Author's Notes: Yep, another update so soon...just cos I'm impatient to get it out there for all of you to read. Would love to know your thoughts so far :)
For a Sunday night, Henry's bar had more patrons in there than she'd seen in the few times she'd been in there. She sat at a table away from a group of vampires sitting at the three booths along the far back wall. She didn't want to get into anything with them. There were probably close to twenty of them and twenty of them versus one Slayer meant the outcome couldn't be good.
She sat there sipping her Coke, wanting to stay as far away from alcohol as she could now. She wanted to hear what Angel had to say with a sober mind. Something kept giving her the feeling that things were going to get very bad, very soon. Henry wasn't paying a speck of attention to her, he'd barely even had the chance yet to say hello. She was relieved about that since she didn't want him to notice her talking to Angel once he showed up.
"Hey," Angel said as he sat down on the chair across from her.
"Hey," Faith replied, trying not to sound as startled as she really was. She hadn't seen Angel come in and she hadn't heard him until he was right in front of her. "It's straight, if you're wondering."
"I can smell it," Angel chuckled. "Nobody knows I'm here, do they?"
"No. What does it matter if they know if you are here or not?"
"You'll see why I wanted to come to you first, Faith."
"Why don't you just tell me straight up what's going on," she said as she leaned forward so nobody around them could overhear them talking. "What the hell's goin' on, really, Angel?"
"Let's go for a walk," he said as he motioned to the door. "There are too many people around us and I can't risk anyone else knowing what I know."
"How come you didn't just tell me this last night?"
"Last night wasn't the time," Angel replied quietly as they stepped outside and began walking slowly down the street. "There's a lot to tell you and I'm not quite sure where to start."
"How 'bout the beginning? That usually works," she chuckled softly.
"That's the thing. There's the beginning and then there is the beginning of when you all arrived here. Which one do you want me to tell you first?"
"Which one's less confusing?"
"Neither," Angel said after a moment, sighing as he stopped next to a deserted looking building and leaned against the wall. "I know you know Juliet."
"Who?"
"Julie, Henry's daughter?"
"What about her?"
"What do you know about her?"
Faith shrugged as she leaned against the wall next to Angel. "Not much, just that she's...a witch. Kinda fucked around with her a couple times and just to make it clear—no I didn't fuckin' know who she was 'til after."
"When you were with her, you didn't happen to notice anything strange or off about her, did you?"
"Angel, just tell me what the fuck it is ya came all the way up here to tell me. I don't think me talkin' about some chick I fucked is what you came here for," Faith said angrily, trying so hard not to lose her temper completely. "I've got zero fucking patience right now."
"Guess I'll tell you the short version of the story in that case," he replied as he kept a straight face and looked around at the nearly empty street. "A friend of mine, if you could call him that, came to me shortly after you all arrived here. Julie, who was normally known as Juliet until recently, was once a Slayer. About forty years ago, she was sired by a vampire she later staked for betraying her. That's another story on its own and not one I'm here to tell you. The thing about Juliet," Angel paused as Faith shakily dug her pack of cigarettes out of her pocket and lit one. "Her and her family, they are...I can't say much more other than there was an immortality spell cast upon them when they first arrived in Cleveland."
"How long ago?"
"About a hundred years ago."
"And how the hell doesn't anybody else know about this?"
"I know because this friend of mine," Angel said as he turned to look back out at the street, "used to be close with Juliet. Her time as a Slayer was never documented. Back then, back before the immortality spell was cast upon her and her family, the Council was ill-informed and believed she was dead."
"So, if they believed she was dead, there had to have been another Slayer called, right?"
"She did die, or at least the essence of her soul had died, when the spell was cast. I can get into those details later when I talk to Giles. I need to tell you about what is about to happen here. This has to do with the barrier that has been cast around the Hellmouth. It wasn't Juliet's mother who cast the spell. It was Juliet. She cast the spell shortly after she was turned. The reasons why she did, I'm afraid we'll never know."
"Shit," Faith breathed out as she turned to look at him. "So, lemme get this straight: Julie is some immortalized Slayer who's also a vampire, not to mention a very fuckin' powerful witch on top of all that? Answer me one question then, Angel. How the hell is it she can walk out in the day without bursting into fucking flames?"
"Let's keep walking," Angel said quietly as the group of vampires that had been in the bar came out onto the street. "You are aware of the gem of Amara?"
"Wasn't that destroyed?"
