Disclaimer: Since my name is not Joss Whedon, 'Buffy: The Vampire Slayer', 'Angel' and the characters associated with the show belong to someone who in't me. I also do not own the storyline, that is taken from gidgetgirl's 'The Lost Child Challenge' (details below) posted at the Chocolate Covered Strawberries Archive. Nell belongs to me, as do Rachel Knight and Reginald Humphries.

The Lost Child Challenge

When Faith was fourteen, she was raped by her mother's boyfriend. After that, she left home on her own, pregnant with the rapist's child. When she was found by the Council, her first Watcher took the baby, assuring Faith that it would be taken care of... the Watcher then was killed by Kakistos before she could give Faith more information. Now, years later, the child has come back into Faith's life.

Requirements:

- Faith dealing with mixed feelings about the child: a mother's love and the memory of the rape.
- The child having a Faith-esque attitude problem
- The council having had some hand in the child's conception
- The child having an amazing destiny
- Faith wanting to save her daughter from her own mistakes

Author's Note I: To chattypandagurl – Didn't Travers die on the show when the Watchers were getting wiped out? I've been writing him as dead for this story, so if he didn't die on the show, he did now.

Author's Note II: To gidgetgirl – Just being a seventh generation descendant of Rachel wasn't enough. If you compare the date of Nell's conception (the one on the cheque) with the date of Rachel's death and factor in the High Priest of the Y'sept'ac's mention about 'seven score and seven years', you'll know why Faith's stepfather was paid to rape her. The Council also had their reasons for wanting to ensure that Nell was raised to be completely loyal to them.

Author's Note III: To C'est Magnifique – Yes. Well spotted.

Chapter 8

Kent, England.

Nell's heart skipped a beat as the blonde Slayer approached, her hand outstretched.

Although her guardian rarely spoke about the actions of the other Potentials, or even of the Slayers, her tutors and trainers did not share his close-mouthed tendencies and Buffy Summers had become something of a legend to her.

She adored hearing the story of how brave she had been while fighting the evil goddess, Glory.

"Hi, Eleanor." Buffy smiled kindly at the little girl, unaware of the awe her presence was inspiring.

It was a moment before the five year old regained control over her tongue enough to return the greeting. "How do you do?"

"And this is Giles." Faith completed the introductions.

"A pleasure." He took her small hand in his and shook it gravely.

"Hello, Mr Giles."

"Oh, we just call him Giles." Buffy told her. "Mr Giles is to stuffy, even for him."

Giles would have made a scathing reply, but his cellphone chose that moment to ring and he left the room to answer it. When he returned, a couple of minutes later, his face was taut with anger.

"Giles?" Buffy was concerned. "What's the matter? What happened?"

"Willow and Kennedy have made considerable progress with their research." He nodded, almost imperceptibly, in Nell's direction. "Willow asked that we return to the Council Headquarters as soon as possible."

Faith took her daughter's hand in hers. "Nell, honey, could you ask Mrs Perkins to come in here please."

"I will." She left the room in search of her nanny.

"Faith. . ." Giles began.

"Save it. I'm not leaving her here. Not a chance."

"You must realize that they won't want to allow you to take her away from here."

Her expression was dark. "I wouldn't recommend that they try to stop me."

London, Watcher's Council Headquarters

"Faith, she's adorable." Willow said affectionately, looking across to the other end of the large room, where Xander was entertaining little Nell, distracting her from the conversation of her elders.

"You said that you had some more information on Eleanor." GileS interjected, wanting to know what she hadn't been prepared to tell him over the phone.

"Right." Willow picked up the diary in her hands. "You read the diaries, you know who Reginald Humphries was, don't you."

"Of course." He sounded vaguely offended. "Rachel Knight's Watcher."

"Her Watcher. . .and her husband." She smiled at the dark haired Slayer. "You have some Watcher blood in you, Faith."

"Wonderful." The response was sarcastic.

