As always, thanks for the feedback. It's definitely helping to keep me focused on this story instead of starting others which is a habit I have.

So, where did I leave off? Oh yeah, Faith was in the shower. I had planned to go patrolling as soon as she was dressed but Dawn pointed out that it was still early. Instead, we opted to go show Faith around the neighborhood and get a bite to eat.

We live near the South Bank so we started off walking down by the river. Then we shot over to Oxo Tower Warf. The shops were just about closing but we checked out the window displays. Faith saw a few places she wanted to visit and Dawn promised to bring her over tomorrow.

We headed over to Gabriel's Wharf and watched the street performers before grabbing some food to go at a cafe. We sat down at an empty picnic table and enjoyed a quiet dinner. Occasionally Faith would ask us about the area and Dawn would be quick to answer. She always liked London better than I did.

We were on our way back to the apartment when someone ran up to us, grabbing Dawn from behind. Faith, who was walking between us, immediately grabbed the guy by the back of his shirt and threw him face first on the ground, using a foot to hold him down.

"Faith, wait!" I grabbed her arm, pulling her back while Dawn helped the guy off the ground.

"Mikey got his ass kicked by that bird!" A dark haired boy said as he approached with familiar looking girl.

"Faith! These are my friends," Dawn said as her friend brushed off his clothes and looked skittishly at Faith.

Faith blushed a little and offered her hand, "Sorry man, didn't realize."

He slowly reached out and shook her hand, "It's alright."

His friends were still snickering as Dawn pointed each one out. "Timmy and Jewel," she pauses, pointing to Faith, "This is Faith."

Timmy walked up and patted Faith on the back, shaking his head at Mikey, "Maybe now he'll learn he can't always be fart-arseing about."

Soon Dawn was talking quietly amongst her friends and I pulled Faith off to the side. "That was sweet."

"What was B?" Faith said, lighting a cigarette.

"You protecting Dawn," I answer, taking a drag off her smoke.

"Not sweet B," said Faith in a weak attempt to deny being sweet. "Just going on instinct."

I just smiled at her for a moment, enjoying the quiet. The silence finally got to Faith and as she was about to speak Dawn came rushing between us. "Buffy, can I go over to Jewel's house instead of going home? They're ordering pizza and having a movie marathon, I'll stay the night so I won't be walking home after dark!"

"Sure Dawn, have fun," I replied. I certainly didn't mind having one less person in the apartment tonight. Since Xander was pulling an all-niter with Giles we'd have the place to ourselves.

Dawn gave me a big hug and turned to Faith. She reached out and gave Faith's arm a gentle squeeze, "I'll be back for breakfast and then I'll take you around town some more. There is so much to see during the day!"

"Don't do anything I wouldn't do," Faith said with a smile. Dawn just grinned and ran over to her friends. They quickly started walking in the opposite direction.

Faith and I took off down the water front. The sun had set shortly after Dawn left us and we quickly found some vamps to take out. We came across three at the docks and I stood back, letting Faith take the lead. The first vampire came walking right up to her, looking all kinds of cocky. Faith smiled at him as he pulled his arm back to punch her. She grabbed his fist before it connected and spun him around, twisting his arm behind his back. She whipped a stake out from the back of her waistband and quickly turned him to dust.

The other two stood off to the side and watched with a mild look of surprise. It'd didn't really faze them though, word was out that slayers were in town after all. This time they moved in together, slowly trying to corner Faith. I faked a yawn, "Think you could hurry this up?"

Faith smiled at me, "Not my fault they're a couple of pussies."

The bigger vamp growled at Faith and stepped forward, throwing a punch that she easily dodged. She connected with a back fist and he stumbled back a few steps as the second grabbed her from behind, pinning her arms and lifting her off the ground. "Need any help?" I ask.

"Nah," she says, flinging her head backwards and dazing the second vamp, forcing him to let go. She spins around, her leg lifting up and kicking him in the head. He falls to the ground as the first vamp goes for round two. He kicks her in the back, sending her to her knees. She spins around and sweeps her leg, knocking him to the ground. She gets back onto her feet, "I got it covered."

She walks over to the first vamp and grabs his shirt, lifting him a few inches off the ground and punching him hard in the face, his head smacking back down onto the concrete. He passes out and she moves back to the second vampire, who is just now getting back on his feet.

