every time.
"How much time do we have?"
"A week."
"We better get on it then."
Around two the next day, Buffy made her way to the Magic Box. Giles had
called and told her he needed to see her. She walked inside expecting the
rest of the Scoobies to be there, but it was empty.
"Giles?" She called out.
"Back here," He called back; the voice came from the training room. She
followed the voice. She began digging in her purse for her lip balm and
was having problems locating it. She walked into the room with her head
almost buried in her bag so she didn't notice the two girls in the room
with Giles.
"So, what is it that you needed to talk to me-" She was cut short when she
finally looked up and saw Faith sitting in the room and a young girl
sitting against the wall.
"Hey B." Faith said barely looking up. Buffy's eyes narrowed as she
looked from Giles, to Faith and to the girl.
"Giles, what's going on here? Why is she here?" She spat. Giles looked
at Buffy and then Faith, sending her an apologetic smile.
"Buffy, let's go back up front and talk for a moment."
"You're going to leaver her here alone? With a kid? Need I remind you of
her problems being psycho?" Buffy noticed the girl give her a somewhat
nasty look at being called a kid, but she kept her mouth shut, and Faith
barely even flinched at Buffy's harsh words.
"Buffy, come on, up front." Giles had to practically drag Buffy to the
front of the store. She glared at him with a fire in her eye.
"Buffy, let me explain a few things." He began to tell her all he had
discovered the night before. She listened with no interruptions and waited
for him to finish.
"You actually expect me to believe all this, a daughter? Me and Faith?
Are you kidding me?"
"No, I'm not actually." He stood for a moment before moving back to the
training room to fetch Dylan.
"You're not a believer either huh?"
"If you knew what she had done, you wouldn't either." Dylan began her
chant for the second time in two days and before long there was a knock at
the door. This time, instead of touching Giles, he laid his hand on
Buffy's head. When everything was transferred, he removed his hand and
looked at Dylan.
"That's the last one D, you know that right?"
"Yup, thanks!"
He smiled at them and disappeared. Buffy stood for a moment trying to make
sense of the vision she'd been given.
"Faith is innocent."
Dylan and Giles exchanged a small smile, knowing they were on the right
track, they knew Buffy would be the hardest of the group to come around to
Faith being back and they hoped the vision would speed up the process.
Buffy made her way slowly to the training room where Faith was still
seated. As Buffy walked through the door, Faith looked up and offered a
small smile. Buffy returned the smile and walked over to her.
"Faith, I'm so sorry."
"Sorry for what B?"
"For Finch." Faith looked away as her eyes filled with unshed tears,
Buffy's eyes held the same.
"No, I killed him B, not you, I deserved everything I got."
"No you didn't." Faith looked up at the fair slayer with a questioning
look in her eye. Buffy grabbed one of Faith's hands in both of hers and
began to explain the vision she had.
"So, why did these time travelers frame me for Finch?"
"To stop a warrior from being born. Faith, in the vision, you barely break
his skin, the time travelers stop time and sink the stake in his heart, and
then they disappear and start time again. You didn't do it."
"Right, but why B?"
"Because, evil had to find a way to split us up. That girl out there, the
one from the dream is our daughter. She was born of the two of us; the PTB
did it to create a warrior to defeat an enormous evil in the future. I'm
not sure on the details, but she is of us, the two of us." Faith looked up
at Buffy, not sure if she should believe what she was hearing. Giles and
Dylan appeared in the doorway and Buffy waved them in.
"Faith, this is our daughter, Dylan." Dylan walked into the room slowly
and stood before Faith.
"So, you were born of me and B?"
"Yup."
"You must be wicked strong." The old Faith peeked out for a moment and
smirked. Buffy smiled as she noticed an identical smirk on Dylan's face.
"Yup." She smiled wickedly for a moment. "You wanna see how strong?"
Faith smiled for a moment before shaking her head.
"Nah, not just yet, it's been a long day already and all this news is a
little much for me to handle. But, I'll take you up on that once I've
eaten and slept like a normal person."
