For my main man Merlin

RIP Old Friend this ones for you.

One Week Later

The Home of Rupert Giles

3pm

Bang Bang Bang

Several very loud and very hard knocks slammed into the wooden door, outside the door stood the originator of the sound- a ticked off slayer. Buffy and Willow stood outside the door trying to get the attention of the owner of the house. Neither had been to see Giles since Willow's conversation with him a week ago, he would understand that they had been busy and it had been unnecessary to see him unless they had needed to know anything about any weirdness they saw.

However in seeing nothing they had not needed to see him at all, still they wanted to see him and find out anything they needed to know. It was strange though he had not answered at all in the five minutes of knocking.

"He could be in trouble Buffy."

"Your right. Back up a second."

With that the slayer side kicked the wooden door, breaking it open and then running in, what they saw surprised them both.

"What's going on."

The entire room was empty, a quick search revealed nothing at all, the entire place was deserted- everything from the books that lined the shelves to the toiletries in the bathroom. He had gone.

"What happened" Asked Willow

Buffy stalked around looking for anything that could explain whet had happened to her mentor and friend, then she noticed the letter on the Kitchen counter.

Buffy and Willow

I am sorry that I did not do this in person but it was the better idea to any I had had up until now. I have left Sunnydale permanently to assist our allies in their protection of the LA/Sunnydale area, please Buffy I did not abandon you, you have vehemently decided that you no longer need the help of many of the rest of us. You have driven out those who care about you the most, I did not agree with you taciturn attitude towards you Sister slayer and your best friend. I have been forced to agree, no matter how much it hurts me- to leave Sunnydale, I cannot stand by and let you destroy yourself by your selfishness and snideness to those of us without powers. If you need to contact me you can through Angel and his teammates. I will not be giving you my address as I do not believe you will want to undertake direct conflict between you Myself and Xander.

We will as of today still be available to fight at the hellmouth but have no mistake Buffy we are no longer at you beck and call but are rather a real fighting team unlike your egotism shows, a group who just happen to want to fight the forces. Each of us has fought time and again for you and for this world. It is a shame that you can no longer see that.

Goodbye

Rupert Giles.

"He's gone." Buffy whispered.

"What." Willow approached her blond friend and read the letter, uncomprehendingly she read it through twice more before it finally sank in. "He's gone."

"First Angel, then Xander now Giles. Traitors all of them."

"Hold on Buffy…"

"Why should I every one of them left me just as I knew they would, maybe Riley and Walsh were right the others should never have been involved."

"Wait a second Buffy, without the others neither of us would be here right now."

"I'm the slayer I could have handled it."

Willow was getting particularly worried about her friend's mental health, since Faith's reappearance and the fact that everyone seemed to be gathering around Faith trying to help her recover her faculties fully. Buffy's increased agitation and non-sensical rants were getting worse, perhaps she truly believed she was being betrayed by those around her, but to Willow the petite slayer was getting out of hand.

Walking away from the house the two of them moved in silence, this was not to last as the one question Willow most wanted to ask came out almost involuntarily.

"Why won't you give Faith a second chance?"

"What?" Buffy snapped angrily.

"Well you've given others a chance why not Faith?"

"Do you actually know what your asking? DO you realise what is coming out of your mouth."

"Well yes."

"How can you ask that?"

"Well it's only fair you've given everyone else second or third chances but when it came to Faith you just refuse to even consider it. I mean Angel, Giles hell even Xander's done things that weren't right but we gave them a chance why not Faith."

"She's a slayer she betrayed her calling and betrayed me."

"Well you kinda did the same Buffy, you did run away."

"Whos side are you on?"

"Well…"

"I don't really care, just go away Willow."

"But?"

"Go away."

Deflated the redhead left the side of the Irate Blonde, overall Willow had just about had enough, in the last few weeks she had lost all of the people she had considered friends because of Buffy's tantrums. She as much as anyone had seen the Scoobies go from the tight knit group they has once been to nothing but a pair of girls with no back-up, Willow was tired and feeling guilty about how they had treated their friends.

So there was only one thing she could really do

Willow now stood in the reception of Angel Investigations looking directly at the only person in the room, for many years he had been almost all that she thought about and the only person who knew her for who she really was and she had thought that ran both ways. Obviously she hadn't really seen what he was capable of, but for the first time in a while possibly the first time in her life, the blinders were off and she could really see him.

"Hello Xander."

"Willow, what do you want?"

"I can to see you Xander."

"I assume General Summers hasn't deigned to grace us with her presence."

"She doesn't know I'm here, she's losing it Xander. She thinks everyone is a traitor that disagrees with her. I've never seen her this way."

"And what has that to do with me?"

"Nothing, I had to get away, I think I may have made a mistake in allowing her to let you go, I should have said something beforehand, before she decided you had no right. We gave everyone else a second chance maybe we should have done so for Faith."

"You still hate her don't you."

"No, I don't think I really hate her. Maybe once but, I trusted your judgement before Xan, maybe I should have do so this time."

"Willow, the person you need to talk to is Faith."

"I don't know If I can, I'm still kinda scared of her."

"She won't hurt you Willow." Even with all that had happened in the last year Willow still held a place in his heart that was for her and her alone, he would never love her the way she believed she loved him or at least had done. Unfortunately forgiving and forgetting are two very different things for the young hunter.

"I can't do it."

"Then we have nothing to discuss."

"Xander we were friends what changed."

"What changed Willow is that you turned your back on me at least three times I can count, that is not something I can readily accept and just forgive. I worked my ass off to keep people alive and to help protect people but as soon as it was convenient you all decided I wasn't worth the effort and WHAM I'm gone from you thoughts."