"Yes and no. There were twelve pieces of the original gem itself. Yeah, it was news to me too when I found out. Somehow, Juliet got her hands on one of the pieces. While she has it, you have to understand just how dangerous she really is. You won't be able to kill her while she wears the gem, Faith. While she has this, she is basically rendered invincible."
"Why tell me first? Shouldn't you have gone to Giles or Buffy?"
"All I know is there's a...bond there because of the Slayer essence. The details there weren't too specific."
"Who told you this? A friend? What, not gonna tell me who this friend of yours is that gave you all this information?"
"Faith...there was a vision. You're the one who is going to be the one that stops Juliet from trying to open the Hellmouth once she's broken down the barrier."
"How?"
"Don't know," Angel replied quietly as they came to a stop just outside the cemetery gates. "You need to be prepared for this. You need to keep your cool, you hear me, Faith? Don't let her get to you, don't let the effects of the barrier control you."
"Control me, how?"
"Empathy. Or at least some form of it you've never had before."
"What?" Faith laughed as she yanked open the iron gates and walked inside the cemetery. "Empathy? You are kidding, right?"
"You're feeling more of it than you ever have in your life and it is because of the Hellmouth."
"Is this...what about Buffy and Kennedy and the others?"
"Buffy is feeling some things as well. Kennedy…" Angel shrugged as he followed her inside the cemetery, "It's having the opposite effect on her. All comes down to the essence of the Slayer you three have inside of you."
"Whatever, Angel. Are you gonna tell me anything useful or what?"
"Do you want to hear this or not?"
"Not, but I don't think you've given me much of a choice, have ya?"
"There are things you need to know to get through this," Angel said as they walked down the gravel pathway, slowly heading deeper into the cemetery. "Juliet...Julie, whatever people are calling her these days, wants to open the Hellmouth in order to gain her powers back. You think she's a powerful witch now? You haven't seen what she is capable of. The barrier spell is backfiring and because you, Buffy, and Kennedy have the essence of a Slayer inside of you, it's affecting you three the most."
"I get that," Faith replied as she stopped him. "What's Buffy feeling then?"
"The ability to love," Angel replied rather solemnly. "Kennedy is feeling the opposite of you two, lack of empathy and love. I'm wondering if it has something to do with her being turned into a Slayer when Willow cast the spell on the scythe."
"How do you know about that?"
"Buffy and Giles filled me in on what went on in those last few hours in Sunnydale. Faith, the effects of the barrier aren't dangerous, but they will be if you let it control your life and the way you think and feel."
"You're saying that everything I've been feeling since I got here, this empathy I feel, it's cos of the barrier around the Hellmouth? Great…and here I thought maybe things were changing. What a crock of fucking shit," she muttered as she kicked over a headstone and watched it crumble to the ground.
"Faith..."
"For once I thought, 'hey, maybe I'm finally changing into a normal fucking human being'. Turns out this is just cos of a spell?" She laughed bitterly as she continued walking down the path. "Whatever, man, at least this makes some kinda sense. I mean, why else would I be feeling all these things I'm feeling? The real me ain't capable of it."
"Faith...would you listen to me for a minute?" Angel said as he stopped her from walking away from him. "From what I know, even after the barrier spell is broken you will still feel this way and think this way. Nothing is going to strip that from you. You need to know that this could help you in the end."
"Help me? Help me?! How the fuck is having a big fucking dose of empathy going to help me?"
"Because the barrier spell, as unstable as it is, brings out what the person most seeks in life. You want to feel, you want to be able to connect with others, and because you lacked enough empathy before, you've been given that. With Buffy, I'm sure I don't have to go on about her love life to explain why she's been given the ability to love."
"Some fucking spell," she muttered under her breath as she stepped away from Angel. "What else did you come all the way up here for? Was that it? To warn me about Julie and her family?"
"To tell you the truth about Julie and her family. You need to stop her, Faith. You're the only one who can."
"Ever hear of a phone?" Faith asked, pulling her stake out of her back pocket as she heard footsteps just around the corner behind the row of tall bushes. "You really did come up here to see Buffy, didn't you?"
"No, I came to see you."
"Right," Faith laughed, motioning for him to follow as the footsteps grew nearer. "Like I'm gonna believe that for a second. You and Buffy have this tragic love. Just face it, man. You can't stay away from her and you can't stand the fact that she's here now and far away from you."
"Why do you care so much about Buffy?"
"Loaded question," Faith said under her breath. "Why the fuck ya think, Angel?"