She throws a left cross and it hits his chin, quickly followed by her right hook which breaking his nose. As he reaches up to stop grab his nose she punches his chest, the stake in her hand entering his heart. He turns to dust as she pulls her arm back. She turns quickly and throws her stake at the first vamp, who has gotten to his knees. It embeds itself in his chest and he looks up shocked just before he's reduced to dust.

I start to clap my hands and she turns to me, brushing her hair off her now sweaty face, "Enjoy the show?"

"Was mildly entertaining," I reply. "Much like a made for TV movie."

She brushes off her clothes and continues our walk. "Like you could do better!"

That's one argument she'd never let me win so I keep my mouth shut. We quickly move from the docks to the cemeteries but never encounter more than a couple vamps. All in all it was a quiet night. I wasn't sure if that was good or bad.

At this point in time I wasn't really worrying about what could be bad. I was walking home on a beautiful night in London with Faith. As we got closer to home we started walking closer together. Now our arms would brush with almost every step. She's going on and on about some new band I've never heard of. Apparently I have no taste in music, or so she's trying to prove.

We walk up to my buildings entrance and I keep walking. Faith doesn't say anything at first, she just stands by the door and watches me. I round the corner and cross the street. "5...4...3...2..."

"Hey B," Faith calls out, running to catch up to me. "Wait up!"

I slow a little and walk to the river's edge. I rest my hands on the rail and look out over the water. Anytime I stay here, I don't go home until I look out over the water. It's so beautiful at night. The lights from those awake, the stars and moon shinning down above. It may sound sappy but I don't really care anymore what people think.

Faith walks up behind me and looks out over my shoulder. "Whatcha lookin' at?"

"Shh, I say softly. "Just look."

We stand there for a few moments. I'm not sure exactly where she's looking, since she is still behind me. I briefly wonder why she doesn't come up to the rail, there's no one else around. The I feel her take a step closer. I can feel the rise and fall of her chest as she breathes.

She stays still for a moment, giving me a chance to move I suppose. She figures out that I'm still there and her arms slowly reach out and caress my hips. I smile and lean back a little. She takes this as a good sign and slides her arms around my waist, hugging me from behind. I rest my weight against her and we silently look out over the river.

I'm not sure exactly how much time we spent standing there. A very peaceful silence had enveloped us and we enjoyed it to the fullest. I eventually felt Faith take a slow, deep breath and her forehead came to rest on my shoulder. I heard her muffled voice quietly ask, "What's going on here Buffy?"

I took a deep breath of my own, letting go of the rail and holding her arms around me. "Do we have to figure that out?"

Her arms loosen their grip but I hold them in place, "Yeah, I kinda do."

"How come?" I ask softly, trying not to provoke any anger.

"Because I'm not really good at...," she sighs. "I need to know so I won't mess this up, I can't mess up this time."

I turn around in her arms, mine wrapping around her neck and pulling her head down so she looks in my eyes. "You can't mess this up Faith."

"Yes I can B," she replies and I miss hearing my full name come from those lips. "Anytime I...," she pauses and I know she almost said something she's afraid to say. "I just have a way of screwing up."

"Everyone screws up," I say, my fingers running through her hair. I feel her begin to shake and I hug her tight against me. "What's wrong baby?"

She tenses for a moment, then relaxes as she pulls back, "Baby? Since when am I baby?"

I feel my cheeks flush and I think for a moment. I finally shrug off her question, taking her hand and lead her back to my apartment. She follows quietly and we make our way inside. She goes to turn on some lights but stops when she sees me heading to my room. I get to my door and open it quietly, walking inside and taking off my jacket.

I slip off my shirt and pull on my pj top when I notice her watching from my doorway. I smile and walk over to her, kissing her cheek and giving her a hug. "Goodnight Faith."

She holds onto me for a few seconds before letting go. She cocks her head to the side and softly says, "Goodnight Baby." She looks at me blush lightly and kisses my forehead, walking into her room.

Not quite the ending I had in mind for that night but it still seems pretty perfect. I'm not sure exactly what's happening between us but I like that. After a good night's rest, I get up and take a shower. Once I'm dressed I realize there are voices coming from the living room.

I sneak down the hall and peer around the doorway. Xander and Faith are sitting on the floor, each yelling at the TV while playing Backyard Wrestling on his playstation. There was a big bowl of popcorn between them and empty soda cans laying around. Looks like they've been at it for hours. I yawn to announce my presence, "Morning."

"Hey Buff," Xander says, not looking away from the screen.

