Chapter Thirty-Four: Discoveries

"Well, Buffy has had quite a few prophetic dreams. You could just be having a few of the same types." Giles figured.

"No, I don't think so." Joy shook her head. "First of all, I wasn't asleep. And second of all…well…it was just so specific and well, I don't know, but I'm pretty sure it wasn't just a 'prophetic dream' or whatever."

"What did you see?" Giles questioned, as serious as always.

Joy hesitated and then spoke quickly, editing the truth. "A girl. She was turned by a vampire." She squeezed her eyes shut momentarily. "It wasn't a pretty image and I'd rather not think about it, okay?" She looked at Giles, eager to get past the uncertainty of her vision. "So, what's the deal Rupert?"

"I have no answer for you at the moment." Giles cleaned his glasses resolutely. "Give me some time to research a bit…I will check my books and I will find an answer, I assure you." He returned his glasses to his face. "But I would not worry much about the matter…" He sort of sucked at encouragement talks.

"Rupert I'm seeing people die in my head! How can I not worry?" Joy exclaimed fervently.

"Yes, of course, I see how disturbing this could be for you, but…" He was at a loss of words. He looked to Buffy desperately.

"Just out of curiosity, who did you see in your vision? Who died?" Buffy asked calmly.

Joy didn't answer. She couldn't tell them what she had seen. Buffy didn't need that worry. She could handle this herself, after all, it was her vision. They waited for an answer and so she quickly lied. "Just a girl. I've never seen her before."

Willow stared at her unwaveringly. Joy felt as though her green eyes would bore through her mind and discover the truth. So, Joy quickly looked away.

"Can I be excused now?" She asked softly. The others seemed surprised at her request. "Sorry, but I'm sort of hungry." Joy explained.

"Right, okay sure." Buffy dismissed the young slayer. "Go eat and we'll start the research."

Joy struggled not to run from the room. She sought refuge in the kitchen, drowning her fear and anxiety in a box of pop-tarts.

"Joy," Willow joined her in the kitchen only a moment later.

"Yea?" Joy retrieved the orange juice from the refrigerator.

"I don't want to intrude on your personal affairs or anything, but umm…I couldn't help noticing that you hesitated a little when Buffy asked you who your vision was about…" She paused, trying to read the masked expression in Joy's eyes. "I know that you lying in there. You do know who the person was, don't you?"

Joy bit her lip and made her eyes as expressionless as possible. She could tell that Willow understood her silence though.

"I realize that you don't want to tell us all for some reason, but I think we could help more if we knew who it was…"

Joy shook her head quickly. "I'll handle it. Don't worry. It's not your problem." The young slayer quickly returned the juice to the fridge and darted past Willow, out of the kitchen.

Seeking refuge in her bedroom was becoming a habit for Joy since she had moved in with the Summers. She wasn't used to people caring so much about her that it started to bother her. It was frustrating that they didn't trust her to take care of things on her own, but at the same time, she had never felt more loved. She flopped onto the comfortable bed, wanting to fall asleep and forget about her stress.

I hate hiding from my problems. It's not me. Joy whined in her head. I'm stronger than this. I should be able to talk to them and tell them what's really going on…but again she convinced herself that it would be easier for her to deal with the problem by herself. It would be easier for Buffy and for everyone else. I shouldn't be worried so much anyway. It was just a freaky dream, I'm sure it didn't mean anything. I need to see Angel.

She quickly got out of bed with the strange decision to search for her vampire friend. For some reason he seemed like the person to go to when things were screwed up in her life. He was like her big brother and she knew that he cared a lot about her and what happened to her.

She ran down the stairs and waved briefly to the group still gathered in the living room. "I'm out of here for a while. I'll be back soon."

"Wait," Buffy jumped up off the couch and hurried out to the front door to stop Joy from escaping. "Where are you going?"

She hesitated. "I'm, umm, I'm going to see Angel."

"Angel?"

"Yea, I just need to talk to him about something. I won't be gone too long."

"Okay," Buffy seemed to be trying very hard not to control Joy's life. "Be safe."

"I will." Joy smiled politely and continued outside.

