Chapter 1

"Angel?" Faith swung the door to the old hotel open and stepped inside. Her voice echoed as if people were all around her, calling out to Angel through her voice. It was eerie. Faith shuddered and glanced at the thick layer of dust on the ground. "Cordy? Wes?" no answer. She tried to remember the names of the rest of Angel's gang. "Gunn? Uhh…oh, what's that nerdy girls name…Fred!" that was it. But still, her own voice was the only thing that greeted her, and it shouted with her words.

Faith walked further into the lobby. She wandered over to the front desk and into the offices behind. Everything was empty, save for a phone hanging on the wall. She picked it up, and heard the dial phone moaning into her ear. She wondered who to call. Wherever Angel was, she didn't know how to reach him, and Robin had sent her a postcard from England, but there was no return address or phone number. Faith was alone. Shut out. The story of her life.

Getting frustrated, she mashed the number pad on the phone with her palm. She barely noticed that her middle finger hit the only working speed dial button, but when she heard the warbling groan of a phone ringing, she froze.

"Wolfram and Hart, Angel here." The phone was answered on the first ring by a familiar voice.

"Angel!" Faith shouted into the phone.

"Faith?"

"Angel!"

"Faith!"

"Angel!"

"This is getting old, Faith." Angel sounded a little irritated, like a business man who was late for something. "Where are you calling me from?"

"Your hotel. Where are you?" Faith tried to calm herself down.

"I…uh…own Wolfram and Hart."

"That evil law firm you told me about?"

"It's not evil any more. Sit tight, okay, kiddo? I'll send a car over to get you." Angel was all business. Faith flared up in anger at his use of words. Kiddo?

"Angel—" Faith tried to get a word in, but he cut her off.

"Look, Faith, I have to go. Just stay where you are until they come to get you. It's not safe out there." He hung up without saying goodbye, and Faith listened to the dial tone for a minute before putting the phone down. What was wrong with Angel? Calling her a kid? Warning her of supernatural dangers? As if she didn't know! Faith snorted. She was the Slayer, but no one seemed to care. Well, Angel didn't, at least. The one person who always cared, who always had faith in Faith, didn't.

Faith glanced through the windows for a while, wondering how far away the law firm was. She dropped her bag on the faded blue circular couch and walked up the stairs. She poked her head in a few of the doors, but all the rooms were the same, so she turned back around. Once she reached the top of the stairs, she placed her hand on the railing and stepped down. Then she paused. She remembered when she was younger, and whenever she had come to a set of stairs, she would slide down the railing. Smiling, she tried it again now, hopping up on it and lifting her hands over her head at the slid down. She hopped off at the bottom, laughing. It was a long time since she'd done something like that. A car horn honked outside, and, still smiling, Faith shouldered her bag and pushed out the front doors.

"Ma'am" The driver was standing outside the car, holding the door for her. Faith was surprised, but smiled at him as she clambered in the back seat. He tipped his hat, closed the door behind her and went around to the front. He didn't say a word after that, so Faith didn't try to make conversation as they drove quickly through the busy L.A. streets. He rolled to a stop in front of a huge building with giant windows, and Faith was practically out of the car before it stopped, to get a better view.

"How does he stay alive with all those windows?" Faith wondered out loud.

"Ma'am?" The driver asked, stepping up beside her.

"Oh, I'm talking about Angel. Y'know, how he's a vampire and the big windows let all the light in and—oh. You weren't wondering about that." Faith looked at him; he was holding his hand out. Faith looked at it awkwardly. "I…uhh…don't have any money." Faith told him. He shook his head.

"I was going to shake hands with you, Miss." He told her.

"Oh!" Faith grabbed his hand and shook a little. "Thanks for the ride." She turned away as he tipped his hat again, and she strode up the smooth drive and through the enormous front doors. People were rushing left and right, like a busy intersection with no traffic lights. Faith worked her way over to the reception desk, but no one was there. The clock above her on the wall showed that it was nearly noon. The secretary must have been on her lunch break.

"Ooh! Hi! Don't leave! I'll just be there in a sec!" Faith turned to see a blond girl wearing too much makeup and a big poofy dress running across the lobby. She rushed past Faith, sat down at the desk and flipped her hair around. "Welcome to Wolfram and Hart, I'm Harmony, how can I help you?" She asked in a high, flighty voice. Faith raised an eyebrow at her. Harmony sat, waiting for an answer. She reached for a mug on the desk and drank from it. When she lowered the mug, a vamp face leered at Faith. With one sudden movement, Faith grabbed Harmony by the front of her dress and lifted her out of her chair and slamming her down on the desk. Harmony squirmed, and Faith reached for a pencil. She brought the tiny piece of wood back and began to swoop it down toward the vamp's heart, when someone caught her arm from behind.

"Back off, pal." Faith snapped, without looking at who ws behind her, and she yanked her arm out of his grip. He just grabbed her again, and so Faith spun around, the pencil still raised, and she found herself meeting eyes with Angel.

"Eew!" She said, surprised.

"What?" He asked, grinning. "What's 'eew'?"

"Your hair!" Faith wrinkled her nose and stared at it. "The spikes are gone. You're all comb over-y." Angel's hand jumped to his hair for a moment, and then he lowered it.

"Faith, I need to talk to you."

"That's fine with me, but I can't take you seriously when your hair is like that."

Author's Note: How'd you like it Reviews would be much appreciated, whether or not you like it.