"Hey B," Faith answers, blowing me a quick kiss which Xander misses.

I roll my eyes and walk into the kitchen, I start fixing breakfast. The bacon starts sizzling and I hear Faith yell out, "Ooo, make me some!"

"You've got popcorn Faith," I call out.

"That's a snack B," she answers. "I'm wicked hungry and all, didn't get my post-slayage snack."

"Aww, Faith's hard up Buffy!" Xander teases. "Give her something to eat."

I choke on my orange juice while Faith glares at Xander, "Oh, it's on now!"

She returns her attention to their game and I hear Xander mumble, "Shoulda kept my mouth shut."

I chuckle and finish making breakfast just as Dawn comes home. "I'm home!"

"Way to state the obvious," I say, only getting a half-hearted glare back. "Breakfast is ready, think you two can stop fighting long enough to eat?"

"Just a minute B!" Faith says. Dawn laughs and comes into the kitchen, helping me finish setting the table. I hear Xander groan and Faith's triumphant "Hell yeah!" and I know the match is over.

Soon all four of us are enjoying a well rounded breakfast and discussing our plans for the day. Dawn is going to show Faith around some more. They're gonna go shopping at some of the stores that caught Faith's eye as well as some places she hasn't seen yet. Xander's got to report back to Giles' office. He's only home for a quick nap, which he played through. I decide to go with him and see if I can help out.

The day goes by pretty quietly. Giles' finally burned out around sundown and sent us on our way after we agree to hold another meeting tomorrow afternoon. Xander drove us home and we got there just as Dawn and Faith got home. We all had a quick bite to eat before both Xander and Dawn went to bed. Neither had gotten any sleep and were exhausted.

"Wanna call it a night too?" I ask Faith, knowing she couldn't have gotten much sleep either. I only slept 5 hours.

"Nah," she says, bouncing on her toes. "Wanna patrol or something?"

"Sure." She's always itching for a good fight. I start down the hall, "Just let me change."

"I got you something B," she calls out softly. "It's on your bed."

I look at her strangely and go into my room. Sitting on my bed is a clothing box. Not wrapped or anything but that wouldn't really be her style. I open it up and have to stop myself from laughing. What is it with her and leather?

I come out of my room a few minutes later to find her looking out the window. She's always looking out windows. I'll have to ask her about that sometimes. I clear my throat and she turns to look at me. Her eyes slowly roam my body, checking me out and I stare silently at her, enjoying her look.

She got the pants a couple sizes too small. Needless to say they're tight. And black, always black. She got me this purple top which ties around my neck and hugs my torso tightly, stopping just above the waistband of my pants. I added my own boots and put on darker make-up than I would normally do. I had a feeling she'd appreciate the added touches and since she's still staring I'd say I was right.

"See something you like," I purr at her.

Her eyes seem to flash as her head snaps up, looking me in the eye. "It works."

I smirk and make my way to the door, "You have such a way with words."

"What you see is what you get," she shrugs as she walks past me and down the hall.

I watch her walk ahead of me and decide I like what I see.

Patrol goes smoothly again. Orlando seems to be keeping to himself for the time being. I'm grateful for the lapse in nasties to fight but from Faith's ever-growing fidgeting it seems she isn't. We're about three blocks from home when she stops and lights a cigarette, handing me one. "You tired B?"

I let her light it and take a drag, exhaling slowly. "Not really, why?"

"Wanna get a drink?" she asks hopefully, blowing smoke rings into the air.

"Sure." She takes my hand and leads me around the corner and down a few blocks. I know where she's taking me, Dawn probably told her about it.

There's no sign on the door, which is halfway down a dark alley. Sounds suspicious I know but the place is actually pretty cool. We step inside and the smell of alcohol and smoke hits us. Faith's grin is instant as she starts walking to the beat, straight to the bar.

She nods to the bartender who comes over. She hops up, resting her weight on her hands, and leans over the bar, whispering in his ear. He nods and starts fixing up her order. She hops back down and smirks at me before paying for the drinks. I carry two shots and a beer away as she follows me with the same. We find a booth in the corner and slide in.

We clink our glasses together and do the shots. She looks around the place, getting a feel for it while we sip our beers. The music they're playing is right out of a 90s teen movie but the atmosphere is fun and it loosens me up. I'm sure the drinks help.

Faith looks over at me, "Wanna dance?"

"To this?" I ask. I have to say I'm surprised. I didn't think Faith liked Blink 182.