"Angel," Joy knocked softly on his apartment door. A part of her was still not quite sure why she was inspired to run to Angel when she was uncertain or afraid. But, she needed to see him. She needed him to tell her that everything was alright. She knocked again. "Angel, please, I need to talk to you." She waited impatiently, shifting her eyes around the outdoor hallway, hoping that she wasn't bothering any of the neighbors. "Angel!" She knocked once more. He had to be home. He was a vampire and it was the middle of the day; he couldn't be anywhere except for his apartment! He'd be a big pile of dust in an instant. She frowned and started to walk away. Before she was more than three feet away from the door, the door was finally opened.

"Wait!" Angel called after her, being careful to stay inside the doorway, out of the sunlight. "I'm sorry, I was umm…asleep and umm…well…never mind, come in."

Joy slowly returned to the door and stepped into the dark apartment. When she had entered the apartment Joy noticed that Angel was only half dressed in a pair of sweatpants; his shirt missing.

"I'm sorry if I disturbed you…" Joy apologized instinctively. "I didn't mean to wake you up. I shouldn't have knocked so much…after the first time I should have realized that you weren't in the mood for visitors…" She hesitated, stepping back towards the door. She fumbled with the doorknob.

Angel pressed his hand against the door, halting her nervous escape. "Joy, I didn't mean to make you leave. I didn't mean to take so long to answer the door either." He paused. "I was umm, indecent," He shrugged. "I was sort of not dressed…"

Joy tried not to smile. "Angel, do you sleep naked?"

"No! Of course not!" Angel attempted to defend his embarrassment. "Well, so what if I do? It's not like anyone's ever around to see me! Well, except for you occasionally."

"I'm sorry, next time I'll wait patiently for you to cover yourself." Joy grinned broadly. "But, of course, I bet you're pretty hot when your…indecent…" His eyebrows lifted slightly and Joy instantly realized what she'd said. "Oh my god, eew, no! I didn't mean that! I don't know what I was saying! Gross!" Angel was frowning. "I mean, I'm sorry that probably sounded really rude, but it's just that you're like a big brother to me, Angel, and I really don't want to think about you that way…"

"Hey, you're the one that said it!" Angel reminded her.

"I know, I'm sorry, it's sort of instinct…" Joy apologized meekly.

"Yea, so, you wanted to talk to me?" Angel turned on a lamp to allow more light into the room. "Do you want something to eat?" He motioned for her to take a seat on the couch while he headed towards the adjoining kitchen to search for food. "Or, maybe you want something to drink…I have water…oh wait I might have some coffee."

"Don't worry about it. I'm fine." Joy assured him. "Willow made a huge breakfast this morning, I think I'm good for the rest of the week."

Angel nodded. "Okay, then let's just talk." He joined her on the couch. "What's going on?"

"Last night when I was patrolling with Spike…"

"You were patrolling with Spike?" Angel seemed surprised, maybe a little hurt. "You won't patrol with me, but you'll patrol with Spike?"

"Angel…"

"No, it's okay, I understand. You're more comfortable with him…"

"That's not it Angel. You know I've always been the most comfortable with you! Like I said, you're like my brother." Joy shrugged. "He found me at the Bronze and wanted to take me home to make sure I was alright." She shook her head. "Anyway, I came here to tell you about what happened to me last night. I, umm, I had a vision sort of."

"What sort of vision?" Angel didn't even question the validity of her vision. He seemed to believe her instantly.

"A bad one." Joy barely even hesitated before telling Angel the entire truth. "Dawn was killed and then turned by a vampire. It was the most horrific thing that I'd ever seen inside my head." She shook with the memory of the horror.

"Have you told Buffy?" Angel had an incredible strength at always keeping her voice calm, even in very complicated and frightening situations.

"Not the specifics. Like the fact that it was her little sister that dies." Joy sighed. "I don't want her to worry."

"So you came to me."

"You're the only person that's ever really been there for me. And I know that I haven't exactly returned the favor but I was just hoping that…"

"Don't worry Joy, you don't have to explain yourself to me." Angel assured her. "I'll always be here when you need me."

"I know." Joy nodded. She tried, and failed, to hide her emotions.

"Joy, I'm appreciate that you came to talk to me. I've missed being able to be here for you." He held out his arms for her and she gladly fell into his comforting embrace. "I'm sure everything will be okay with Dawn. She's got a lot of people looking out for her safety, you know?"

Joy had to agree. Besides Buffy's constant watch, Dawn was also being looked after by Willow, Giles, Xander, Spike, and now Joy herself.

