Faith didn't see Buffy again until that night, when she was already in bed. Her head still hurt a little, but it wasn't too bad. At this point, it was more likely to be because of the houseful of restless teenagers than because of the actual head wound. A girl could only take so much squabbling, after all.

She didn't expect to see Buffy at all after the Angel thing. She figured Buffy had gone away somewhere with him to cry about not being able to have sex or something. Faith didn't know what Buffy did with Angel. She just knew that whatever it was, she'd probably like to be doing it. Unless it was crying about not being able to have sex.

Fortunately, she didn't get the chance to think any more about that. There was a soft knock at the door, and Faith half-knew who it was. She said, "Come in," and an exhausted Buffy confirmed her suspicions.

"Hey." The light of the hallway made Buffy look like a shadow in the doorframe.

"Hey." Faith sat up. "Thought you'd be with Angel."

"I sent him back to L. A." Buffy shrugged. "Second front. In case-"

"In case we lose?"

"Yeah."

"Noble of you."

"The two of us- it's never going to happen."

Faith laughed. There was no humor in it. "Sure looked like it was happening just then."

"That was just a hello!" Buffy protested. "Old habit."

"You have a habit of saying hello with your tongue?"

Buffy glared.

Faith tilted her head back. "Actually, I guess most people say hello with their tongues. But not like that."

"It's complicated," Buffy said. "And there were no tongues!"

"What did he want, anyway?"

"He found a necklace," Buffy said. "For a champion. A vampire with a soul. He thought he had to wear it-"

"But you're giving it to Spike."

"Yeah." Buffy shrugged. "Angel's got his whole gang in L. A. He's more useful there if the world goes to Hell."

"And then you don't have to deal with him."

"That too."

Faith looked around at the clutter of Buffy's room: the pictures on the walls, the clothes sticking out of the closet, the weapons piled in the corner. "Sorry. I kind of took your room."

"We can share," Buffy said, closing the door. Faith could barely see her shape in the darkness. "Move over."

"I'll warn you, I'm not wearing pants," Faith said, moving over.

The bed dipped as Buffy sat. "I've killed demons. I think I can deal with a pantsless Slayer."

"I can be pretty scary," Faith said.

"I remember." Buffy kicked off her shoes and swung her feet onto the bed, tucking them under the covers.

"You ever wonder why we keep doing that?" Faith asked.

"Doing what?"

"Talking about our past." Faith rolled onto her side. She couldn't tell how close she was to Buffy, but it was probably pretty close. "I mean, we're here now in a non-evil capacity. Why can't we just…"

"Let it go?"

"Yeah." Faith rolled back onto her back. "It's like we have to remind ourselves every minute that we're dangerous."

"We are."

"Yeah, but you'd think we'd remember that without making jokes about the times we tried to kill each other."

"Willow once told me that she thinks about herself at her worst to remind herself to be her best," Buffy said. "I guess that applies to us, too."

"At least we never tried to end the world."

"I might have," Buffy said. "If the person I valued the most died."

"Nah. You're too good, B. You'd keep yourself in check."

"I don't know, Faith." The bed shifted as Buffy moved ever-so-slightly closer. "I don't know what I'd do. When Dawn was in danger- Faith, I felt so lost."

"But you found yourself."

"Only after dying and coming back to life and spending a year wishing I hadn't."

"It's a long road," Faith said. "We all have to come to terms with ourselves eventually."

"I don't know if I ever will."

"If I could, you can, B," Faith said. "You're a saint compared to me."

"Yeah, but you had practice. And meditation and stuff. And you were stuck in jail where you couldn't go do anything dumb."

Faith laughed and squeezed Buffy tighter, mostly because it seemed vaguely like the right thing to do. "As soon as this is over, Buffy, I'll take you to somewhere you can't do anything dumb."

"Not jail," Buffy said.

"Not jail," Faith promised. "Some beach somewhere. You seem like a beach kind of girl."

"That sounds nice."

Faith responded with a noise of agreement, and Buffy settled her forehead against Faith's. A few minutes later, Faith heard her snoring.

Faith rolled onto her back. Buffy's arm still trailed over her stomach, and she let it lie there, just like she didn't move her own hair out of her face. She was thinking about jail, and what she had done to keep herself under control, and where she was now.

She got up and tiptoed into the bathroom, peeking downstairs at the sleeping Potentials on the way. In some ways, she envied them. They were not at peace, but they were not solely responsible for the fate of the world. They were asleep, and they were not having nightmares for any reason other than real life events, and they needed a leader. Or maybe even two.

In the bathroom, Faith closed the door and flicked on the light. When she had first gotten to jail, she had made a habit of looking at her face as often as possible, trying to figure out how it had changed from a scared Slayer of seventeen. At first, she had always looked tired, her face perpetually tear-stained, her hair tangled, but after a while, her cheeks had reddened, she had started brushing her hair, her skin cleared, and she had begun to look… new, she thought. Fresh, somehow.