She nods like I asked the stupidest question and picks up her shot. I pick up mine and we down them, chasing them with our beer. As I set my bottle down I feel her grab my arm and pull me out of the booth. She leads me out onto the dance floor and she instantly starts to dance.

I stand still a moment, closing my eyes and listening to the song. My head starts to bob quickly with the fast beat and I start jumping up and down. Pretty soon I'm swinging my head around and just moving all over the place, totally cutting loose. Gotta say it felt damn good.

We kept on dancing as the next song started. It had that same kind of fun rock beat that the other song did and sounded really familiar. I just shrugged it off and danced circles around Faith, who pretty much only moved her feet a little. The rest of her moved in ways you couldn't imagine.

We carried on like this for a couple more songs before I finally got too thirsty to go on. I slipped my arm around Faith and leaned up against her, my mouth against her ear. "I'm gonna get us another round."

She nodded and kept dancing as I made my way to the bar. I signaled for the bartender and ordered another round. I paid and was just about to turn to call Faith over when she popped up behind me. She reached around me, picking up her shots and beer and kissing me on my cheek. "Thanks Baby," she said with a wink, turning and walking back to our booth.

I rolled my eyes and followed behind her, sliding in the seat next to her. "Are you ever gonna let up on that?"

She took her shot and shook her head. "Nope, if I'm baby so are you!"

"You're really calling me baby?" I ask, taking my shot. I thought she was doing it to tease me.

"Well, duh! That's what I said." She looks at me like I'm crazy and takes a sip of her beer, lighting us each a cigarette. "What'd ya think I meant?"

I take a drag and let it out slowly, "Thought you were just teasing me."

"So it's okay?" she asks, sounding unsure of herself.

I smile at her, resting my hand on her thigh. "It's better than okay."

She smiles and puts her arm around me. She slips one of her legs behind me and I snuggle into her embrace while we quietly enjoy our cigarette. We stay like this through our next shot and I finish my beer. I am definitely feeling loose now.

The music has taken a change for the better, playing mostly hip-hop as the night got later. Faith was still nursing her beer and I'm feeling restless, anxiously wanting to dance. Unconsciously I start to move to the slow beat They're playing Missy Elliott's Hit 'Em Wit Da Hee and I've always loved this song.

I hear Faith moan against my ear as her arms slips from the top of our seat to around my waist, her hand resting on my thigh. I smile when I realize she's getting a little thrill from my dancing and lean my weight back against her, resting my head on her shoulder. I lick my lips, smiling at her as I grind my hips slowly.

Faith massages my thigh slowly as I move my body to the beat. I let my head tilt to the side, exhaling slowly, my breath tickling her neck. As I lift my head back up I moan softly against her ear and whisper, "I wanna dance."

She smirks and finishes her beer as I scoot out of the booth. I make my way through to the center of the dance floor and start to move to the beat. They're playing Ice Cube now and I sway my hips to the faster beat.

I feel her even before her hands grip my hips from behind. That warm tingle shooting up my spine as she moves my ass back against her, moving me to match her rhythm, not that I needed guiding. We lose ourselves in the moment, just moving wherever it feels right to go. We match each other perfectly, like this is some routine we'd practiced.

I slide slowly down her body, touching my toes and bringing my ass up along her body before standing upright. She turns me around and slides her thigh between my legs. My leg slips between hers and we dance even closer to each other. I feel her lips lightly graze my shoulder and I play with her hair.

We stay like that until the music stops and the lights turn on. Seems the club's closing. Didn't realize we'd been here that long but time flies right? Anyway, we hold hands as we walk home. Faith automatically takes the route home that has us walking along the river's edge.

We both pause at the railing, looking out silently as she holds me from behind. Feels even better than it did last night. We only stay a few minutes though before turning and going inside. Once upstairs Faith walks me to my bedroom door and kisses me softly. "Goodnight Baby."

No sarcasm this time. Always a good sign. I pull her back down and kiss her again, trying to lead her into my room. She kisses me back but doesn't let me pull her in. She takes a step back and shakes her head. "You're drunk Buffy, we should wait."

I pout up at her for a moment but I know she's right. I kiss her nose and nod, "Goodnight Faith."

She smiles and walks over to her room. I watch her until her door is closed before I close mine. My head is spinning a little so I'm glad I finally finished getting all that out. Bed is looking pretty good right now. We'll talk more later.