"Well, why don't we head home, Dylan and Faith you guys are gonna come stay
with me."
"Thanks B, but I'll just find a motel or something."
"Nope, sorry, you're staying with me and I won't hear another word about
it." Buffy said in a motherly voice, although she was smiling. Buffy's
two girls finally agreed and the three left for the Summers' house.
As they arrived at the house, Buffy and Dylan approached the door not
noticing Faith was still standing in the driveway. Buffy turned and
approached the dark slayer with a concerned look on her face.
"Faith, what is it?" Faith's eyes scanned the driveway and managed to find
an ant to focus on. She jammed her hands in her pockets and shifted her
weight from foot to foot.
"I'm not sure I can face them yet." Buffy reached out and grabbed one of
Faith's hands.
"Faith, look at me." Faith raised her eyes to meet Buffy's and what she
saw was unexpected. She didn't see anger or fear or hatred, she saw
concern and caring.
"Faith, it may take them a little while to come around, but they will. I
know what I saw in that vision and you're innocent. I promise, I'm on your
side, I won't let anyone hurt you. Just try to trust me." At that Faith
squirmed. Buffy smiled sadly. "I know you have your trust issues, but
this time around, I'm not letting anything screw this up. You have me,
okay? No matter what."
Faith thought for a second. She resumed looking at the ant on the
concrete.
"Will you tell them about the vision thing?"
"Yeah, that's first on the list. Listen, why don't you guys hang here for
a minute, I'll go talk to them and then come get you okay?"
"Thanks B." The two exchanged a small smile before Buffy entered the
house. Faith's gaze fell on the young girl sitting on the steps. She
wandered over and sat down next to her.
"So...me and B are your parents?"
Inside, Buffy managed to round up the gang. Willow and Kennedy where
sitting snugly on the couch, Xander was parked in an armchair and Dawn was
perched on the arm. They watched as Buffy began to pace in front of them
with her hands clasped. The Scoobies exchanged worried glances thinking
there was another Baddie to deal with.
"Okay, Buffster, you're starting to make me nervous. What's up?" Xander
finally said.
"I have something to tell you guys, and I'm not quite sure how to tell
you." Willow looked up at her best friend.
"It's okay Buffy, just tell us, all this crazy pacing and hand claspiness
is making me nervous too."
"Okay, just promise you won't go all wiggy on me." She looked at her
friends and got a nod out of each of them. "Okay here
goes...itturnsoutthatFaithisnotactuallyevilorpsychoandshe'sbackandwehavetostop
anapocolypseandwehaveadaughterfromthefutureandinthatfutureFaithandIareacoupl
e." She squeezed the entire statement out in about 2 seconds flat, leaving
her friends to decipher her message.
"Wait...Faith is back?" Xander said.
"Another apocalypse?" Willow asked.
"A couple? That's interesting." Kennedy said, smirking.
"Wait...a daughter? From the future?" Dawn questioned.
Buffy was fairly surprised that the roof hadn't just blown off the house
with the news about Faith, so she decided to press on.
"Yeah, let me explain, Giles called and wanted me to meet him at the Magic
Box, so I went down there and Faith and Dylan...our daughter...were there, so
of course I flipped. Giles and I argued and then this guy appeared. I
think he was a seer, but he could project his visions into me. So he put
his hand on my head and I saw everything. That night with Finch was an
accident. Faith barely broke skin, then these two guys show up and freeze
time, it was wiggy. But anyways, me and Faith are standing there frozen
and one of the guys looks at the stake in Faith's hand and pushes it all
the way through his heart. Then they jump into this foggy stuff and
disappear. A few seconds later, time starts up again and we all know the
rest of that story." The group sat stunned for a minute taking in all the
information that the slayer gave them.
"So, she was innocent?" Willow asked.
"Yup, all the way, and we, being the high and mighty morons, decided to
make her a social outcast and she turned to the Mayor because she was
alone, and scared and kinda mad. I can see why she did it."
"So she's not evil?" Xander asked.
"Nope."
"So...the two of you...you and Faith, have a daughter?" Kennedy asked.
