A/N: Thanks for all the awesome reviews last chapter! Hope this one satisfies some of your questions and speculations. Sadly there will only be 3 chapters left after this one.

Chap. 22: Back to Life- May 05

Buffy was the first one to wake from their little nap. She was still having a hard time believing this was all real. That Faith was back, and they could be together again. She'd missed her wife so much when she thought she was dead.

It seemed crazy. Never in a million years would she have ever believed she would fall in love with Faith when they first met, and even less after all the stuff with the Mayor. But now all these years later she'd gotten a taste of what life would be like without her, and she didn't like it one bit.

There was so much that needed to be talked about, from both Faith and Buffy. And getting Faith back into a normal routine wasn't going to be easy, but it was all worth it just to have her family back. For now she just wanted to bask in that feeling.

Dark eyes fluttered opened, and a smile filled her whole face as they met her own. "Hey, how are you?" Buffy asked quietly, not wanting to wake Nevaeh just yet.

"I'm alright. Sleep did me good, I think." Dislodging herself from Nevaeh, she sat up as carefully as possible and stretched out the kinks. "Even if the bed didn't."

"Well you'll sleep better tonight, in our bed." Buffy smiled at the thought. She had been dreaming about cuddling up to Faith in their bed for the last five weeks.

"Sure that's wise?" Faith asked her seriously.

"Why wouldn't it be?"

Faith sighed, "I know I haven't been the sanest person around lately."

"True," Buffy admitted. "But that's all over with now."

Buffy sounded so sure about that, but she didn't know how she could be. Although a lot of it was a blur, she could vaguely recall all the times she'd tried to hurt the others around her, or cower in the corner not sure what was going to happen.

"You know, our daughter is too smart for her own good," Buffy told her, taking a minute to look down at the still sleeping girl and giving her a smile. "She never believed you were dead. Guess I should have listened to her."

"Hey, told you, doesn't matter now. I'm home."

"I know, I just wished…" she trailed off, not sure she could say all the thoughts that were going through her mind.

"I know you do," the brunette told her, knowing exactly what Buffy was trying to say without actually saying it.

"She also kept telling me that all you needed was one of her magic hugs. Seems she was right about that too." And suddenly they both realized how true that was. "You think?" she asked Faith, gesturing her head down at Vaeh.

"I dunno, maybe. Anything is possible I guess." She'd always told Nevaeh her hugs had the power to make anything feel better, and she wasn't lying. She always just assumed that's what it was like having kids, but maybe there was more to it than that. "I was still pretty far gone, but as soon as she crawled up here, it was like the fog parted and there was light again."

"Maybe we should have Giles look into that," the blonde thought out loud. But she saw the look on Faith's face and knew exactly what she was thinking. "No, we'll leave it be for now. See if she shows any other unusual abilities, then maybe we can talk to him."

"Agreed." Not that she didn't trust Giles or nothing. She just wanted her kid to lead as normal life as possible. That meant not being tested for every little thing that wasn't exactly normal. "Maybe we should wake the munchkin up."

"Probably a good idea. She'll never sleep tonight if we don't. She doesn't really take naps anymore. Not since you…" She couldn't finish that sentence. It brought back far too many memories of those early days after Faith's funeral.

Faith on the other hand was upset to realize what she'd missed. Her little girl had outgrown naps. Not the biggest milestone certainly, but still important. She'd already missed out on so much when she was a baby, every milestone was a big one for her. "Anything else I miss out on?"

"Faith," Buffy said sadly. She felt it too, how unfair it was that Faith had missed out on yet another month of her daughter's life. Sometimes this Slayer gig really sucked. But sometimes great things came from the world they lived in, and she couldn't wait to share with Faith her big news. But that could wait until they were settled back at home.

"It's cool, B," she shrugged it off, but her voice lacked any real conviction behind it. "Hey, baby girl, time to wake up," Faith spoke softly, gently rubbing the girl's back.

Vaeh grunted, showing how much she didn't want to wake up just yet, but she opened her little eyes anyway and rubbed a hand over them. "Mama, you better now?"

"I'm a lot better now. Told ya, kid, those hugs could fix anything," Faith told her, earning a giant size smile in return.

The couple slid off the bed at the same time, standing and working again on the kinks from their short nap. Vaeh on the other hand, stood up on the bed and held her arms out for Faith to pick her up.

The two mother's exchanged a look, speaking volumes, as Faith reached over and took the girl into her arms, settling her on her hip. Good thing she was a Slayer, because Vaeh was getting far too big for a normal person to hold her like this.

As soon as she was in her Mama's arms, she snuggled in, laying her head on her shoulder and wrapping her arms around her neck. The feeling of contentment was immediate. There was something that happened when she was with her Mama, Vaeh couldn't explain it, but it was if everything was just right.

"We better stop in the library and tell everyone we're heading home," Buffy suggested, as they made their way up the stairs. Actually she was a bit surprised they'd been left alone on their own so long.

Only Giles, Willow, and Tara were currently present when they stepped through the double doors to the library. Classes had been over for several hours at this point, so likely everyone was off doing their own thing. Giles and Willow on the other hand, seemed to spend every spare moment in this room. Even when there wasn't a big bad, they were in here pulling up ideas for lesson plans or training.

"Oh, Faith, you're up and about," Giles exclaimed, when the door shut behind them.