"You think I didn't smell her all over you last night? I didn't come here for this and I sure as hell didn't expect to...find out about you and Buffy like this either..."
"Wait, man, me and Buffy? There is no 'me and Buffy'. Why don't ya get the facts straight?"
"I can see right through your lies," Angel said coldly as he grabbed onto her arms and forced her to look up at him. "You don't see it, do you? The barrier spell and the effects it is causing. Its making you feel for her, Faith."
"It ain't making me feel anything I didn't feel before," she said under her breath as she pushed him away from her. "Yeah, you heard me. Make whatever the hell ya wanna make outta that."
"You love her, don't you?"
"Love?" Faith laughed as she shook her head and shrugged. "Who the hell knows? I've never loved anyone before. And...god, I don't know why we're even talking about this."
"You do," Angel stated as three vampires stepped out of the shadows behind the bushes. "Even a blind man would be able to see it, Faith."
"Can we talk about this after we deal with them?" Faith asked as she eyed the three vampires approaching them quickly.
She didn't let what she and Angel had been talking about distract her. Much. The vampires were careless, they were sloppy with their punches, and she had two of them dusted before Angel could get his hands on the third one. Her heart was racing, not just because of the quick fight, but because she felt Buffy near. She tossed her stake towards Angel and watched as he grappled with the vampire and staked him without much more of a fight.
Angel spotted Buffy first and tossed the stake back to Faith as he dusted off his clothes. He said nothing to Faith as Buffy approached them slowly; her eyes open wide in shock to see Angel there with Faith. Nobody said a word as Buffy came to a stop a few feet in front of them. Faith could only take a few steps back, knowing without having to be told that Angel and Buffy needed time to talk alone.
"Where's Ken?" Faith asked Buffy, watching her as she avoided all eye contact with her. "B? Where's Ken at?"
"Already headed back home," Buffy replied calmly as she looked up at Angel. "What are you doing here?"
"Long story."
"Then tell me."
"I'm just gonna...go," Faith said, mostly to herself as she walked away from the two of them. She looked back only once and saw the two of them not saying a word to each other as they stared each other down.
The walk back to the house took her longer than it should have. She was thinking of all the things Angel had said to her. The one thing that bothered her was the mention of love. The empathy thing was bothering her too and she was angry she hadn't been able to pick up on the signs that something wasn't right. She knew she felt like something was off, but definitely didn't think it'd be anything like this. She didn't want to feel this way anymore, she didn't want to think this way anymore.
Kennedy was sitting out on the front steps waiting for her. Faith just let out a soft sigh as she sat down next to her. She didn't need to hear it; she already knew that Kennedy knew Angel was there. Kennedy was fidgeting with her stake, looking over at Faith and back down to the ground repeatedly, looking as if she wanted to say something yet wasn't so sure what to say.
"You knew Angel was here, didn't you?" Kennedy asked quietly as she stared down at the ground. Faith didn't say anything. She didn't have to. "Why didn't you say anything?"
"He didn't want anyone to know he was here yet."
"What's he here for?"
"Stuff is going down with the Hellmouth and Julie," Faith replied with a shrug. "Long story. Sure he'll fill everyone in later."
"Faith?" Kennedy said as she turned to look at her. "Julie isn't..."
"Isn't what?"
"Human, is she?"
"No."
"I knew it," Kennedy said, laughing incredulously as she tossed her stake to the ground. "So, what's the deal then, Faith? What are we facing this time?"
"Slayer-vampire-witch-whatever the fuck she is hybrid, I dunno. Angel and I were talking, we were interrupted by three vamps, and Buffy showed up right after that. Didn't get the chance to talk about anything else."
"Wait, is this the one that—"
"Yeah. Pretty fucked up, ain't it?"
"Then what's the deal with Henry and the rest of the family?"
"Got hit by some immortality spell years back. The most fucked up thing is the fact that we're nothing if we go up to face Julie. Nothing. She wears a piece of the gem of Amara. She's invincible while she wears it."
"Shit, Willow told me about that. Wasn't it destroyed?"
"Thought so myself. Angel tells me there were twelve pieces and our new very bestest friend has one of them. We're so fucked if she..." Faith sighed as she shook her head, not even wanting to think of what could possibly happen if Julie ultimately decided to try to open the Hellmouth to get her powers back.
"If she what?"
"If she tries to open the Hellmouth. Keep up, Ken," Faith laughed as she nudged Kennedy with her shoulder before getting up from the steps.
"Are you heading in?"
"Yeah. Don't feel like being out here like a sitting duck if anything comes around lookin' for a snack."