"Yes, I'm still kinda sketched on her details, but I haven't had a chance
to talk to her much."
"Where is she?" Dawn asked.
"Outside, with Faith." With that, Buffy moved to the door and when she
opened it, she found the two laughing hysterically. They both turned their
heads and gave Buffy an identical smirk. Buffy looked at them suspiciously
and smiled.
"Okay you two, I don't know what all this is about, but come on in." Buffy
caught Faith's eyes and sent her a look to let Faith know it was okay.
"Don't worry mom...Buffy, I was just telling Faith about some of your finest
culinary moments." Dylan said barely able to bite back a laugh. Faith was
biting her lip trying not to crack up as she gently led the young girl
inside. Buffy stood with a pout on her face, but Faith grabbed her arm and
yanked her inside before the magical pout-powers took effect.
"Don't think I won't find out what the two of you said ya know. Cause I
will." Buffy stated matter-of-factly.
Buffy ushered the two inside and they stood before the group rather
uncomfortably.
"Guys, you all know Faith, except Kenny, Faith that's Kennedy, she's a
potential slayer, or slayer in training. Kenny, Faith." The two exchanged
a nod. "Guys, this is Dylan. Dylan, this is Willow, our resident witch,
Dawn, my sister, Kenny, the potential, and Xander, our...well, Xander does a
little bit of everything."
Dylan smiled at the group almost laughing at Buffy.
"Yeah, I know who they are, they do exist in my time too ya know." Buffy
just rolled her eyes at the smirk she was receiving from the young blonde.
"Wow, you guys look different."
The next few hours were spent talking mostly. Everyone had questions for
Dylan about the future, and while she didn't reveal too much, she tried to
humor everyone. Faith did her best to apologize to everyone for her
mistakes in the past. The Scoobies had been great about Faith. With
everything they had all been through the past seven years, they knew too
well that second chances where deserved for Faith. While Dylan was talking
to the group, Buffy grabbed Faith's hand and quietly led her upstairs. The
blonde slayer led Faith into her room and closed the door behind them. She
stood with her back against the door as she watched Faith look around.
Faith stood and examined pictures and other trinkets that Buffy had
collected in the years they spent apart.
"Dylan's a cute kid huh?" Buffy said. Faith glanced up and smiled.
"Yeah, she has your nose."
"She has your eyes, and your smirk." Buffy smiled recalling the identical
smirks she'd been receiving all afternoon.
"She may have my smirk, but she has your pout. She has your hands too.
She is a cute kid, but come on B, she came from the two hottest slayers
around." They laughed briefly as Faith continued to wander around the
room. When she reached Buffy's desk, she noticed a framed picture. It was
the two of them on Christmas Eve, right before all hell broke loose. She
smiled sadly at the picture before lifting her gaze back to Buffy, whose
eyes never left the dark slayer.
"You still have that picture out."
"It's been something to remember you by."
"Why?"
"Because, Faith, I missed you. I know that I screwed our whole friendship
up and I have felt guilty about everything. But I was too scared to fix
it, I was afraid that if I did, we would go back to the way things were.
And they way things were, well, it was kinda scary for me." Faith moved
and sat down on the bed, reveling in the comfort the mattress provided.
Buffy moved from the door and sat down across from Faith, crossing her legs
under her.
"Why was it scary B? Did I scare you?" Faith's eyes looked down at the
blanket on the bed as she traced imaginary patterns with her fingers. She
didn't want to look up with tears in her eyes.
"No, Faith, you didn't scare me, you intrigued me." Buffy took a deep
breath hoping she was ready to take this plunge. "It was the feelings I
had that scared me...the feelings I had for you." Faith looked up at the
blonde questioningly. The two locked gazed for a moment and suddenly
everything came rushing back. One look was all it took for the slayer bond
to be forged again. They smiled at each other knowingly as they each felt
the slayer sense strengthen and the power within each of them almost grow.
Faith didn't want to push the issue of feelings at the moment, so she
reverted back to what she knew best.