"But still, I don't think it'd hurt if you told Buffy the truth about your vision." Angel encouraged. "Of course it is up to you though."

"Thanks for understanding," Joy smiled. "I should probably go…" She glanced around the sparsely decorated apartment for a clock. "I just needed to talk to someone who really listened to me for a while…"

"You can stay if you want to." Angel offered. "I don't mind."

"Thanks Angel," Joy nodded. "I'd like to actually." She looked towards the kitchenette. "I can cook for you…but then again you don't really eat, do you?" She frowned. "Well, I can clean…" She noticed how tidy everything already was. "But you don't really need that either…umm…"

"Joy, just stay. You don't have to try and earn your keep or anything. Just hang out for a while. I want you to."

"Are you sure I won't be a hassle?"

"Positive. Stay as long as you like. In fact, I'll make you dinner tonight, alright?" Angel seemed excited at the thought. "I'm not really sure what I have here to make, but, umm, well I'll make the best that I can." He stood and headed towards the kitchen to start browsing through his limited food supply. "But until it's time to eat, feel free to watch TV or something. I don't really have much to do here…"

"Actually, I'm sort of tired. If it's okay with you, I'd sort of like to take a nap." Joy smiled. "I haven't really been sleeping well lately."

"Of course, sure, you can sleep in the bedroom," Angel offered. "When you wake up, dinner will be waiting for you."

"Saying 'thank you' is starting to sound redundant." Joy smiled sweetly and withdrew into the bedroom, closing the door behind herself.

She slept for almost three hours. It was the sort of sleep that she had needed. It was completely restful, not at all disturbed or fitful. She didn't even have any dreams that she could remember; nothing bothered her during her naptime. When she woke up she could smell food cooking from the kitchen. She smiled. There was definitely way too much pepper in whatever Angel was preparing, but it comforted her just to know that he was cooking for her.

Joy stretched slowly, not wanting to leave her location on the large, comfortable bed. Adjoining the bedroom there was a bathroom. A warm shower sounded incredibly refreshing at the moment so Joy eventually dragged herself out of bed and wandered over to the bathroom. She found a towel in a cupboard underneath the sink. She wasn't surprised to find a quality brand of shampoo in the shower; she's always thought that Angel took good care of his hair.

The shower was long. She loved being able to enjoy leisure showers without the pressure of the other people in the house needing to use the bathroom. When she finished her shower and started drying off, she heard voices coming from the front room. She wrapped the towel securely around her body and tiptoed out of the bathroom and to the bedroom door, pressing her ear up against the door to listen to the voices.

"You've got to understand that this isn't easy for me to do," Joy recognized Spike's voice instantly. "But I need your help peaches."

"What's going on Spike?" Angel asked calmly.

"It's the little slayer." Spike said. "Last night she had a problem…well actually I'm not sure if problem's the right word but something happened." He paused. "She had a…"

"A vision?" Angel answered before Spike had a chance to.

"Yea, how'd you know?"

"Well, she came to me this morning." Angel confessed. "She was scared. She said that she needed me."

"Why didn't she come to me?" Spike wondered aloud. He obviously didn't mean to speak out loud because he quickly cleared his throat and tried to change the subject. "Did you help her? Comfort her?"

"She didn't want to go home. She asked to stay here, with me, for a while, to sleep." Angel said.

"And you what, sent her home?" Spike sounded upset.

"No. She's still here." Angel said softly. The voices stopped and the next thing that Joy heard was footsteps approaching the bedroom door. She gasped and quickly tried to run back to the bathroom so she wouldn't be caught eavesdropping but Spike was faster and he opened the door before she was halfway there.

"Umm, hi," Joy shyly grabbed at the top edge of her towel, making sure that she was covered enough.

"Oh, sorry…" Spike hesitated in the doorway. "I thought you were sleeping." He started to turn away.

"I'm sorry I didn't come to you Spike." Joy said quietly. "You were great to me last night, I really appreciate your help, but I just needed to see Angel. I needed to talk to him…"

"Of course Gidget, don't worry 'bout it. I understand." Spike continued backing out of the bedroom.

