Hours Later:

Faith Lehane looks at Jennifer Danvers, her new Watcher, frowning as she puts her hands on her hips. "So, you're my Watcher, huh? In training and whatnot?"

Jennifer nods once. "It appears to be so, Miss Lehane."

Faith rolls her eyes. "It's just Faith, okay?" she shook her head. "You know, my old Watcher died, right? Killed by a vampire who was wicked demonic. And I'm an ex-murderer. I've killed people. And I tried to kill Buffy…"

"I'm aware of your past, Faith," Jennifer says. "But Mr. Giles and Miss Summers are confident that you are trust-worthy."

"And that's good enough for you?" Faith asks, raising an eyebrow.

Jennifer shakes her head. "No," she admits. "But I believe that everyone deserves a fair second chance. Isn't that what your 'gang' promotes? In fact, I do believe that is the symbolism behind Miss Summers reviving the organization that had once driven the pair of you from its ranks. I am honored to be a part of such a group."

Faith grins and holds out a hand. "You're all right, Miss Danvers."

"Please," Jennifer takes Faith's hands and firmly shakes it. "Call me Jennifer."

"Why didn't you tell me you were Giles' assistant?" Dawn asks Andrew as they head through the lobby toward the elevator. She presses the call button and turns to face the young man. "We're always stuck doing things together and you never mentioned anything!"

Andrew sticks his hands in his pockets and shrugs. "I don't know. I didn't think it was important, I guess…"

"Bull," Dawn snaps. "Why'd you keep it a secret?"

"Because I knew you'd be all mad about it!" Andrew whines. "Giles was going to make me a Watcher, too, but I'm such a spaz that he made me his personal secretary, okay? Happy now?"

Dawn is quiet. The elevator "dings" its arrival. "He was going to make you a Watcher?"

"Yes, but I failed miserably," Andrew says defensively. "I can't leave because no one trusts me and I'm only good enough to get people coffee and read old books that no one else has time to. I get to watch people like Faith and Spike and Willow get their chances to redeem themselves all over the place but everyone sees me as stupid, sucky-at-being-evil Andrew while everyone else gets to be important good guys. Does that clear things up to you?"

With that, Andrew gets into the empty elevator and closes the door. Dawn hangs her head, ashamed. She hadn't known Andrew feels that way. He's never said anything. She looks at her watch and shakes her head. "Yes. A meeting with Rona. I'm so excited," she mutters, not terribly excited at all. She hits the elevator call button again.

The front door burst open as Buffy and Willow enter the hotel, each supporting a barely conscious Kennedy. There is blood all over the girl's neck. "Oh my God!" Dawn hurries to help them. "What the hell happened?"

Hours Earlier:

Buffy crashes through a door, its frame splintering as she struggles to stay in the room. Jack is upon her almost instantly, knocking her further back into the clockworks.

"I'd expected more from Miss Slayer USA," Jack laughs, kicking Buffy in the stomach. She stumbles back but maintains her footing. "If you're the best there is, the other Slayers will be fish in a barrel!"

Buffy ducks to avoid one of Jack's wild swings and rises with a sharp uppercut to the ribs. Jack staggers to hold his ground. "You talk too much, Jack, anyone ever tell you that?"

"He was probably too busy flapping his jaw to notice," Willow says suddenly from behind Jack. Jack turns in time to receive a hard punch in the jaw. "That's for biting my girlfriend, Jack-ass."

"Good one, Will," Buffy says, referring to Willow's pun as well as the punch. She drops to sweep Jack's legs out from beneath him, knocking him to the floor. "Is Kennedy all right?"

Willow is rubbing a sore fist. "I don't know. She's unconscious. And he drained her pretty good."

Buffy looks down at Jack, who is rubbing his head in a dumbfounded manner. "That explains your deliriousness. Deliriosity?" she looks to Willow for help. The red head shrugs. "Your screwed up-ness. Slayer's blood too rich for you? So much strength and power coursing through you. It's kicking your ass, isn't it?"

Jack shakes his head, as though he is groggy. "I can handle it…" he stands, though it's obvious that he's light-headed.

"Too bad you didn't know Spike," Buffy pauses for a moment, reflecting on her relationship with the vampire. "He would have told you to wait for half an hour to fight after drinking Slayer blood."

"Like swimming," Kennedy's voice calls weakly from Jack's lair.

Willow turns excitedly. "Kennedy!" she hurries to check on her girlfriend. "Are you all right, darling?"

Jack uses the distraction to throw Buffy back into the gears. Buffy shrieks as she disappears into the machinery. "One down," Jack states as he turns to face Willow and Kennedy.

"Two to go," Willow finishes, a look of horror on her face. "Oh God, Buffy!"

"Untie me, Willow!" Kennedy screams from the table on which she's tied. Willow remains frozen to the spot. "Willow!"

Jack is drawing nearer to the two women, staggering slightly and cracking his knuckles while trying to retain his "cool." He chuckles at Willow's stunned appearance. "Shell shock, baby Slayer. Think about it. She watched me kill her best friend. Because she was more concerned about you. She let her friend die."

Willow makes no move toward either Jack or Kennedy. Kennedy struggles but she'd been unable to break loose with all her strength so she certainly wasn't making any progress in her weakened state. "Willow, snap out of it!"