"So, what's for dinner B?" She smirked at the fair slayer. Buffy rolled
her eyes and smiled at the younger girl before standing up and offering a
hand to Faith.
"Anything you want Faithy." Faith's smirk only grew and Buffy caught the
faintest evil twinkle in her eyes.
"Anything huh?" Faith teased. Buffy rolled her eyes once again and the
two broke into laughter.
"What am I gonna do with you Faith?"
"Anything you want B." The two laughed again and all was just right.
Buffy shook her head and smiled once more. She grabbed Faith's hand again
and led her back down to their friends.
Any feedback would be fabulous, and of course any suggestions would be
great. I will explain both the dream and the vision in more detail in
later chapters. Thanks for reading.
Summary: Buffy and Faith fight once more, but this time, for each other and
with each other(as in side by side) to stop a great evil. They get help
from a source that they don't expect and manage to find love.
Feedback: Always Welcome
The Purest of Hearts
A light breeze played through the trees in one of Sunnydale's finest
graveyards. What appeared to be a fog was sweeping between headstones at a
rather quick pace. The faint whispers of a female voice was heard in the
midst of the fog as it made twists and turns until it reached it's
destination. Once it reached the edge of the cemetery it stopped abruptly,
raising a squeal from the voice inside. The fog flattened two feet from
the ground and seemed to open from below. Suddenly a girl fell from the
fog. She landed with a grunt before springing to her feet. She scanned
her surroundings before smirking.
"Ya think they could've dropped me off a little closer to Giles' house."
She reached inside her denim jacket to make sure her stake was still in the
waist of her dark, faded jeans. She reached into her pocket and pulled out
a map. After studying it for a moment, she replaced it and started off
towards the watcher's house.
Rupert Giles was enjoying a rare quiet Sunday night. He had just sat down
with a fresh cup of tea and a book when he heard a knock at the door. He
sighed briefly before standing to answer. When he opened the door he found
a young girl, she appeared to be about 16, she had blonde hair and deep
brown eyes. She was wearing a smirk that Giles found oddly familiar.
"Can I help you with something?" He smiled briefly at her thinking he knew
her from somewhere, he just couldn't place her.
"You're Giles right? Buffy's watcher?" His face fell solemn.
"How do you know about that?"
"I'm her daughter, Dylan." She smirked again.
In L.A., Faith was sleeping, not very soundly in her cell. She began
thrashing around as if she was fighting in her sleep. She suddenly bolted
upright and looked around wildly. Beads of sweat traced her forehead and
she was gasping for air.
"I have to get to B."
Back in Sunny D, Buffy was sitting in the same position as Faith in her bed
at home. As she struggled to catch her breath she began to replay the
dream in her head. She was fighting something. Vampires, she realized.
But there was a demon, a huge demon and Faith was there, she was fighting
the vamps too. Why wasn't she or Faith fighting the demon? The girl.
There was a girl in the dream who was fighting the demon, she kept stabbing
him. Weird. She tried to shake it off as a stupid nightmare, but she knew
it was a slayer dream, so she knew that Faith had the same dream. She got
out of bed and padded to Dawn's room and peeked in the door that stood
slightly ajar. She smiled at her sister sleeping soundly and backed out
quietly. She stopped at Willow's door and listened briefly, when she heard
two sets of snores, she walked back to her room. She stood at the window
and cracked it open a bit. She breathed in the cool night air as she slid
back into bed. After some tossing and turning, she slowly drifted off to
sleep again.
Giles stood at the still open door and stared at the girl for a moment.
"Her daughter?"
"Yup, Elizabeth Anne Summers, the vampire slayer, is my mom." She looked
up expectantly at the man. Giles was trying to process the information
the girl had given him and figure out how it was possible. He opened his
mouth as if to say something, but shut it before opening it again. He
absentmindedly took his glasses off and cleaned them.
"How?"
She smiled at the older man and slipped through the door past him. She
turned but continued into the house backwards as she smirked at him again.
"Come on in and I'll tell ya all about it." He thought for a moment before
shrugging and closing the door and walking back into the house. He waved
her towards the couch and she sat across from him. He sat watching her
expectantly. She looked around nonchalantly before she realized him
staring.
