Author's Notes: Thanks for reading and reviewing guys, means a whole lot to know others are enjoying this as much as I am enjoying writing it :)


The way she felt around Buffy now made her feel like a teenager all over again, but she didn't—not for a second—let it interfere with patrol. As it had been since they arrived there, it was uneventful aside from a handful of newbie vampires they ran into a few short hours before sunrise on the long walk home. The three of them had been separated most of patrol, each taking on their own red area, as Giles was calling it. It gave Faith a lot of time to think about the things that had been unfolding. By the time they had met up, shortly before running into those newbie vampires, she knew something had changed.

Buffy was quiet. She barely made eye contact with her or Kennedy. She stayed ahead of them, minding her own business as Faith and Kennedy walked side by side talking about the entire lack of activity that night. By the time they'd made it back to the house, Buffy went right up to her room to get some sleep, not even bothering to say goodnight to either of them.

"What crawled up her ass and died?" Kennedy muttered as she followed Faith into the kitchen.

"Who knows," Faith shrugged as she opened the refrigerator door. "You think it's too early to have a beer?"

"It may be coming up on five a.m., but we haven't even been to bed yet. That's late, not early. And definitely not too early for a beer," Kennedy laughed as she reached around Faith and pulled one out for herself. "Do you get the feeling that everything out there is doing all they can to avoid us?"

"Yeah and I don't like it. This isn't normal behaviour. So there are three of us here now. It's a big city. Maybe we're just not looking in the right places?"

"Or maybe Giles' so called 'red areas' are a joke?" Kennedy muttered as she and Faith walked into the living room and sat down on the couch. "Or maybe it's like Willow said to me the other day. There's something big and bad brewing and this is all just the calm before the storm. I don't know if you've noticed it, but everyone has been acting kind of...off lately."

"Yeah, I've noticed," Faith said softly as she twisted off the cap of her beer. "I was thinking about shit while we were all off on our own. Something strange is definitely fucking going on and has been since we met Henry and his family."

"Good. I'm glad I'm not the only one who thinks that."

"You think we should say something?"

"To who? Giles? Buffy?"

"To everyone," Faith replied quietly as she leaned back on the couch and listened to the soft whispers she could only faintly hear coming from upstairs. "It's been a long time since I've felt this kind of evil lingering all around us. It didn't feel like this when we were in Sunnydale. Sure, it was intense and the evil we could all feel that came from the First was dark, but this is different."

"So what are you thinking is going to happen then?" Kennedy asked as she looked over at her. "Another big bad that wants to end the world, or is it something else?"

"Got no fucking idea."

They sat there in complete silence, both of them finishing off their beers as quickly as they could before heading upstairs to get a couple hours of much needed sleep. Faith felt the exhaustion pulling at her before she could even get out of her clothes and the soft whispers she'd heard before were clearer now. Buffy was in her room talking to Willow, about what she couldn't quite make out. She didn't want to eavesdrop on their conversation, but she was curious since the few whispers she had made out made her think that Buffy was talking about her to Willow.

It had only been a couple of weeks, barely three weeks, and yet everything was changing drastically. She'd grown close with Kennedy and Xander, and was finding a common ground with Buffy without knowing exactly what that common ground really was. She could feel the relaxing nature in the house despite never being able to find some time alone unless she spent hours in the basement. Dawn was always off doing her own thing, as was Andrew and Willow. Giles, as far as she knew, was spending hours going through the hundreds of books that were in the living room. But it was more than just the fact that everyone was finding a place of their own there in the house, though just what it was she couldn't quite put her finger on.

There were always whispers in the house, whispers she could never quite hear even if she tried. There were also the whispers she heard solely in her head, half of which always tried to derail her, to lure her back to the darkness she had so easily embraced before. The other half of those whispers were mixing with her thoughts, making her think of things in ways she never quite did before. Everything was changing and they weren't all there for the eyes that sought out those changes.

