Redeemed

Chapter 1

This is a Buffy the Vampire Slayer/Angel fan fiction based on the character, Faith. I do not own any name or reference in this fan-fiction, and all rights concerning Buffy the Vampire Slayer and Angel belong to Joss Whedon.

Note: There is reference in this chapter about Spike being in Rome with Buffy. They are NOT dating. I just wanted to point that out.

Faith left the graveyard after killing the vampire, quickly, so that the girl wouldn't have time to ask her questions. Life was dangerous enough as it was, and knowing about all the things that went bump in the night would only make living it more difficult.

She was on her way to Wolfram and Hart when she had heard the scream. It had just been coincidence that the girl wasn't dead now. After the fight with The First, she had gone back to prison, and now that she had been officially released, it felt good to be on the right side of the fight against the forces of darkness.

She walked at a casual pace, enjoying her night in Los Angeles. Angel didn't know she was coming, because she thought she would surprise him when she arrived. It wasn't long before she rounded the corner and saw the gigantic law firm. She took a minute to take in the scene.

"Seems a lot bigger than last time I was here." She said to herself as she walked in the door.

She went to the front desk, surprised that most of the law firm's previous employees were still here after Angel had taken over ownership of the L.A. branch.

"Can I help you?" the secretary asked Faith when she walked up to the desk.

"Yeah," Faith replied, "I'm here to see Angel."

"Do you have an appointment with Mr. Angel?"

"No, just tell him Faith is here to see him, and I'm sure he'll clear it for you."

The secretary picked up her phone and dialed the extension for Angel's office. It rang about twice and then someone picked up the phone on the other end.

"Harmony," the secretary said, "this is Kat at the front desk with a girl named Faith here to see Angel. Could you ask him if he has a free moment please?"

There was a pause in the conversation, and then the secretary put down the phone. She looked up at Faith, who was looking around the lobby casually, waiting for the secretary to finish her conversation.

"Faith," she said, "Angel will see you now."

Faith smiled at the secretary. "I told you he wouldn't mind."

She walked to the elevator and pushed the "A" on the panel. Wow, she thought, Angel has really stepped up in the world. He's got his own button and everything.

She rode the elevator up to the top floor and stepped out. She looked around. At first she thought she was on the wrong floor, because this one was covered with windows up and down the halls. Then, Angel came out of the office in front of her.

Faith jumped into Angel, taking him down to the floor with her. "Are you crazy!" she yelled at him. "Do you want to be a flame on legs?"

"Faith, it's fine." He said. "The windows are enchanted. Sunlight can come in, and it doesn't hurt me."

The two of them got up off of the floor, and she kind of grinned. She felt really stupid now. Of course they would take precautions against sunlight in the law firm.

"I'm glad to see you too." Angel said, with a kind of half smile.

"Sorry."

"So, are they allowing you to have time out now?" he asked, glad to see her out and about.

"No, Angel. I'm out for good. Today was my release date." She said beaming.

"No way." Angel replied. He ran back into his office and soon ran back out with a calendar in his hand. He pointed at a date on the calendar. "Look, it says that this is your release date."

"Angel," she said, "That's today."

Angel took another look at the calendar in his hand, thought for a moment, and then said, "You're right, it is."

Faith walked around a little bit, and then walked into Angel's office. He followed her, and they continued the conversation as she examined his huge office.

"Wow, Angel, you really need to get out of the office and away from all of these cases." She said, picking up a stack of papers and examining them. "They're starting to make you lose track of time."

"I'm sorry, Faith." He said. "I was going to come and get you today."

She shuffled nervously and then took a seat across from his desk. "Don't worry about it. I'm five by five and you probably shouldn't be out in the heat, what with the vampire-ness and all."

Angel considered this as an acceptance of his apology. He felt really bad about not being there to see her on her release date. It was a big day for her, and she had had a rough past. She had a lot to atone for and she had asked him if she could come and help him at Wolfram and Hart when she was released. He had of course said yes, and had told her that he would be there on her release day to get her. With everything that had been going on lately, he had completely forgotten about her.

"So," Faith said, "What's the case on hand?"

Faith was anxious to get started with the big bad fighting again. She hadn't been able to relieve the tension of fighting while she was in jail. Except for the occasional beat down of someone who had it out for her, she hadn't been able to relieve her need for violence.

Angel walked and sat down at his desk. He took a long look at the big stack of papers that was sitting on his desk. There were so many of them that he really didn't know what to do with them. He didn't have time for them anymore. Gunn had been away, working on a case. Wesley was working with Spike and Buffy in Rome now with the new Slayers. Now, it was just him, and now Faith.

"Well, there are plenty of places to start, and it doesn't seem like there's ever an end to all the cases." Angel told her.

"That sounds like a plan to me," Faith said, "throw one of those files at me."

Angel took the folder that was on the top of the pile and threw it to her. She looked inside and read over the description.

"Who types up these case descriptions for you?" she asked. "They write like a first grader."

"Hey!" Harmony groaned as she walked into Angel's office. "I write those, thank you very much."

Faith couldn't believe who she was seeing standing there. It was all she had in her to not start busting out in laughter. "You've got to be kidding me. This is the Harmony that works for you?"

Angel tried not to laugh. When Harmony had first asked if she could work for him, he had thought it was a big joke too. He thought it was some outrageous plan of hers to get him to trust her, so that she could eventually kill him.

"Angel." Faith said, grinning, "This is Harmony. You know; the one from Sunnydale."

"I know." Angel said.

"She's a vampire."

"I know that too. I thought it was a little ludicrous when she first asked too, but she's not that bad if you can get past her horrible writing skills."

"Hey!" Harmony said again, in that whiny way that made everyone wince at her incredibly high squeal-like voice. "She, who is the Harmony from Sunnydale, with the horrible writing skills, is standing right here!"

"Sorry, Harmony." Angel said.

She grunted and rolled her eyes. "No one appreciates all the hard work and effort I put into this job." With that, she stormed out of Angel's office.

Faith started laughing, and it wasn't long before Angel was laughing with her. They continued laughing for a few moments. Finally, Faith caught her breath, and began looking over the folder that Angel had given her again.

"Ok, looks like I've got a nest of vamps to take out." She said placing the folder back on the desk.

The phone rang, and Angel picked up the receiver. He listened for a few minutes and then said, "Thanks for the heads up, Giles."

He placed the phone back down and looked at Faith. He looked worried. "Faith, we've got a problem. Ok, we've got a few of them actually."

"Spill them out." Faith replied, unworried.

"The first problem is that The First has returned again, but this time he's gotten himself a physical body. Buffy's fought him once already, and he nearly killed her. Willow managed to save her with a teleportation spell."

"Damn." Faith said. There was a look of tension in her eyes at the mention of The First. He had haunted her before, telling her that redemption was impossible and that no one would ever accept the face that she was no long evil.

"That's not all." Angel continued. "You remember how he manipulated that priest, gave him a bunch of power, and made him do his dirty work for him?"

Faith nodded her remembrance.

"Well, he's worked his way into the minds of three slayers, and they're working for him now."