"No really Spike, you are a great friend…" Joy didn't know what else to say. A part of her wanted to say more, to tell him how much she really valued his friendship, but she was at a loss. It didn't feel like the right moment. "I'm going to get dressed really quick and then I'll come out and join you both." Joy decided suddenly, noticing Angel's presence behind Spike.

Both vampires nodded, embarrassedly eyeing her lack of clothing and appropriately moving out of the bedroom, closing the door to give her privacy. When she was alone, Joy began to search through the closet to find something comfortable of Angel's to wear. She finally settled on a pair of sweatpants (she had to roll over the waistband four times and it still threatened to slip off her slim waist) and a simple t-shirt that hung down to her knees. She left her hair down to air-dry and emerged from the bedroom to join the guys who were bickering in the kitchen.

"You can't make ravioli without the sauce!" Spike was saying. "It'll be bloody dry. She won't like dry ravioli!"

"Well, I haven't got any sauce. I didn't plan to make dinner for anyone but myself tonight. I'm surprised I've even got pasta! Usually I'd just heat up a mug of blood…"

"Gross!" Joy exclaimed, cutting into their conversation.

The vampires instantly turned to her with apologetic smiles plastered on their pale faces. Angel stuck a metal soup spoon into the pan on the stove and stirred the cooking pasta.

"Just a hint, but wooden spoons work a lot better for that sort of thing." Joy commented with a know-it-all smile.

"Yea, I don't have one." Angel admitted.

"How can you not have a wooden spoon?" Joy gasped.

"Hey! I'm surprised I even have pasta to cook, or a pan for that matter. Vampire, remember?"

"Right, I keep forgetting." Joy sighed. She was still adjusting to being friends with vampires and it always seemed easier if she just tried to ignore the fact that they weren't exactly breathing people. "Thanks for making me dinner though Angel. I feel really bad for crashing like this." She bit her lip, struggling to admit her gratitude. "It means a lot to me."

"Yea well, you'll just owe me one later, okay?" Angel joked.

She looked at Spike. "I appreciate your concern too, Spike. I realize how hard it must have been for you to come to Angel voluntarily…but knowing that you did it for me…well…thanks a bunch." She smiled at how silly she sounded. "Anyway, I'm starved."

"Well, I'm not sure how edible the food's goin' to be, Gidget." Spike grinned. "Angel hasn't made any sauce for the noodles."

"That's okay." Joy smiled. She crowded her way into the kitchen. "There's a small fact about me that's not exactly very well known…" She started searching through the very empty cupboards until she had found butter, salt, and pepper. That was just about all the ingredients that Angel's kitchen had. She had hoped to find garlic, but considering the whole vampire things she realized that was highly unlikely. "See, I'm actually sort of good in the kitchen…" She dropped the butter into the pan to let it melt with the pasta and generously added the salt and pepper. "Actually, I don't like to brag, but my ex-boyfriend once told me that I was like a cooking magician!" She smiled at the happy memory of Henri. When she was satisfied with the substitute pasta sauce she left it for Angel to serve on plates.

When they all sat down at the table to eat the meal, Joy realized that vampires didn't really eat food. She frowned at the complication.

"Wait, don't you guys sort of have like an all-blood diet?"

Spike and Angel nervously glanced at each other and shrugged. Spike answered. "Sure, but that doesn't mean that we don't like to nibble on some human treats every once in a while. We're sort of like puppies." He grinned but Angel frowned at the explanation.

"Okay…" Joy hesitated. "You guys can have blood if you want. I can handle it…" She was lying and they knew it. She was still learning to deal with the fact that they drank blood, she didn't need to see them in the act. It would undoubtedly freak her out more than she already was.

"It's fine. The pasta is actually quite tasty." Spike decided.

"Good…but you know if you're starving, I really don't mind…" They seemed to be reading through her fake politeness. "No, I'm serious. If you're really hungry, don't let me hold you back…" She silently prayed they weren't hungry. Luckily they seemed momentarily content with the meal she was eating.

Everything had been going well for almost an hour. Joy's mood was soaring, and the guys were getting along better than they had in centuries (mostly because they wanted Joy to have a worry-free evening). After dinner, Joy had insisted on helping with the dishes which enticed Spike to help as well. Then the three settled down on the couch in front of the television to be bored by the news. And that's when everything fell apart.