She lay in bed and listened, drowning out the whispers in her mind and listening to those coming from Buffy's room. Whatever she and Willow were talking about was making Buffy upset. Faith rolled her eyes as she sat up slowly, straining to hear, even just a little.

She could only faintly hear Buffy whisper, "something doesn't feel right," and there was silence for a few minutes before she spoke again. "It came out of nowhere, Will."

"It didn't. I mean, these things just don't come out of nowhere, Buffy. Maybe you always did feel something for her. Why else would you be..."

"Right, right. I know. It's just that...its Faith I don't know what I'm doing with her...or what is going on. It's only been a couple of weeks. This...change of heart is just too quick and pretty farfetched, don't you think?"

Faith could feel the sharp pangs in her heart to hear those words fall from Buffy's lips. She could still hear them whispering, but it was fainter now. She could hear the confusion in Buffy's voice and the confusion that Buffy was feeling mirrored Faith's own. It'd happened to her before, feeling what she knew Buffy had to be feeling as well. She let out a deep sigh as she tried to push Buffy far from her mind so she could get some much needed sleep.

"Talk to her," Willow said softly and Faith groaned as she heard Buffy's bedroom door open and footsteps fading down the hallway.

Barely a minute passed before Faith heard Buffy knock quietly on her door. She didn't move from where she lay, hoping maybe Buffy would leave it alone for now if she didn't answer. She sat up when the door opened slowly and Buffy slipped inside.

"What do ya want, B?"

"Were you sleeping? I should just..." she trailed off as she looked over at Faith. She still had her hand on the doorknob and she pulled it away when Faith shook her head no and leaned back against the headboard as she crossed her arms over her chest. "I was just talking to Willow."

"I heard."

"Oh. How much did you hear?"

"Very little. So," Faith said as she motioned for Buffy to move away from the door. "You wanted to talk to me about something or what?"

"Yeah, I..."

"B," Faith chuckled as she moved over to the far side of the bed, "come and sit down and talk to me. I don't bite."

"Actually you did the other night but..." Buffy trailed off, blushing as she sat down next to her on the bed. "That's not why I came in here."

"No, you came in here to talk and that usually involves you moving your lips and tongue and the words coming out."

Faith was struggling to keep the post-slay hormones in check. Her whole body was burning, just aching to take Buffy right there, no questions asked. Faith's heart was pounding in her chest and she could hear Buffy's heart beating quite the similar tune. What she felt crawling in her was the wildness she'd craved, the wildness she always knew. It was like an insatiable animal deep inside of her and trying to claw its way out.

"So, that whole talking thing, B...it usually works when the one coming in wanting to talk actually starts talking."

"I know. I don't know…I'm not even sure how to say this."

"Why does it feel like you're breaking up with me?" Faith asked, stifling the laugh when Buffy glared at her. "Seriously, B. Whatever ya want to talk about just spit it out. Surely can't be half as bad as some of the shit we've said to each other before."

Buffy opened her mouth as if she was about to speak and that's when Faith completely lost all control. She moved in quickly, kissing her hard and deep. Just in the way that Buffy kissed her back, she knew there was another reason she'd came in there other than wanting to talk.

"Faith," Buffy breathed out as she pulled back from the kiss just as Faith pulled her so she lay down on the bed beneath her. "This isn't why I came in here."

"Then tell me to stop," Faith whispered as she trailed light, wet kisses over her jaw and across her neck. "If this isn't what ya came in here for, B. Make me stop. Tell me you don't want this."

Buffy bit her lip as Faith pulled back from her just enough to look down into her eyes. She could see the fire of burning desire in Buffy's eyes as she ran her hand lightly over her hip and under the tight tank top she wore. Her skin was warm and soft and Faith could feel the goose bumps form under her palm as she dipped her fingers just under the waistband of Buffy's pyjama bottoms.

"Faith, what are you doing? What are we doing?"