"Two to go," Willow murmurs, her hair darkening as she faces Jack head on, her face contorting in rage. Jack pauses, unsure of what is happening. "I skinned a man alive once," she takes a step toward Jack.

"No," Kennedy breathes, watching in horror. "No, don't do this!"

"Hush, darling," Willow calls over her shoulder. "You'll have a turn."

"What's going on?" Jack asks, fear creeping into his voice. His hair starts to stand on end as she gets closer.

Willow smirks. "You're going to die," she says sweetly. "I've already flayed a man. I'll have to think about what I'd do to a vampire. But you'd survive something like that, huh?" her hair is completely black now. "But first, you're going to tell me why you killed my best friend."

Jack is lifted by some unseen force and slammed into a wall. "I'd choose my words carefully, were I you. They determine your outcome," Willow replies.

"I'm a vampire, she's a Slayer," Jack chatters involuntarily. "Simple as that."

"Wrong answer, Jack," Willow slams him against the wall again. "One more chance. You knew where Giles' room was and where we're housed. Why'd you kill my best friend, Jack the Ripper?"

Jack is turned upside down. "I got a note!" Jack screamed. "I just wanted to kill things. But I got a note about you Slayers. I had to do it! I don't know who sent it, though, I swear!"

"Congratulations, Jack," a sharp voice says from nearby. "You've been screwed by the Scooby gang."

Jack drops to the floor in time to see Buffy standing over him, a wooden stake in hand. "Say good night, Gracie," she stabs the stake into his chest, dusting him instantly.

Willow returns to normal, a proud smile on her face. "And to think, I was afraid of drama for so long."

"You were great, Will," Buffy throws an arm over her best friend's shoulder.

Kennedy cranes her neck, her jaw slack. "That was a trick? You PLANNED that?"

Buffy unties Kennedy. "When you've been working with someone as long as Willow and I've been, some things come naturally. How are you?"

"Sore," Kennedy says, rubbing her wrists as she sits up. She wavers. "And weak, apparently.

"You forgot stupid," Buffy says harshly, now sure that the younger Slayer is all right. "He could have killed you. We should have let him."

Kennedy's eyes narrow. "You can't say that to me," she says in a haughty tone that comes from an aristocratic background.

"She can and will, Kennedy," Willow says, her tone only barely nicer than Buffy's. "Running off put your life in danger. Coming after you put our lives in danger. Leaving the girls and potential Watchers put their lives in danger. I don't care what you think about your power and where you think you belong in the hierarchy, there's always someone more powerful than you are."

Kennedy stares at Willow, surprised. "You're ganging up on me…"

"Sucks, doesn't it?" Buffy asks. "You pull this kind of stunt again, the demons can have you. We're a team, Kennedy. If one member of the team gets too big for her britches, we deal with it. Are we going to have to deal with you?"

Kennedy is quiet. Willow nudges her gently. "Are we?"

"No," Kennedy mumbles.

Willow throws her arms around Kennedy tightly. "Oh, baby I was so worried about you!" her voice is pained, as though she's been aching to explode like this. "Don't ever scare me like that again!"

Now:

"So, you faked Jack the Ripper out?" Xander asks, eyes wide. "Way to go, Will!"

Willow blushes. She's sitting on the edge of Kennedy's bed in the makeshift infirmary in the basement of the hotel. "It was just a Glamour, really. But with Kennedy genuinely freaked out, Jack was easy to fool."

Kennedy is lying in the bed with the blankets pulled over her head, as though she's asleep. In reality, she's avoiding conversation, embarrassed by her actions.

Buffy looks to Xander and Dawn. "You guys are officially Watchers in training now, then? Congrats!"

Dawn rolls her eyes. "I have to be Rona's Watcher. What a drag! She's just going to argue with me the whole time!"

"But you're a professional little sister. Aren't you experienced in arguing?" Faith asks from the doorway. She gives a wave before stepping in. "Jeeves is waiting for everyone upstairs. He's like a proper British word with you all, I'm sure."

The gang gets up to go upstairs. Willow gives Kennedy a kiss where her head is under the blanket before following the others.

Faith peers out the door after them. When she is satisfied that they're gone, she strides over to the bed and jumps back onto it. "Wake up, Slayerette. They're gone now. You can quit faking."

Kennedy sits up angrily. "What do you want?"

"Well, thought I'd see what it feels like to fall from grace," Faith smiles. "You've disappointed your girlfriend and all of your friends, what will you do now?"

"Shut up," Kennedy snaps.

"Really, how do you feel?" Faith asks more politely.

Kennedy shrugs. "Stupid. After the verbal bashing from Buffy, though, it was all over. It was like nothing happened."

"See?" Faith grins. "This place is all about second chances. When you've got friends like these, you're allowed to make mistakes. No one here will write you off. Except for me, of course."

Kennedy is quiet as she thinks about what Faith is saying. "Think about it? Who would Buffy have left if she got rid of everyone for screwing up? There'd be Angel. And me. And Willow. And Spike. And Giles. Don't forget Dawn. The gang would be her and Xander. Tragic, huh?"

Faith gets up and stretches her arms over her head as she heads back to the door. "So that's the trick. You're on turn number two. Keep your nose clean and lose the attitude problem and you'll be five-by-five.
"That's funny, coming from you," Kennedy smiles.

"Yeah, I'm funny like that."