A/N: Thanks for all the lovely reviews! Here's the next little bit; ties in to the Prologue. Enjoy!

PART THREE: Give it back.

Chapter 8

It was after midnight when Buffy found herself back home, using her key to unlock the back door. She was quiet so as not to disturb her mother, but as she soon realized, Joyce was also awake.

"Mom? Everything okay?"

She took in the older woman's rumpled clothes, and the tired slouch of her shoulders.

"Buffy," her mom answered, "I wasn't expecting you. What are you doing here?"

The Slayer could tell something was wrong, but she couldn't put her finger on it, until her mom took a sip of her coffee. She inhaled sharply as the bruise on her face became visible.

"Mom, what the hell happened?" she asked, cupping her cheek.

Joyce placed her hand over Buffy's, still cupping her face.

"Honey, it's not serious. The swelling has gone down, and I took an aspirin for the pain already, okay?"

The Slayer was not amused.

"Mom, who did this to you? Was it Faith?" she asked apprehensively.

Her mom only nodded.

The guilt she felt was overwhelming, bringing tears to her eyes.

"Oh, Mommy, I'm so sorry. The hospital called to say she woke up, and I looked for her, but I couldn't find her, and I guess I didn't think she might come here..."

Joyce placed her hand over Buffy's mouth, halting the sob-fest, knowing her daughter was feeling guilty.

"No, honey, no," she soothed, "It's not your fault, okay? Faith is a very sick, very scared young woman, who has never taken any responsibility for her actions. Yes, she was here earlier, but she left, and I'm okay, really. So just calm down, sweetheart."

Buffy nodded her understanding, getting up to drink some water. She was shaking inside, so many feelings and thoughts vying for her attention. Anger and guilt mainly, but also sadness and confusion. She cocked her head as something her mom said occurred to her.

"What do you mean scared?" she asked.

Her mother sighed softly, raking her fingers through her hair.

"I looked in her eyes, Buffy. And yes, I'd say Faith was -is- very scared right now. Understandable really," her mom added, almost talking to herself. "She has no one left."

"That's her choice, Mom" Buffy said just as quietly.

The two Summers women silently stared at each other, neither knowing what to say or do. Their feelings and opinions about Faith have always been in contention, and that was unlikely to change.

"Let's just go to bed, huh?" Buffy suggested, allowing her mother to precede her up the stairs. Joyce seemed surprised that Buffy would be staying, but she didn't comment, keeping the thought that it made her feel safer to herself. She had missed her little girl.

Chapter 9

Buffy Summers was lying on her bed, staring at the ceiling, with her hands folded across her stomach. She was contemplating her next move after making sure Faith didn't come back to hurt her mom again, of course. She wasn't really having any luck. A part of her believed Faith was beyond help, and yet... She was still a Slayer. The only other person in the world who understood what that meant. Who understood her. Well, who wasn't Angel,anyway.

Besides, her mom had said Faith looked scared, and while she didn't always agree with her mom, the elder Summers sometimes saw more than Buffy did. She had known Angel would end up hurting her daughter, and she'd been right. She'd known Faith wouldn't want to be alone at Christmas, even though the other Slayer never hanged out with the Scoobies, or anyone else.

And, after Buffy's mini breakdown at Faith's old apartment, a part of her wanted -needed- to make sure Faith was allright. She needed to see her with her own eyes; feel her energy; hear her breathing and her heart beating.

She desperately needed to replace this image in her head of Faith as nothing but a ghost.

Her reverie was interrupted by a rustling sound coming from her bedroom window. She stood up to see what was going on, when her curtains parted to reveal her boyfriend, Riley Finn. He smiled at her shyly, climbing over the sill.

"Hey, um...can I come in?"

Buffy smiled back at him in bemusement. "Sure. But what are you doing here?"

She wasn't too worried that something actually was wrong, though. It was nice to see Riley acting this goofy again. She missed their earlier playfulness.

"Uh, I uh, I wanted to talk to you. Um, about us." Riley was avoiding looking at Buffy during his little confession, acting the quintessential nervous boyfriend. "Is your mom okay?" he added quickly, glancing at her before looking away again.

"I mean, Faith didn't show up here or-"

Buffy shrugged. "Actually, she was here, but she left. After punching my mom in the face," she added, getting up to hug him.

"Oh," Riley said quietly, not quite knowing how to respond.

The awkward moment lasted only until Buffy finally stepped back from the hug. He took her in, admiring her face; her hot body. This was his beautiful, very capable, very limber girlfriend, who didn't need saving from Big Bad Faith. She was looking at him with a knowing smile on her very inviting lips.

Soon they were on the bed, limbs entangled, and passions well on the way to being overwhelmed. Panting a little, Buffy pushed up from under Riley's hold. "Wait, we can't, Riley..."

The commando silenced her protest with another kiss, rolling them over in the process. "Babe, it's okay," he assured her.

"Your mom's prob'ly sleepin' anyways, right? C'mon, baby, I just wanna feel you. I need you."

His earnest gaze never wavered, and Buffy knew this was a defining moment in their relationship. Staring into Riley's lust-glazed eyes below her, she made her decision.

"But you'll still have to be super quiet, okay? After seeing Mom and Giles doing IT on a patrolcar, I so don't need another scary sex-related visual burned into my skull."

The moment, it seemed, wasn't at its end yet. Riley was solemn as he held her, staring into her hazel eyes. "Buffy, do you trust me?"

Buffy felt the air leave her chest. "What?" she whispered, amazed. While always respectful and almost reverent during their bouts of love-making, the issue of trust never came up between them. What could have prompted the question now?

"Do you trust me?" Riley repeated. "Will you let me make love to you?"

This, in the end, was the ultimate question. The one thing that has never really been defined between the girl and her boyfriend.

If she could, would the Slayer submit?