"I never stopped thinking about you."

"Could have fooled me Willow, could have fooled me."

"What about you, you deliberately hid things from me, things that I had every right to know."

"Like What."

"Like your relationship with Cordelia, the person we most hated in our lives, sleeping with Faith. SENDING ANGEL TO HELL."

"Everything I have ever done is to protect people, I've made mistakes I've been selfish but there is no way in hell you are turning this on me. I've been here a good few weeks and not once have you tried to find out my side of this, it's always "Buffy's right" in your mind, well newsflash Willow She's human like the rest of us and she makes mistakes. This was just one I refused to let her make."

"Faith can't be worth that much to you, This is a mistake Xander."

"You never trusted me since this all started Wills we have nothing left to talk about."

Angry at both Willow and himself Xander left the room and walked down the stairs to the living quarters, Willow angrily wiped the tears cascading from her eyes and left the room slamming the front door as she did, outside her last vestiges of control fled and she fell to the ground all her pain and anguish coming out in a sirens wail of agony.

"Red?"

Looking up Willow could see Faith looking at her, the dark slayer looked a lot different than the last time she had seen her, there was evidence of pain in her eyes and the self confident stance and devil may care attitude was noticeably absent from the brunette. Strange thing was she looked much more comfortable this way than she had done at any other time that Willow had seen her, more so the dark haired beauty was also dressed much more demurely than usual, not that that meant much considering her usual clothes.

"I'm just going I…" Willow stumbled as she tried to get up off the floor, she was caught and straightened up by Faith who then stepped back knowing that Willow might not be comfortable with the Slayer's proximity.

"Hold on Red are you sure your ok?"

"I'm fine I Just…"

"You came to see Xander right, did you talk to him."

"uhh, yes I did I'm sorry but he's angry at me and it's my fault. Faith what happened really please tell me everything that happened I just want to know why he's changed so much and I need to know are you really trying to help us now."

"Damn red you really know how to get a girl flustered don't ya, some on I'm meeting the others downstairs in a few we'll all tell ya what's going on and maybe you can decided for yourself what happened."

"I can't I'm… I'm sorry I'll leave now."

Finally something clicked in Faith's head, the girl was still scared of her and why not she had tried to kill her several times.

"Wait Willow, I wont hurt you you know, hell if anyone hurts you they'll end up on the wrong end of a blade when Xander gets hold of them."

"But he hates me."

"He's angry and hurt Red, but Xander is incapable of hating you, he loves you still perhaps more than anyone else in his life. Including me. " She said this last in a whisper, "Much as I wish he could, he doesn't love me Willow he may care much for me and may love me as a friend but I'll never reach the level the two of you are, you have no idea how lucky you are."

"I may have forgotten before Faith but not anymore."

"Come on you better let him cool down, we'll explain everything to you maybe somehow we can get this entire thing sorted out- on ALL sides. Okay."

"Okay.

With that the two women left the offices of Angel investigations to meet with their cohorts downstairs, Xander Harris meanwhile had no idea of what was coming involving his oldest friend and his closest allies, in the end though he may wish he had.

Same Place

Three hours hence

Xander was still sitting in the chair in the basement apartment belonging to Angel, he had sat down soon after the visit from willow and had stayed there thinking since that moment, it was difficult to see his oldest friend again since the incident with Buffy knowing that Willow had sided with her. Willow's refusal to believe that faith could mean that much to the man had been the last straw; she had left him all but alone during the course of the last year or so. They had been that close once but now, it was as if they were little more than close acquaintances something that he had tried to halt in his own ways but had failed to. His friendships with the LA based group were good and all but he had been with Willow for almost fifteen years, and his most fervent wish had been that he could have saved that relationship. But in the end the bullheadedness on either side had pretty much snapped the thin cord that had held them together.

Looking up as the door opened he saw his two closest friends Faith and Anya come through the door chatting away very much to his surprise to an animated Willow, in the last few years she had either outright loathed or hated those two girls and yet here they were chatting like old friends, to say the dark haired man was surprised was putting it mildly.

"What's going on?"

"Hey Xman, we found her on the doorstep, can we keep her."

"Faith!" Xander Warned, after the incident earlier in the day the young man's patience was running low, weeks of stress and change had left him with a very short fuse, Willow's reappearance did not help in the slightest. Faith stepped back knowing not to push her luck too much.

"Ok Willow, Say your piece." He was acting cold, much colder than he had even though of being to this girl who was at one time as close as a sister to him.

"Will you listen?"

"Yes." One word that was it.

"I'm sorry, I'm really sorry, I should have listened to you, should have understood what had happened, everything has two sides and if both you and Angel who hate each other will work to save someone I should have listened to you both I'm sorry, Faith's not as bad as I thought, she… she made me listen to her about what had happened, I love you Xander please forgive me."

Half heartedly she attempted a version of the Snoopy dance, something that the two of them had that tied them together over so many years, she did it badly and realised that Xander's face and body language hadn't changed in the slightest, the dance was doing nothing. Dejected she turned away and walked towards the door, hearing a scrape of the chair legs against the floor she turned around, Xander approached still with a blank expression on his face.

He stood In front of her,

"It's like this Willow." Xander followed her attempt with the Snoopy dance with his own flawless version, as he did the tension laying over everyone seemed to lift as Willow started as well both were laughing with a freedom that neither had felt in a long time. Laughing and crying Willow tumbled into Xander's arms hugging him tight, she knew it would take time but they had that time now, a lost friendship now restored.

In the doorway a smiling Slayer closed the door on the two friends leaving them to each other.