"I know the other reason you came in here," she whispered as she moved in to kiss her. "You want me to fuck you, don't ya? After a long night and a quick slay you're feelin' all worked up and needin' some relief. Don't lie. I know ya feel it."

"Faith...stop," Buffy said softly, yet made no effort to stop her as Faith slowly slid her hand inside her pyjama bottoms, barely touching her as she waited for the retaliation from Buffy.

She knew she wasn't thinking clearly and she didn't care. Her blood was boiling as it coursed through her veins. She was shaking, just a little, as she dipped her fingers lower, moaning as she cupped Buffy's pussy, the only barrier between her fingers and pure flesh was the thin cotton panties Buffy wore. Faith could only watch as Buffy bit her trembling lower lip as she raised her hips in time to the teasing passes of Faith's fingers over her throbbing clit.

"Too far?" Faith asked softly, pressing just a little harder and feeling her own panties growing damp as Buffy moaned softly. "You want me to stop?"

"No," Buffy whimpered and let out a loud gasp as Faith slid her fingers past the barrier of her panties. "Wait," she sighed out and grabbed onto Faith's arm, stopping her before she could go any further. "We need to talk and not do...this."

"This?" Faith said huskily as she slid a single finger inside Buffy's hot, wet hole. "Fuck, B. You really did want this, didn't ya?"

She was drowning on the power she had over Buffy, breathing in the shuddering moans that escaped Buffy's lips with every gentle movement of her finger. She wanted to take her hard and fast, the way she knew she could take it, but she didn't. She couldn't. Not yet. She'd already gone too far and she knew it, but Buffy wasn't throwing her off and she wasn't stopping. She kissed Buffy softly, muting her moans as she kissed her deeply, their tongues dancing and fighting for dominance. Buffy's nails were digging into her forearms as she kept the slow, steady pace, fucking her as deeply as her fingers would go.

"Faith," Buffy breathed out softly as she broke away from the kiss panting, her nails digging almost painfully into Faith's arms. "Oh god. You should stop...this is..."

"Too far?" Faith asked, stilling her fingers and trying to get Buffy to look her in the eye. "Told ya to tell me to stop, B."

"I did."

"Fuck," she groaned as she pulled her hand out of Buffy's pyjama bottoms and rolled off of her. "I'm sorry, B."

"Don't."

"Don't what?"

"Apologize to me," Buffy said as she turned to look at her, her breathing still ragged and heavy, her skin flushed with arousal and what Faith thought could be a slight bit of embarrassment. "Post-slay, I know how it feels and how...wild it is inside of you when you try to ignore it. That's what this was, right?"

"Yeah. Good old post-slay hormones coming into play," Faith said sarcastically as she got up from the bed and walked over to the window, opening it up as wide as it would go and taking a nice, deep breath of fresh air.

"Faith, just because you...got a little out of control, it doesn't have to change anything."

"Sure it does."

Buffy sighed as she got up from the bed and walked over to Faith, stepping in front of her as she let go of the windowsill she hadn't realized she was gripping so tightly. "No, it doesn't have to change anything, Faith. It doesn't change the fact that I still don't know what I'm doing."

"Well I do and this isn't the way it should've happened between us."

"What do you mean?"

"Don't play stupid with me, B. I know you weren't ready for any of this much less having me try to fuck you. It was supposed to be different," she said, muttering the last part under her breath.

"It is different," Buffy said quietly as she wrapped her arms around Faith and pulled her in close. "Ever since that night I kissed you all I want is to be close to you. I keep trying to push myself away, tell myself to take it slowly and with caution. We got a lot of rocky history between us and I don't want to mess anything up and have us go back to..."

"Hating each other? Wanting to kill each other?"

Buffy just nodded as Faith let out a soft, dejected sigh and wrapped her arms around her just as tightly. "Call me crazy, but I can feel something between us and I'm afraid if I don't grab a hold of it, I'll lose it. I'll lose you."