Now, she had dark circles under her eyes, but those same eyes were brighter than they had once been, and her mouth was set into a strong line. Not only was she looking at a new and improved version of her face, but she was looking at a new version of herself: one with a purpose. This Faith was going to do the best she could by her friends and by the world, and she was willing to sacrifice everything for it. In some ways, she already had.

Was this version of Faith good enough for the Scoobies?

Was this version of Faith good enough for Buffy Summers?

She ran the water and splashed it onto her face, mostly to justify the bathroom trip, then dragged a towel across her forehead and crept back to Buffy's room. Buffy was still asleep, perfect and angelic in her bed, hair tossed around everywhere. When she was asleep, Faith could forget all about the Slayer part of her and focus on the Buffy part of her.

This was the part of her that let Faith in, that had tried so hard to help Faith so many years ago, the part that was devastated at rejection, the part that was friends with Willow and Xander and the part that had been in love with Angel and the part that Faith was in love with too. Faith could imagine a world in which Buffy had never been called, in which she was just a cheerleader for U. C. L. A. or something, and in which she looked like that all the time.

But in that world, Faith would never have met Buffy, and Buffy would never have tried to let Faith in, and Faith would never have fallen for the beauty in Buffy's punches and in her ability to always fight back, and so Faith couldn't say that she didn't love the Slayer part of Buffy. She just wanted to see Buffy happy.

Before she got back in bed, she leaned over and kissed the sleeping Buffy on the forehead. It seemed like the right thing to do. As she pulled the covers over herself and laid much closer to Buffy than she would have dared even a day ago, she found herself contemplating what had made her so sappy.

The next morning, Faith woke up to a warm spot next to her. She rolled over and saw Buffy at the window, speaking to no one Faith could see.

"You're right," she said, her voice soft.

"Buffy?" Faith asked.

Buffy turned around to face Faith, her face almost as calm as it had been when she was asleep.

"I just realized something," she said.

"Yeah?"

A beautiful smile curled across Buffy's face, the sun shining golden off her hair. "We're going to win."

Faith laughed. "How do you figure that?"

"We're alone, Faith. But we don't have to be."

"Still needing some exposition here." Faith stretched, then sat up. Buffy sat on the edge of the bed.

"The Slayer power can be shared, Faith," she said. "We share it. What if the Potentials could share it too?"

"You think there's some kind of magic that can get us some extra superheroes?" Faith asked.

"The power is there, Faith. We have it all trapped in a big old scythe, and we have the most powerful witch in the Western hemisphere on our side. We can make it happen."

Faith grinned. "Hey, I'm in. Always wanted more Slayer friends. Think we can make a club?"

After breakfast, Buffy got the Scooby approval for her plan and called all the Potentials into the living room. The girls were all still glaring at Buffy, but Buffy ignored it.

Faith had already heard Buffy's idea twice. Still, she had to admit, Buffy's speech would have left her pretty damn convinced even if Faith had been one of the terrified little teenagers standing around waiting to die. It was a good speech. Sure, Willow was whimpering in the corner, but that paled in comparison to the sheer potential of this battle.

And so the house devolved into a fervor of preparation. Plans were made, weapons collected, training intensified… and then, suddenly, in late afternoon, everything fell into a lull. Girls were pacing, trying to find something to do, but it had all been done; Kennedy was trying to calm Willow down a little; Xander, Dawn, Andrew, Anya, and Giles were squabbling over how to spend their time (there was, apparently, no more research to do); and Faith was looking for somewhere to be alone.

She would have gone to the porch, but that was Buffy's place to be alone, and she didn't really want to risk being alone with Buffy. Alone with Spike was second best- at least Spike let her smoke.

So she went down into the basement. As expected, Spike was sitting on the bed. He glanced up at Faith as she entered, but he didn't say anything. Faith lit her cigarette and leaned against the wall.

The silence couldn't last forever, though, and after a few moments, Spike said, "Got an extra?"

Faith tossed him the pack. He flipped it open and stuck a cigarette into his mouth, then tossed the pack back. Faith tossed him her lighter. Once he had lit his cigarette and tossed the lighter back, there were a few moments of silence.

It was not destined to last.

"Thought you'd be up with Buffy," Spike said.

"Wanted to be alone."

"So you came down here."

Faith shrugged. "Alone with you is easy. Alone with B is awkward."

"Awkward how?"

Faith shrugged again. "She's all leader-y and stuff. Not like me."

"You led a bit."

"She probably wants to be alone."

"I think she's alone enough," Spike said.

"You don't want my company?" Faith asked.

"I just think someone else needs it more."

Faith shook her head.

Spike grinned. "Oh, I see what it is."

"What?" Faith sat next to Spike. "What is it?"

"You like her."

Faith stared at Spike. "Of course I like her. She's my friend. Barring my own moral issues."

"No," Spike said. "I mean, you want to kiss her."

"B's straight," Faith said.