"Oh...sorry, I guess you want an explanation."
"Um, well, yes to be perfectly honest." She took a deep breath.
"Well, okay...I'm from the future. Not like, super future, just twenty
years. I was sent here because my future and the future of everything
that's good is being threatened. See, I'm a warrior, and I am supposed to
lead an army against the greatest forces of darkness that have ever
existed. Now, the reason that's all in danger is because my parents are
having some issues in the present, well this present, and may never get
together to create me. So, without my existence, there's nobody to lead
this army and darkness will overtake the earth. Basically, if I'm not
born, the world as we know it, is over." She sat looking at the man as he
processed the information. She began to fidget. Her foot was tapping to
an imaginary beat and she couldn't keep her hands still.
"So, Buffy is your mother...who is your father?" She bit back a laugh and
looked him square in the eye.
"Faith." His eyes narrowed slightly.
"Faith."
"Well, not my father, but the donor of the other half of my being."
"How exactly is that possible?"
"Well, four years from now, the Powers That Be, decide to give Buffy and
Faith a child, they magically merge their genes as if I was created the old
fashioned way...eww...I was created from two slayers, pretty much for the sole
purpose of defeating this army. I know that slayers aren't supposed to be
able to have kids, but the PTB knew I would possess the strength of two
slayers, and they needed all the power they could get to defeat the bad
guys." She noticed the look on his face; he was having a hard time
believing the story.
"You don't believe me do you?"
"Well, it's just it is a little far fetched is all." She rolled her eyes
at him and began to chant under her breath. Giles narrowed his eyes and
watched her carefully.
"Someone's at the door." Dylan said knowingly, a smug smile gracing her
features.
"I didn't hear a knock." As soon as the words were out of his mouth, a
knock came to the door. He glanced at her as she smiled back at him. He
stood to get the door and Dylan followed close behind. On the other side
of the door stood a man. He smiled when he saw Giles and Dylan open the
door.
"Hey Dylan, Giles how are you?"
"Do I know you?" Giles asked trying desperately to figure out what was
going on.
"Nope, I'm from the future too, I'm a seer. I came to give you this."
With that, he placed his hand on Giles' head and sent him a vision. Giles
stood with his eyes closed for minutes taking in the vision, his breathing
increased and he opened his eyes when the man removed his hand. The seer
smiled again and disappeared into thin air. Giles stood for a moment with
a strange expression on his face as he turned and faced the girl. He
smiled lovingly at her for a moment and placed his hand on her cheek.
"You called me Grandpa." She smiled back at the man.
"Well, mom said that even though you aren't really my grandpa, you were
more of a father to her than her real father, so Gramps you became." He
smiled at her for a moment before he recalled more of the vision.
"Is everything about Faith true?"
"Yup, you saw everything the way it really happened, the edited version was
shown to the public, but what you saw was all raw and uncut."
"So, Faith is actually innocent." She said with a smile
"On all accounts." He thought for a moment before walking to the kitchen.
"I need to make some phone calls, we need to get Faith out of prison and
fast, the council will help with that. You will stay here for tonight and
we will talk to Buffy and pick Faith up tomorrow. Help yourself to
anything you want."
"Thanks gramps." Giles shot her a look. "I mean Giles." She smiled the
sweetest smile she had. The one she knew melted his heart every time.
"How much time do we have?"
"A week."
"We better get on it then."
Around two the next day, Buffy made her way to the Magic Box. Giles had
called and told her he needed to see her. She walked inside expecting the
rest of the Scoobies to be there, but it was empty.
"Giles?" She called out.
"Back here," He called back; the voice came from the training room. She
followed the voice. She began digging in her purse for her lip balm and
was having problems locating it. She walked into the room with her head
almost buried in her bag so she didn't notice the two girls in the room
with Giles.
"So, what is it that you needed to talk to me-" She was cut short when she
finally looked up and saw Faith sitting in the room and a young girl
sitting against the wall.