"Is there more of a connection between Rachel and Eleanor than we originally thought?" Giles pressed.

"You could say that." The red haired Wicca conceded. "She's the reason the Council wanted Eleanor to be conceived."

The Honorable Emerence Marsh-Hadley glowered at the group as she sat down in front of them.

"This is unacceptable, Mr Giles. This information has been classified for a reason and you have no right..."

"I think I have the right to find out everything there is to know about my child." Faith interrupted. "And the way I'm feeling right now, I wouldn't recommend that you push me on this."

"You might want to listen to her." Buffy advised helpfully. "When she's mad, it isn't pretty."

"This is absurd." The middle-aged woman turned to Giles. "You cannot possibly allow this!"

"I think under the circumstances, I could be persuaded to turn a blind eye." Giles responded coolly, knowing that Faith was perilously close to being willing to carry out her threats and wanting to intimidate the woman into answering before it came to that.

"You might be a member of the High Council of Watchers or whatever, but it's not like there are that many of you left." Buffy pointed out. "Is it really worth fighting on this? If you were in Faith's position, wouldn't you want to know."

"Or should she just take Eleanor with her and leave, cutting off all contact with the Council." Willow suggested.

Ms Marsh-Hadley looked genuinely alarmed by that prospect, as the Wicca had suspected she would be. "You can't!"

"Why not?" Willow asked softly, using her abilities to give the woman a slight 'nudge'. "Tell us."

"...Miss Knight had been fighting against the Y'sept'ac cult for years, as the three Slayers before her had." Ms Marsh-Hadley narrated in a low, even voice. "Had their quest succeeded, Hell on Earth would have been unleashed. That could not be allowed to happen."

"Their quest?" Buffy raised a questioning eyebrow.

"They were dedicated to opening gateways into seven demon dimensions, the Seven Hells, allowing their inhabitants to enter our world at will."

"The Hellmouth." Giles supplied.

"Times seven." Willow finished.

"Their ritual could only take place at a certain time, every three hundred and forty-three years. They could only make one attempt. If that failed, it was over."

"But didn't Rachel stop them?" Kennedy questioned.

"Their ritual had already begun." The older woman told them. "The gateways had begun to open, Miss Knight's death only froze them."

"The doors were left ajar?" Giles suggested.

"Correct, Mr Giles." She nodded her approval of his choice of words. "The demons of the Seven Hells have been able to squeeze through at times, but the portals have never been able to be opened. The Y'sept'ac prophecy dictates that only a seventh generation descendant of the one who sealed the gateways, conceived seven score and seven years after her death, will be able to control them, to seal them and ensure that the demons of the Seven Hells will never be able to do any further damage."

"Rachel died on September seventh 1850." Willow supplied.

"Exactly one hundred and forty-seven years before. . ." Faith couldn't continue the sentence.

"You were the only direct sixth generation descendant of childbearing years." Ms Marsh-Hadley addressed Faith. "Your child had to be conceived in order to save the lives of innocents, surely you understand. What happened was regrettable, but necessary." She finished self-righteously.

"Regrettable." The dark haired Slayer echoed humorlessly, trying to block the memories of what had happened to her almost six years previously, to keep the tears and the rage she felt brewing inside her from surfacing.

"I'm pleased to see that you understand." The older woman rose. "If this interrogation is complete, I have work to do." She stalked away, clearly unhappy at having had to tell the story.

"I can't believe these people!" Kennedy complained. "We don't still have to work with them, do we?"

"What I don't get is why those Y'sep. . . whatever they're called guys didn't try to stop the prophecy from coming through." Buffy said. "I mean, even a partially open portal is better for them than none at all, right?"

"Don't you see?" Faith asked. "Nell is the only one who can control their gateways - and you can do more to a door that close it."

TBC.

Author's Note: This was more an explanation chapter than enything else. I'll update as soon as I can. In the meantime, please review.