"Isn't that when we—"
"You're missin' the point, Ken."
"Oh. I get it. You don't want to be around when Angel and Buffy come to the house, right?"
Faith just shrugged as she headed for the front door, not bothering to say another word since she knew Kennedy knew what she was thinking without any words having to be said. She passed by the living room where Giles, Willow, Dawn and Andrew were sitting around watching TV. Giles had his nose buried in a book, as usual, and he was the only one who looked up at Faith as she walked past and into the kitchen.
She opened the refrigerator door and almost grabbed a bottle of beer, but after a moment of hesitation grabbed a cold can of Coke instead and slammed the door shut. She stood there in the nearly dark kitchen and leaned against the counter as she sipped her drink while listening to the sounds of the TV flowing through the house. They were watching the news and the newscaster was talking about the tragedy of Sunnydale. A sinkhole, they called it, that swallowed up the whole town without warning. It made her scoff. If only people really knew what had happened.
It made her wonder what things would be like if the general public knew just went bump in the night. If they knew how many times Buffy and the others had saved the world and how many more times they might, until the day their luck ran out and someone else would take over for them. How many times had she helped save the world? Only a couple times that she could think of; the fight against the First and its army of Turok-Han, and those ugly Sisters of something-or-other the night she popped Xan-man's cherry. It made her wonder what that made her. Was she nothing but a second rate Slayer seeking redemption and acceptance in the arms of people who never cared about her before?
She stayed there in the kitchen even when she heard Buffy and Angel come inside. The TV was turned off and she listened as Angel told them everything he'd told her. She knew she should be in there with all of them, listening to the things Angel was saying for a second time. She just couldn't be bothered to move from the spot she stood in.
"Hey, whatcha doin' in here?" Xander asked as he flipped on the lights. "Faith? Don't you think you should be out there with the others listening to—"
"Heard the tale already," she said as she cut him off. Xander nodded and grabbed a beer out of the fridge. "What do you think of all of this?"
"Knew something wasn't right around here. Never know what to expect when you live near a Hellmouth."
"Especially with one that has this fucked up barrier spell that's affecting us," Faith muttered as she hoisted herself up onto the counter. "Oh, Angel didn't get to that part yet? Damn. Better hurry on back in there, Xander. Don't wanna miss the best parts."
"Faith, what the hell is wrong with you?"
"That's what I'd like to know."
"You knew Angel was here before tonight, didn't you?" Xander asked, keeping his voice low as he moved to stand closer to her. "You did, didn't you?"
"So what if I did? What the hell difference does it make?"
She knew she was being a bitch, but she had her reasons. With Angel coming back when he did, telling her the things he told her, it was making her head spin and making her want to try and find a piece of herself still left under everything she'd changed into. A lot of the changes she knew had evolved in the time she'd spent in prison, but the other changes, feeling so much—too much—wasn't what she was used to and she knew it wasn't who she really was deep down inside.
Xander just sighed as he cracked open his beer and took a sip as he leaned against the counter next to her. She watched him as he picked at the label on the bottle for a few minutes, lost deep in his own thoughts, probably just as deep as she was lost in her own. He turned to her and let out another sigh before he walked out of the kitchen and left her sitting there alone.
This made her feel just as she had her whole life—always just there on the outside and never truly a part of whatever everyone else was a part of. Once a loner, most likely always a loner. She closed her eyes and she could only faintly hear those whispers of the names she'd been called throughout her entire life, loser being the one that hurt the most. The voice she heard saying it was Buffy and she knew that's why it hurt so much. Even though she was certain Buffy didn't see her like that anymore, the voice—the venom and hate and disgust in her voice—still rang through her mind.
Things quieted down in the living room and she looked up as Buffy walked into the kitchen, her face expressionless but her eyes telling a different story as she walked over. Faith hopped down from the counter, but before she could even get a word out Buffy punched her square in the jaw. She stood there, hands on her hips and an eyebrow arched angrily, as Faith recovered from the blow.
"I knew you lied to me last night."
"Fuck, B...what the hell? So you think punchin' me is gonna what, make it all better? Didn't we move past all o' this?"
"You knew Angel was here and you didn't tell me."
"Whatever, B. He didn't want anyone else to know he was here. Whaddya want me to say? Ya want me to say I'm sorry that I kept my word with him and lied to you about it?"
"No," Buffy said as she stepped closer to Faith and reached out for her. Faith just flinched back as she rubbed her sore jaw. "I think with everything that's going on...especially between us...I'm a little all over the place."
