Munching on a handful of popcorn, Buffy turned to see her mother standing behind her. "Hey, Mom," she mumbled indistinctly around her mouthful.
"Good to see you listened to all those lessons in manners I taught," Joyce said, raising an eyebrow. Buffy just grinned and kept chewing. "Hello, Faith," the older Summers greeted the silent and withdrawn brunette. "How are you feeling?" She moved past her daughter and perched on the edge of the bed.
Faith picked at the blanket covering her legs before answering. "Doing OK, Mrs. S." Both blondes looked disbelieving. "Ah, yeah, well, maybe a little less than OK, but I'll be fine."
A warm chuckle brought the Dark Slayer's head up. "Buffy, why don't you go look for Angel? I want to talk with Faith alone for a minute."
"Mom-"
"Mrs. S-"
"Really, girls, I'm not going to hurt anyone. Now," she leveled 'Mom Face' at the blonde standing protectively near the brunette, "go." She pointed at the French doors to the terrace. "I want to talk with you, too, young lady. So make sure you don't get lost on patrol with Angel."
This time, Faith laughed. "Yeah, B, don't get lost out their looking for Soul Boy." She grinned at the discomfited older Slayer, her dimples peeking out.
Buffy felt her unaccustomed happiness and relaxed enough to smile back. "I promise, Faith." The words seemed far too serious for the situation, but Buffy wanted to make sure her sister Slayer understood she meant them. "I'll be back soon."
"OK, B." The smile dimmed, and Buffy felt the other girl slipping back into depression. She hesitated, but left at the glare she received from her mother. Strained silence filled the cavernous room once the Slayer disappeared.
Joyce hesitated, seeing the defensive posture and lowered eyes. "Faith-" The brunette flinched at the sound of her name. It pushed her into Mom mode. Sliding across the bed, she pulled the reluctant girl into her arms. "Oh, Sweetie, I'm not here to yell at you or hurt you." Faith was rigid in her arms, but Joyce didn't let go. She held on tightly until her daughter's fellow Slayer began to relax.
"Buffy talked to me about Deputy Mayor Finch the other night."
Fuck. Please, please don't make me talk about that, Faith begged the older woman silently.
"I wish she'd told me sooner, Faith. I think we could have helped you deal with everything." Joyce sighed, and squeezed the brunette tighter. "Sometimes, I think my daughter and her Watcher are two of the dumbest people on the planet."
The unexpected comment drew a snort from Faith. She'd never expected Buffy's mom to be so down to earth. "Hey, I wasn't joking," Mrs. Summers commented. "Mr. Giles spends all of his time looking up demons, and my daughter, well, I love her. But she can be a little dense sometimes."
"It wasn't all their fault, Mrs. S." Despite the sick feeling in her stomach, Faith couldn't stay silent. "I wasn't much for admitting I'd screwed up. They tried to help until I spit on them once too often."
"So you admit you were part of the problem?" Joyce pressed.
Faith's jaw clenched, and her next words were forced out between her teeth, "Fuck, yeah."
"I'll ignore the language this time, young lady." A blush climbed up the young girl's face at the warning tone.
"Sorry, Mrs. S."
The elder Summers dropped her arms and simply sat next to the younger girl. "Rupert told me how you risked your life to get them information on the Mayor and the Ascension." A tear trickled down Faith's cheek. "I know that had to be hard for you. Thank you."
"Why would you ever thank me?" The words burst from Faith. "I'm the reason the Mayor even has a shot at his Ascension. I killed a demon so he could get the Box. I had a chance to destroy it, and I didn't take it." She dragged herself out of the bed, wandering slowly over to the courtyard doors.
Joyce watched the tormented girl. "True. All of it." The tears fell faster. "You did all of those things. You chose to do them."
The dark-haired Slayer put her hands on the door handles, the urge to run pushing at her. Mrs. Summers was hammering at her fragile defenses. Before she could flee, however, the next round of questions arrived.
"Would you make the same choices again? If you and Buffy were in the alley with Finch, would you still make the same decisions?"
The concept brought Faith up short. She spun around, staring at Buffy's mother. Finally, she returned to the bed and sat down. Faith showed surprising maturity when she asked, "Does it really matter? I can't change that night, or any of the stuff I've done since then."
Joyce nodded. "You're right. I'm sorry. That was a stupid question." She met the brown eyes calmly. "The gang is researching the information you got them. If they find what they need, will you help them defeat the Mayor?"
The brunette Slayer was sure her heart would stop as pain ripped through her. "I-I don't-"
The younger girl's obvious grief stopped the inquisition. "Shhh, Faith. Don't answer." She drew the brunette back into her arms, feeling tears dampen her shirt where the brunette head rested.
"It hurts so much," the broken girl whispered. "He was like my father – the father I always wanted. He loved me. I know he did."
Buffy watched her mother rock a sobbing Faith. The other Slayer's pain had drawn her back to the Mansion at a dead sprint. She'd been talking with Angel when the emotional pull came. The confused vampire now stood at her back, also watching the touching scene. Motioning silently for him to follow, the blonde Slayer backed out of the room and headed for the kitchen.
"Buffy, what the hell is going on?" he demanded as soon as they were out of earshot.