The news was telling of an escaped convict from almost a year ago, recently seen roaming the streets of Sunnydale. Angel and Spike were eager to change to the soccer game on the other station, but Joy had been infested with a horrid feeling in her gut about the rumors. The news gave no name for the escapee and Joy let the guys change the channel. Joy had started feeling sick though. Her head flooded with pain and her stomach twisted with ominous nausea. She screamed as her vision from the previous night returned, and expanded.

Dawn was walking through the streets of downtown Sunnydale, hand-in-hand with Colin. She was dressed for an evening date. The Dawn screamed and started running, urging Colin to keep up to her pace. Joy squeezed her eyes tighter, trying to stop the images. They were so terrible, but the wouldn't stop. Dawn started gasping for breath but she continued sprinting until she had lost all sense of direction and found herself in the cemetery. She hadn't even noticed when she had lost hold of Colin, but she believed he was safe. Then she stopped. There was nowhere else to go. Her pursuers became visible. There was a group of ragged-looking vampires behind, at least five, but in front of her was someone much more shocking…

Joy broke from the vision with a startled gasp. Angel and Spike were instantly at attention. She had unknowingly fallen off the couch. Spike helped her stand as she started muttering to herself.

"It couldn't be her…it's impossible…there's not way…" She was shaking her head and trembling violently as Spike held her comfortingly. Angel stood near by, not sure what to do. "I watched her die…I…" The sports game was suddenly interrupted by an important notice from the state police warning about the escaped prisoner. This time there was a picture. The guys frowned. Joy shook harder. "I killed her!"

Angel spoke with a deep voice of denial. "Faith…"

"You killed Faith? I mean the Scoobies had their suspicions, but it's pretty hard to believe. You killed her? Wait, then how's she not dead…" Spike rambled. Joy gasped when the truth hit her and broke free from Spike's arms. She fumbled with her purse in search of her cell phone and hurriedly dialed the Summers' house.

Buffy answered on the first ring. "Joy? Where are you? I've been so worried…"

Joy cut her off desperately. "Buffy, is Dawn there?"

"No, she went out…"

"Where, with who?" Joy demanded.

"Umm…she went on a date, with Colin." Buffy paused. "Where are you…" But Joy had already hung up. She grabbed her purse and ran from the apartment without even stopping to explain to the guys.

They waited for only a minute before running after her, but she had been faster, driven by urgent panic, and had already driven away when the guys reached the parking lot.

"Where do you think she's going?" Angel questioned absently, more to himself than to Spike.

"I don't know," Spike took it upon himself to answer anyway. "We're not goin' to let her go alone though, are we? We should follow her!"

"Of course we're going to follow her!" Angel agreed vehemently as though it was his idea in the first place. "Come on, we'll track her down." Angel started running, flying like a shadow through the night. Spike shook his head and ran after his grandsire.

Joy drove straight to the cemetery, praying that she made it there before Dawn arrived. She wanted to take care of the situation alone, without the pressure of having to protect Dawn. Unfortunately she wasn't quick enough, and as she pulled her car up to the entrance she could see Dawn already in the middle of the confrontation that Joy had seen in her vision. The young Summers' girl was standing only a short way away from the entrance with five hungry vampires grouped behind her and the very undead Faith standing in front of her.

Joy rushed from her car, not even bothering to close the door and hurried to Dawn's side, leaping over a short gravestone that was in her path. She reached her friend and stepped in front of her, facing Faith.

"Doesn't anyone stay dead anymore?" Joy asked in an attempt to remain light-hearted for Dawn's sake.

"You!" Faith exclaimed, obviously surprised. "What the hell are you doing here?"

"I'd like to ask you the same question." Joy took a step forward. "Didn't I kill you?"

"Yea, so?" Faith shrugged casually. "Luckily I've got some loyal friends who thought I'd be better used, umm, not so dead." She laughed lightly. "I guess when you slit someone's throat you should make sure that they've completely stopped breathing before leaving them for dead." She smiled evilly. "Just for the future."

Joy smiled just as maliciously. "I'll remember that for the next time I kill you, which should be in, oh, a few seconds."

"Joy…" Dawn spoke softly, her voice held warning.

"Quiet Dawn. Stay behind me." Joy turned around to judge the position of the other vamps. They seemed a little confused as to who the new girl was and so for the meantime they were standing still, waiting for their leader's orders. Faith motioned for them to stay where they were so Joy returned her attention to the brunette.