"A little?"
"Fine, a lot," Buffy laughed softly as she reached out for Faith again. This time she didn't flinch or move away and she let Buffy take her hand away from her jaw, watching as she delicately ran her fingers over the place her fist had just collided with moments before. "I'm sorry."
"Not a big deal. Kinda wondered when that right hook of yours would find my face again," Faith said easily, trying to pass it off as if it really wasn't a big deal. "It's what we do, how we are. No need to apologize for that shit."
"No," Buffy said as she shook her head and took both of Faith's hands in her own. "I'm sorry about the other day. We keep going back and forth and right when we take a few steps forward, we fall right back to square one. Why do we do that?"
"Dunno, B."
"We both know what we want and I know we want the same things. Look at what we face every day. This," Buffy said as she moved closer to her, "is one thing that we shouldn't be afraid of."
"B..."
"Just because we shouldn't be afraid of it doesn't mean we aren't," Buffy said, smiling up at her as she backed her up against the counter. "No matter what is going on right now, I don't want to miss my chance with you."
"Not goin' anywhere, B. I told ya that already, didn't I?"
Buffy nodded her head as she leaned in and gave her a soft kiss. "Just making sure, Faith. I've seen this other side of you and yes, I know all of your old sides too and that fake persona you put on show for everyone who pretty much just looks at you."
"Buffy..."
"Just listen to me for a minute," she said as she shushed her. "I know you have your doubts, your fears—whatever it is—when it comes to what is happening between us. I know you're afraid of this. You think I'm not afraid of it too, just a little bit? And you know something? I really hate repeating myself like we have a few times already, but I know what I feel and I know what I want and no, I'm not that afraid. A little unsure of some things, yeah, but definitely not afraid."
"What did Angel say to you?"
"Faith? Can we please not change the subject?"
"Sorry."
"What I'm trying to say is no more asking why we're doing what we're doing," Buffy said softly as she wrapped Faith's arms around her waist and then trailed her hands back up those arms, coming to rest on the other woman's shoulders. "Let's just...do it, no questions asked."
"Do it?" Faith chuckled as she wiggled her eyebrows. "Right here, B? With everyone in the other room? Didn't know you were into that."
"Faith," Buffy groaned in mock annoyance as she swatted her shoulder. "Can you please try to be serious right now?"
"See this?" Faith asked. She tried valiantly to keep a straight face but couldn't quite fight off a smirk. "This is me being serious."
"You get what I'm saying, though, don't you?"
"You just wanna do this, right?"
"Yes."
"How, exactly? Cos I'm gonna tell ya again that you got no idea what you're gettin' yourself into with me, B."
"I think I have a pretty clear idea," Buffy said with a sly smile that made Faith's heart race wildly out of control. Buffy leaned in, kissing her neck softly as she trailed her lips to her ear and whispered, "I want you to stop holding yourself back with me. I want you to show me just what I am getting myself into with you."
"Don't you think we should..."
"Should what?"
"Focus on this shit that's goin' down first before we...get into this together?"
"Faith, we're already past 'getting into this'. This whole thing started when I kissed you, maybe even before that, I don't know. What I do know is that this has started and that we have to stop asking ourselves all these questions all the time. You ever think that we can't find the answers we're looking for because the questions we're asking aren't the right ones?"
"Maybe. As much as I'd like to forget everything that Angel told me tonight, we can't," Faith said, sighing out softly as Buffy dropped her arms from around her and stepped away. "We have to do what we're s'posed to do first. Deal with this shit that's goin' on then we can do this—it."
"We're..."
"Don't say it," she said as she stopped Buffy from continuing. "Let's just figure it out before we start putting a label on it."
"Faith?" Buffy said as she slowly walked backwards towards the doorway. "I meant what I said before, you know about how I just want to be close to you."
"Gettin' pretty far away from me now, B."
Buffy just smiled at her as she turned and walked out of the kitchen. Faith just stood there leaning against the counter grinning like a love-struck fool. Not for a minute did she forget what Angel had told her, yet it didn't stop her from letting that feeling just wash over her. She still stood there smiling when Buffy walked back into the kitchen a minute later.
"Drinks. That's what I came in here for before," Buffy said as she opened the refrigerator door. "Kind of, you know, forgot once we—"
Faith just casually reached out, grabbing on to her hand before she could reach inside and pulling her close. Buffy moved in quicker than she had, capturing her lips in a hard, heated kiss. The force with which Buffy spun and pinned Faith up against the fridge was almost bruising, more surprising for Faith than anything. She could feel Buffy's heart beating just as quickly as her own was, but before she had the chance to turn the tables, pin Buffy up against the fridge or the wall near it, Buffy just pulled back from the kiss slowly.
