A/N: So I just realized that more than half of the changes I made in previous chapters never saved. Oops. If people were confused by inconsistencies in Faith's watcher's name, it's all fixed now. -.-

Peace

VIII

"I told you not to take shortcuts through that park."

Ileana sat atop a closed toilet seat, the tips of her feet barely reaching the tiled floor, while her mother dabbed at her scratches and cuts. "And I told you I just fell, it's no big deal. The park is safe…" she averted her eyes to the sink at her side, rather than meet her mother's skeptical gaze.

"Bull. You haven't fallen since you were three," the woman continued to treat the girl's wounds, ignoring the occasional wince in response to the antibacterial ointments. "And I know you don't get into fights at school. Someone did this to you, and you're damn lucky you got away. People disappear in that park, Illy."

"You won't believe me if I tell you." Ileana scuffed her feet on the floor. "There was a monster in the bushes."

Her mother chuckled despite the gravity of the situation. "Illy, really, you're eleven for God's sake."

"Yeah, and I haven't needed a nightlight since I was six, you haven't had to check my closet or under the bed since I was five, we got rid of my security blanket when I was four – I'm a smart kid, Mom. I know what I saw. It had a bumpy, horny face, and it had fangs, and it tried to eat me."

The woman sighed and sat on the edge of the bathtub in front of her daughter, finished tending to the injuries. "Babygirl, don't go back in there at night. He is a very disturbed man, not a monster, and tomorrow morning before I take you to school we're filing a report with the police."

Ileana, rather than argue her story, stood and hugged her mother goodnight. She knew what she saw, even if she didn't understand it; people don't disappear in that park…they get eaten.

Within the Summers residence was a familiar scene: a group of young adults seated and standing in some sort of circular fashion. Through the living room window it might appear from the outside that it was a typical gathering of college youth: carefree, lighthearted, and enjoyable. Inside the walls of the home, however, the tension was nearly tangible while Joyce Summers, the lady of the house, served hot chocolate and tea.

Buffy was in the kitchen waiting for her mother to return from her hostess duties. "Mom, thanks…sorry it's so late. Go on back up to bed, I can handle the rest." Even though Joyce was aware of her daughter's role as the Slayer, Buffy tried to shield her as much as possible from the unpleasant details.

"Are you sure? Something major happened, didn't it?" Placing a comforting hand on Buffy's shoulder, Joyce pried a little deeper. "If there was any danger, I know you would tell me." It was a statement, but the question was there: is it safe?

The short young blonde sighed and covered her mother's hand with her own. "There's no danger on its way. We met up with some new kids from school at the Bronze…Faith and Ileana. I saw a vampire about to take a girl outside so I followed to deal with it, and Faith followed me, and Ileana followed her. It turns out the girl is Faith's roommate, Nancy. And it would appear that Faith is another Slayer. So we're here to have the "vampires exist" chat with the civilians and hopefully convince them to keep their mouths shut."

"Another…Slayer? But I thought there was only one, only you."

"I don't know, Mom. That's part of what we need to figure out. After we talk to Ileana and Nancy I'm going to have Riley and Xander take them back to school –"

"Do you want to offer them my car? It's late, and the school is too far to walk…"

"Sure, Mom, thanks. That would be great. Goodnight," Buffy smiled, taking her mom's cue to wrap up the slayer-talk.

"Ok, what the hell is going on?"Nancy, still trembling, broke the tense silence when Buffy returned: fitting first words since leaving The Bronze.

"Faith, you want to answer that? Because I'm wondering just about the same thing," the blonde crossed her arms over her chest.

"Well," Faith sighed, "I'll explain what I can. There are things in this world that people shouldn't know about – they can't know. If the world knew what we know, it would be a place of panic and chaos. We are equipped to protect the world from these things, and keeping these things secret is part of that protection.

"So what I am about to tell you, you need to keep to yourselves. It's going to be hard and you're going to want support; you're looking at your support. We are it. You can't tell anyone what you are hearing."

"Faith," Ileana had her eyes fixed on the floor. "Just tell us what happened tonight."

"Nancy was attacked by a vampire."

"What? Stop fucking around," Nancy's trembling gave way to tears.

"Faith!" Buffy stepped forward, ready to intervene if necessary.

"B, you told me to handle it, and I'm handling it. They don't need it sugar-coated, they need it straight up."

"That makes a lot of sense…vampires," Ileana's voice softened, but it was distant as she lifted her gaze. "I was attacked as a child, by a man with a bumpy face and fangs."

"And you got away?" the older Slayer looked puzzled.

"I was rescued…"

"You guys are all crazy. Faith, I knew you were weird when you moved in, but this is just nuts." Nancy stood to leave, but Riley stopped her before she made it to the foyer.

