"There's only so much I can do." Willow sighed and lowered her head in regret. "I can't bring people back from the dead. Well, okay, I did it once, but I can't anymore."

Her head turned to the side and she looked at Giles. Truthfully, she probably could have brought them all back. She was powerful enough. The night before, she had felt the energy coursing through her body; enough energy that, in that moment, she could have done anything if she embraced it. However, Giles had already forbade her. He knew the risks and surmised that it was too dangerous. She may have been able to revive a couple of dozen people, but would most likely end up killing millions in the process.

Other than that, though, Willow had another reason. If she wasn't allowed to resurrect Tara, she didn't want to give that gift to strangers. She knew it was selfish, and the only thing that kept her from feeling guilty over it was the fact that she knew it was all a moot point anyway. She could be selfish now because it was an hypothetical. She wasn't really hurting anyone with her selfishness.

Sighing, Willow turned back to Faith. "Basically, all I could do was erase them from memory. Well – more like erase their memory from existence." She shrugged. "It's the same thing I did when you disappeared, which is why you can be on TV every night and not get arrested."

"So just like that, they don't exist?"

"Pretty much."

"And last night? Everybody that got hurt?"

"Well, we were going to go with terrorist attack, but Giles said so."

"Absolutely right!" Giles was obviously flustered as his eyes darted back and forth. He couldn't stand the idea of having this discussion in the middle of a hospital, no matter how many times Willow claimed she had protected their words. He moved closer to the group and lowered his voice. "In this day and age, you can not go around making up terrorist attacks. It's unethical and just... evil."

"It's not evil." Willow rolled her eyes. "Just plausible. Besides, you already said no, so we came up with something else." She nodded as she looked at Faith. "We picked something else."

"Uh huh."

"Okay, see there was this leaky gasline in the hotel that had gone undetected all day until it blew up, like right in the middle of the place. Lots of fire and falling rubble and debris... That pretty much explains it all without having to get into idiots that conjure demons and can't control them."

"Wait a minute." Faith crunched her brow in confusion. "If that's the case, why did we have to erase some of the people? Like... okay, we can explain away Edge with the explosion, but why not Lita?"

"The redhead?"

"Yeah. And, Jim Ross. And Lawler, and half of the ring crew."

"Oh, well." Willow shrugged. "An explosion doesn't explain why someone's heart is missing."

"Oh..." She nodded. She supposed it made sense, though it was a lot of stuff to explain something that could have been simple. Unbelievable yes, but still simple. "And so... everything is forgotten? Like... everything?"

Angel stepped forward and shook his head. The sun was shining outside, but after centuries of hiding, he was well versed in finding his way around underground. They were leaving when the explanations were over, and he didn't want to miss the chance to say goodbye. "Almost everything. Regal already knew everything, so we couldn't change him. And... we didn't want you to be alone."

Faith blinked. "What?"

"We left your friends's memories. You can't be here without some support, Faith, and that's what they are." Angel shook his head. "It's hard to leave you here, but... after last night, it's what's for the best. These people mean something to you, and we can't just take you away from them. We came here to save you, not destroy you."

"Well, uh..." She tried to give thanks, but the words just wouldn't come out. It was like she had a gag reflex around those words. "Yeah. That's good 'cause if you tried, I'd have to kick your asses." Faith smirked. "And the guys might have been out of commission, but Trish has a kick you wouldn't believe. And Steph's slap." She laughed. "Not to mention Ric. You'd have had a fight on your hands there, bub."

"Uh huh. I could take 'em." Angel smirked. He reached inside of his pocket and pulled out a small white card. He grumbled, annoyed that he hadn't brought a spare duster with him. Luckily, he had a closet full of replacements. "Next time you come to town... or if ya just need some backup that's not wrestlers, give me a call."

"Will do." She took the card and put it in her back pocket. "So, uh... you're leaving?"

"Yeah. We gotta get back. I need to talk to Cordy and Spike and..." He groaned. "And a lot of people you don't remember. So, we're going to go and leave you to your life."

Angel clasped his hand tightly on her shoulder, then turned away. Willow stood for a moment, not knowing what to do. She finally settled on a wave, then followed Angel. Giles walked up to her last and sighed heavily. He removed his glasses and looked down to the floor. Slowly, his head rose and he replaced the spectacles. "I came here to bring you back," he said, "but now... To leave a Slayer out here alone goes against everything that I was taught."

"I'm not alone, though, G." Faith gave a small smile. "I've got friends, something I hear I didn't have much of before."