"Yep, back to the land of the living G."

"Good. Perhaps we could go over everything."

"We just came to tell you we were heading home," Buffy interjected.

"It would be best to go over the events while they are freshest in Faith's mind."

"Giles, the answers will still be the same tomorrow. I'm taking my wife and daughter home for the evening." Buffy held a stern voice as she spoke, giving her Watcher her most serious look. "We've been apart for five weeks. I think we deserve the chance to just be together. And I'd like a chance to catch her up on some things first."

Giles picked up immediately what Buffy was speaking about and simply nodded his head, knowing he wasn't going to win this one. "Quite right. Well enjoy your night, ladies. And, Faith, we'll talk tomorrow."

"Sure thing, G-man," Faith agreed. Wondering exactly what had just happened between her wife and Giles.

"What was that about?" she finally spit out once they were clear of the building.

"What was what about?" Buffy tried to ask innocently.

"You don't usually stick it to Giles like that. Just wondered what was up," Faith shrugged, trying to pretend like it didn't really matter.

"We've been apart for over a month. You don't think that's reason enough to just want to go home?"

"I guess." She knew there was more to it than that, but she'd just have to let Buffy tell her in her own time. She couldn't imagine what could have happened while she was gone. Certainly nothing too life altering.

"So what you want to do tonight, little one?" Faith asked her daughter, plopping down on the couch without ever losing her hold on Vaeh.

"Nemo!"

"Well I see one thing hasn't changed in the last month. You're still in love with that damn fish."

"Faith!" Buffy yelled, lightly smacking her wife on the arm.

"I mean… go put in the DVD," she conceded.

"I'm pretty sure it's in the player still," Buffy smiled. Whatever made Faith think that they'd have a chance to get the disc out of there. Buffy had seriously been thinking they should get Vaeh her own TV and DVD player for her room. But was four years old too young for that? She'd talk to Faith about it one of these days.

The three Summers women curled up on the couch together and the movie began to play. Buffy couldn't believe how normal this felt. And she'd never take it for granted again. Even if she had to suffer through this movie a thousand more times.

~BF~

"Can't believe how long it took to get that kid to fall asleep. Thought I was gonna have to read every book in her room," Faith told her wife as she entered their bedroom, pulling her shirt off as she did so and chucking it in the hamper.

She was grateful that didn't happen though. Anybody who had been in Vaeh's room knew just how many books the kid had. Everyone was always buying her new ones for birthdays and Christmas. And of course Giles would just randomly pick one up when he'd go to town. Nobody could say he didn't treat her just like a granddaughter.

"She missed you," Buffy answered in response. "We both did. She's probably worried she's going to wake up tomorrow and you'll be gone again." What Buffy didn't say was that she worried about that exact same thing.

Faith moved to Buffy and wrapped her arms around her from behind, placing a kiss into the blonde locks. "I'm not going anywhere."

"I know. At least I tell myself I know. But it was so miserable here without you. I never want to feel like that again."

"I'm sorry you had to go through that. I can't even imagine what it would be like to lose you."

Buffy had loved and lost before, but none of that had ever compared to what the hell she had been living in recently was like. How could she ever tell Faith there were moments she wasn't sure she could even keep breathing? How could she tell her she'd locked their daughter inside the house because she was afraid of what was outside the doors?

Over time she was sure that would all come out. Just like what Faith had been through would be shared. But for now she'd just be content to be together.

Turning around, she wrapped her arms around her wife, pulling her into a tight hug. The feel of naked skin under her arms was something she'd missed more than words could ever say. She hadn't even realized they'd had their whole conversation with Faith half naked. "I've really missed you," she smirked, placing a kiss on a soft shoulder.

"Ah, I see how it is. You just missed the sex," Faith teased.

"No, well yes, but no I missed just being with you, holding you, loving you."

"I've missed that too," the brunette started. "I'm not sure I can tonight though."

Buffy felt a little sad at that, but she wasn't going to get upset. Faith had been through something horrible. It would take her awhile to get back to where they were before this all happened. She could wait, so long as she could still hold her and touch her. That was all that mattered. "It's okay. Whenever you're ready, I'll be a willing participate," she smirked.

"Perv."

"Talk about the pot calling the kettle." Buffy kept waiting for the right moment to tell Faith their news. But no moment had seemed right. She couldn't let them go to sleep and not tell her though. "Finish getting ready for bed," she said, changing the subject for now.

Faith nodded her head and walked into their bathroom to do as she was told. When she finally came out, Buffy was already in bed, but she knew just by her breathing that she wasn't asleep. Slipping between the sheets, she just stared into those eyes that she loved, never wanting tonight and this feeling to end. The feeling of finally being where she belonged.

"So, I have some news to share with you," Buffy finally spoke.

"Oh yeah? What's that?"

"I'm pregnant."

It took a full two minutes for those two simple words to fully invade her mind. When they finally had, the biggest grin stole over her face. "No freaking way! Really?"

Buffy smiled back. "Really."

"This is fucking awesome!" Faith immediately reached out and placed a hand on Buffy's belly. No noticeable bump there yet, but there would be soon. And Faith couldn't wait to see it. They'd done it. They were having a baby.

Another note: We all know there's been drama going around this site, so I just want to tell you all that I do hope it gets resolved, but just in case this story disappears, I do post at BuffynFaith as well.