"I'm not goin' anywhere, B. If I didn't want to be here then I wouldn't have stayed as long as I have. You guys have given me a place I actually can call home now. I've never had that before. I'm here for as long as you all want me here."

"Oh, but I..."

"You thought that if you didn't fuck me, I'd leave?" Faith laughed softly as she shook her head. "You really don't know me, do ya?"

"No, I don't. I've been trying to. You keep me at arm's length just like you do with everyone else."

"You wanna know why? I keep you at arm's length cos I don't know how to do this with you. I'm well aware of your past relationships just as you're well aware of my past...experiences with other people. I'm afraid I'll end up hurting you, Buffy. Can you believe that? Cos I really can't."

"Faith, you aren't making any sense."

"No, I'm not," she said sharply as she dropped her arms from around Buffy and stepped back. "None of this makes any sense. And no, I'm not just talking about this," she said as she pointed between them. "I'm talking about everything, Buffy. Us being here, me being here with you guys acting like..."

"Like a family fighting against the dark forces of evil together."

"Only there's one problem. The whole lack of evil actually showing its face around here. Something is going on here and I'm starting to wonder if whatever it is out there right now is making us be the way we are together."

"So you think that the way I feel about you is because of what, some spell or something?" Buffy scoffed as she folded her arms across her chest. "Does that make you feel any better about any of this, Faith?"

"Makes a hell of a lot more sense than what's going on."

"You don't get it, do you?" Buffy asked, cutting her off before she could even speak again. "I've done nothing but try to figure out why I feel the way I do about you, why I get those butterflies in my stomach whenever I kiss you, why I'm...forget about it."

"Why what?"

"I said forget about it!"

Buffy tried to leave then, shaking her head angrily as Faith grabbed onto her and forced her to stay where she was in the middle of the room. Faith leaned in, her lips brushing lightly against Buffy's ear as she spoke so softly, "Buffy, tell me."

"It makes sense and it doesn't," Buffy said as she pushed Faith away from her and began to pace around the room. "I keep looking at my past relationships and the type of people—men—that they were and I look at you and some of it makes sense. You are just like them and yet you aren't."

"Hate to break it to ya, B, but I'm not a vampire and I'm not soldier boy. What the hell makes me like them, B? Far as I know I'm nothing like them. For one thing, I'm not a man, but of course you already knew that."

"The darkness in you," Buffy said softly. "They all had it and so do you. You being a woman doesn't make this any different. When it comes to...love..."

"Love? Is that what this is?"

"I don't know, Faith!" Buffy sighed out as she stopped pacing. "Maybe it is, maybe it's something else. I don't know. Willow asked me why I feel this way about you and I didn't know what to say to her."

"It's all just an illusion," Faith muttered under her breath. "Whatever the hell is going on around here is making us be this way."

"No," Buffy said as she sat on the edge of the bed. "This started before we came here. This started a long time ago."

"So, you loved me even when you wanted to kill me? You loved me when you gutted me for Angel? How's that for irony, Buffy? Nobody can love me without wanting to see me dead."

"Faith..." Buffy sighed as she reached out and grabbed onto her hand and forced her to sit down on the bed next to her. "I never hated you. I was angry. Confused and upset. I didn't know how to help you. You were so far gone to the darkness inside of you and you were so far gone from everyone including yourself. I didn't see that until we were at Angel's."

"What the fuck do you want me to say, B?"

"Nothing. I don't want you to say anything. I just want you to listen."

"Fine."

Buffy sighed as she reached for Faith's hand. "I'm falling for you and I know you are feeling the same way. What's happening between us is real and it's something I know I've never felt and that I know you've never felt either. You want to know what changed? What made me want to do this? That night Robin died, I never saw you so lost and alone. I felt something when I held you as you cried and it scared me because I didn't know why I was feeling that way for you."

"Feeling what way?"

"Like all I wanted to do was hold you, comfort you, and promise you that everything would be okay."