"Yes. Friends..." He turned and looked down the hallway for a moment, then turned back to Faith. "Be careful, and if you need anything, call us. We move around quite a bit, but Angel always knows how to find us."

"Don't sweat it, G. I got this thing, ya know? I'm good. I think I'm the best I've ever been. So you go on and get back to the other Slayer. Go kick some bad guy ass and all that. We'll be fine. And, if something comes up." She shrugged. "I got it."

"Yes," Giles said with a slight chuckle. "I bet you do."

Faith stood back and watched Giles turn and walk away. When the group rounded a corner, Faith walked down the hall. Hunter was on the other side of the hospital. He would be alright, but there had been infection and a lot of blood loss. With Stephanie screaming about lawsuits, the doctors had managed to save her husband's life. From the moment he woke up after surgery, all he'd done was bitch. Faith was pretty glad that she was nowhere near him, though even more glad that he was alive.

Somewhere upstairs, Randy Orton was complaining that he wasn't allowed to sleep or leave the hospital. The doctors kept talking to him about concussions. Trish kept threatening to hit him in the head and give him an even bigger one if he didn't shut up and get better. They were back to their usual selves. It was annoying, and sometimes nerve wracking... but Faith couldn't be happier about it.

When she stopped at the door to Dave's room, Ric was seated next to the bed. Fifteen hours after the incident at the hotel, Batista was weak, but alive. She didn't know what they were talking about, but whatever it was, Ric started to laugh. She heard what she thought was wheezing, then realized it was Dave trying to laugh, too.

Clicking her tongue, Faith walked into the room with her arms crossed. "Ric, you know you're not supposed to be making him laugh. He'll pop some stitches."

"Like you walkin' in here like that won't pop his stitches."

"His stitches aren't down there." She rolled her eyes, then bumped him to the side. "Get outta here, old man. I need to talk to Dave." Surprisingly, he didn't protest. He muttered something unintelligible to himself, patted Dave's shoulder, then left the room. When they were alone, Faith sat down and lightly touched his arm.

She was still amazed that he was alive. More than that, she was amazed that he'd risked his life to save her. Wasn't it suppose to be the other way around? She was the one with super human strength. He was just a wrestler with a fantastically sculptured body of muscle. "Next time, don't do that, alright?"

Dave opened his mouth to speak, but his throat was dry. He cleared his throat and brought up enough saliva to wet his mouth. "Do what?"

"Be a dumbass, you shit." She rolled her eyes. "I'm the Slayer. You're the hot guy that fucks me when the slaying is over, got it?"

"Is that all I am?" He shifted, then groaned. "Your living vibrator?"

"You might be a little more." She rose up and leaned over the side of the bed. "You could be a lot more, I guess." She hadn't told him what had happened when she thought he was dead. She wasn't concerned that he would think her weak. Instead, she didn't want him to know just how much he meant to her. She just wasn't comfortable with that many emotions in such an enclosed space. "I guess we'll see when you get out of here, huh?"

"Back on patrol?"

"You got it."

"I can't wait."

Faith smirked. "Me neither." She leaned down and kissed him lightly. As she closed her eyes, her lashes fluttered against his face. She felt his fingers weakly brush against her as he rose his hand as much as he could. She touched his cheek. This was where her life was, not just in the ring, but with this group of people. For the time being, with Dave. Faith didn't know how long it would last, how long she and Dave would be together, but for the time they were together, she owed him her life just as much as he owed her his own.

"Um..." Faith growled and whipped her head around at the voice. Willow stood in the doorway, holding what looked to be an 8 x 10 glossy in front of her. "Yeah, sorry to intrude and all. Oh, and by the way, Faith, I don't think you're supposed to be doin' that with him right now. You could..."

"Did you want something?"

"Huh? Oh, yeah. Right. Um... We were almost out when I remembered this. Spike is gonna kill me, or at least try as much as a ghost can kill you, if I don't get this. Could you get that Hunters Hurt Hicky guy..."

Faith chuckled. "Hunter Hearst Helmsley."

"Whatever. It's not Stacy Keibler so..." She shrugged. "Anyway, could you get him to sign this for Spike? To the greatest savior of the world with fangs, blah blah blah." Willow shrugged again as Faith started to laugh.

"Yeah," she said, walking over to take the picture from her. "I'll just drop it in the mail after it's signed."

"Great! Thanks! Ya know, you're a lot nicer now than you used to be. Very cool. Now, if you'll excuse me, I've got a life to get back to."

Faith grinned, then turned until her eyes fell on Dave. With a sigh and softening smile, she said, "Yeah. Don't we all."