"Joy, you don't understand…" Dawn tried to speak again.

"Yea, Joy, you don't understand!" Faith mimicked Dawn's desperately whiny voice. "Come on Dawnie, why don't you explain to miss-high-and-mighty here, why she should stay far away from me."

"Come on, you don't frighten me, bitch. I've killed you once, I can kill you again." Joy insisted.

"Is that a threat, shorty?" Faith came closer, showing the obvious differences in the two girls' heights. Faith was at least six inches taller, then again everyone was taller than Joy. "Come on then…are you waiting for an invitation? Let's fight!"

Before Joy even had a chance to attack Faith, the brunette lodged an expert jump-kick right at Joy's stomach. The short blonde doubled over, shocked at her own failure to defend herself. Dawn shrieked and hurried to Joy's side.

"Please Joy you don't understand! You can't fight Faith…" She pleaded for Joy to listen to her but the little slayer shook her away stubbornly.

"Stay back Dawn! You'll just get yourself hurt!" Joy demanded. Dawn sighed and stepped back again. Joy jumped to her feet and prepared herself for the next attack, but Faith waited.

"Whoa, your smell…" Faith's eyes widened. "Sorry, I'm still getting used to this whole vampire scent thing." She sniffed the air near Joy for a minute. "I smell you, I remember your smell, definitely, but there's someone else too, something else…it's sort of familiar." She paused. "It's a man, no, oh my god, you smell like a vampire. The scent's all over you! It's the mix of sweat and aftershave and blood!" She gasped. "You smell like…Angel!" Her eyes raised to a little above Joy's head.

"Faith." Angel's deep voice spoke from behind Joy. He seemed a little out of breath and Joy assumed he had run all the way from the apartment. He stepped closer to Joy, pushing Dawn farther back. "Joy, you don't want to get involved with her."

"Oh my god!" Faith repeated. "Wow, I'm a little surprised. I mean I know that you like you women, but really, even you could do better than the judge's miniature daughter."

"Excuse me?" Angel frowned.

"Come on, isn't she a bit young for you! She's not even out of high school!" She laughed. "Then again, I forget that you like them young. Young, blonde, and perky." She rolled her eyes. "Tell me Angel," Faith took a step closer to Angel and spoke with a pointed tone. "Be honest, between the slayer and this midget, who's better in bed…" Angel's strong hand immediately gripped Faith's neck. "Ooh, the protective vibe, that's hot." She punched Angel hard in the face, breaking free from Angel's grip.

"I'm not sleeping with Joy!" He growled.

"Whatever you say!" Faith backed up again to survey the odd group in front of her. "I don't get how the two of you hooked up though. I mean, she doesn't really seem like your type or anything. Don't you usually go for the slayer types?" She winked at Angel but then she noticed everyone's uncomfortable smiles. "Wait a minute?" Faith frowned. "You don't mean to tell me that the judge's girl's a slayer! Do you?"

Joy shrugged. "You're damn right."

"Hell no!" Faith exclaimed. "The midget slits my throat and the powers make her a slayer?"

"I guess they were rewarding me." Joy smiled wickedly.

Spike chose this moment to join the group and the conversation. Until that moment he had been hanging behind, making sure that the other vampires kept their calm and stayed out of mischief. "Well, well, I've got to say I'm a bit surprised." He stepped past Joy and Angel and circled Faith slowly, inspecting her curiously. "Sure, I've killed my share of vampire slayers but even I've never seen the sense in turning one of them."

"Wait, what?" Joy paused. "What the hell is that suppose to mean?" She glared at Spike for an explanation.

"Look, Joy, this isn't your problem. Get out of here." Angel warned. "You're better off not knowing. Trust me."

"No! I want to know what Spike's talking about." She insisted.

Faith shoved Spike away from herself and stepped towards Joy again. "Didn't you know that you were murdering a vampire slayer, baby doll?"

"What?" Joy gasped in disbelief. "No way. There's no way! You couldn't have been a slayer! You sent those vampires to kill my parents…"

"Well, there's reasons why B and I never got along." Faith laughed. "She was too…umm…good. And I wasn't."

Joy didn't find her explanation amusing. "I don't get it. I thought vampire slayers were suppose to be all about the good fight, you know ridding the world of evil and all that shit. How could she have been a slayer if she was 'evil'?"