"She puts up a good show," Spike said. "But I've gotten pretty close to her, if you get my drift, and she's never once looked at me the way she looks at you."

"What do you mean?"

"Like she wants something from you," Spike said. "Not sure what, but it looks like love."

"She just needs a friend," Faith said.

Spike shrugged. "Doesn't matter. Could be your last night on Earth, couldn't it?"

"It's also hers. I've ruined enough of B's life."

Spike scoffed. "You don't have to walk right up and kiss her," he said. "But, you know, it'd be a shame if you wasted your last night on Earth wasting away down here with a skeleton. Carpe diem and all that. Pluck the day."

Faith tilted her head. "Pluck?"

"Whatever. Point is, you like Buffy, go get her."

Faith snuffed out her cigarette on the cold stone wall. "You're right." She stood up. "Thanks, Spike. Hope you don't die tomorrow."

"Likewise."

Faith went back up the stairs. The sun was setting, and Faith knew where to go next: she walked out to the porch, where Buffy was standing, all alone, watching the sunset.

"Want company?" Faith asked.

Buffy stepped aside. "Sure."

"Kind of weird," Faith said. "Whatever happens, we're done tomorrow." The sunset really was beautiful.

"Yeah," Buffy said, her voice barely there. "We can finally sleep."

"God, yes," Faith said. "For a week. Please."

"And then we can go to Disneyland," Buffy said. "And ride all the rides and take pictures with Mickey Mouse."

"Not a chance," Faith answered. "You're on your own there, B."

"Fine. We'll go to something you like, too."

Faith laughed. "All I do is Slay, B. Kill vampires, all day, every day. It's what I do."

"Makes me wonder about what we're going to do to all those girls tomorrow."

"It's them or the world," Faith said. "Anyway, it'll be easier for them. They won't be alone."

Faith felt Buffy's eyes on her, so she turned her head to look. Buffy was staring at her, and Faith could almost tell what Spike meant, that Buffy wanted something from her.

"Imagine," Buffy murmured, looking out once more at the setting sun. "Having others."

"Not going to be the Chosen Two anymore, huh." Faith knocked her shoulder against Buffy's. "Wonder what that'll be like."

"Crowded."

Faith laughed. "You're all right, B. Anyone ever tell you that?"

"Not recently."

On an impulse, Faith reached out and grabbed Buffy's hand. She saw in her peripheral vision that Buffy was looking at her again, but Buffy didn't let go.

"It's good to know you're with me," Buffy said.

"It's good to be with you." Faith looked at Buffy. "I worry about you being alone."

Buffy squeezed Faith's hand. "I'm not."

Faith's heart swelled.

Buffy let go of Faith's hand. "Let's go inside."

"Okay." Faith's voice came out all choked up. She followed Buffy up the stairs to her room, past Potentials gossiping on sleeping bags, Andrew walking people through D&D character creation, and Dawn telling stories to more Potentials in her room. Willow's door was closed, but Faith could imagine Willow's panic and Kennedy's attempts to calm her down.

Once they got to Buffy's room, Faith closed the door behind them and sat down on the bed. Buffy started pacing.

"You good, B?"

"Not really," Buffy said. "Kind of worried about all of us dying horrible deaths."

Faith stood up. She caught Buffy's hands in hers, and Buffy stopped moving.

"Let's just forget about it," Faith said. "Just- just for tonight, B. Whatever happens tomorrow, there's nothing else we can do today."

Buffy nodded.

"We could go down and join the D&D game, if we wanted to get real into escapism."

Buffy gave a tiny little laugh. Faith counted it as an achievement.

"I'll pass," Buffy said. "Thanks, Faith."

"For what?'

"Not letting me be alone." Buffy took a step closer to Faith. "I'm glad to have you."

Faith swallowed. "You ever think about kissing me, B?"

"Doesn't everyone think about kissing their friends?" Buffy asked. Faith's stomach dropped.

"I wouldn't know."

Buffy shrugged. "Could be my last chance to kiss anybody."

"Yeah," Faith breathed.

"Do you want me to kiss you?"

"I'm not opposed."

Buffy took another step in, which pressed her body right up against Faith's. Buffy's hands moved to Faith's waist, and then suddenly Buffy's mouth was on Faith's, and Faith closed her eyes and let herself feel it. If this was her last night to live, this was how she was going to spend it.

Usually, Faith's relationships were quick and violent, with bruises and bitemarks and scars. They were easy to ignore the next morning, and the day after that, and the day after that.

This wasn't like that.

Faith wouldn't be able to ignore this later, and she suspected Buffy wouldn't either. But she figured she'd deal with that if they both survived, which was seeming more and more unlikely the more Faith thought about it.

So she stopped thinking about it. She just kissed Buffy softly, and every time Buffy kissed her back, she let herself be surprised.

Faith and Buffy fell asleep in the wee hours of the morning, entangled and restless. When they woke up, it was to an apocalypse.