"Hey B." Faith said barely looking up. Buffy's eyes narrowed as she
looked from Giles, to Faith and to the girl.
"Giles, what's going on here? Why is she here?" She spat. Giles looked
at Buffy and then Faith, sending her an apologetic smile.
"Buffy, let's go back up front and talk for a moment."
"You're going to leaver her here alone? With a kid? Need I remind you of
her problems being psycho?" Buffy noticed the girl give her a somewhat
nasty look at being called a kid, but she kept her mouth shut, and Faith
barely even flinched at Buffy's harsh words.
"Buffy, come on, up front." Giles had to practically drag Buffy to the
front of the store. She glared at him with a fire in her eye.
"Buffy, let me explain a few things." He began to tell her all he had
discovered the night before. She listened with no interruptions and waited
for him to finish.
"You actually expect me to believe all this, a daughter? Me and Faith?
Are you kidding me?"
"No, I'm not actually." He stood for a moment before moving back to the
training room to fetch Dylan.
"You're not a believer either huh?"
"If you knew what she had done, you wouldn't either." Dylan began her
chant for the second time in two days and before long there was a knock at
the door. This time, instead of touching Giles, he laid his hand on
Buffy's head. When everything was transferred, he removed his hand and
looked at Dylan.
"That's the last one D, you know that right?"
"Yup, thanks!"
He smiled at them and disappeared. Buffy stood for a moment trying to make
sense of the vision she'd been given.
"Faith is innocent."
Dylan and Giles exchanged a small smile, knowing they were on the right
track, they knew Buffy would be the hardest of the group to come around to
Faith being back and they hoped the vision would speed up the process.
Buffy made her way slowly to the training room where Faith was still
seated. As Buffy walked through the door, Faith looked up and offered a
small smile. Buffy returned the smile and walked over to her.
"Faith, I'm so sorry."
"Sorry for what B?"
"For Finch." Faith looked away as her eyes filled with unshed tears,
Buffy's eyes held the same.
"No, I killed him B, not you, I deserved everything I got."
"No you didn't." Faith looked up at the fair slayer with a questioning
look in her eye. Buffy grabbed one of Faith's hands in both of hers and
began to explain the vision she had.
"So, why did these time travelers frame me for Finch?"
"To stop a warrior from being born. Faith, in the vision, you barely break
his skin, the time travelers stop time and sink the stake in his heart, and
then they disappear and start time again. You didn't do it."
"Right, but why B?"
"Because, evil had to find a way to split us up. That girl out there, the
one from the dream is our daughter. She was born of the two of us; the PTB
did it to create a warrior to defeat an enormous evil in the future. I'm
not sure on the details, but she is of us, the two of us." Faith looked up
at Buffy, not sure if she should believe what she was hearing. Giles and
Dylan appeared in the doorway and Buffy waved them in.
"Faith, this is our daughter, Dylan." Dylan walked into the room slowly
and stood before Faith.
"So, you were born of me and B?"
"Yup."
"You must be wicked strong." The old Faith peeked out for a moment and
smirked. Buffy smiled as she noticed an identical smirk on Dylan's face.
"Yup." She smiled wickedly for a moment. "You wanna see how strong?"
Faith smiled for a moment before shaking her head.
"Nah, not just yet, it's been a long day already and all this news is a
little much for me to handle. But, I'll take you up on that once I've
eaten and slept like a normal person."
"Well, why don't we head home, Dylan and Faith you guys are gonna come stay
with me."
"Thanks B, but I'll just find a motel or something."
"Nope, sorry, you're staying with me and I won't hear another word about
it." Buffy said in a motherly voice, although she was smiling. Buffy's
two girls finally agreed and the three left for the Summers' house.
As they arrived at the house, Buffy and Dylan approached the door not
noticing Faith was still standing in the driveway. Buffy turned and
approached the dark slayer with a concerned look on her face.
"Faith, what is it?" Faith's eyes scanned the driveway and managed to find
an ant to focus on. She jammed her hands in her pockets and shifted her
weight from foot to foot.