"You realize we've never talked about this kind of stuff at all before?" Faith asked, laughing softly as Buffy nodded her head. "So what does all of this mean then, B? Are we together or something? You're gonna have to tell me cos I'm not good at this kinda shit."

"That part I'm not so sure about right now," she replied as she stared at Faith. "You do feel it though, right? I mean when we're close, you feel that...spark, don't you?"

"I've always felt it. Used to make me so crazy too whenever I was around you. Still does."

Being so honest never felt so good before. Faith felt like smiling, like laughing, like crying, and she felt a whole other mess of emotions she couldn't quite put into intelligible words. She forgot just how tired she was and ignored the tired pleas her body made to just get some rest.

"It makes me crazy too," Buffy whispered as she slowly moved to straddle Faith's legs. She smiled a little as she ran her fingers delicately over her jaw and tucked the hair that had fallen over her eyes behind her ears. "What are you thinking about right now?"

"Right now?" Faith asked as she lightly ran her hands over Buffy's thighs and smiled at her. "A lot of things. Mostly about how this can actually be happening. How is this happening, B?"

"I don't know. It just is."

"I need a better fucking answer than that."

"You've really never felt like this with anyone else, have you?"

"No," Faith replied softly as she looked away from her. "I never let myself feel this way before. Don't know why now is any different."

"You know what I think?" Buffy said as she gently cupped her face and forced her to look back at her. "I think after we fought the First and won, we walked away feeling like we could conquer anything that life throws our way. This," she smiled as she leaned in and laid a light kiss on Faith's lips, "is one of those things we no longer are afraid of."

"Speak for yourself, B. I'm fucking terrified."

"Why?"

"Cos it's you, Buffy. The last thing I ever expected to happen was to have something with you, even just friendship. Hell, I'm not complaining about this," she chuckled as she looked at the small space between them. "I just don't know if I can give you everything you need."

"How do you know what I need, Faith?"

"You're relationship gal. You like the whole dating scene and the holding open the doors and flowers and..."

"No," Buffy laughed as she playfully slapped her shoulder. "You really don't know me at all. That's not what I want."

"Wanna roll around in the sack a few times, get your kicks that way? Cos that's the kinda stuff I know how to do."

"No, I mean...if it comes to that then yes I do, but that's not all I want."

"Then what do you want?"

"All of it. All of you. I want you regardless of the past we've had. I want you as a friend, as a...lover...I want you as the one who'll stand by my side as we fight. I just want you there with me, Faith."

"I am here with you, B," Faith chuckled, humouring her and trying to ease her own fears as everything Buffy was telling her really began to sink in. "What if this doesn't work out? Can't end too well seeing how things ended the last time between us and we were hardly even friends then."

"I don't want to think of that," she whispered. "It's going to be different this time."

"How do ya know that?"

Buffy sighed as she took Faith's hand and placed it over her heart. "Because I can feel it in here. I know how that must sound, but I really do feel it, Faith. Can't you feel it too?"

"Oh I can definitely feel something," Faith smirked as she moved her hand to Buffy's breast, feeling her nipple stiffen a little under the light touch.

"Faith..."

"What, B?" Faith asked, titling her head to the side as she watched Buffy's emotions flow freely in her eyes. "You got no idea what you're gettin' into with me, do ya?"

"I think I got a little demonstration of that a little while ago," she replied, her voice cracking slightly as she tried to suppress a moan when Faith pinched her nipple through her shirt. "And one now..."

"This is nothing compared to what I really wanna do to ya," Faith whispered huskily into her ear as she dropped her hand from her breast. "I think for now, we should just...get some sleep."

"Is that what you really want?"

"Yeah. At least it is for right now anyway," Faith smirked as Buffy stood up, pouting as she straightened out her tank top. "Been a long night, B. These all night patrols are gonna end up killing us. Maybe after we've slept for a while we can talk to Giles about toning down the hours we patrol. It's not like we're up to our ears in baddies crawling all over town."

