Title: Sunday Mail
Pairings: Faith/Angel
Rating: M, just in case.
Summary: A spin of Sanctuary. More of a "What if Faith had never confessed and went to prison, instead just stayed with Angel?" Buffy and The Council guys never come in this story, and neither does Kate. Basically, this starts with Angel hugging Faith after the assassin attacks.
Disclaimer: Sadly, I don't own anything. It all belongs to Joss.
Author's Note: I've been watching Sanctuary wayyy too much, and this is the result. I kept thinking "Faith should've stayed with Angel..." Soo yeah.

Chapter 1 - That Girl

"Hey. Hey. Hey. Shh. Hey. Sit down. Shh. It's- it's okay." Angel sat down on the couch with Faith and felt her body press up close to his as she wrapped her arms around his neck. "Hey. It's gonna be okay. Okay? Shh. Alright. Shh."

Faith kept crying into his shoulder, careful not to touch him with her bloody hands. "I'm sorry."

Angel pulled back to look at her. "He was trying to kill us, Faith. You did the right thing."

Faith avoided his gaze, her sight fixed on her bloody hands. "I didn't... I--I... I have to wash this off." She shifted herself off of the couch.

"Faith, you didn't do anything wrong. Don't let this get to you. He was a demon, okay? One of the bad guys." Angel watched as Faith stood up, her body shaking from fear. He got up and walked over to her, placing his hand on her shoulder. "Come on, I'll help you." He carefully led her to the bathroom and opened up the door for her.

Faith stood in the doorway, still staring at her hands. The blood was slowly drying on them, turning her hands a dark crimson color. Her mind flashed back to the last time she had felt like this. Right after she had killed a demon in Sunnydale. The first person she went to was Angel... and even though she was planning to screw him over, he had made her feel safe. She glanced up, her deep, pain-filled eyes looking into Angel's.

Angel gave her shoulder a reassuring squeeze. "Come on." He walked her over to the sink and turned on the water, letting go of her shoulder as he did it. The water ran for a minute, and Angel looked to see Faith blankly staring at it. "Faith." Her gaze shifted over to him, but she still was frozen in place. Angel reached out and took her hands into his, letting the blood cover his skin as well. "You're going to be okay." He put her hands under the water flow, along with his own. He gently scrubbed off all the blood from her fingers, rubbing his hand up against hers. After all the blood was gone, Angel turned off the water and wrapped a fluffy white towel around her hands. "See?" He lifted her chin up so he could look into her eyes. "Everything's alright now." He gently smiled at her.

Faith's body slowly stopped shaking as she felt the warmth of the towel on her hands. When Angel lifted her head, she looked deep into his eyes. "Thank you." She said it quietly, unsure whether or not they were the right words to say.

"You're welcome." Angel noticed the uncertainty in her voice, but knew it was just from fear, and not because she didn't mean what she said. He could tell that she was in pain, he knew the feeling well. She just wasn't ready to open up yet... but she was getting there. He walked Faith out of the bathroom and over to his room.

Faith sat down on the edge of the bed. "I didn't mean to flip out like that." She moved around a bit, as if she was trying to get comfortable in her own skin. "I just got a little freaked with the blood and all, I shouldn't have..." She looked up at Angel and shrugged a little. "I guess I'm trying to say I'm sorry. I really do have trouble with that word, don't I?"

Angel was tempted to laugh at that statement, but he stopped himself and realized what Faith was apologizing for. "You don't need to apologize for getting upset. I understand why it got to you like that. After all you've been through, it must've been hard." He sat down on the bed next to her.

"It was like... I wasn't me anymore. Or maybe it was the real me taking over. I don't know." She blinked a couple of times, her eyes hot from the swelling tears that threatened to fall. "I just killed him. I didn't even stop to think, it just... happened." She closed her eyes at the thought of it, her brain flashing back over memories of all the people she had killed. She shook her head and grabbed it with her hands. "I don't want to be that girl anymore."

"Hey, hey." Angel slowly reached up and pulled her hands away from her face. "You're not that girl. You're a good person, Faith. I know you can be. You just have to believe it."

"Yeah, sure." Faith uttered the words with no emotion, not truly believing them. She wanted to, but something deep and dark inside of her kept telling her otherwise. It tugged on her heart and mind, pulling her into the darkness. She kept hearing a voice inside of her head, whispering things to her. "It's far too late to be saved." She barely even opened her mouth to silently say the words, it was just a stray thought that had escaped her brain and passed through her lips. She bit down on her bottom lip, hoping Angel hadn't heard her.

Angel's head cocked to one side. He heard Faith whisper something, but couldn't make it out. "What'd you say?"

"Nothing." She turned to face him, hoping he wouldn't press the matter. She saw him start to say something, but cut him off. "I'm just tired, I guess." She wasn't really, but it was better than trying to talk about her feelings.

Angel knew something was on her mind, that something was bothering her, but he could tell she didn't want to discuss it. He let it go and stood up off of the bed. "Yeah, I'll let you rest." He pulled back the covers for her, and watched as she slowly slid underneath them.

Faith pulled the covers up to her neck and rolled over, turning her back to Angel. She listened to him leave as she closed her eyes, praying that sleep would come.

Angel stepped out of the bedroom, leaving Faith to work out some things on her own. He would help her when she wanted him to, but for now she just needed to feel safe being here with him. Her rehabilitation would take time, but waiting one more night would be alright. Angel glanced back at Faith's sleeping form, and then looked at the room around him. It was in shambles ever since the demon attacked. He noticed Faith's popcorn that was spilled all over the floor and decided that if she was going to be staying here, he probably should get her some food. He looked back at Faith one more time before leaving his apartment.

Faith tossed and turned in the bed, not able to shut off her restless mind. She finally threw off the covers and got out of bed. She ventured out into the living room, but didn't see Angel there. "Angel?"
She looked around some more, but eventually came to the conclusion that he wasn't there. She threw her hands up and let them fall back down onto her shirt. "Thanks for leaving me..." She felt something sticky and looked down at her shirt, noticing the blood stains on it. She sighed deeply. "Great."
She walked over to the bathroom and threw off her tanktop. Her skin was still crawling from getting the demon's blood on her, so she threw off the rest of her clothes and turned on the shower. She stepped inside, the shower pelting down on her back. The water ran down her body in rivulets, moving over her every curve. She placed her hands up against the cold tile wall, bracing herself as the hot water covered her. She closed her eyes and fought back tears. She wanted to break down right there, but shook it off and pushed herself back off of the wall. She finished showering and grabbed a towel off the rack. She dried her face with it, and inhaled deeply as the fabric brushed against her nose. It smelled like Angel. That deep, welcoming, almost comforting smell he had. Faith wrapped the towel around her body, imagining that it was Angel's strong arms enveloping her body instead. The thought brought a slight smile to her lips.
She walked back out to Angel's room and opened up her bag, searching for clothes. She pulled out a black bra and matching underwear. It wasn't anything too sexy, but it's not like she needed to impress anyone. She pulled them on and scavenged for a shirt and pants. Unfortunately she found everything in her bag to be dirty or ruined. "Perfect, what the hell am I gonna wear now?" She muttered her annoyance aloud, not caring that no one would answer her. She spotted Angel's closet and opened it up. There was nothing that would really fit her, but she pulled out a black button up that would keep her somewhat warm. At least until Angel came back. That small smile started to tug at the corners of her mouth again. She walked out to the living room, feeling a lot better than she had earlier.