"I'm not sure I can face them yet." Buffy reached out and grabbed one of
Faith's hands.
"Faith, look at me." Faith raised her eyes to meet Buffy's and what she
saw was unexpected. She didn't see anger or fear or hatred, she saw
concern and caring.
"Faith, it may take them a little while to come around, but they will. I
know what I saw in that vision and you're innocent. I promise, I'm on your
side, I won't let anyone hurt you. Just try to trust me." At that Faith
squirmed. Buffy smiled sadly. "I know you have your trust issues, but
this time around, I'm not letting anything screw this up. You have me,
okay? No matter what."
Faith thought for a second. She resumed looking at the ant on the
concrete.
"Will you tell them about the vision thing?"
"Yeah, that's first on the list. Listen, why don't you guys hang here for
a minute, I'll go talk to them and then come get you okay?"
"Thanks B." The two exchanged a small smile before Buffy entered the
house. Faith's gaze fell on the young girl sitting on the steps. She
wandered over and sat down next to her.
"So...me and B are your parents?"
Inside, Buffy managed to round up the gang. Willow and Kennedy where
sitting snugly on the couch, Xander was parked in an armchair and Dawn was
perched on the arm. They watched as Buffy began to pace in front of them
with her hands clasped. The Scoobies exchanged worried glances thinking
there was another Baddie to deal with.
"Okay, Buffster, you're starting to make me nervous. What's up?" Xander
finally said.
"I have something to tell you guys, and I'm not quite sure how to tell
you." Willow looked up at her best friend.
"It's okay Buffy, just tell us, all this crazy pacing and hand claspiness
is making me nervous too."
"Okay, just promise you won't go all wiggy on me." She looked at her
friends and got a nod out of each of them. "Okay here
goes...itturnsoutthatFaithisnotactuallyevilorpsychoandshe'sbackandwehavetostop
anapocolypseandwehaveadaughterfromthefutureandinthatfutureFaithandIareacoupl
e." She squeezed the entire statement out in about 2 seconds flat, leaving
her friends to decipher her message.
"Wait...Faith is back?" Xander said.
"Another apocalypse?" Willow asked.
"A couple? That's interesting." Kennedy said, smirking.
"Wait...a daughter? From the future?" Dawn questioned.
Buffy was fairly surprised that the roof hadn't just blown off the house
with the news about Faith, so she decided to press on.
"Yeah, let me explain, Giles called and wanted me to meet him at the Magic
Box, so I went down there and Faith and Dylan...our daughter...were there, so
of course I flipped. Giles and I argued and then this guy appeared. I
think he was a seer, but he could project his visions into me. So he put
his hand on my head and I saw everything. That night with Finch was an
accident. Faith barely broke skin, then these two guys show up and freeze
time, it was wiggy. But anyways, me and Faith are standing there frozen
and one of the guys looks at the stake in Faith's hand and pushes it all
the way through his heart. Then they jump into this foggy stuff and
disappear. A few seconds later, time starts up again and we all know the
rest of that story." The group sat stunned for a minute taking in all the
information that the slayer gave them.
"So, she was innocent?" Willow asked.
"Yup, all the way, and we, being the high and mighty morons, decided to
make her a social outcast and she turned to the Mayor because she was
alone, and scared and kinda mad. I can see why she did it."
"So she's not evil?" Xander asked.
"Nope."
"So...the two of you...you and Faith, have a daughter?" Kennedy asked.
"Yes, I'm still kinda sketched on her details, but I haven't had a chance
to talk to her much."
"Where is she?" Dawn asked.
"Outside, with Faith." With that, Buffy moved to the door and when she
opened it, she found the two laughing hysterically. They both turned their
heads and gave Buffy an identical smirk. Buffy looked at them suspiciously
and smiled.
"Okay you two, I don't know what all this is about, but come on in." Buffy
caught Faith's eyes and sent her a look to let Faith know it was okay.
"Don't worry mom...Buffy, I was just telling Faith about some of your finest
culinary moments." Dylan said barely able to bite back a laugh. Faith was
biting her lip trying not to crack up as she gently led the young girl
inside. Buffy stood with a pout on her face, but Faith grabbed her arm and
yanked her inside before the magical pout-powers took effect.