"It's a long story Joy," Angel stated.

"I had a little bit too much fun killing…demons and humans. I guess you can understand that though, the rush of taking a human's life." Faith's eyes turned to dark, accusing slits. Joy shook her head furiously. "Oh yea you do. Don't try to cover it up. I could see it in your eyes when you killed me. You enjoyed every second of it! As the knife slit through my skin, bursting my veins and slowly steeling away my last breath. You reveled in the excitement as my blood flowed over your hands…"

Joy's temper snapped and she sent Faith flying backwards with a hard punch. "Don't think you know me! You don't know anything about me! You killed my parents. I was serving justice!"

Faith pushed herself to her feet and wiped a spot of blood away from her lip. "Justice? You don't know the meaning of the word. You were out for revenge! Revenge in cold blood."

Joy lunged for the ex-slayer again but Faith was quicker and as Joy's hands reached for Faith's neck, the brunette withdrew a dagger from her shoe and whisked it through the air, slicing through the flesh on Joy's chest. Bright red blood flowed freely, staining the shirt she was wearing instantly. The musky scent filled the night air and the group of hungry vampires began to grow restless.

"How's that for justice?" Faith sneered, stepping back as Joy's hand flew to her bleeding chest. She stumbled backwards in surprise pain. Spike instantly held out his arms to catch her and held her until she had regained her own control.

Joy gritted her teeth and wiped her blood covered hand on her shirt, threateningly approaching Faith. "I hope you realize that you're just asking for pain, bitch!"

"Oh, I hope so! It's no fun without it!" Faith retorted. Her green eyes almost seemed to sparkle with mischief as she let Joy continue towards her. She made a slight indication with her head to her lackey vampires and they eagerly started pursing from behind, instantly filling Angel and Spike's attention. Dawn tried to help with the fight but Joy quickly pulled her away.

"Get out of here Dawn." Joy insisted. "I don't want you anywhere near here. I need you at home. Now!" She let her voice raise in order to make Dawn understand how serious she was. Dawn hesitated for only a second before turning and fleeing from the cemetery, sprinting towards her home; with every intention of sending Buffy back to help.

While Angel and Spike fended off Faith's loyal group of vamp minions, Joy and Faith began a fierce battle, both equally eager to release their built-up hate for each other in a decent fight. The girls were equally matched in skill and motivation. Faith had the advantage of her slayer-vampire strength combined but Joy had the anger and desire that she needed to keep up with Faith's violence. Unfortunately, Joy's anger also served as a slight hindrance in her fighting and a few times Faith's ability to stay calm and logical managed to supercede Joy's reckless anger-fighting.

After only a few minutes, Faith realized that she could use Joy's anger against her and started baiting the young slayer for sloppy but fierce attempts of attack. "You should have heard the way your mom screamed when they killed her…" She taunted cruelly. Joy gritted her teeth tighter, unintentionally biting her lip and drawing blood. She lunged to attack Faith but her anger overwhelmed her and Faith easily slipped away from the attack. "And the way your old man begged for his life…" Again Joy lunged and once again Faith sidestepped her, managing to attack Joy from behind, punching her full-force in the lower back. Joy shrieked from the pain and jumped around to defend herself from Faith's next attempt. But Faith understood her advantage on the young slayer and continued her ruthless taunts. "I've never heard a grown man cry so pathetically, and hell knows I've killed my share." She smiled coldly as her first landed easily beneath Joy's jaw, causing more blood to flood Joy's mouth.

"My father was a good man!" Joy insisted, starting to struggle in her fight with Faith.

"Oh come on, you hated him!" Faith laughed. "I was watching your family for weeks before I made my move! I saw how much you detested your parents. You were probably grateful that I killed them off for you. Just two less problems for you to worry about…" Faith withdrew her knife again and slit Joy's thigh as she attempted a jump-kick. Joy fell to the ground in pain, grabbing at her leg to stop the bleeding. "You're as pathetic as your parents were!" Faith laughed again as she towered over the young slayer, dangerously lowering the knife towards her neck. "Time for my revenge now, bitch!" She was stopped, with expert timing, as Angel leapt over Joy and tackled Faith to the ground.

"I'm sorry that this happened to you Faith…" Angel admitted as he knocked the knife from her hand.