"This is serious," he said. "You were attacked. Why would we joke around with you after what you have been through? You need to hear this."

"We've been fighting vampires since high school," Xander added. "Buffy longer than any of us. It was hard to get used to, but it's real."

"You guys are doing a great job of scaring me out of leaving the dorm at night."

"Oh, come on, Nancy. This is new to me, too," Ileana retorted. "But you don't have to resign yourself to a night life indoors. It's common sense; don't go anywhere alone or with someone you don't know, stay out of alleys, and don't take shortcuts through parks or cemeteries."

"She's right, Nancy," Willow stood where she had quietly been sitting on a chair. "If you stick to those guidelines, you'll be fine. Especially with us cleaning up the streets."

"Like you cleaned them up tonight?"

"Hey! You are damn lucky we were there to save your skinny ass. When is it ever a good idea to leave a bar with a stranger, let alone through a back door into a dark alley?" Buffy was fuming. "I'm not saying it's your fault; he's a predator so it's all on him. But if it had been me, warning bells would have gone off the moment he suggested going out back. There is so much you can do to watch out for yourself."

"You're right. Nancy, she's right," the brunette Slayer agreed with her blonde counterpart. "And furthermore I think we should look out for each other more."

"You're still a freak. And I want a new roommate," turning toward the front door Nancy added "I want to go back to campus."

"Riley, take my mom's car keys. Bring the others back. Except Faith; she and I have some chatting to do."

"Ileana," Faith put her hand on the girl's shoulder. "I'd like to talk to you more about this…if you'll let me."

"I don't know," she shrugged the hand off her shoulder. "I just…call me in the morning. I might be ready then."

Faith stood and waited with Buffy for the group to leave. Finally the blonde broke the silence. "How are you possible?"

"Don't play the dumb blonde card, B," Faith implored. "You know I'm not the first girl called since you –"

"Died. Yeah. I know," Buffy cut her short. "I was hoping that by now The Powers That Be would realize I'm alive and fighting. It's been a while so I let myself believe no one was coming." Relaxing a bit, Buffy sat on the couch. "Have a seat, Faith. If we're going to be working together we gotta start getting to know each other."

"I'm from Boston, I am a freshman at UC Sunnydale, and I inherited your super powers. What else is there?"

"I am only going to say this once, and if we ever discuss this again it won't be here because my death is something I don't want my mom to know about. You are an anomaly. You shouldn't exist. Apparently this Slayer thing doesn't take into account modern practices such as CPR, so here you are. But you being what you are, what we are, throws off the balance of the whole fight of good versus evil. 'Unto each generation a Slayer is born,' ONE. There is only ever supposed to be ONE. Don't you see what is wrong about this? Don't you see how scary this is? And you coming her to Sunnydale just makes it scarier, Faith. This is the Hellmouth. This is where hell unleashes upon the earth if I don't stop it. Evil senses a Slayer the same way a Slayer senses evil…what is going to happen when the evil sense two of us here?"

"I can't go back, B. I was told to come here and join you…I can't go back."

"Who told you? Your Watcher? Is he in Sunnydale with you? Does Giles know about this?"

"Yeah, I saw G-man earlier today…he called me out in the library. Creeped the hell out of me to be honest."

"And he didn't tell me?"

"B, this show ain't about you –"

"Oh, and I suppose it's about you?"

"My Watcher DIED! Buffy, she…she died."

"Oh…"

"Have you noticed that you have a different name for me for each of your moods?"

"What? Don't know what you mean by that, D." Faith and Katherine were on a sofa in front of the fireplace, the girl's mentor and lover in her arms.

"Well, you're doing it right now…it's not a criticism, just an observation. The woman's speech was much more casual around the potential slayer than around anyone else.

"Ok…I'm still not sure what you mean."

"You call me D when you're defensive…the shortening of my name is intended to be casual, but it's feigned…you're disguising sudden discomfort. You lapse into slang because it allows you to be relaxed and casual outwardly, when inside you're debating your fight or flight strategy.

"You call me Di when you're feeling affectionate, calm, and at peace. You call me Dina when you're feeling playful and cheeky. You call me Diana when you're being absolutely serious and need me to know that." Diana took the glass of red wine from Faith's hand and sipped. "I just wasn't sure if you know you do that."

"D…"

"I'm not attacking you. It's five by five," the older woman smiled when she used the girl's trademark phrase.

"I actually didn't know how easy I am to read," Faith sighed. "Don't say 'five by five'…you know what it means but you don't know why I say it. It's not yours to say." The now eighteen-year-old retrieved the wine glass and pulled her mentor closer.

"You're not easy to read…my training in anthropology and psychology helps…but for the most part I'm just patient. You're tricky, love. I wouldn't have it any other way."