Janice Deacon had finally caught a break. After nearly a week and a half of deliberating, her extremely stubborn charge Faith Lehane was finally allowing an adoptive couple to see the baby. Janice had to tell more couples that the birth mother had said no in the past week than in several of her regular cases put together. This birth mother wasn't a typical client by any means, however. Most of her charges were young, street-smart teenagers who had gotten themselves into trouble and wanted to get rid of the baby as quick as possible. It was the type of case she preferred. Janice didn't relate easily to emotions and vulnerability. She was good at her job; she simply worked much more efficiently when it was a cut and dry, one way out of the birth, the visitation and the adoption. Thus, she could see why the agency paired her with Ms. Lehane. The young woman seemed tough and detached, uninterested in mothering. She was with someone – not her husband, Janice knew, the young woman had insisted he was not – and they seemed happy together. That was uncommon of her clients. Not once during the time she had known Ms. Lehane, though, or her partner Robin, had either of them shared any personal information about themselves. When she had inquired as to what the young woman did, she had simply muttered something about offices and how they were torture chambers. Even muttered under her breath, it sounded rehearsed and false, but she knew that she would get nowhere in pressing her charge, so the topic was laid to rest.

Which is mostly why, with so little of herself shared, Janice Deacon could not for the life of her figure out where Ms. Lehane had completely derailed her original adoption plan. In most cases, the baby was born, then immediately taken away. It was easier on the birth mother usually, when they didn't have their son or daughter's face imprinted constantly in their minds for the rest of their lives. She had expected Ms. Lehane's daughter's birth to go no differently. Instead, the young woman had insisted on being alone with the child and since then, had barely let the little girl out of her sight. Even Mr. Wood couldn't figure out what was going on with her.

The potential parents were an older couple in their forties. They had tried unsuccessfully for over a decade to have a baby of their own, before adopting a boy from Russia two years ago. They had explained to Janice that they really wanted a girl to "make their family complete."

*****

The Chestertons quietly opened the door of Faith's hospital room and let themselves in. Their eyes immediately fell on the baby sleeping in Faith's arms. Faith's head snapped up at the sound of the door opening, and Janice could see a shadow fall across her eyes as she took in the couple. They made their way over to the bed and introduced themselves.

"Oh…look at the little one!" Mrs. Chesterton cooed. She looked at Faith, asking for permission to pick the baby up. Faith sized her up suspiciously, but gave a reluctant nod to the affirmative. The woman picked up the baby gently and held her, talking softly to the infant. Her husband joined her as they bent over the little girl, stroking the black tufts of hair.

Robin, sitting beside Faith on the bed, noticed her reaction immediately. Her whole body tensed, her hands clenched into tight fists and she glared through narrowed eyes at the couple. He nudged her with his shoulder gently, shocked when Faith turned and hid her face in his shoulder, as if she couldn't look at the baby with the Chestertons. Robin extended his arm around her, pulling Faith into him.

"Faith," he whispered. "I –"

"Shut up." Faith hissed. "Stop looking at me like I want to keep her. I'm a slayer. Can't be a slayer and…mom too," she said, spitting out "mom" like it was poisonous.

Defeated again, Robin simply tightened his arm around Faith and watched as the Chestertons fussed over what he had always hoped would be his daughter.

*****

One day later, there was another knock at the door, but this time, the visitors were Rupert Giles and Buffy Summers. Faith looked bewildered briefly, then turned to Robin with eyes flaming.

"Dude, you called them? What the hell?"

Robin took Faith's face in his hands. "Listen to me. I love you, and in order for you to be happy, you have to make a decision about Amber. You don't seem to listen to me, so maybe you'll listen to them and make a decision for her, making you more happy, and then by proxy, me, because of the previously mentioned love."

Faith's eyes softened briefly, but she yanked her face away from Robin with a scoff.

"Nothin' to talk about."

"Perhaps we could be the judges of that," suggested Giles.

With a nod, Robin slipped from the room. Giles settled himself down in Robin's former chair, with Buffy perched on the edge.

Giles cleared his throat, as if inviting Faith to speak. Her defenses up, she looked at them warily.

"What you want me to say? I told you, nothin' to say."

"Faith…you are a very…very decisive girl. You make snap decisions and you don't tend to look back. And,and….I believe, in this case, Mr. Wood was simply worried that you didn't seem to be able to make a decision as you normally would. We are only here to inquire as to the reasons for that."

Faith scoffed. "You got no idea what's going through my head."

Giles gave a slow nod. "Buffy," he turned to the other young woman. "Would you mind fetching me and Faith some coffee? I've heard there's a cafeteria downstairs."

Buffy nodded and hurried out, looking grateful for an escape. As soon as she was gone, Giles slid his chair closer to Faith's bed.

"I certainly know more about what's 'going through your head' than you give me credit for, Faith. Despite what anyone thinks, despite how fervently you may try and deny it to yourself; you are acting in the role of a parent."

Immediately, Faith shook her head, but Giles pressed on.

"A selfish person by definition only wants what is best for themselves. But being a parent requires one to rise above that, so to speak." Giles glanced at the door Buffy had left through. "I know I'm not…her real parent, but I've somehow always found myself acting in a parental role towards her. Thinking of what's best for her, above all else."

Giles fixed Faith with a serious look. "You're being her parent, Faith. You are trying to protect her from the harm you think would come to her were you to keep her. You think she deserves better than you. Once again, you think so little of yourself that you assume you could only do her harm. That's not the case, Faith. You have come exceptionally far in past years."

Tears burned the back of Faith's eyes but she blinked to force them back. Giles nodded sagely. The door opened suddenly, and both of them turned towards it, expecting Buffy, but instead it was a nurse with the little bundle in her arms. Without saying anything, the nurse turned to Faith and gently laid Amber in Faith's arms. Instinctively, Faith's arms tightened around the small bundle, making Giles smile.

Silence reigned for long moments, until Faith whispered "I can't do that to her. I can't be puttin' her in danger all the time."

"You once said that you would fight harder if it was for someone. Why couldn't she be that someone?"

Faith's head dropped to look at the infant. Slowly, she raised a finger to stroke the baby's cheek.

"I don't even have a place to take her."

Giles scoffed. "Really? Not even the big house with the giant empty room and the hordes of baby-crazy teenage girls?"

Faith slowly raised her eyes, fixing them on Giles. "Really?"

Smiling, the ex-Watcher nodded. And for the first time in a long time, a genuine smile broke out on Faith's face.