"Don't think I won't find out what the two of you said ya know. Cause I
will." Buffy stated matter-of-factly.
Buffy ushered the two inside and they stood before the group rather
uncomfortably.
"Guys, you all know Faith, except Kenny, Faith that's Kennedy, she's a
potential slayer, or slayer in training. Kenny, Faith." The two exchanged
a nod. "Guys, this is Dylan. Dylan, this is Willow, our resident witch,
Dawn, my sister, Kenny, the potential, and Xander, our...well, Xander does a
little bit of everything."
Dylan smiled at the group almost laughing at Buffy.
"Yeah, I know who they are, they do exist in my time too ya know." Buffy
just rolled her eyes at the smirk she was receiving from the young blonde.
"Wow, you guys look different."
The next few hours were spent talking mostly. Everyone had questions for
Dylan about the future, and while she didn't reveal too much, she tried to
humor everyone. Faith did her best to apologize to everyone for her
mistakes in the past. The Scoobies had been great about Faith. With
everything they had all been through the past seven years, they knew too
well that second chances where deserved for Faith. While Dylan was talking
to the group, Buffy grabbed Faith's hand and quietly led her upstairs. The
blonde slayer led Faith into her room and closed the door behind them. She
stood with her back against the door as she watched Faith look around.
Faith stood and examined pictures and other trinkets that Buffy had
collected in the years they spent apart.
"Dylan's a cute kid huh?" Buffy said. Faith glanced up and smiled.
"Yeah, she has your nose."
"She has your eyes, and your smirk." Buffy smiled recalling the identical
smirks she'd been receiving all afternoon.
"She may have my smirk, but she has your pout. She has your hands too.
She is a cute kid, but come on B, she came from the two hottest slayers
around." They laughed briefly as Faith continued to wander around the
room. When she reached Buffy's desk, she noticed a framed picture. It was
the two of them on Christmas Eve, right before all hell broke loose. She
smiled sadly at the picture before lifting her gaze back to Buffy, whose
eyes never left the dark slayer.
"You still have that picture out."
"It's been something to remember you by."
"Why?"
"Because, Faith, I missed you. I know that I screwed our whole friendship
up and I have felt guilty about everything. But I was too scared to fix
it, I was afraid that if I did, we would go back to the way things were.
And they way things were, well, it was kinda scary for me." Faith moved
and sat down on the bed, reveling in the comfort the mattress provided.
Buffy moved from the door and sat down across from Faith, crossing her legs
under her.
"Why was it scary B? Did I scare you?" Faith's eyes looked down at the
blanket on the bed as she traced imaginary patterns with her fingers. She
didn't want to look up with tears in her eyes.
"No, Faith, you didn't scare me, you intrigued me." Buffy took a deep
breath hoping she was ready to take this plunge. "It was the feelings I
had that scared me...the feelings I had for you." Faith looked up at the
blonde questioningly. The two locked gazed for a moment and suddenly
everything came rushing back. One look was all it took for the slayer bond
to be forged again. They smiled at each other knowingly as they each felt
the slayer sense strengthen and the power within each of them almost grow.
Faith didn't want to push the issue of feelings at the moment, so she
reverted back to what she knew best.
"So, what's for dinner B?" She smirked at the fair slayer. Buffy rolled
her eyes and smiled at the younger girl before standing up and offering a
hand to Faith.
"Anything you want Faithy." Faith's smirk only grew and Buffy caught the
faintest evil twinkle in her eyes.
"Anything huh?" Faith teased. Buffy rolled her eyes once again and the
two broke into laughter.
"What am I gonna do with you Faith?"
"Anything you want B." The two laughed again and all was just right.
Buffy shook her head and smiled once more. She grabbed Faith's hand again
and led her back down to their friends.
Any feedback would be fabulous, and of course any suggestions would be
great. I will explain both the dream and the vision in more detail in
later chapters. Thanks for reading.