"You should be apologizing Angel! You were suppose to have helped me deal with my problems. I came to you in need and you offered me a place to stay." Faith frowned and rolled Angel off of her, pinning him to the ground briefly. "What sort of help is a home? You should have turned me then! I was dying from all my guilt. It was killing me! But, being a vampire…wow! I've definitely gotten past all that self-pity shit. You should've turned me when I came to you if you really wanted to help me." She laughed. Her laugh was starting to get redundant.

Angel sighed and easily threw the brunette off of himself, leaping onto her once again and grabbing a broken tree branch from the grass. "I'm sorry that I cared so much about you then." He raised the stick high. "And I'm sorry that I couldn't help you more." As he drove the stake through her heart he heard Buffy shouting his name from somewhere distant. Faith's body melted to dust and Angel was left kneeling in the grass, unable to think of move.

"Angel!" Buffy appeared at his side, desperation in her voice. "What did you do?"

"There was nothing we could have done to help her this time Buffy." He decided. "She would have done everything she could to kill us all." He turned his sensitive brown eyes up towards the slayer.

Buffy's blue eyes watered slightly and her voice shook. "Faith was…"

"Hopeless," Angel finished for her. "You know it's true and you know I did the only thing that any of us could have done. You would have done it yourself if you were in my place."

Buffy nodded slowly. "I know. It's just so weird. Faith was a slayer. We worked together…for a while…"

"And then she turned evil." Angel reminded the emotional young woman. "Don't let it get you down Buffy. You gave her too much of your life. There was nothing else you could have done for her." Buffy agreed with a soft murmur. It was silent for a minute and then Spike spoke.

"Umm, guys, Gidget doesn't look too good." Spike's steely eyes expressed his concern as he knelt beside Joy, half-cradling her in his lap.

Buffy seemed to notice the younger slayer for the first time and instantly dropped to the ground at her side. "Joy, sweetie, are you okay?" Her voice had automatically lost the authoritative tone she had been using with Angel and conformed to a caring, motherly tone as she inspected Joy's wounds. "What happened to her?" Buffy demanded anxiously, glaring at the two vampires. "You were suppose to be protecting her!"

"Hey now, she ran off from us!" Spike insisted. "We're bloody lucky we caught up to her in time…"

"Yea Buffy, she was determined to fight Faith no matter how we tried to stop her." Angel agreed. "You know how stubborn she can be."

Buffy sighed. "Joy, Faith wasn't your fight! You should have left her alone!"

"You don't understand Buffy." Joy whined. "Faith murdered my parents. I thought I had killed her last year and I've been living with the feeling of justified guilt ever since and now I find out that she's been living as a vampire! I had to take care of her myself…"

"You were in no condition…" Buffy started to lecture again but Joy cut her off bitterly.

"Stop telling me what I can handle!" Joy demanded. "I have survived for sixteen years just fine on my own and I am perfectly capable of knowing what I can and cannot handle! I wish everyone would stop treating me like a stupid child. I'm a slayer for God's sake and I want to be treated as such!" Joy had pushed herself up to a sitting position and was trying not to flinch at the pain that was stinging her chest.

Buffy pulled back a little at Joy's unexpected outburst. She nodded slowly. "You're right Joy." The guys stared at Buffy's admittance. "I've been babying you way too much. I've just never really had to take the responsibility of another slayer…"

"You don't have to take responsibility for me! I am so grateful that you have brought me into your home, but honestly, I can take care of myself! If you gave me a chance, you'd see that I'm actually sort of good at it." She was trying to soften her tone a little, realizing that Buffy just worried about her.

"I know." Buffy sighed. "Okay, I promise that from now on I'll try to leave you alone as much as you need. I don't want you to feel like I'm suffocating you. I just wanted you to know that you weren't on your own." She stood as though illustrating her plan to give Joy more space.

"Thank you Buffy," Joy smiled. "And I'll try to need you more." Buffy smiled back. "Now, umm, speaking of help…" she leaned back on her elbows, the pain starting to become slightly unbearable. "Can you help me, please!" She glanced up at Spike with hurting eyes. Spike instantly scooped her injured body up into his arms. Joy let her arms drape around his neck and her head drooped onto his shoulder.

"Come on, let's take her back to your place Buffy. It's closest."