"You think that's funny?"

"What?"

"Teasing me and then pushing me away like nothing happened!"

"Hysterical," Faith winked as she moved up the bed and laid back. "You leavin' or stayin'?"

"I can stay?"

"If ya want. Plenty of room on the bed. Can't be held accountable for wandering hands, though, sorry."

Buffy raised an eyebrow and laughed as she walked over to the bed and laid down next to her. "You better watch those wandering hands, Faith."

"Or what? You'll counter-attack with some moves of your own?"

"All joking aside," Buffy laughed as she pulled the covers over them, "I'm glad we had this talk, Faith. I know how hard it is for both of us just to talk to each other about anything. We're working on it, though, don't you think?"

"We are," Faith nodded as she stifled a yawn and closed her eyes. Without even thinking about it, Faith wrapped an arm around Buffy and pulled her close. She laid a gentle kiss on the top of Buffy's head, smiling when Buffy moaned softly as she laid her head on her shoulder. "We'll talk later after we've gotten some sleep and aren't letting the lack of sleep affect our thoughts."

"Mm-hmm."

"I don't actually do this."

"Do what?"

"This," Faith said as she gave her a gentle squeeze. "This...cuddling thing or whatever ya wanna call it."

"Well you are doing it," Buffy chuckled softly as she poked her in the stomach lightly. "And for the record, this isn't the first time we've done it."

"No, just the first time we've been conscious of doing it."

"But you have to admit this feels nice, doesn't it?"

"Sure," Faith shrugged, smiling a little as Buffy curled up against her. "A little off the charts when it comes to stuff we actually do together, but yeah it's nice."

"What's that supposed to mean?"

"B," she sighed as she looked down at her. "Less talk and more sleep, okay?"

"No," Buffy said as she moved away from Faith a little to look at her more fully. "We're on a roll with the talking thing, so...talk."

"Do ya want me to kick ya out? Cos I will, B. All I want right now is a few hours of sleep. Is that too much to ask for?"

Buffy shook her head no and let out a soft sigh as she moved to lay her head back on Faith's shoulder. "Doesn't this freak you out?"

"What? This?"

"Yeah."

Faith shrugged, not knowing quite how to answer that. Definitely a loaded question that came with more than just one answer. This whole thing with Buffy was definitely freaking her out mostly because she couldn't believe this was actually happening. She actually didn't mind the whole cuddling thing. It felt right and it felt good, relaxing almost. She was inwardly cursing herself for pushing things too far before with Buffy. It was just how she was and when she reached a certain point, all rational thoughts left her mind until there was only one left.

She said nothing when Buffy moved away from her and lay on her side with her back facing her. She barely even breathed as she looked over at Buffy, wondering just what she was thinking about at that moment. Trying to figure out Buffy had been the one thing she never was able to do and it was harder now, harder for reasons she wasn't so sure about. She wanted to reach out for her, to move behind her and hold her and whisper all the things she figured Buffy would want to hear her say. But she couldn't.

She'd let Buffy stay there if she really wanted to stay. The only thing she really cared about was getting some rest. Her body was practically begging for sleep now, her vision already going blurry. These were feelings she was used to having, but to feel them on top of everything else she felt was almost too much. Not knowing if Buffy had fallen asleep by now, she moved closer to her and held her breath for a moment before she found her voice again.

"It freaks me out, B. It freaks me out cos it's you. I don't mean that it freaks me out in a bad way either, but..." she trailed off as Buffy rolled onto her back and looked over at her. "I guess I'm trying to figure out why this is making me feel this way."

"And?"

"And I don't fucking know. New feelings. Haven't quite got used to having them."

"I know. That's why I'm freaking."

"Good to know I'm not the only one, B."