"I really should..." Buffy said as she motioned to the refrigerator. "And you should..."
Faith found one little ounce of self-control not to grab onto Buffy and continue where they'd left off. She followed Buffy into the living room and sat in the only empty seat, the chair she always sat in. Buffy looked around the room for a moment before sitting on the arm of the chair Faith sat in. She hardly paid any attention as Angel talked about what he knew when it came to Julie and her family and the Hellmouth.
She did notice the way that Kennedy looked over at the two of them with the biggest shit-eating grin on her face. In fact, once she got out of the little bubble she found herself in just being so close to Buffy, she realized that everyone was looking over at them except for Angel and Giles. Buffy hardly seemed to notice. She was too busy paying attention to what Angel and Giles were talking about. Faith knew she should be paying attention as well, but her eyes drifted along Buffy's back and to the skin that was tantalizingly on display. She reached out slowly and began tracing small patterns over Buffy's lower back, feeling her shiver slightly under her fingertips.
She snapped out of it and looked over at Angel as he told everyone what she'd already heard about the barrier spell and the effect it was having on her, Buffy, and Kennedy simply because they were Slayers and bore the essence that the spell fed off of. The heat she felt coming from Buffy's skin was distracting and she wanted nothing more than to pull her down off the arm of the chair and into her lap. She knew Buffy probably wouldn't be okay with her doing that, especially not in front of Angel, so she bit her lip and moved her hand away slowly.
More than anything, she wanted things to go back to where they'd been before Angel had shown up. She wanted to feel like things were easier than they ever had been since she'd been called as a Slayer. She wanted to go back to the night she first met Julie and stop herself from jumping into bed with her and her boyfriend. She wanted to go back to the second time she'd been with Julie since just thinking about how easily she'd been tempted made her feel guilty, dirty like a whore.
The room fell quiet after a little while and Angel told them he'd be back the next night if he heard from the friend who had given him this information. Faith could only watch as Buffy stood up and walked Angel to the door. She strained to hear what they were talking about, but only heard the whispers in her own head that she'd been trying so hard to ignore. Just when she thought that the night was winding down, she saw Buffy and Angel being flung from the front door and down the hallway.
"Well, well," Julie laughed as she came inside. "Isn't this cosy? Everyone is sitting around discussing little old me. Care to share the web of lies your friendly vampire is telling you?"
Faith tackled her before she could take another step and they went flying backwards and down the front steps. Julie laughed sadistically as she threw Faith off of her and stood up. She looked down at Faith, a cruel smile curling over her lips as she dusted off her clothes and offered Faith a hand. Faith swatted her hand away as she quickly got up from the ground and grabbed Julie by the throat. The anger and the adrenaline were coursing through her veins at an alarming rate and she was breathing heavily as she struggled not to lose it completely. Now wasn't the time to fight Julie.
It wasn't time and Faith knew even if she did try, she wouldn't be able to take her down. Julie just blew her a kiss and pushed her back before she ran off into the night. Faith just stood there waiting in case she came back. Angel was the first to come outside and he pulled Faith into the house with a little bit of a struggle. She was angry, really angry, and she saw a bit of fear in Angel's eyes when she pushed him away. Things were definitely about to get very interesting and she knew that silent promise she'd made to herself would become more than just a promise. It'd become the drive that led her to killing Julie in the end.
Angel had said it would be her that would be the one to end this, to end whatever Julie had planned. She knew that Julie would eventually try to open the Hellmouth once the barrier spell was broken in order to gain her powers back. She knew if that happened they would definitely have less of a chance of stopping her. She was already not just a vampire, but a Slayer and a powerful witch protected by the Gem of Amara. If she ever fully regained her original power, it'd be next to impossible to kill her.
The fact that Julie was already close to invulnerable wasn't going to stop Faith from trying, though. She was a Slayer and she was made to fight this kind of evil and to prevent it from taking over the world. She could only hope she'd be strong enough in the end to get through this in one piece. Her personal life would have to be put on the backburner while she figured out how to end this with Julie and her family. But for now, she was going to let it slide. She'd go work for Henry, hoping she could keep her head down and play along with their game, one idea planted firmly in the front of her mind: Keep your friends close and your enemies even closer.