Hopping up to sit on the counter, the blonde regarded her vampire boyfriend. He looked irritated and confused. She decided to tell him part of the truth. "I noticed when I had the Aspect that I could also pick up emotions. The first time, I felt Faith's in her apartment. She was on the fence about being with the Mayor. It's why you and I were outside City Hall last night. Giles thought I should talk to her about rejoining the Scoobies."
"So that's why you kept asking me all those questions." He smiled a little, and Buffy glimpsed just a hint of smugness in his smile.
Tamping down on an angry response, the Slayer nodded. "Yeah. I didn't realize you were immune to the talent." She moved on, away from the empathy. "She really put herself out there for us. I'm worried she might do something stupid."
Black eyes regarded her seriously. "You're sure she isn't just playing both sides like the last time?" Angel remembered when the other Slayer had come to him, covered in blood, begging for his help.
"I'm very sure." Buffy knew just how much Faith wanted to be a part of the gang, and how much the younger girl was hurting right now. "It's going to take a lot of work for her to forgive herself."
The ancient vampire moved to stand between her knees. "You've really changed your tune. Just a few days ago, you wanted to kill her." He ran cold fingers down her face, caressing her lips. Maybe it was the exhaustion weighing her down, or the memory of Faith's reaction to the tall vampire, but Buffy shuddered at the touch.
Trying to smile, the Slayer moved away and got off the counter. "Yeah. It's weird. Everything changed when I could feel her emotions. She'd say the most incredibly horrible things, but underneath…" Buffy frowned. "I just can't think of her like I used to. She's vulnerable right now, Angel. I have to protect her."
"Buffy, she's a Slayer. An evil, manipulative Slayer," the vampire exploded. "Even if she's ready to try redemption, you have to be careful. She could backslide at any moment." He tried to explain how the process worked. "It isn't an easy path she's chosen, Buffy. Most people, most humans, don't make it."
It was a sobering message. The vampire rarely talked openly about his struggle to atone for his demon. "What can I do to help her?"
"Honestly? I don't really know." He thought for a minute. "When she was here the first time, before Wes showed up, she told me she had nightmares. That's a good place to start."
The blonde nodded. She hoped the younger girl would eventually trust her enough to talk about those night terrors. She felt along the link. It had been quiet for a while, and she discovered Faith was asleep. "I'm going to go talk with Mom. You should probably get some rest while I'm at school. Gonna be a long couple of days with a lot of research and guard duty."
She walked slowly into the main room of the Mansion's first floor. Joyce sat with a sleeping brunette cradled gently in her arms. The Slayer felt tears behind her eyes. The other girl desperately needed a parent's love, and her mom was the best, despite their differences of opinion. The older Summers looked up and smiled at her daughter. Gently slipping away from Faith, she walked quietly toward the other blonde.
"I don't want to leave her alone, but I'd like to talk," Joyce began.
Nervous at the serious look on her mom's face, Buffy agreed. "OK. We can step out on the terrace. We can keep an eye on her through the doors, and if she wakes up, she'll be able to see us."
"Good thinking." Joyce put an arm around the Slayer and they moved in silence outside. The sun was just beginning to slip above the horizon, and the sky was an eerie gray. Rubbing her hands up and down her arms to get warm, Mrs. Summers leaned against a stone column. The location let her watch the sleeping girl inside and enjoy the beauty of the coming day. "Buffy, I want to talk to you about Angel."
Suddenly wishing she was with Giles reading dusty books, Buffy wiped damp palms on her jeans. "OK."
"I'm worried about you two." Joyce looked intently at her daughter. The teen looked stunned, at both the topic and the adult way her mother was treating her. "I don't really have to tell you that you and Angel are from different worlds."
"No, Mom," the younger blonde agreed. "Strangely enough, that point's been made pretty often lately." The Slayer leaned against the cold stone wall, and waited for the rest.
"Honey, I'm not saying this to hurt either one of you. I just want you to think about what's been going on." Checking to make sure Faith was still in bed, Joyce pulled her daughter into her arms. "You know, when I decided it was time to have this conversation, I intended to have it with Angel." Buffy stiffened.
"Then why didn't you?"
Resting her chin on Buffy's head, Joyce thought about that question. "I think I realized when you had the Aspect, that I couldn't keep treating you like a little girl." She laughed uneasily. "You are, and always will be, my baby. But you are also the Slayer. You've had to deal with a lot; grow up fast. I want you to know I respect you, and I think you're capable of discussing this in a mature fashion."
The Slayer pulled out of the hug. "Wow." When Joyce waited for more, Buffy shrugged. "I was going for something more detailed, but, well, wow seems to cover it."
"Are you ready to talk frankly about Angel?"
"I think so, Mom. And, to be honest, I've been giving the topic a lot of thought lately." Buffy pulled her jacket closed in front and regarded the older Summers quietly. "What did you want to talk about?"
"Despite what I just said about your maturity, I don't want you to lose out on the rest of your childhood, Buffy. I'm worried about what the continued stress and world-saving will do. You're still just a girl."
Buffy sensed a theme. "And Angel's old enough to be my grandfather – a couple times over."
"I've been thinking about this a lot, dear," Joyce continued. "When I thought you might leave Sunnydale, it wasn't so bad. But," she held up a hand to stop her daughter's protests, "I realize you can't leave. Buffy, there are some tough choices ahead for you, and I was afraid you wouldn't be able to make the tough decisions." She met pain filled hazel eyes. "Are you ready to make those on your own?"