Buffy only smiled a little at her, but it was one of those smiles that made her knees grow weak, her heart full, and it made her smile right back at her. It was with that smile that Faith knew what was happening between them. They were falling for each other, hard and fast, and there wasn't a damn thing either of them could do to stop it. Even with their history, it didn't matter. None of it did. Maybe it would matter in times when they could do nothing to stop it, but it didn't matter now.

Faith went to talk, to continue the conversation, but when she looked back over at Buffy she saw that her eyes were closed and that she was already fast asleep. She was afraid, though—afraid if she fell asleep and woke up that what had just transpired between them would end up being a dream fuelled by hope and useless fantasies she'd be better off not having at all. She moved off to the edge of the bed and let out a soft sigh as she closed her eyes and tried to fall asleep. She finally let the sounds of Buffy's soft breath lull her, her confusion over unresolved issues not enough to keep the contented smile from her face as she finally fell asleep.

****

She woke up alone, which didn't surprise her, and she laid there for the longest time just staring up blankly at the ceiling. She could hear the others talking down in the living room—arguing, more accurately. It made her head spin and she knew she should be down there, but she couldn't quite force herself to get up out of bed just yet. Her head was still reeling from the talk she and Buffy had before. Her body was still buzzing as it had been the whole time Buffy was there in her room.

The gist of the argument, from what she could gather, was Buffy and Kennedy rallying together to talk some sense into Giles regarding a modified patrol schedule. They all were thinking the same thing. There was no point in spending the entire night out with as little activity as they'd come across since they'd been there. Faith wanted to say something days ago, but she was trying to do things different, trying to follow some kind of direction and order that would keep her squarely grounded. She was used to routine now, she actually craved it, but she knew what they were doing now wasn't quite working out in their favour.

She rolled over and pulled the pillow close to her, smelling nothing but Buffy all over it. She breathed in deeply as she tried to keep her thoughts steady. Nobody had ever gotten to her this way and not even Buffy had gotten in so deep before. It was scary because it was Buffy. Had it been anyone else, even Robin, she knew she wouldn't be so afraid of what would happen next. She knew she wouldn't fear hurting the other, it just wasn't in her nature, but because it was Buffy she had a very strong fear indeed that she'd end up breaking her heart when things went downhill between them.

There was no right way to do any of this and she knew that. Despite it all being new for her, she knew what she wanted and it was there for the taking. That much was clear, especially after the way things had gone between her and Buffy that morning. The other thing she feared, of course, was how the others would react to the recent developments in her and Buffy's relationship, and she still had no illusions that everyone would be accepting and happy for them. There were still a lot of trust issues between them all that would take time to work through. She felt that Buffy was trying to work through those issues with her in her own way and she could feel the little bit of trust that had been growing between them since they arrived in Cleveland.

But not all good things could last. In fact it seemed that they never did when it came to her and her life. She'd been dealt a lot of bad hands before and yet she somehow always managed to pull through in the end. She didn't want to deal with drama, useless and otherwise. She just wanted, for once in her life, to feel genuinely happy. To feel just how she felt whenever she was around Buffy, minus the fact that Buffy made her incredibly nervous most of the time.

There were more important things for her to worry about, to think about, though. There was the Hellmouth and trying to figure out why the vampires and demons were running scared. There was Henry and trying to figure out just what he really wanted with all of them. She didn't get a bad feeling about him and she knew he was theoretically on their side, trying to fight the good fight and keep the evil from taking over the world. There was just something off. Something she just couldn't quite put her finger on, but her finger was hovering in the vicinity of his wife and Julie. From what she knew, they were two very powerful witches, probably even more so than Willow was, and that made her nervous.

Yet under all the conflicted emotions and thoughts she had, she knew that things were about to change in ways that none of them would ever see coming. Things would change on top of the personal changes and growth they were all experiencing now. Whatever was coming, she knew they had to be prepared. That sinking feeling in the pit of her stomach told her that the changes that were coming were not going to end well. For any of them.

And she knew she'd do anything to protect those she considered family now. Absolutely anything.